All the infos you will find here were taken from multiple sources on the internet and personal contacts. This page will be upated regularly.

Synopsis
Clareece "Precious" Jones is an overweight, illiterate African-American teen in Harlem. Just as she's about to give birth to her second child, Jones is accepted into an alternative school where a teacher helps her find a new path in her life.

With sheer audacity and utter authenticity, director Lee Daniels tackles Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire and creates an unforgettable film that sets a new standard for cinema of its kind. Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is a high-school girl with nothing working in her favor. She is pregnant with her father’s child—for the second time. She can’t read or write, and her schoolmates tease her for being fat. Her home life is a horror, ruled by a mother (Mo’Nique) who keeps her imprisoned both emotionally and physically. Precious’s instincts tell her one thing: if she’s ever going to break from the chains of ignorance, she will have to dig deeply into her own resources.Don’t be misled—Push is not a film wallowing in the stillness of depression; instead, it vibrates with the kind of energy derived only from anger and hope. The entire cast are amazing; they carry out a firestorm of raw emotion. Daniels has drawn from them inimitable performances that will rivet you to your seat and leave you too shocked to breathe. If you passed Precious on the street, you probably wouldn’t notice her. But when her story is revealed, as Daniels does in this courageous film, you are left with an indelible image of a young woman who—with creativity, humor, and ferocity—finds the strength to turn her life around.

Cast
- Gabourey Sidibe as Clareece "Precious" Jones
- Paula Patton as Ms. Rain
- Mo'Nique as Mary Jones
- Lenny Kravitz as John
- Mariah Carey as social worker Mrs.Weiss
- Sherri Shepherd
- Rodney Bear Jackson

Production
- Lee Daniels:  Director and Producer
- Gary Magness:  Executive Producer
- Sarah Siegel-Magness:  Executive Producer
- Lisa Cortes:  Executive Producer
- Tom Heller:  Executive Producer
- Mark G. Mathis: Coproducer
- Asger Hussain: Associate Producer
- Sapphire:  Source Material
- Andrew Dunn/ Darren Lew:  Director of Photography
- Andrew Dunn: Cinematographer
- Damien Paul: Screenwriter
- Joe Klotz: Editor
- Marina Draghici:  Costume Designer
- Belinda Anderson:  Makeup Artist
- Toy Van Lierop:  Hair Stylist
- Mario Grigorov: Music

Trailer

Pictures

Video
Lee Daniels talking about the movie: here.

Set
Shot in and around NYC from mid-October 2007 to mid-December 2007

World Premiere
World Premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah from January 15, 2009 - January 25, 2009.
Screenings:
Fri. Jan 16 8:00 p.m. - H16RN Racquet Club, Park City
Sat. Jan 17 noon - H17BD Broadway Centre Cinemas VI, SLC
Tue. Jan 20 3:15 p.m. - H20CA Eccles Theatre, Park City
Wed. Jan 21 11:30 p.m. - H21PL Prospector Square Theatre, Park City
Fri. Jan 23 2:15 p.m. - H23RA Racquet Club, Park City

Latest news and reviews

Lee Daniels' "Precious: Based On The Novel PUSH By Sapphire" Honored With Toronto International Film Festival's Cadillac People's Choice Award
Rare Double Audience Honors From Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals Join Prix Du Jury from Deauville American Film Festival In Film's Mounting Festival Decoration

Santa Monica, CA (BlackNews.com) - LIONSGATE® (NYSE: LGF), the leading next generation studio, announced today that Lee Daniels' "Precious: Based On The Novel PUSH By Sapphire," has won the Cadillac People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. The award was announced at the festival's closing ceremony.

Daniels, who is currently in Spain where the film premieres at the San Sebastian International Film Festival this evening, provided a statement presented by Laurie May, co-President of the film's Canadian distributor Maple Pictures, which read in part:

"First and foremost, I would like to dedicate this award to Cameron Bailey, whose support of me, and belief in my work from the beginning with The Woodsman, Shadowboxer and now Precious is unparalleled. I cannot begin to express my gratitude to the Toronto audiences as well - this award holds such an important meaning to me because I made this film for every person out there who ever looked in the mirror and felt unsure about the person looking back. This is not an art film for a select few, this is a movie that I hope everyone can relate to. There is nothing more special than being honored by the public, by my peers."

 
Joe Drake, the President of Lionsgate's Film Group, said of Mr. Daniels' accomplishment, "From Utah to Canada, two places that could hardly be more different than 1980's Harlem, audiences have seen what we saw in the film, what Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry also saw in the film -- that thing that made all of us respond immediately by asking 'How can I be involved?' We are so thrilled to watch this response mount with each of the film's festival audiences." Daniels previously collaborated with Lionsgate on 2001's Monster's Ball, which he produced.

The film received the Grand Jury Prize, the Audience Award, and the US Special Jury Prize for Acting for star Mo'Nique at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, an extremely rare triple honor. It was also announced earlier this week that "Precious: Based On The Novel PUSH By Sapphire" was honored alongside "Sin Nombre" with the Prix Du Jury at the Deauville American Film Festival in Deauville, France.

Synopsis
Lee Daniels' PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL 'PUSH' BY SAPPHIRE is a vibrant, honest and resoundingly hopeful film about the human capacity to grow and overcome.

Set in Harlem in 1987, it is the story of Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), a sixteen-year-old African-American girl born into a life no one would want. She's pregnant for the second time by her absent father; at home, she must wait hand and foot on her mother (Mo'Nique), a poisonously angry woman who abuses her emotionally and physically. School is a place of chaos, and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and an awful secret: she can neither read nor write.

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, Each One/Teach One. Precious doesn't know the meaning of "alternative," but her instincts tell her this is the chance she has been waiting for. In the literacy workshop 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.

In Official Selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival - Un Certain Regard, and winner of three awards at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival including the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL 'PUSH' BY SAPPHIRE stars Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz and introducing Gabourey Sidibe.

Lionsgate in association with Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry present A Lee Daniels Entertainment / Smokewood Entertainment Group Production of PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL 'PUSH' BY SAPPHIRE, directed by Lee Daniels from a screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher based on the novel Push by Sapphire. The film is produced by Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, and Gary Magness. Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Lisa Cortés, and Tom Heller are Executive Producers; Simone Sheffield serves as Co-Executive Producer; Mark G. Mathis is Co-Producer; and Asger Hussain serves as Associate Producer.

Precious: Based On The Novel PUSH By Sapphire will open in select cities on November 6, 2009.

For more information, visit: www.weareallprecious.com
Source: Blackvoices, September 22

But for her role in the film "Precious" — formerly titled "Push" — which won her critical praise at the Sundance festival earlier this year, the singer eagerly transformed from glamorous pop star into dowdy social worker Mrs. Weiss.

"My character in 'Precious' is the antithesis of me. She is a social worker. She's very demure. She's very stoic," Carey explained to MTV News about the role. "She's just like, 'I'm doing my job,' she has an accent."

