Precious

• Lee Daniels ready for 'suits'

  Published on: February 9, 2010

  'Precious' director found courage to restart filming
  By ANTHONY KAUFMAN

  You might think a blistering drama about an obese, sexually abused HIV-positive black teenager would have trouble finding financial backers. But you'd be wrong.
  
  "People think it's hard raising cash," says "Precious" producer-director Lee Daniels. "But at the end of the day, every movie got made that I wanted to get made -- even the bombs." One such bomb, "Shadowcatcher," Daniels' debut film as a director, certainly didn't make it any easier getting his sophomore effort off the ground.
  
  All the studios passed, of course. But despite the lack of obvious commercial potential in "Precious," Daniels says his financiers at Denver-based Smokewood Entertainment were always there for him, even at the film's crisis moments.
  
  For Daniels, that means the major hurdle with "Precious" wasn't finding money but making the film itself. "It was the first week into production, and I didn't like what I was seeing," says Daniels. "I had a crew around me who didn't know me personally, didn't understand the film and thought I didn't know what I was doing."
  
  With the encouragement of actress Mo'Nique and Daniels' boyfriend, Daniels resolved to pull the plug. "Everyone was afraid to stop, because that would mean going back to get more money from the Magnesses," he says, referring to Smokewood's Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness. "But I said, 'This is not my movie.' And we shut it down."
  
  Daniels admits that it was an embarrassing situation, especially given the fact that the Magnesses hadn't recouped on their first collaboration with Daniels, "Tennessee," a drama he produced. "But they knew me," Daniels says. "Had I gone to another investor, I don't think they would have come onboard (the reshoot)."
  
  Daniels' intuitive sense for indie financing as well as his commitment to his personal vision paid off. Now he's ready to move on and looks forward to collaborating with others rather than blazing his own path. "It's time for me to grow up as a filmmaker and work with the suits," says Daniels, who is partnering with Pathe Intl. on his next film, "Selma."

   

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• Director Lee Daniels’ ‘Precious' is Blessed by Angels

  Published on: October 28, 2009

  By Shannon Nystedt
  MovieSet.com
  
  At a special screening of Precious hosted by The Wrap Tuesday night at the Arclight in Sherman Oaks, director Lee Daniels described his new movie as “blessed by angels.” But how else would you account for a film centered on an obese black girl living in the ghetto achieving such critical acclaim, financial backing and theatrical distribution? Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, Precious tells the story of a 16-year-old girl pregnant for the second time by her absent father and physically and emotionally abused by her mother who begins to turn her life around after she is transfers to an alternative school, where she benefits from the attention of a devoted teacher.
  
  "When I make movies, I anticipate they're going to go direct-to-DVD," Daniels told the crowd at a special screening. "I assume no studio will embrace the intelligence of the audience."
  
  Read the full article here.

   

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• Can Oprah Lead ‘Precious’ All the Way to the Oscars?

  Published on: October 3, 2009

  By Shannon Nystedt
  movieset.com
  
  Precious has proved itself as award winning material by picking up the People’s Chocie Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and wowing audiences at Sundance, but how does one go about marketing such a complex film to a wide audience?
  
  The film follows Clareece "Precious" Jones (played by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe), an illiterate teen pregnant for the second time by her father and living in Harlem with her destructive mother (Mo'Nique). Precious may sometimes be down, but she is never out. Beneath her impassive expression is a watchful, curious young woman with an inchoate but unshakeable sense that other possibilities exist for her. Threatened with expulsion, Precious is offered the chance to transfer to an alternative school. Taught by the patient yet firm Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), Precious begins a journey that will lead her from darkness, pain and powerlessness to light, love and self-determination.
  
  Promotion for such a film may sound difficult, but with Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry on the case, Precious is bound to be a strong contender come Oscar season.
  
  Read the full article here.
  

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