By Gregg Shapiro

Contributing writer

One of the most eagerly anticipated films of the season, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) has had people talking about it since it premiered at Sundance earlier this year. As you can see from the title, it is based on the groundbreaking debut novel by out writer Sapphire. Set in 1987 Harlem where 16 year old Clareece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey ‘Gabby’ Sidibe making her unforgettable film debut) is still in junior high and is pregnant with her second child. Her living situation, where she is regularly physically and verbally abused by her mother Mary (Mo’Nique in a groundbreaking performance) and raped by her father is more wretched than can be described. But there are forces of good at work in her world and she is given a second by enrolling in an alternative school. Under the guidance of concerned teacher Ms. Rain (Paula Patton) and social worker Mrs. Weiss (an unrecognizable and unexpectedly accomplished Mariah Carey), Precious exceeds even her own expectations and triumphs. I spoke with out gay director Lee Daniels about his riveting new film shortly before it opened in theaters.

Gregg Shapiro: Sapphire vividly brought Precious to life on the page in her novel “Push”. What was it about Sapphire’s novel that made you want to adapt it for film?

Lee Daniels: The characters were very rich, very textured, very layered. Honest. Women and men that I related to. Streets that I identified with. Smells that I smelled. A world that I felt was mine. Intimate. I felt that if I could sort of downplay the graphicness, maybe I could bring it to screen in a palatable way.

GS: The title of the movie “Precious,” includes the words “based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire.” Can you please explain why?

LD: Bastards, that’s what I say. (Slapping himself in the face) “Push!” (Ditto) “Precious!” (Ditto) “Push!” (Ditto) “Precious!” “Kunta Kente!” “No, Toby!” “Toby!” “Precious!” “Toby!” (big laugh). There was a movie that was coming out called “Push.” And everybody was all freaked out that that was going to...I’m really happy with the title now, it took me a long to for it to grow. It took me the longest. Sapphire was like “ooookay” and Mo’Nique was like “oookay” in that order. It took me longest to really embrace it. We really lived “Push.” We were pushing through every obstacle imaginable. We were making a movie about an overweight black girl, getting it financed, finding the girl, doing it in New York. The whole movie was about pushing forward in itself. For me, to change the title, I think, was maybe ,was even cathartic, in a good way. Because then it became “Precious,” through all of our pushing came “Precious” and everybody felt she was precious. Because we all have Precious in ourselves. Very interesting. (Thoughtful pause) this stuff is therapeutic for me (laughs).

GS: Was Sapphire enthusiastic about her novel being made into a movie or did she need to be persuaded about the idea?

LD: I stalked her. She was not into this at all in the beginning. There were many people suiting her. And I stalked her. And I know that she felt now, in hindsight, that if we did a bad movie, that it would somehow affect the novel. Slowly, she came to the realization that, by making a bad movie, if it were bad, that it would not affect her beautiful piece of literature. When she came to that resolve, I was still stalking. I was just at the right place at the right time (laughs).

GS: Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe makes her film debut as Precious. Can you please say something about the process of casting that role and how you came to 'Gabby'?

LD: Dude, it was a miracle. This is crazy, really crazy. Like 400 girls. Now that may not seem like a lot. I say it often. I saw 400 girls. But you know one thing, that’s a lot. We were checking out chicks and they were Precious, these girls were really the real deal. Talking about McDonalds slinging, Macy’s, they were working at the gas station, they was behind the counter at 7-Eleven. They came and did good readings. Then Gabby’s audition came and she—I saw it—and then I heard her talk. And she talked so differently from the audition. I was like, huh? Who are you? And I realized she was acting. And if I had used one of those girls, it would’ve been exploiting her, and it would’ve been making fun of her.

GS: You worked with Mo’Nique in “Shadowboxer”—what was it about working her that made you think she would be right to portray Mary in “Precious”?

LD: Just instinct. I knew when she played Precious in my movie “Shadowboxer,” her character’s name was Precious, I knew that she was Mary (big smile). There were glimmers of Mary in my movie “Shadowboxer” and her connection was so profoundly one. She understands words that come out of my mouth before they come out of my mouth. Like she knows me and I know her. It’s like we’re married but we have no sex.

GS: Do you think you’ll work with her again?

LD: And again and again and again.

GS: That’s quite a statement.

LD: Because we know each other so well. When you know somebody that intimately, the truth is on screen. I’ll go “Mary,” literally, in the middle of a thing, I don’t even have to talk to her. I’m grunting, I’m primal hand movements to her and she’s absorbing it and responding likewise. In the middle of this long soliloquy at the end of the scene, the last scene in the movie.