However, Carey is quick to point out that for the film, about a pregnant and abused overweight New York teen, she agreed to the transformation because she trusted the film's director, Lee Daniels.

"It's a whole thing, but Lee Daniels is a bona-fide genius so I put myself in his hands," she explained. "And he was like, 'No makeup. We're going to put dark stuff under your eyes. You're hair is going to be cut and short and brown. And you're gonna wear big clothing and it's going to be a whole thing.'"

But for Carey, her looks are only part of the character — for the role, she had to dig deep into herself to figure out who she is as a person. "That's all the exterior, but really what I had to tap into was who this woman was."

She went on to explain that her co-stars Mo'Nique and Gabby Sidibe (who plays the title character), had to work hard to play these people and that one of the women's performances especially left a mark on Carey.

"There's a very deep scene with Mo'Nique, who plays the mother, and she deserves an Oscar for this performance," Carey said. "I'm saying it now and I really hope she gets that because that's what she deserves — I've never seen a performance like this."
Source: MTV, July 30

“Precious” Nears Perfection

A strong script, talented actors and a story that needs to be told are the ingredients to a perfect film, and with all of these aspects under its belt Precious works wonders. The presence of so many unsettling and unsympathetic characters in the film makes it easy for the audience to quickly become engrossed in this gut-wrenching story of a struggling, bullied teenager. However, the impeccable cast does a brilliant job in their portrayals of such characters, causing the movie-goer to quickly connect and empathize with the characters and their situations instead of judging by the outside alone.

Lee Daniels’ “Precious,” depicts Clarice Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), a 16-year-old illiterate, overweight, black girl who is still stuck in middle school and has been impregnated by her own father for the second time. Precious lives with her abusive, jealous mother Mary (Mo’Nique), in a house where yelling, hitting, and flying insults and objects are all just part of the daily routine. Mo’Nique plays the part fiercely and manages to do so by hardly ever getting off the couch. Whilst living off welfare and faking a job hunt, Mary leaves the family with barely enough money to put food on the table.

Things start looking up for Precious when she gets transferred to an alternative school and meets her new teacher Blu Rain (Paula Patton) who introduces Precious to the world of writing. Precious’ new found way of expressing herself changes the dynamic of the film in a natural and positive way. The audience begins to learn more about Precious directly through her journals and we can begin to see the intelligent mind that lies underneath her tough skin. Precious writes powerful lines like, “My whole family is less than dumb, just black grease to be wiped away. I wish I were dead,” when the thought of her cruel mother enters her mind.

Daniels’ adds an important layer to Precious’ character – the world of fantasy. When situations become too difficult for her to bear, and this happens quite often, she envisions herself not in the moment, but how she wishes to be seen. After her father has beaten her over the head and is proceeding to throw her onto the bed and rape her, she fantasizes herself all dressed up, in a room where the spotlight is only on her. She is happy and content. It’s an escape, an idea of something, anything better than what she has now. Fantasy is the only way she knows how to cope with the truly horrific circumstances in which she must face on a daily basis. Her imagination shows a much needed depth to the character that helps give a glimpse of hope to this sad and poignant story.

I found myself holding back tears several times during this film. One of the most memorable scenes is when Precious resorts to stealing a bucket of fried chicken from a diner and is runs down the street stuffing piece after piece into her mouth. In this beautiful scene cinematographer Andrew Dunn captures her large body, a body that would usually seem unapproachable or even disgusting, and illustrates Precious not as a fat person eating fried food, but as a hurting young girl, desperate for love. This film left me feeling stuck and lost in this young girl’s life. I was constantly on her side and constantly pulling for her to succeed. Sidibe’s touching portrayal made us see that underneath all the toughness and rage is a vulnerable soul who is, dare I say it, absolutely precious.

Remarkable acting all-around in addition to a beautiful script morph this film from being a sad story about a girl with a horrible life in the Harlem slums into a heart-wrenching testament to inner strength and unconditional love. From the main players to the smaller roles, a few played by popular musicians Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz, each and every actor individually shines, but they all jell together to form an incredibly impressive ensemble. Mariah Carey plays her part incognito, as a social worker with no makeup and a subdued, yet strong willed personality. Lenny Kravitz hangs up his ripped jeans to play a nurse who loves Precious from the start and undoubtedly wants her to succeed.

Even though Oprah’s name is in the credits along with Carey’s and Kravitz’s, marketing this film could be difficult with its controversial storyline. Hopefully though this film will be picked up, if this happens I have no doubt that like its main character Precious, it will stand its ground. “Precious” speaks for itself in a fresh way that films today should do much more often. It grabs the audience with a character driven story and makes the viewer fend for themselves with no unnecessary help from the filmmakers. And although the content is hard to handle, the filmmaking from the casting to the editing is indeed a treat to watch. The film managed to leave me feeling uplifted and hopeful, despite content that all pointed to the contrary. “Precious” is a film that will make you appreciate the art of movie making, and will make you want to call up your loved ones on the way home.
Source: Sarah Walpert, June 3

I could easily see an Oscar nod or two shelled out for this film -- which follows an overweight, pregnant, illiterate teen from Harlem who enrolls in an alternative school with plans to give herself and her child a better life. For one, Mo'Nique gives one of the coldest, harshest performances I've ever seen on screen, and now that both Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry (talk about another double whammy) have lent their names and support to Precious, that -- along with a slew of awesome buzz -- should help it do well when it finally hits theaters later this year on November 6th.
Source: Cinematical, May 12

Both companies filed lawsuits in Los Angeles and New York Feb. 4, claiming they had an agreement with producers to distribute the movie based on the story of a young, illiterate woman who is the victim of incest and trying to find her way in 1980s Harlem.

The film stars Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz and Gabourey Sidibe, who portrays Precious Jones, the central character in the film.

Lionsgate got to court first, suing Weinstein in Los Angeles just hours before TWC filed its suit against Lionsgate in New York. TWC also separately sued the agents for the producers, alleging fraud.

On May 6, a New York judge dismissed the Weinstein suit against Lionsgate. In doing so, he rejected Weinstein's claim that New York is the more appropriate location for the litigation to take place because most of the witnesses live there.

The judge said the parties "have a presence" in both New York and Los Angeles and frequently travel between both cities.

In its Los Angeles suit, Lionsgate is seeking a judge's ruling that it owns the rights to distribute "Push" in the United States and Canada.

Weinstein attorneys say the company had a firm agreement with the film's producers and that Lionsgate interfered.

But Lionsgate counters that the producers signed a written agreement stating they had no written or verbal agreement with Weinstein.
Source: Contra Costa Times, May 12

The Weinstein Co. has not ruled out the possibility of seeking an injunction to block the fest screening, though it currently is seeking only monetary damages.

"Precious" (originally titled "Push") was slated to close the New Directors/New Films festival in New York this month but was dropped from the slate, presumably to pave the way for a Croisette unspooling.

TWC did not take any legal action at that time, but the Cannes showing, with its attendant media circus, could prompt a bigger fight.

