Since its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL 'PUSH' BY SAPPHIRE has confounded notions of what an "urban film" is, touching people of all backgrounds with its dramatic, vividly realized story of a Harlem teenager who overcomes tremendous obstacles to discover her own worth, beauty and potential. PRECIOUS is remarkable both for what it is -- a film whose heroine is a dark-skinned, plus-size young woman in 1987 Harlem; and for what it is not -- a static, standard-issue treatise on the disadvantaged. Directed with passion and imagination by Lee Daniels, written with elegant economy by Geoffrey Fletcher, and brilliantly performed by a fearless ensemble cast, PRECIOUS is a journey into a world whose specific realities may be far from our own, but whose fundamental human truths -- and fundamental human hopefulness -- are recognizable to us all.
PRECIOUS is filmmaker Lee Daniels' second directorial effort, but it is a film he has wanted to make since he first read Sapphire's novel, which was published in June, 1996. That summer, Push was ubiquitous on New York subways, its arresting red-and-black cover design instantly identifiable. Intrigued, Daniels bought a copy. The story of Precious Jones, who learns her own value and potential when she learns to read, struck a deep chord. "From page one, I sat there with my mouth open: this was a world that I knew intimately," recalls Daniels, who grew up in West Philadelphia. "I had many relatives who resembled Precious physically, and I had many friends and relatives who didn't know how to read but somehow got by in life. My neighbors, my relatives and I, we all know the politics of dealing with the social worker, waiting for her to come and hiding certain things so that she wouldn't see them."
The milieu resonated, and so, too, did the voice of Precious, who describes her life in direct, unguarded language that evolves over the course of the book. Precious often misspells the words she is only now learning to write, but her thoughts and emotions are piercingly clear: her pain, anger and yearning for love; her feelings of doubt and worthlessness; her excitement at new discoveries and growing sense of confidence, pride and strength. "I identified with every syllable on the page," says Daniels. "Precious's story is about learning to love yourself, and that is a universal story."
He continues, "By the end of the book I thought to myself, 'Wow. How do you bring this to the screen?' Because people needed to know about this world."
Daniels was a successful talent manager, but he had not yet made the leap into feature filmmaking. In any case, the film rights to Push -- one of the most acclaimed and highly publicized books of 1996 -- were not for sale. Though the film world came knocking, Sapphire declined to entertain offers. "The book was doing well and I felt that it needed its own life," the author explains. "It was my baby, and I worried that a bad or corny film could do a lot of damage."
Sapphire's attachment to the material was as personal as it was strong. A poet who performed her work in various venues, she had lived in Harlem for a decade and spent eight years teaching reading and writing to teenagers and adults in Harlem, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Push was her first novel, and it reflected what she observed and experienced during those years. "As a teacher, I was in a lot of the situations that are described in the book, and I was inspired by the resilience, intelligence, and beauty of the many young women I taught who persevered despite horrendous circumstances in their lives," Sapphire comments. "These people are not invisible -- we hear about them every day. But they are totally misunderstood, and I wanted to show what's behind the statistics."
In 2001, Daniels transitioned from talent management to filmmaking with the production of his first film, the Academy Award-winning MONSTER'S BALL (Actress in a Leading Role - Halle Berry, 2001). His company, Lee Daniels Entertainment, changed its focus to production and he ramped up his pursuit of the film rights to Push, determined to give Claireece "Precious" Jones a voice and bring this story to life.
Meanwhile, Sapphire had begun to feel more receptive to a film adaptation -- on the condition that the right filmmaker came along. She admired MONSTER'S BALL, and agreed to take a first look at Daniels' directorial debut, the unconventional crime melodrama SHADOWBOXER. "SHADOWBOXER sealed the deal," Sapphire acknowledges. "Lee had a vision for adapting Push, and he also had the ability to put that vision in motion."
With the long-coveted rights at last acquired, Daniels began seeking financing. Along the way, Daniels was introduced to Geoffrey Fletcher, a relative of a potential backer. Fletcher was working as an adjunct professor in film at Columbia and NYU, and was a filmmaker himself. When Daniels saw one of Fletcher's short films, he realized he'd completed his search for a screenwriter. Remembers the director, "I said, 'Get this, I want you to write this movie. You're the one.'"
Fletcher was unfamiliar with Push, which allowed him to come to Sapphire's novel with few, if any, preconceptions. "I was told before reading the novel that it was difficult and perhaps a little grim. But for me the experience wasn't that way at all. I thought it was the most luminous thing I'd ever read," Fletcher says. "The images were clear to me from the opening quote in the book. I adored this young woman, Precious, and cared about her and wondered what would happen next."
Precious's voice, and her way of seeing and coping with the world, became key elements in translating her story to film. In the novel, Precious turns to her imagination in traumatic moments; at one point, for example, she visualizes herself as a dancer backing up 80s stars Doug E. Fresh and Al B. Sure! at the Apollo Theatre. Given the difference between a written description and a visual depiction, Daniels felt that expanding Precious's flights into fantasy would serve not only the character, but the audience, too.
Fletcher agreed, and Precious's inner landscape came to include visions of red carpet strolls and photo shoots. "These fantasy moments felt to me so appropriate and fitting," Fletcher remarks. "They throw the viewer an unexpected turn, but one that hopefully works and feels organic." Daniels enlarged the presence of some supporting characters, including Nurse John, a helpful medic glimpsed only briefly in the book; and the alternative school receptionist, Cornrows, who was fleshed out with boyfriend troubles and a tart sense of humor.
Humor was a prominent element in Push and remains so in PRECIOUS. Says Daniels, "There is no way you can witness what Precious goes through without laughing, if just to stop from crying."
Smokewood Entertainment Group founders Gary Magness and Sarah Siegel-Magness had teamed with Lee Daniels Entertainment to produce the recent coming-of-age drama, TENNESSEE. Siegel-Magness explains that the combination of Daniels and Push were irresistible. "As a filmmaker, Lee is daring and edgy and I really appreciate that," she says. "My husband and I set up our company in order to tell amazing stories -- which is exactly what PRECIOUS is. It really doesn't matter what socioeconomic background you have, this story grips you and it pulls you into the world of Harlem 1987. As producers and audience, Gary and I want to experience that."
Siegel-Magness took an active role in the production and was present on the set every day. "Sarah's support was unwavering," says Daniels. "She fed a positive force in me to do my very best."