GS: The scene in Mrs. Weiss the social worker’s office?

LD: Yes. I said, “Stop, grab the lotion.” And she knew instinctively, “I’m going too long, let me grab this lotion,” and she changed gears. (Quoting from movie, while miming putting lotion on hands) “The people, at the “Teach One Each One…” I think the genius of Mo’Nique is the ability to…comedians, they take the acting approach from a different perspective than the regular actor. There’s this twisted humorous…I don’t know what they do to it. They don’t take it upon themselves to take it the way a regular actor would. They just see it differently than we do.

GS: Do you think it’s because of the comedy formula, “tragedy plus time equals comedy”?

LD: Yes! Abso-fucking-lutely.

GS: You mentioned the scene in Mrs. Weiss’s office. Mariah Carey was in “Tennessee,” which you produced. What was it about Mariah that made you think she would be good to play Mrs. Weiss?

LD: Because I know Mariah differently. Mariah, when she leaves her home, when she gets into her bubble, as I call it (laughs), I don’t know her. But at home, when she’s at my house or I’m at her house. Then she is a completely different animal.

GS: She doesn’t have to be “on” for you.

LD: She’s never “on” for me. Except when we’re trying to make each other laugh harder (snaps his fingers), because she does incredible one-liners. But that’s a persona she has that she’s built for the public over the years, and it’s made her a lot of money. So that’s not the girl. Mrs. Weiss is not Mariah either. But if I could capture her in a moment where…because she has been Mrs. Weiss, if I could just capture that moment. And I knew that she trusted me. Part of it all, with Mo’Nique and with Mariah and with Gabby, is unequivocal trust. If you trust your director, really trust, and know that they’ve got your back and vice versa. I knew that they were not going to let me down. I knew that they knew how important this was to me. And that they were my friends and we didn’t have any money and “I will fuck y’all up, you better not…and I can say that to you guys because we’re friends.” That is when magic happens. And Lenny Kravitz, I’m the godfather to his daughter. When you have that, when you have that support team, nothing’s going to go wrong. Except for me screwing the movie up (laughs).

GS: What impact does being an openly gay filmmaker have on your choices for the films you want to direct or produce?

LD: I’m glad that you mentioned that, because I don’t get that question often. For me, I think the gay part is not an issue. But more the black gay part is a bigger issue. As a gay man, gay men, there so many of them in Hollywood and (they’re) decision makers and it’s a cult, I think. I don’t have to worry about prejudices right now, anymore. I fought so long all my life—prejudices about being gay, about being victimized because I was gay, being victimized because I was black, being victimized because I was gay and black. I’m so happy at 50 years old, that I’m being embraced for my spirit and for me. And it’s so overwhelming. It’s just so beautiful that people can accept me for me and being open. I don’t have to lie, well, I never lied, but I don’t have to feel like “oh, you don’t like me. What do I have to do to make you like me?” I can’t even go there, but let’s not talk about that.

GS: There’s not a lot of humor in the movie, but there is that scene where Precious goes to Ms. Rain’s house and realizes that Ms. Rain is, as Precious puts it, “a straight-up lesbian.”

LD: I love it (laughs). First of all, the movie is very gay themed. If you really study the film. For me, lower economic socio-backgrounds really are not embracing of homosexuals. And in the book, Sapphire brilliantly executes it in a harder way. There’s so many subjects, lesbian, race, self-esteem issues, obesity, all these issues in the film, I could only like touch at it. Because I made this movie for my family in the ghetto. I wanted them to see, three quarters of the way through the film, that the savior, that the goddess, that the sex vixen, was a lesbian. And you were like “what the fuck?” Because it doesn’t affect you or people that are of a higher socio-economic background the same way it affects lower-middle class people. Because it’s all about that world that won’t embrace us. And honey, they are knocked the fuck out by it. And I think that that says a lot about that. Look, we did research in Manhattan at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, run by a fabulous black woman named Dr. Marjorie Hill. I found out that most of the people with HIV, right now, are black women. And why? Because motherfuckers are too afraid to be truthful and they keep infecting African American women. And I thought that I was going to see a bunch of boys there. I went in there thinking it’s the Gay Men’s Health Crisis! And it is about the gay men who are too afraid, because of church, because of work, because of family, because of friends, to come out. And I felt that in my small way I was able to address that with “Precious,” with the lesbians.