In February, Lionsgate and the Weinstein Co. traded lawsuits, with the New York mini-major claiming that it had reached an agreement with producer during Sundance.

Smokehouse Films and its rep Cinetic Media to buy rights to the pic before Lionsgate closed its own deal.

Cinetic and Smokehouse were named in separate New York lawsuits, while TWC filed a third suit against Lionsgate for interfering with the negotiation.

Lionsgate's lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, sought a court declaration that it owned the pic's North American rights and that producers never reached a deal with TWC. Lionsgate, which plans to release the film this year with the support of Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, later filed a motion to dismiss the New York case. The motions are pending in both states.

Neither Lionsgate nor the Weinstein Co. would comment Thursday. It is unclear if Winfrey or Perry would attend the Cannes screening.

Legal experts said that even though TWC had been bidding for world rights, it could face an uphill battle in trying to stop a screening at Cannes. The fest normally would come under the publicity efforts of a film's North American distributor, but as a foreign territory, it still sits outside that distributor's jurisdiction. Rights in other countries subsequently have been sold by producers, including Filmax for Spain and Arp for France.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, April 25

Lee Daniels is a guy I was once seated next to at a Vogue dinner party arranged by the giant fashion plate, Andre Leon Talley. After five minutes, I realized he had been a driving force, as a producer, who helped Halle Berry win an Oscar for "Monster's Ball." He was as impressed with his "overnight success" as I was!
Recently, not having seen Lee in ages, I wrote a story about his surprising next triumph -- as director and producer of the $3 million movie "Precious."

The Lionsgate movie, opening Nov. 6, won three awards at Sundance. And it won Oprah's backing. It stars young Gabourey ("Gabby") Sidibe as the tormented teenager whose father impregnates her, whose classmates bully her and whose witch of a mother beats her. (Lee says the latter role is that of a classic villainess, acted by award-winning comedienne Mo'Nique "in a way that makes you ask 'whatever happened to Baby Jane.' ")

Lee was full of raves for another actress, Paula Patton, who plays a lesbian who intervenes on behalf of the abused girl. Mariah Carey, who is one of Lee's pet talents, has a role here also, and Lenny Kravitz plays a nurse.

"Did Oprah really back this film all the way?" I ask Lee who is kidding around on the other end of the phone. He settled down: "Indeed she did. She connected to it with bells and whistles and is an executive producer with Tyler Perry."

Daniels is a guy on the verge, concerned that he makes the right choices. He says he is looking forward to working with Berry again. He is being offered big money to make big films, but wants to be sure he is doing the right thing, "because we never had money to do movies like this before...though this one cost us only $3 million."

Lee is doing the right thing, I think. At least, he agreed to take me to dinner with Carey, a long admired mutual friend, and with Kravitz, on whom I have had a big crush since being introduced to him in Orso one night whereupon he rose, crushed me to his chest and gave me a big kiss.
Source: Variety, April 13

The Weinstein Co. sued Lionsgate shortly after Sundance, claiming it had made an offer to buy the film that was accepted by sales agent Cinetic. Lionsgate counter-sued and the matter remains in court.

Reps for Lionsgate and Weinstein said the legal tangle is completely separate from the decision to drop out of the fest.
Source: Variety

More speculation today surrounds the whereabouts of Precious (née Push: Based on a Novel by Sapphire), the celebrated, Benjamin Bratt-terrifying drama that won last month's Sundance Film Festival before tumbling into bidding-war lawsuit limbo.

We'd really hoped this one would be visiting your neighborhood sooner than later. Alas, Precious, featuring Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz, lauded newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, and Mo'Nique in a career-defining performance as an abusive mother from hell, quietly disappeared this week from its prestigious closing-night slot at New York's New Directors/New Films festival.

In any event, it's a 180-degree reversal from Precious's trajectory out of Park City, where news of a big-time deal with Lionsgate, Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey accompanied its Grand Jury Prize. That wasn't the only accompaniment, however; The Weinstein Company soon intervened, claiming that they had a deal to release the film domestically. Breach-of-contract suits and countersuits followed — none of which are yet resolved, we hear, indefinitely postponing Precious's appearance anywhere outside Sundance.

Meanwhile, a Lionsgate representative told us this morning that the film is on track for a fall release.
Source: Lionsgate - Gawker, February 27

Carey was much more loose-lipped when it came to talking about her much-heralded next acting project, "Precious," the story of a teenage girl living in Harlem. Walking the carpet alongside director Lee Daniels, Carey gushed that she was "just honored to be a part of it. It's really something that's so strong and different and I think that it's really going to enlighten a lot of people and help a lot of people." Carey plays a social worker in the film with comedian Mo'Nique and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe.

"Precious" debuted at Sundance and quickly became the talk of Park City, eventually earning the Grand Jury and Audience awards. The film marks a change for Carey, whose career on the big screen has been lackluster at best. Clearly, neither "Glitter" nor "Wise Girls" was feted at the Independent Spirit Awards — though the former did earn attention from the Razzies for what it's worth, garnering five nominations.

Carey lamented that she missed the big Sundance moment for "Precious" (at the time titled "Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire") at the award ceremony in Utah in January. "I wasn't able to be there for when he won all the awards," she said before playfully being interrupted by Daniels. "Where was she?" he mocked the singer. "Obama was more important," he laughed, referring to Carey's trip to the inauguration that interfered with the Sundance festivities.

Clearly proud of the film and all its early success, Carey called the acclaim "great, because I know how much [Daniels] put into the film. And all of us who participated in the movie, we feel so attached to this."

"Precious" has been picked up for distribution by Lionsgate and will be released later this year.
Source: MTV, February 22

THR: Is it Lionsgate's film or could it possibly go to the Weinstein Co.?

Perry: It's Lionsgate's film. 34th Street has a first-look deal with them. There are two brains at work here. There is 34th Street that is going to do more of these "Push" kind of movies, more artistic kinds of things that people don't expect me to do. Then there is the Tyler Perry-branded movie that is specifically branded as simple stories, funny, family, faith-based, no incredible plot twists. It is very important to me to show children what a whole family unit looks like. If you see the worst of what a man can be, as I did growing up, you can also see the best a man can be.
Source: The Hollywood Reprter, February 20

Push: Based On The Novel By Sapphire, is the story of an abused, illiterate African-American high school girl who is pregnant with her second child by her father. There are no stars aside from cameos by Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey.

Yet the movie is now at the center of a well-documented legal battle between Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company. Harvey Weinstein claims his company had a verbal deal with the film's representatives to distribute the movie, but it ultimately went to Lionsgate for a reported $5.5 million.

Why spend money on lawyers to fight over a movie that the L.A. Times called "nightmarish" and The New York Times called "grim to a level that many film executives say they have rarely seen on film"? Because it was only the third film in Sundance history to win both the jury prize and the audience prize for best drama at the January festival, a rare Sundance feat. That makes it as close to a sure thing as exists at the festival level. And at $5.5 million, it's half the price Focus Features paid for 2008's festival hit Hamlet 2, which earned only $5 million at the box office.

