Precious touches on a raw nerve

By Evening Gazette

ON PAPER, a film about an obese illiterate teenager who is pregnant with her father’s child, doesn’t seem destined for box-office success.

Yet this is the story that drew A-list stars Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz and Oprah Winfrey and, with their help, has been propelled from a small budget independent movie into a mainstream marvel.

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE has been a runaway hit at film festivals, took a respectable $1.8m in its opening weekend in the States, and, as the awards season moves into top gear, has an incredible Oscar buzz.

It has already won awards for its cast, including newcomer Gabourey Sidibe in the title role and Mariah Carey and Mo’Nique supporting, and film-maker Lee Daniels.

With the financial backing of media heavyweights Winfrey and Tyler Perry, the once-independent film soon became a force to be reckoned with, touching hearts with its rawness and honesty.

Winfrey was so moved the first time she saw the film that she came on board as a producer straight away.

“I didn’t cry until the card came up, ‘For Precious girls everywhere’,” recalls Winfrey. “That hit a nerve.

“I recognised myself in that character and, most of all, I recognised that I had seen the Precious girls of the world and they had been invisible to me. A film like this comes along once in a lifetime.”

For its young star Sidibe, Precious has already had a life-changing impact. Transforming her prospects from receptionist to burgeoning actress, the 26-year-old gushes: “It’s amazing. We did a small movie with a small budget, and we didn’t know if anyone would ever see it.

“We’re just so grateful that we’ve been able to reach enough people to make a difference.

“I don’t know if we’ve made a difference yet, but people will come up and thank us at screenings, because this is their story.”

The difficult plot centres around Claireece “Precious” Jones, a lonely 16-year-old black girl who is physically and mentally abused by both her parents, and how she transforms her life by going to school.

“I recognise her in my friends, my family and people I didn’t want to be friends with, and all of that. I was drawn by the honesty,” says Sidibe.

“She’s kind of the 16-year-old me. She doesn’t have the strongest self-esteem, but she keeps trying.”

Sidibe, who describes herself as a “random girl from Harlem”, was studying psychology in New York when she played truant to attend the open audition, where she was chosen from 500 women to be Precious.

She had no formal acting training or experience beforehand, but she has appeared in college productions.

“I was a student and a receptionist the day before I went to the audition and afterwards I’m an actress. It’s done so much - I’ve grown as a person,” she says.

Among her co-stars is queen of pop Mariah Carey, who is unrecognisable in her portrayal of dowdy social worker Mrs Weiss for which she has won rave reviews.

“Mariah’s such a wonderful girl,” says Sidibe. “She’s really nice and very smart. She was pretty cool on set - she made jokes and told me stories.

“She also tried to sneak make-up on herself but, other than that, she was pretty cool.”

Precious director Lee Daniels, whose film is tipped to get nods at the upcoming Oscars, has only high praise for his leading lady.

“I’ve seen Gabby change from the beginning of the film to the end, and I can’t take any credit.

“Her spirit changed from this receptionist to someone who has so much self-pride and became beautiful inside.”

Sidibe, who scooped a best actress nomination at the Golden Globes, tries not to think about the Academy Awards.

“That would be amazing, but I don’t feel like Helen Mirren,” she says.

“It’s incredible that anyone would mention our tiny film and me in the same breath as the word ‘Oscar’.”