Information About Precious Movie

Fast Facts About the Film Based on Sapphire’s Novel Push

Nov 12, 2009

Mo'Nique, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz co-star in disturbing drama about an abused inner-city girl.

Set in 1987 Harlem, Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” By Sapphire concerns an obese and illiterate African American high school girl named Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) who is pregnant for the second time with her own father’s child. Abused by her parents and classmates, she transfers to an alternative school that changes her life.

From Sundance Film Festival to Wide Distribution

Directed by Lee Daniels (Shadowboxer) and produced by Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, and Gary Magness under their Smokewood Entertainment Group (S.E.G.) banner, the film won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, one of only three films in the history of Sundance to earn this distinction.

Mo’Nique (who plays the cruel mother of Precious) also received a Special Jury Prize for Acting at the festival. This successful debut at Sundance prompted Oprah Winfrey (Harpo Films) and Tyler Perry (34th Street Films) to come onboard as executive producers and help Lionsgate Entertainment distribute Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire through their respective motion picture companies.

Casting Gabourey Sidibe in the Role of Precious

After holding casting calls in Los Angeles and New York and auditioning nearly 400 actresses, the production team discovered 24-year-old Harlem resident Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe at an open call. A psychology major at Lehman College in the Bronx, she auditioned with no real aspirations of becoming a professional actress. She simply had a familiarity with and fondness for Sapphire’s book Push. Her understanding of the character and physical appearance won her the part of Precious after two days of auditioning.

African American Actors Allowed No Beauty Makeup

Despite hiring attractive actors for many of the roles, the characters were not allowed to enhance their appearances. In fact, the opposite was true. Ugly wigs and makeup (such as adding flaws and female facial hair) downplayed the loveliness of actresses such as Mariah Carey, who portrays a welfare caseworker. Unflattering costumes from the 1980s also reflected the production team’s commitment to the drama and emotion of the novel, rather than the physical appeal of the actors.

Precious was filmed in late 2007 in New York City. Specific locations included the Manhattan neighborhood of Inwood, downtown Brooklyn, Coney Island Hospital, and throughout Harlem. In the production notes, Daniels says he wanted warm colors such as red, yellow, and blue to depict a Harlem neighborhood where people find happiness amidst their struggles. “I wanted a sensual quality to the color and feel of the film. We had to show the beauty as well as the pain.”

Fantasy sequences also use vibrant color, including a scene where Essence Magazine founder Susan L. Taylor makes a cameo appearance and presents Precious with an orange scarf. In addition, R&B singer Mary J. Blige wrote and recorded the song “I Can See In Color” for the film.

To learn more about Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” By Sapphire, visit the official website.

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