In today's tough economic climate studios want sure things, not risks. "No one's going to buy a film they don't think they can make money off of," says John Cooper, Sundance's programming head.

That's going to be especially true in the coming year. Right now the independent film world is still digesting a glut of movies financed during the easy-money era of the past three years.

For a while, Wall Street loved Hollywood, throwing cash at almost any decent filmmaker who asked for financing. That led to too many films fighting for attention. In 2000 there were 373 films released in the U.S. Last year that number was 604, but the number of tickets sold was still the same.
Source: Dorothy Pomerantz for Forbes, February 17

If there were a T-shirt emblazoned with "Precious Jones Is My Hero," we'd buy it in a heartbeat. The protagonist of Lee Daniels' adaptation of the poet Sapphire's 1996 novel — about abuse, illiteracy, and the fierce and magical energy of words — is a hero of going forward. Daniels, a magical realist himself, says he slept with the book under his pillow, so it could infuse his dreams and then his waking life with its hard wisdom, its dark knowing. But newcomer Gabourey Sidibe's indelible teen is not the only character suggesting the reach of this rough and jubilant film into a diversity of lives. The variety of characters captures the richness of the "American" in "African-American."

When Precious' social worker (played by Mariah Carey with powerful reserve) is asked pointedly about her racial makeup, it's a knowingly funny scene on two levels. First, it reminds audiences that even black folk believe they learn something absolute when they ask that question. They don't. Second: because that query dogged hit-maker Carey, especially in her early years. Is she black? Is she white? What's the deal?

Director Daniels and Precious Jones move us forward by resisting some of the old questions and posing new ones.
Source: Denver Post, February 15

Daniel’s lauded “Push,” currently the center of a legal battle care of The Weinstein Company, chronicles the world of Precious Jones, an overweight, iliterate, teenager pregnant with a second child by her own father. The films fantastic cast includes Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, and Paula Patton. It

Lee Daniels’s Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize-winner “Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire” will also be showcased as the series’s first-ever Closing Night feature. The much-discussed drama chronicles the world of Precious Jones, an overweight, functionally illiterate, lonesome teenager pregnant with a second child by her own father. Daniels, working with a script by Damien Paul and an extraordinary cast led by Gabourey Sidibe and including Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, and Paula Patton.

The complete public schedule for New Directors/New Films 2009 will be announced in early March. Tickets will go on sale Friday, March 13. They will be at The Film Society of Lincoln Center, MoMA, and online at filmlinc.com.
Source: indieWire, February 12

“TWC reached a firm agreement for the rights to ‘Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire’,” Weinstein Company attorney Bert Fields said in the statement, claiming breach of contract and inducing breach of contract. “Behind their backs Cinetic Media tried to make a better deal with Lionsgate,” he said. TWC has also enlisted David Boies in the action against Lionsgate and Cinetic.

“Lionsgate closed a North American distribution deal for ‘Push’, and the sellers confirmed that no other agreement was in place,” a Lionsgate spokesperson countered today in a statement, adding, “The Weinstein Company seems to have a different belief.”

“We respect Harvey tremendously,” Cinetic partners John Sloss and Bart Walker told indieWIRE a few moments ago, in a joint statement. “In this case he is over-reaching. There was never a deal with The Weinstein Company, there were numerous material unresolved points.”

Cinetic repped the film, closing a deal with Lionsgate at Cinetic’s New York office late Friday night, according to insiders at the time. The North American rights pact, which includes the support of Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions and Tyler Perry’s 34th Street banner, was pegged at a $5.5 million sale. Late Friday, after indieWIRE caught wind that the deal was closing, a Lionsgate rep declined to confirm the sale saying that a pact was premature and still being negotiated. On Monday, LGF announced its acquisition highlighting the support of Winfrey and Perry.

Bert Fields’ TWC statement noted that Lionsgate filed a pre-emptive suit against TWC yesterday. “This is obvious forum-shopping by a party that knew TWC was going to sue,” the Fields statement continued, “We will deal with it appropriately.”

“With this filing, we are simply protecting our rights and seeking a judicial declaration that The Weinstein Company does not have any right, title or interest in ‘Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire’,” the Lionsgate spokesperson said.

An insider close to the deal today noted that TWC was understood to be pursuing a worldwide deal for the movie but Cinetic brokered a pact for North American rights. International rights to the movie are going on the market here at the European Film Market in Berlin via Elephant Eye Films.

Buzz about the suit is enhanced by the recent executive shuffle between the two companies. In a move announced last week, longtime Lionsgate President of Theatrical Films Tom Ortenberg recently left the company to join The Weinstein Company as its President of Theatrical Films.

The Hollywood Reporter noted that the Lionsgate suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, preceded TWC’s action yesterday. The trade paper reported, “The moves were seen as an attempt by each side to stake out jurisdiction. Often in cases featuring identical parties and issues, the case will be heard in the venue where the first lawsuit is filed; this instance is murkier, however, since both lawsuits were filed on the same day.”

For some, the situation evokes a 2005 situation at the Toronto International Film Festival surrounding the rights to Jason Reitman’s “Thank You For Smoking,” although insiders claim the situation is quite different. That deal, brokered by William Morris, played out after Searchlight announced a deal and then Paramount claimed it had secured a deal for the film. Searchlight prevailed and released the film.

Produced by Lee Daniels, and Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness of Smokewood Entertainment Group (S.E.G.), the “Push” was executive produced by Lisa Cortes and Tom Heller, from a script by Damien Paul, based on Sapphire’s 1996 book. The film stars Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe, Paula Patton, Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd and Lenny Kravitz.  The pact is the second collaboration between Lionsgate and Daniels, who produced the company’s Oscar-winning “Monster’s Ball.”
Source: indieWire, February 5

Studio Acquires North American Distribution Rights From Smokewood Entertainment Group And Reunites With Academy Award(R) Winning Monster's Ball Producer Daniels

LIONSGATE(R) (NYSE: LGF), a leading next generation studio, announced today that it has acquired North American distribution rights to 2009 Sundance Film Festival sensation PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE. Directed by Lee Daniels (SHADOWBOXER), PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, only the third film in Festival history to do so. Star Mo'Nique was honored with a Special Jury Prize for acting. PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE was produced by Daniels, and Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness under their Smokewood Entertainment Group (S.E.G.) banner; Lisa Cortes and Tom Heller were executive producers. The screenplay was written by Damien Paul, based on Sapphire's 1996 book. PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE stars newcomer Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe, Paula Patton (DEJA VU), Mo'Nique (SHADOWBOXER), Grammy(R) Award-winning artist Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd ("30 Rock") and Grammy(R) Award-winning artist Lenny Kravitz. The deal marks the second collaboration between Lionsgate and Daniels, who produced the studio's Academy Award(R)-winning MONSTER'S BALL. The announcement was made by Jason Constantine, Lionsgate President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions.

