Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire, or simply Precious, is a 2009 American drama film directed and co produced by Lee Daniels. Its script was written by Geoffrey S. Fletcher, adapted from the 1996 novel Push by Sapphire. The film stars Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique, alongside Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, and Lenny Kravitz. It marked the acting debut of Sidibe, who portrays a young woman struggling against poverty and abuse. Filming took place in New York City from October to December 2007.
Precious, then without a distributor, premiered to acclaim at both the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, under its original title of Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire. At Sundance, it won the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize for best drama, as well as a Special Jury Prize for supporting actress Mo'Nique. After Precious''' screening at Sundance in January 2009, Tyler Perry announced that he and Oprah Winfrey would be providing promotional assistance to the film, which was released through Lionsgate Entertainment. Precious won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The film's title was changed from Push to Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, to avoid confusion with the 2009 action film Push.
Lionsgate gave the film a limited release in the United States on November 6, 2009, before expanding on November 20. Precious received positive reviews from critics; the performances of Sidibe and Mo'Nique, the story, and its message were highly praised. The film was also a box office success, earning over $63 million on a $10 million budget. The received six nominations at the 82nd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Sidibe. Mo'Nique won the award for Best Supporting Actress, while Geoffrey Fletcher won for Best Adapted Screenplay, becoming the first African-American to win a screenplay award at the Oscars.
Plot In 1987, 16-year-old Claireece Precious Jones lives in New York City's Harlem neighborhood with her unemployed mother, Mary, who subjects her to constant physical, sexual, and verbal abuse. Precious has also been raped by her now-absent father, Carl, resulting in two pregnancies. The family resides in a Section 8 tenement and survives on welfare checks. Precious often finds a way out of her traumatic daily life by escaping into daydreams in which she is loved and appreciated.
Precious's first child, a daughter named "Mongo", short for Mongoloid, has Down syndrome and is being cared for by Precious's grandmother, though Mary forces the family to pretend that Mongo lives with her and Precious during social worker visits so she can receive extra welfare money from the government. When Precious's second pregnancy is discovered, her junior high principal, Mrs. Lichtenstein, arranges for her to attend an alternative school program called Each One Teach One, where she hopes Precious can change her life's direction.
Despite her mother's insistence that Precious apply for welfare, Precious goes to the alternative school and enrolls. She meets her new teacher, Ms. Blu Rain, as well as several other girls who all come from troubled backgrounds and are looking to get their GED to advance their educations. Precious's life begins to turn around when she slowly starts to learn to read and write with the help of Ms. Rain and finds herself inspired by her. While she learns, she starts to meet with social worker Ms. Weiss, who learns about the sexual assault in the household when Precious accidentally reveals who fathered her children. One day, while telling a story in class, Precious's water breaks, and she is rushed to the hospital. She gives birth to a healthy son named Abdul and is acquainted with a kind nursing assistant named John McFadden. While in the hospital, Precious writes letters to Ms. Rain through her notebook that is taken to and from her by Joann, one of the girls in her class.
Once discharged from the hospital, Precious returns home to find Mary waiting for her. Mary asks to hold Abdul, but deliberately drops him before furiously attacking Precious, as Precious's revelation about the abuse has resulted in the termination of welfare payments. Precious fights off Mary, retrieves Abdul, and after falling down the stairs and narrowly avoiding Mary dropping her television on them from the top of the stairwell, flees and eventually breaks into her school classroom for shelter. When Ms. Rain discovers Precious and Abdul sleeping the next morning, she frantically calls local shelters in search of a safe place for Precious and Abdul to live, but they end up staying with Ms. Rain and her live-in girlfriend for the holiday. The next morning, Ms. Rain takes Precious and Abdul to find assistance, and Precious is able to continue her schooling while raising Abdul in a halfway house.
Mary returns to inform Precious of her father's death from AIDS. Precious later learns that she is HIV-positive, though Abdul is not. Feeling dejected, Precious distracts Ms. Weiss and steals her case file from her office. As she shares the details of her file with her fellow students, she begins to hope for the future. Later, Precious meets with her mother, who brings Mongo to Ms. Weiss's office. Ms. Weiss confronts Mary about her and Carl's abuse of Precious, going back to when Precious was a toddler. Mary tearfully confesses that she always hated Precious for "stealing her man" by "letting him" abuse her and for eventually "making him leave", and that she allowed the abuse to continue because she wanted "someone to love her". Precious tells Mary that she finally sees her for who she really is and severs ties with her, leaving with both Mongo and Abdul and telling her mother she will never see her or her children again. Mary begs Ms. Weiss to retrieve her daughter and grandchildren, but a shaken and disgusted Ms. Weiss silently rejects her and walks away, leaving Mary distraught.
