Well folks, last night I attended the Los Angeles premiere of the highly acclaimed film, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.” I wasn’t invited to the event because of my premium blogging skills, but rather because I was volunteering for the AFI Film Festival in Hollywood. And, this event was indeed the ultimate Hollywood affair. Executive producers Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry were in attendance, while the film’s cast Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey, Paula Patton, and Sherri Shepherd also walked the red carpet. The crowd was also excited to see newcomer Gabourey ’Gabby’ Sidibe, who stars as Precious and singer/poet Sapphire, who wrote the book in which the film is based.
Inside of the theatre before the film started, director Lee Daniels gave a heartfelt speech about how he was sure that the movie would go straight-to-video until it won the coveted Grand Jury award earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. Winfrey and Perry sweetened Daniels’ appeal when they jumped on board as his main supporters. Daniels, who produced “Monster’s Ball,” and directed “Shadowboxer,” went on to lovingly thank the cast, the producers, and his boyfriend Andy, who could barely wait until his name was called before jumping out of his seat.
So, what about the film, which is about a poor, illiterate, overweight, pregnant teen, who tries to overcome her obstacles by getting an alternative education? Well, you’ve heard the buzz – the cast is excellent, especially Mo’Nique and Sidibe. As for the story, well, it’s very gritty with an extremely graphic rape scene, unimaginable physical abuse and harsh language. If you can stomach all that then maybe you will see that the movie has a point, which is all about redemption.
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” opens nationwide this Friday.