In an unprecedented partnership, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry will support Lionsgate's distribution of PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE, through their respective motion picture companies, Harpo Films and 34th Street Films. It will be the first film affiliated with Perry's 34th Street banner.

"PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE is an extraordinary film about taking hold of life; to watch it is to be galvanized and uplifted," said Constantine. "MONSTER'S BALL introduced Lee as a gifted producer; we believe PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE firmly establishes him as one of America's finest directors."

Said Daniels, "I know from my MONSTER'S BALL experience that PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE has found the best home possible. I'm really looking forward to working again with smart, innovative friends at Lionsgate."

Commented Winfrey, "I've never seen anything like it. The moment I saw PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE, 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."

Added Perry, "I am honored to join Oprah Winfrey and Lionsgate in releasing Lee Daniels' exceptional film. I was immensely moved by PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE, and wanted to do whatever I could to help others share in its redemptive experience. Lionsgate is the ideal studio to shepherd this artistically courageous film to market."

"We like to work with filmmakers who harness instinct and vision to compelling projects, creating motion pictures that resonate emotionally with an audience. That is why we chose PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE," said Sarah Siegel-Magness, managing partner of S.E.G.

PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE is the second film directed by Daniels, following 2006's SHADOWBOXER. Daniels made motion picture history with his first film as a producer, MONSTER'S BALL, becoming the first African-American sole producer of an Academy Award-winning, substantial critical and box office success. The film garnered Halle Berry the 2002 Academy Award(R) for Best Actress and also received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Daniels subsequently produced the award-winning drama THE WOODSMAN and the recent TENNESSEE, which was funded by S.E.G. in its first collaboration with Lee Daniels Entertainment. S.E.G. fully financed PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE.

The deal was negotiated by Eda Kowan, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions, Wendy Jaffe, Executive Vice President Business & Legal Affairs, Acquisitions and Co-Productions, and Constantine on behalf of Lionsgate; Cinetic sold the film and negotiated the deal on behalf of S.E.G. and Lee Daniels in close collaboration with attorneys Roger Arar and Craig Emanuel at Loeb & Loeb, Sloss Eckhouse Brennan, and Jonathan Gray of Gray Krauss.

FILM SYNOPSIS (Courtesy Of Sundance Institute)

With sheer audacity and utter authenticity, director Lee Daniels tackles PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE and creates an unforgettable film that sets a new standard for cinema of its kind. Precious Jones (Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe) is a high-school girl with nothing working in her favor. She is pregnant with her father's child - for the second time. She can't read or write, and her schoolmates tease her for being fat. Her home life is a horror, ruled by a mother (Mo'Nique) who keeps her imprisoned both emotionally and physically. Precious's instincts tell her one thing: if she's ever going to break from the chains of ignorance, she will have to dig deeply into her own resources. Don't be misled - PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE is not a film wallowing in the stillness of depression; instead, it vibrates with the kind of energy derived only from anger and hope. The entire cast are amazing; they carry out a firestorm of raw emotion. Daniels has drawn from them inimitable performances that will rivet you to your seat and leave you too shocked to breathe. If you passed Precious on the street, you probably wouldn't notice her. But when her story is revealed, as Daniels does in this courageous film, you are left with an indelible image of a young woman who - with creativity, humor, and ferocity - finds the strength to turn her life around.
Source: PR Newswire, February 2

Project reteams Lionsgate and Daniels for the first time since “Monster’s Ball.”

“Push” revolves around an overweight, illiterate African-American teen in Harlem who is about to give birth to her second child when she is accepted into an alternative school.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. The moment I saw ‘Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire,’ 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,” Winfrey said.

Winfrey and Perry will promote “Push” through their respective film companies, Harpo Films and 34th Street Films.

Lionsgate prexy of acquisitions and co-productions Jason Constantine announced the deal.
Source: Variety, February 2

Push, which was also awarded a special acting prize for star Mo'Nique, takes on dark and disturbing subjects, but the film's approach, equal parts gritty realism and eye-popping fantasy, won over critics and audience from its first screening. The film is still without a distributor, but Daniels said he was expecting to close a deal within a day or two.

Daniels says he has been fielding offers since he landed in Park City nearly two weeks ago, but that his insistence on marketing the film to a broad range of audiences has been a sticking point. "This goes beyond the urban audience or the art-house audience," he said. "It's for that white guy in Oklahoma, or that Indian in Albuquerque." Winning the audience award, he says, vindicates his conviction that "this is not just my story."

If Daniels has a motto, it would be something like what he told the audience before the film's Jan. 16 premiere: "If you're going to tell a bold story, be bold." Still, he admits, his hands were trembling as he introduced the film.

Push's unflinchingly bleak subject matter is enough to make anyone nervous. Precious (newcomer Gabourey Sidibe) is an obese Harlem teenager who is pregnant with her second child, conceived, like the first, by her own father. Her mother (a powerhouse performance by the comedienne Mo'Nique) is a figure out of nightmare or myth, a housebound monster who abuses her both physically and sexually. Add to that the fact that Precious is illiterate and you have a recipe for overload, a movie stuffed with subjects any one of which would more than suffice for a typical feature.

But typical features are not where Daniels' interests lie. After years as a casting director and talent manager, Daniels began his producing career with Monster's Ball, the 2001 film in which Halle Berry plays a death-row inmate's wife who has an affair with a racist prison guard. Daniels followed that with The Woodsman, with Kevin Bacon as a pedophile struggling to rebuild his life.

In Daniels' 2005 directorial debut, Shadowboxer, Helen Mirren and Cuba Gooding Jr. play a mother and stepson who fall into a quasi-incestuous relationship. Also, they're both contract killers. And she has cancer.

Daniels, who was raised in West and Southwest Philadelphia, is used to extremes. "I've seen some pretty brutal stuff," he said, in Park City a few days after the movie's premiere. "I've witnessed murder, people dying. And I would go into my own fantasy. I did what Precious did."

In Push, Precious frequently withdraws from traumatic circumstances into a world of her own, one in which she is a supermodel, or an actress at a glitzy premiere. The fantasy sequences are greatly expanded from Sapphire's novel, and often wholly invented, serving as release for the movie's audience as well as its protagonist. "I often worry about whether it was true to the book," Daniels said. "But I don't think it could have been any truer, because I wouldn't have an audience."

Sundance is well-stocked with dark movies full of suffering and anguish, but Push takes a different approach, one reason it has been greeted so warmly here. Daniels calls the look "stylized grit," a blend of handheld realism and brightly hued exaggeration.

The movie is not intent on broadcasting its authenticity, perhaps because Daniels, unlike many of Sundance's filmmakers, has actually lived something like the story he's telling. He modeled Precious' apartment after the one he grew up in. Daniels' father, a police officer, was killed in a drug bust when Daniels was 13, but he still has vivid memories of the beatings he endured at his father's hands. The fact that Daniels is gay fueled his father's rage.

