Imagine if the turbulent times in American history could be captured and retold by an eyewitness who personally served eight presidents over a period of 35 years. What if this man was African-American and saw first-hand the racial tensions within the White House and the country from the time of Harry Truman to Reagan? The life of that man, Eugene Allen, inspired Lee Daniels' The Butler and inspired Matthew Salloway '00, to produce it.
The box office success stars Forest Whitaker as the head butler of the White House. He portrays a personal connection to our history by witnessing dramatic changes that encased American society from the civil rights movement to Vietnam up until the election of President Barack Obama.
"I was always interested in entertainment and arts but I never necessarily ever thought of the idea of being a producer or getting into production when I was younger or even at Brandeis," Salloway said.
Salloway helped bring this story to the big screen as an executive producer of the film. "It's an inspirational story about how one person was able to live through this time and how it affected him and how he really tried to channel that adversity into making the world better for African Americans and minorities," Salloway said.
Salloway double-majored in Politics and American Studies and minored in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and Legal Studies. In addition to his classes, Salloway served on the Student Union Senate for three years and was president of the Pre-Law Society.
"I just had a great experience academically, with the small class sizes, the teachers and the staff and the students. A lot of my close friends to this day are from college," Salloway said.
Salloway viewed many of his professors at Brandeis as mentors who helped shape his educational experience. "I would say Prof. Mary Davis (AMST) was my favorite professor. I took two or three courses with her in American Studies. ... She really brought the courses to life," Salloay said.
It seems natural that Salloway would produce a film centered within the civil rights era because both of his parents pursued altruistic careers. His mother runs a nonprofit organization that helps battered women, the mentally ill, the homeless and veterans and his father works in government. "I was always raised wanting to help people, then decided that I'd go into politics or government. Then the decision was to go to law school," Salloway said.
After taking political sciences courses and interning at the State House for two summers, he decided to pursue a traditional career as a lawyer and went to work for a law firm.
Salloway spent a year before law school at Harvard Business School as a research associate in the Boston area. He then received his law degree from University of Pennsylvania. After completing law school he worked for a corporate law firm in New York City.
So how exactly did a traditional law career lead this Brandeis alumnus to produce a film that is ranked number one at the box office? It was after he left the law firm in New York City and started his own law firm called Salloway Law Group, which he still owns to this day.
"It was really through that experience of being a lawyer to everyone from professional athletes to small businesses, business executives, producers and directors and representing the legal side that I got into the business side, so it was really through my legal practice," Salloway explained.
Although he was never involved in film at Brandeis, Salloway produced several other films and a few shows on Broadway before producing The Butler. Some of his previous works include So Undercover, a film starring Miley Cyrus and Ides of March, a political thriller.
Salloway is passionate about The Butler. "It was a movie that we felt had to be made," he said. "It was the script that really stood out and the story of a man who served his country over the course of thirty-five years and was exposed to so many historical and groundbreaking events in our history."
A landmark aspect of The Butler is the amount of historical context included within the movie. The film is not a historical documentary, however, but a real life reenactment of one human's experience. Therefore, the film has many meanings and subplots.
"There's a father-son story, there's a husband-wife story and an employer-employee story.... It's an inspirational story about how one person was able to live through this time and how it affected him and how he really tried to channel that adversity into making the world better for African Americans and minorities," Salloway said.
Salloway explained that this historical narrative is still relevant in today's world. "It gives us some historical context for how we got where we are. Especially now that President Obama's in office it shows how far we've come as a nation even though we still have a long way to go," he said.
There were many memorable moments on set for Salloway. "I think the greatest memories were watching the presidents recreate historical scenes. It was seeing these scenes with Robin Williams, James Marsden, Liev Schreiber getting into roles of being president and recreate various historical events that occurred," he said.
In addition, Salloway's dedication to his academics at Brandeis mirrors his professional career after Brandeis. "I think Brandeis has prepared me by giving me the skills to succeed in the world, as a producer, as a lawyer and just as a person," Salloway said.
"I worked very hard at Brandeis and certainly had a lot of fun but if I could go back I would be just a little bit more relaxed and enjoy the four years that we don't always appreciate as we go through. College is a special time, a time that everyone should appreciate and enjoy."
"I think we just have to work hard and do the best we can. Control the things that you can control and not worry about the things that you can't," Salloway said.