Casting
Casting the role of Precious was one of the biggest challenges facing the filmmakers. The production set up casting calls in Los Angeles and New York, and expanded their search to Ohio and Georgia. The process went on for four and one half months as some 400 actresses read for the role. The fall production start was looming, and Daniels had yet to find an actress who met the complicated requirements of the role. He instructed the film's casting directors to arrange yet another open call in New York for Monday, September 10, 2007.  Read more


PRECIOUS was filmed in New York City in late 2007. The locations stretched from Inwood, the northernmost neighborhood in Manhattan, through Harlem and across the river to downtown Brooklyn and Coney Island Hospital.
Fidelity to the details of the story required an abdication of vanity on the part of the actors. Beauty make-up was essentially off-limits for the actresses and much of the 80s-era wardrobe was less than flattering. More to the point was the emotional commitment required to portray characters grappling with dramatic circumstances and intense feelings. But Daniels found all of his cast ready, willing and able to dig deep in order to reveal the truth of their characters. As he describes it, "If I said, 'Okay, jump through that hoop,' they did. 'Okay, now put some fire around that and jump through again.' 'Okay, now put some fire around it, and put some nails through it, now jump!' That's what they did. I was so blessed to work with everybody on this film."
Daniels encouraged the cast to try different approaches to scenes. Says Sidibe, "Lee's not married to one idea; he loves options. A scene might start out very simple -- like A, B, and C will happen. Then Lee would throw in D and F and E. It was vanilla, and now it's chocolate with bananas and sprinkles. He taught me to be freer in my thinking and in my lines."
PRECIOUS looks and feels as alive as its heroine. Working with director of photography Andrew Dunn, Daniels crafted a visual style that reflects Precious's perspective as well as the reality of her circumstances. He made unconventional and liberal use of color, including arresting accents of primary red, blue and yellow. The camera swoops, zooms and dives, and Harlem glows warmly, a neighborhood where people live and love as well as struggle. Explains Daniels, "I wanted a sensual quality to the color and feel of the film. We had to show the beauty as well as the pain."
Originally titled PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL 'PUSH' BY SAPPHIRE, PRECIOUS made its world premiere in the American Dramatic Competition program at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. The breakout hit of the festival, the film garnered three awards, including the top award, the Grand Jury Prize, Audience Award and a Special Acting Award for Mo'Nique. PRECIOUS soon found a home at Lionsgate, which had previously teamed with Daniels on MONSTER'S BALL. The PRECIOUS family grew quickly: Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry came on board as executive producers and are presenting the film with Lionsgate; and singer Mary J. Blige wrote and recorded a new song for the film, "I Can See in Color."
Winfrey describes her reaction upon seeing the film: "I've never seen anything like it. The moment I saw PRECIOUS, I knew I wanted to do whatever I could to encourage other people to see this movie. The film is so raw and powerful - it split me open."
Adds Perry, "When I started watching this film I was taken back 25 years to my childhood, when life was rough. By the time it was over, I was changed. PRECIOUS is filled with so much hope, and I really think it has the power to change lives."
In May, Daniels and several members of the cast travelled to the Cannes Film Festival, where PRECIOUS screened in the "Un Certain Regard" section. As it had at Sundance, PRECIOUS drew cheers and standing ovations from audiences, and its message of hope and triumph inspired more than one person to stop the filmmakers to share their stories. "It's been so moving to know that the film has affected such different people," acknowledges Daniels. "Eighty-year-old Japanese ladies tell me they feel like they're Precious, and they hug me and they hold me. I think that there is Precious in all of us."