Daniels has been open about the abuse, and about his anger toward his father. But in working on Push, he found his attitude shifting. The movie's emotional high point is a lengthy scene in which Mo'Nique's character unburdens herself to a social worker (played by an almost unrecognizable Mariah Carey), simultaneously revealing the depth of her sickness and her own inner turmoil.

"My movies are therapeutic," said Daniels, who lives in New York these days. "What I learned from this movie is that my father really loved me so much. I'm almost embarrassed, now, having told that secret, because I think that discredits the man he really was. He was a kind man, but a man that came from this hard-core discipline, ruthlessness, thinking that would make me a man."

Although the learning curve is traditionally less steep on a director's second film, Daniels said the process of making Push was much more difficult, partly due to the subject matter and partly due to the fact that Push was shot in New York and Shadowboxer was shot in Philadelphia.

"I don't look at it as the end product, but rather the entirety, the making-of and the process," Daniels said. "And the process I had with Shadowboxer was far more exciting and more fun and more rewarding than that of Push. Push was hard. It was cold. It was painful to shoot. And to New Yorkers, I was one of many people. I wasn't special.

"In Philadelphia, I'm a native, so they were really excited. In New York, it's like, 'Next!' " Daniels was so distressed by the crew's indifference that he took the unusual, and costly, step of shutting down production so he could repopulate the set with some of his Philadelphia familiars. In New York, he said, "they didn't care about the movie. And they didn't care about me."

Ongoing relationships are key to Daniels' process. Carey would hardly have been an obvious fit for the role of a Jewish social worker from Long Island, and she was reluctant to act again after the critical pounding she took for Glitter. But Daniels coaxed her in front of the camera, where she delivers a surprisingly natural performance, as does Daniels' longtime friend Lenny Kravitz, in a small role as a male nurse.

"Casting Mariah Carey in the film was as bold as making the film," Daniels said. "I felt that if I was going to put myself out there, I might as well put myself all the way out there, so there were no limitations at all. I knew it was either going to be a train wreck or beauty."
Source: Sam Adams For The Phylly Inquirer, January 27

"Push works on so many different levels," said Sundance director Geoffrey Gilmore after the ceremony, held at Park City's Racquet Club Saturday night. "It has such an emotional power to it, but it's not just some kind of sentimental bath. You don't understand that film until you watch the whole thing. You can't say we've seen this before. You haven't seen this before."

The night truly belonged to Push director Daniels, who experienced a series of grand public breakdowns as his film took award after award. "I'm sorry, I'm b-tchin' out," he apologized backstage, as tears streamed down his face and he struggled to praise his cast (including both Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz in dramatically understated roles) between sobs. "There's so much love," he said. "We don't have no money. We got $2 to make some s--- happen. We're doing this story about this fat black girl who doesn't have a voice. They're all in it for the craft." When asked to look at the bigger picture for his film -- which still lacks distribution -- he explained, "I think [this win] means there's hope for people of color. Just because Obama’s president doesn't necessarily mean it's going to translate down to our world of cinema. And I think what it does is reiterate and strengthen this power of, Get yourself a freakin’ video camera. And you go out and tell your truth. That's what I started doing as a kid, and I think inevitably, it led to this. It's just so much hope."
Source: HollywoodInsider, January 25

It’s the ’80s, and Precious is a study in unexplored human potential. Morbidly overweight and functionally illiterate, she leads a vast and poetic internal life via a fantasy reflex that transports her to a shiny world of klieg lights and thrust stages where she can pretend to be beloved, talented and a nascent superstar. Precious uses these fantasies to insulate herself from the harsh realities of her world: humiliating gangs, random street violence and an abusive father who has been sexually assaulting her since she was three, with two resultant pregnancies. With her father largely absent, the gorgon in Precious’ daily life is her mother, a bitter recluse living on Welfare who routinely beats Precious out of warped romantic jealousy. A series of school teachers and social workers help Precious to move past her sad state, inspiring her to write out her own story as a way of changing her life.

Daniels has made a remarkable series of bold choices, all of which seek to depict Precious honestly and without the usual self-congratulatory showbiz cant. At times, Precious fantasizes without guilt about being white, so much so that it’s a white model’s features she sees in her own bedroom mirror. Precious is also not above petty thievery, stealing her own file from a social worker’s office and a bucket of chicken from a fast food store. In a sense, Precious is a more ambivalent and less idealized version of the little girl from Doug Atchison’s excellent (but far lighter) Akeelah and the Bee; someone trying to get over an environment that’s toxic to her aspirations and her dreams.

Despite her almost flamboyant largeness (which Push sees as a natural reaction to Precious’ horrible home-life) and the sometimes melodramatic twists her story takes, Sidibe’s Precious is so startlingly truthful and so subtle she seems to have stepped out of a documentary to make her appearance here. Totally believable performances are also turned in by both Lenny Kravitz (as a male nurse) and Mariah Carey (as a tough but tender social worker), with Carey in particular disappearing so completely into her drab but sassy workaday messiah that the watcher’s mind keeps saying: “That can’t be her!”

But the almost certain 2010 Oscar nom for all of this (predictable even today, on the day the 2009 noms were just announced) belongs to Mo’Nique, whose alternately horrifying and devastating performance humanizes a monster. The last ten minutes of Push are devoted to a revelatory confrontation between mother and daughter, and Mo’Nique’s bravura transformation, from opportunistic schemer to shattered woman unable to face an unlivable truth, is so unerring it literally makes the viewer gasp. Daniels, who produced Monsters Ball and shows a similar belief in giving his actors room to explore, has captured a performance here that can stand with the best ever committed to film. It simply should not be missed.
Source: Boxoffice, January 23

It's a hard-forged film with a story line so grim and abhorrent -- a 16-year-old black girl has been impregnated twice by her father -- that marketing will be tough. However, the film's crystalline performances, including a bravura performance from Mo'Nique, should propel word-of-mouth. Solid supporting turns from Mariah Carey, Paula Patton and Lenny Kravitz will also help commercially.

In this inner-city horror story, newcomer Gabourey Sidibe plays Clarice, a pathetic ghetto girl enduring more personal plagues than Job. Called "Precious," she's illiterate, overweight and emotionally abused by her deadbeat mother (Mo'Nique). Slow in school, Precious wallows in junior high at 16 and is shuffled through the system to a "special" program.

Shoving her boxcar frame into the bleak makeshift classroom, Precious confronts the first ray of help in her life, a charismatic teacher called Blu Rain (Paula Patton). With Blu Rain's feisty prodding, Precious slogs toward her GED.

Precious sustains herself through intermittent fantasies. She envisions herself as the worshipful object of mass media's most vapid idealizations: a red-carpet superstar and, most shockingly, a blonde-haired/blue-eyed white beauty queen. That weird warp is darkly ironic; from the outside it seems the ultimate degradation to Precious. Yet, those oddly inspired flights are the sole windows of self-esteem and sustenance for this degraded girl.

Damien Paul's edgy and effervescent screenplay propels us into the inner recesses of primitive survival. It's a magnificent distillation, both succinct and eruptive. Director Lee Daniels sagely navigates the story from Precious' cavernous inner world through her synaptic flashes of fantasy that momentarily allow her to transcend her personal hell.