Planning to complete a GED test to receive a high-school diploma equivalency, followed by college, Precious walks into the city with her children, ready to start a new life with a brighter future.
Cast Gabourey Sidibe as Claireece "Precious" Jones. The film's casting director, Billy Hopkins, found her at an open-call audition held at New York City's Lehman College. Sidibe was chosen over 300 others who auditioned in nationwide casting calls and had no prior acting experience. Mo'Nique as Mary Lee Johnston, Precious's unemployed, profane, and abusive mother. Mo'Nique and Daniels had previously worked together in Shadowboxer (in which Mo'Nique's character was named Precious). Paula Patton as Blu Rain, Precious's alternative-school teacher. Patton said that her character teaches Precious to "learn and read and write from the very beginnings, and pushes her to believe in herself, and pushes her to realize that anything is possible." She is a lesbian. Mariah Carey as Ms. Anna Weiss, a social worker who supports Precious during her struggles. In September 2008, Carey described her character as "not really a likable person, but she does bring this to the surface." Carey and Daniels had previously worked together on Tennessee. Daniels said that he cast Carey because he was "so impressed" by her performance in Tennessee. According to director Daniels, Helen Mirren, who starred in his previous film Shadowboxer, was originally set to play the part of Ms. Weiss, but obtained a role in a "bigger project." (audio commentary) Sherri Shepherd as Lisa "Cornrows", the receptionist at Each One Teach One. Lenny Kravitz as John McFadden, a nurse who shows kindness to Precious. This film is Kravitz's feature film acting debut. Later in 2011, he released the song "Push", inspired by the novel and movie. Nealla Gordon as Mrs. Lichtenstein, Precious's school principal who sends her to Each One Teach One. Stephanie Andujar as Rita Romero, a 16-year-old former heroin addict and prostitute, who attends the same alternative school in Harlem as Precious and later befriends her. During Andujar's audition, Daniels was so impressed that he interrupted her dialogue and stated, "I want you in my movie." Chyna Layne as Rhonda Patrice Johnson, Precious's Jamaican-American classmate, who is religious. Amina Robinson as Jermaine Hicks, Precious's classmate, who hits on Ms. Rain during the first day. Xosha Roquemore as Jo Ann Rogers, Precious's classmate who aspires to be a record producer Aunt Dot as Betty "Toosie" Johnston, Mary's mother and Precious's grandmother, who fails to intervene Mary's abuse. Aunt Dot is the real-life aunt of director Lee Daniels. Angelic Zambrana as Consuelo Montenegro, A girl who attends the same alternative school as Precious and gets into a fight with her after calling her fat, but later befriends her. Quishay Powell as Mongo, Precious's daughter, who has Down syndrome. Grace Hightower as Ms. Turner, the Social Worker who visits Precious's family. Kimberly Russell as Katherine, Ms. Rain's partner. Bill Sage as Mr. Wicher, Precious's math teacher. Ramona "Sapphire" Lofton (the author of the novel) makes a cameo appearance as a woman at a daycare center near the film's end. Jamie Foxx as Frank Mason (deleted cameo). Rodney 'Bear' Jackson as Carl Kenwood Jones, the incestuous father and rapist of Precious, who sexually abuses and impregnates her.
Production Development Daniels had said that he was attracted to the novel based on how "raw and honest" it felt. In an interview with AMC, he noted that reading the book brought back a memory from his childhood of a young abused girl who knocked on his family's door, claiming that her mom was going to kill her. Daniels recalls that the incident was the first time he saw his mother frightened, specifically noting the helplessness of the situation, and stating "she knew that she'd have to send this little girl home, and that was what disturbed her — that she couldn't save her. She tried to make it easier for her. That's all she could do." In creating the movie, Daniels hoped that the experience would be cathartic and that "maybe I could heal. And maybe I could heal other people, too." Another stated goal Daniels had was to challenge the general public's perception of incest.
The film was co-produced by Daniels's company, Lee Daniels Entertainment, and the Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness-owned Smokewood Entertainment Group. The two production companies had previously collaborated with Daniels on Tennessee (2008). Precious had, in total, thirteen producers: Daniels, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Heller, Tyler Perry, Lisa Cortés, Gary Magness, Valerie Hoffman, Asger Hussain, Mark G. Mathis, Andrew Sforzini, Bergen Swason, Simone Sheffield and Sarah Siegel-Magness. Initially, Daniels did not expect the movie to generate much buzz, expecting the movie to go straight to video, stating "That it made it to the big screen says there was an angel looking after me."
Filming Principal photography began on October 24, 2007 and concluded on November 24, 2007. It took place on location in various parts of New York City. Despite the dark subject matter, Sidibe has stated that the mood on the set was lighthearted, that "Every day was a party" and that the cast would frequently sing and tell jokes to "lighten the atmosphere." The production budget was $10 million.
Post-production