LEE DANIELS' (Director/Producer) background is filled with bold stories as real and gritty as the narratives from the films he creates. By the age of 21, Daniels had founded and was running his own health care agency, providing nurses to private homes and hospitals; he was simultaneously trying to be a screenwriter. After selling his health care business, and giving up screenwriting, he began managing actors such as Loretta Divine, Michael Shannon, Natasha Kinsky, and Aishwarya Rai. Daniels turned to producing as a natural result of trying to find and create great material for his clients; the organic leap to directing came soon after.
MONSTER'S BALL was the first film from Daniels' production company, Lee Daniels Entertainment. The film marked Daniels as the first sole African-American producer of an Oscar®-winning and -nominated film. Daniels also produced THE WOODSMAN, which premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards, the film received the CICAE Arthouse Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the Jury Prize at the Deauville International Film Festival, and Special Mention for Excellence in Filmmaking from the National Board of Review.
Released in 2006, SHADOWBOXER, a bold, heart-wrenching tale of two assassins, was Daniels' directorial debut. Following the film's world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Daniels was also nominated for the New Directors Award at the 2006 San Sebastian Film Festival.
Daniels recently produced the upcoming film TENNESSEE, which premiered at last year's Tribeca Film Festival. The film is produced by Daniels, written by Russell Schaumberg, and directed by Aaron Woodley (RHINOCEROS EYES). Daniels is also teaming with Chilean film-maker Sebastian Silva to produce Silva's next film SECOND CHILD. The film follows an eight-year-old boy as he seeks affection and acceptance during the course of a family vacation to a country home.
Daniels and his family live in New York City

GEOFFREY FLETCHER (Screenwriter) is a graduate of Harvard University and NYU's Tisch Graduate Film Program. He grew up in a small Connecticut town and has been a filmmaker since the age of fourteen. He has also studied under Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee. MAGIC MARKERS, a short film Geoffrey wrote, directed, shot and edited, gleaned accolades from numerous organizations including The Directors Guild of America and the Sundance Film Festival. MAGIC MARKERS has since been instituted as part of New York University's curriculum for its Graduate and Undergraduate Film Programs, and has also been screened numerous times in Columbia University film courses.
Since graduate school, Geoffrey has written extensively to develop his craft. He is also an adjunct professor of film at Columbia University and New York University.

SAPPHIRE (Author) is the author of American Dreams, a collection of poetry which was cited by Publisher's Weekly as, "One of the strongest debut collections of the nineties." Her novel Push, won the Book-of-the-Month Club Stephen Crane award for First Fiction, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association's First Novelist Award, and in Great Britain, the Mind Book of the Year Award. Push was named by the Village Voice as one of the top ten books of 1996 and by Timeout New York as one of the top ten books of 1996. Push was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Literary Work of Fiction. About her last book of poetry, Poet's and Writer's Magazine wrote, "With her soul on the line in each verse, her latest collection, Black Wings & Blind Angels, retains Sapphire's incendiary power to win hearts and singe minds."
Sapphire's work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, The Black Scholar, Spin, and Bomb.
In February of 2007, Arizona State University presented PUSHing Boundaries, PUSHing Art: A Symposium on the Works of Sapphire.
Sapphire's work has been translated into fourteen languages and has been adapted for stage in the United States, Great Britain, France, South Africa, and the Netherlands.
Her publications include: American Dreams (Vintage 1994), Push (Knopf 1996), Black Wings & Blind Angels (Vintage 2000), and Pusti Luci Prizgane (Ljubljana 2008)

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The milieu resonated, and so, too, did the voice of Precious, who describes her life in direct, unguarded language that evolves over the course of the book. Precious often misspells the words she is only now learning to write, but her thoughts and emotions are piercingly clear: her pain, anger and yearning for love; her feelings of doubt and worthlessness; her excitement at new discoveries and growing sense of confidence, pride and strength. "I identified with every syllable on the page," says Daniels. "Precious's story is about learning to love yourself, and that is a universal story."

He continues, "By the end of the book I thought to myself, 'Wow. How do you bring this to the screen?' Because people needed to know about this world."

Daniels was a successful talent manager, but he had not yet made the leap into feature filmmaking. In any case, the film rights to Push -- one of the most acclaimed and highly publicized books of 1996 -- were not for sale. Though the film world came knocking, Sapphire declined to entertain offers. "The book was doing well and I felt that it needed its own life," the author explains. "It was my baby, and I worried that a bad or corny film could do a lot of damage."

Sapphire's attachment to the material was as personal as it was strong. A poet who performed her work in various venues, she had lived in Harlem for a decade and spent eight years teaching reading and writing to teenagers and adults in Harlem, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Push was her first novel, and it reflected what she observed and experienced during those years. "As a teacher, I was in a lot of the situations that are described in the book, and I was inspired by the resilience, intelligence, and beauty of the many young women I taught who persevered despite horrendous circumstances in their lives," Sapphire comments. "These people are not invisible -- we hear about