As Precious, Sidibe is superb, allowing us to see the inner warmth and beauty of a young woman who, to her world's cruel eyes, might seem monstrous. As Precious' hideous mother, Mo'Nique is cruelty incarnate. It's an astonishingly powerful performance.

In a striking non-star turn, Mariah Carey is credible as a veteran social worker who is jarred by Precious' plight. As the effervescent school teacher, Paula Patton exudes goodness but sagely reveals her character's inner liabilities, while Lenny Kravitz is low-key perfect as an empathetic nurse's aide.

Under Lee Daniels' radiant hand, technical contributions are magnificently forged. Highest praise to cinematographer Andrew Dunn for the gothic compositions and editor Joe Klotz for the kinetic cuts.
Source: Duane Byrge for THR, January 21

Mute and mountainous, a stolid outsider who can barely read, Claireece is pregnant -- again -- by her father, and on the verge of being kicked out of school. She's also cruelly oppressed by her mother Mary (Mo'Nique), whose daily routine consists of watching daytime TV, smoking cigarettes and treating her daughter like a slave (any historical parallels are not an accident). The situation is so dire that you almost have to laugh -- the way you might laugh, nervously, during the darkest moments of a horror movie.

"Push" is a horror movie, of course, and Mary is a monster, whose one glimmer of humanity -- which Mo'Nique, who is utterly brilliant, reveals in a tour de force soliloquy at the finale -- only makes her more horrible. Along with Mary's cruelty, Claireece's sense of hopelessness, and the awareness there are more Claireeces out there, the alarming thing about "Push" its capacity to show us just about anything, much like the warped human nature it surveys.

What's also remarkable is the balletic ability of second-time helmer Daniels ("Shadowboxer") to juggle emotional extremes. Claireece has her fantasies, and their visualizations -- of the girl as satin-clad pop star, movie star or supermodel -- work as relief valves. They're never funny, but they do humanize a character who has been reduced, by those who are supposed to love her, to a piece of meat, and who presents herself to the world as a very different, far less attractive creature than the Claireece we hear in voiceover.

Daniels never allows the film, however gothic and nightmarish, to lose its footing in the real world, and that world includes a certain amount of hope: Despite her mother's hostility, Claireece enrolls in an alternative school where a teacher named Blu Rain (Paula Patton) prepares young women for their GEDs. Patton is terrific, beautiful but carrying the weight of the world in her eyes. And Claireece's classmates, with their street-smart banter, give the film some needed levity.

Among the many delightful surprises in the film is Mariah Carey, who is pitch-perfect as a welfare counselor and serves as this demi-tragedy's Greek chorus. It's possible that many viewers won't recognize her until the final credits, but like so many things about "Push," the performance is disarming.

Production values are tops.
Source: Variety, January 18

In fact, the real star of "Push," which debuted this past weekend at Sundance, is an unknown actress from Harlem, Gabourney Sidibe, playing an obese and overburdened 16-year-old named "Precious" Jones who is twice impregnated by her father and is beaten by her mother.

Yet, she also has adults who look out for her, and one of those is welfare case worker, Mrs. Weiss, played by Carey.

With her stringy hair and no nonsense attitude, Mrs. Weiss is far from the glamorous role Carey took in 2001's "Glitter," which was loosely based on her own rise to pop music stardom.

But that movie was panned by critics and earned only $5.3 million at global box offices. Since then, Carey has starred in a few movies, but for the most part they have been seen only on TV, DVD or outside the United States.

"Push," however, is based on a best-selling novel and directed by Lee Daniels who produced "Monster's Ball," which earned Halle Berry a best actress Oscar. So curiosity was running high at Sundance to see how Carey performed.

In "Push," she has chosen a small but pivotal role of a woman who unravels Precious' monstrous home life of abuse and teenage motherhood.

"Mrs. Weiss is sort of the eyes of the audience, the people who don't know anybody like this in their lives," Carey told reporters late Saturday.

"Yes it's her job ... but even someone who goes through that every day and sees these horrific things, she hears something that changes her," Carey said about the range of emotions she must show as Mrs. Weiss.

Despite its dark material, the film had Sundance audiences laughing at several comic scenes, revolving around surrealistic dreams Precious creates to escape. In one, she sees herself and her mother transported into a Sophia Loren movie playing on television, where her mom curses at her in Italian.

"Push" is based on a novel of the same name by New York writer Sapphire, whose given name is Ramona Lofton. The book proved controversial when it hit retail stories in 1996 because of its graphic description of incest, but it also made it to the New York Times Bestseller list.

"I was just glued to this book when I read it in, I guess '98, and it stays with you," Carey said.

Carey is not the only Grammy-winning singer in the movie. Rocker Lenny Kravitz plays a small role as a nurse's aide who helps Precious deliver her second child.

That star power could help give the film wider release in the U.S. and internationally. The filmmakers are still in talks with studios to find a distributor.
Source: Alex Dobuzinskis, January 18

Set in late '80s Harlem, "Push" tells the harrowing story of Precious Jones (Sidibe), a  teenager who is living through a private hell of incest and abuse from her family.  Precious escapes from her troubles by fantasizing about being a star walking the red carpet, being a supermodel and, um, marrying her math teacher.  Her true freedom comes, however, through a special city learning program administrated by a patient teacher (a fine Paula Patton) who sees the positive in her tough luck students.

In her feature film debut, Sidibe is impressive conveying how battered Precious is, but she also shows glimpses of an inner strength the character will need to escape her hellish prison.  Time will tell whether the young actress has the range for other roles, but its an auspicious start for sure.

As her domineering mother, Mo'Nique, who has previously only ventured into comedic roles, is absolutely stunning.  Most of the film requires her to display utter contempt for Precious, but as the story progresses, she adds a sympathy that is both unexpected and moving.  Mo'Nique may not have thought she had a career as a serious actress, but that will completely change after "Push"

With the film not shying away from some truly horrendous events, Daniels provides much needed relief  by making Precious' learning program classmates truly memorable characters and their energy and humor  contrast with her horribly unpleasant life at home (don't be surprised if a number of catch phrases including "my favorite color is neon beige" become popular among the younger set after the film's release).  More impressive is Daniels confident visual style that go beyond his spot on period references in the fantasy sequences.  The filmmaker could have easily fallen into the melodramatic cliches of similar stories, but instead its the combination of superb performances, sharp production design and a keen eye that make "Push" so special.

"Push" is an inspiring and powerful film that will put Daniels on the map as one of  cinema's emerging talents.  Now, all he has to do is figure out how to pull off an equally rewarding encore.
Source: HitFix, January 17

Please elaborate a bit on your approach to making the film...
- I do not believe in over rehearsing. I encourage my actors to take liberties with the script.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in developing the project?
- Why would anyone care about a poor, 300-pound, uneducated black girl as dark as night? The answer to this question is what this film is ultimately about. Two of the first people who did care are my incredible producers, Sarah-Siegel Magness and Gary Magness who have contributed immeasurably to bringing this film to light.
Source: IW, January 8

The eagerly anticipated film, based on the best-selling book of the same name, boasts an all-star cast including Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, Kimberly Russell, and Sherri Shepherd of 'The View.'

Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe (seen below, with Mo'Nique and Rodney Bear Jackson) is playing the starring role.
For 'Push,' the super-sized comedienne Mo'Nique will be seen as she has never been seen before.

The former star of 'The Parkers' plays an abusive, pig-feet and collard greens eating, lazy, nappy-headed, pot smoking, brush throwing, welfare queen who is the epitome of poor parenting and dastardly deeds; a sad and shameless stereotype in living color.

"Working again with Mo'Nique was like going home," Daniels told BlackVoices.com today. "We're family." In 'Shadowboxer,' the comedienne portrayed a narcotics abusing medical professional.

Though she already has garnered a strong buzz, 'Push' actually tells the story of a confused, overweight African-American girl named Clareece Precious Jones.

Verbally and sexually abused by her family, her troubles lead to problems in school. Precious, as she is known, has no friends, no money, two kids (from her father), and she's illiterate. After being accepted into an alternative school where a teacher (played by Patton) helps her find an alternative path in her life. Along her journey, she comes across a concerned social worker (played by Carey) and a nurse (played by Kravitz) who shows her much kindness.

"Ever since I read the book, I saw Push as a movie," Daniels explained. "And finally after Sapphire saw my film, 'Shadowboxer,' she granted me the rights."

According to industry insiders who've seen the 100-minute-plus film, Mo'Nique tackles the role of Mary Jones with much fervor. In a recent 'Essence' magazine interview, she revealed how her very own molestation to the role inspired her performance. "My brother was a monster to me," she said, "When Lee [Daniels] would say 'Action,' I became my brother."

Patton, who's making a name for herself as one of Black Hollywood's rising stars, talked candidly and in-depth about her role during a recent interview.

"I play the schoolteacher, Ms. Rain. The story revolves around a young girl that grew up in Harlem that has faced unimaginable abuse and she is severely overweight and has a second child coming on the way; and the world has forgotten her. She's been left behind. Somehow she got through the eighth grade and still doesn't know how to read. She's befriended by this schoolteacher and together we forge a friendship."

"I push her to keep her will to live and tell her that she can be the best that she can be, and she can do more than anyone thought she can do," she continued. "Although she can't read right now, she can go to college. She then pushes me because at one point I was in a sad case with my family because I'm a lesbian and my mom has rejected me. The love that I get from her is replacing that from my mother. It's a really beautiful friendship."

'Push', which is set to make its world premiere at "The 2009 Sundance Film Festival," which takes place in Park City, Utah from Jan.15 through - Jan. 25.

"It's been exciting and challenging and I can't wait to get to Sundance for the world to see all of my hard work," Daniels concluded.
Source: BlackVoices, January 7

While promoting her horror film Mirrors, Paula took a moment to preview Push. In this interview segment, she talks about the story, and where her script-picking process stands these days.

What other projects do you have in the works?
- I have another film called Push. It's directed by Lee Daniels, who also produced. He produced Monster's Ball and The Woodsman, and he directed Shadowboxer. A great filmmaker. It's a really intense drama that will probably go to festival circuit. But it has no release date right now.
This film has been confused with another movie titled Push, starring Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, and Camilla Belle. What is your Push about?
- Well, my Push is about a young girl growing up in Harlem who's 16, already has her second child, who's really just invisible [to] the world, and been allowed to get to eighth grade without even learning how to read or write. And when she goes to her fantasy world, she fantasizes about being on the back of Tom Cruise's car going down the red carpet. Anyways, her last hope at an education is this alternative school where I'm the school teacher. And basically, I teach her how to learn and read and write from the very beginnings, and push her to believe in herself, and push her to realize that anything is possible. And I am a lesbian, I'm dealing with a mother who has sort of ostracized me, and she pushes me to love myself just the way I am.
Michael Lee, August 2008

You’re the villain?
- “I am! I am the villain. And when we wrapped the other night, we both cried. He said, ‘For everything I wanted from you, you gave me so much more,’ and that’s such a compliment coming from him. That’s a compliment. So anything Lee Daniels does, I’m there.”

But your fans aren’t going to expect you to be playing a villain.
- “I play a child molester. And oh my – when I tell you, there was a couple of times I had to walk away. There were a couple of times when Rhonda had to come say to me, ‘You’re pretending.’ Like, ‘Let that go. You’re pretending.’ So it was challenging, but it was so exciting. I love him for trusting me to do that because I’m not an actress, I’m a comedienne. I tell jokes, baby. Sh-t, they keep giving me these actress jobs and I’m like, ‘I’m not an actress!’”
February 2008

For his next film, he's going into darker territory, figuratively.

'Push,' based on the seminal 1996 novel of the same name by Sapphire, is a graphic account of a young black woman growing up in a cycle of incest and abuse.

Daniels, who directed last year's edgy Helen Mirren/Cuba Gooding, Jr. drama 'Shadowboxer' and produced Halle Berry's Academy Award winning turn in 'Monster's Ball,' plans to be dead on with the casting of Clareece Precious Jones, the teenage narrator of 'Push.'

According to film producer Lisa Cortes, who works closely with Daniels on his films, the character is "a role that we don't expect to find through conventional channels."

So even though Daniels has a way of attracting some of Tinsel Town's finest, there will be no Hollywood swinging this go round -- at least not for the lead.

"Precious Jones, the protagonist, has been raped by her father since she was seven years old. She's also been abused and battered by her mother, horribly," Sapphire (legally known as Ramona Lofton) explained to 'Interview' magazine in 1996. "In addition, she's slipped through all the cracks in the educational system. So at sixteen, when the novel begins, she's still in junior high, unable to read and write, and pregnant with her father's child. She wants to stay in school just in the hope of someday getting to be a part of something, but they kick her out because she's pregnant. And then she goes to an alternative school, where she's allowed to have her innocence back. And these older women and fellow outcasts who are in the class embrace her. So she goes from being this object of ridicule and abuse to being like the baby."

That's some weighty material.

"This story is like 'The Color Purple' meets 'The Miracle Worker,'" added Cortes, about the project, which first time screenwriter Jeffrey Fletcher has written the script for.

'Publisher's Weekly' heralded the 'New York Times' best-selling novel, saying that "Sapphire has created a remarkable heroine in Precious, whose first-person street talk is by turns blisteringly savvy, rawly lyrical, hilariously pig-headed and wrenchingly vulnerable."

Daniels and his team at the New York City-based Lee Daniels Entertainment were in The Big Apple holding open casting calls at the Harlem Renaissance High School (located at 22 East 128th Street, New York, NY 10035) on July 10.

Filming for 'Push' is set to begin in New York City this fall.
Source: BlackVoices, July 2007
 
 
 
 

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