Can't see a thread about this, if there is this can be merged into it.

 

Recent articles I have found concerning the film.

 

Huffington Post: -

 

Huffington Post Reviews Precious at Cannes

The reviews start to come in. Here's one from the Huffington Post.

 

PRECIOUS ** 1/2 out of 4

By Michael Giltz

 

This film by director Lee Daniels received a ton of acclaim at Sundance, so I'm in the minority for not being blown away by it. However, I do think this story of a large teenage girl pregnant with her second child (both fathered by her biological dad) and finding a ray of hope in an alternative school is a serious leap forward by Daniels. It captures the pugnacious, dreaming, hopeful tone of the book by Sapphire very well and contains a clutch of good performances, including the lead (Gabourey Sidibe), Mariah Carey (!) and especially Mo'Nique as Precious's hateful mother. She's so good it's possible she'll even get an Oscar nomination. I can't wait to see the next film by Daniels. It's called Tennessee and it stars Carey. So there.

From the New York Post...

 

Precious: If This Doesn't Make You Cry, Find The Wizard

Oscar Watch 2010 officially just started thanks to the debut of "Precious," a new film starring Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, who will clean up this award season if there is any justice in the world.

 

The film -- which used to be called "Push" -- made a killing at Sundance earlier this year where it won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award, all but guaranteeing it a major Oscar season push. Hell, even Mariah Carey looks pretty great in this.

 

Here's the rub, this movie ain't a lively romp. In fact, the film is heartbreaking. Even the trailer will make you tear up. There's simply no avoiding the emotions. So find the nearest tissue or shirt sleeve and watch the brilliance unfold.

 

From Reuters: -

 

Mariah Carey calls film work "exhausting, exhilarating"

She's better known as a pop singer and her work in the movie "Glitter" didn't earn her much respect as an actress, but her next film, "Precious," will likely do a lot to change perceptions of Mariah Carey.

 

The pop diva appeared in front of reporters alongside her co-stars in the gritty, urban drama here at Cannes on Friday after a smashing debut at last January's Sundance Film Festival. In the film, she portrays a welfare case worker to a young, overweight teenager, Precious, whose life in the ghetto is hard.

 

To perform in the part, the glamorous Carey stripped down to her basic self and was required to wear no makeup except that which gave her dark circles under her eyes and made her look weary and worn. Yet Carey said it was among the best work she could have imagined.

 

"Doing it... was exhausting, exhilarating and it was just an honor," Mariah told reporters at Cannes.

 

Her director, Lee Daniels, said she plays entirely against type, and watching her perform - along with those of another music star Lenny Kravitz, comedian Mo'Nique and newcomer Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe" - will be a unique experience for her fans. "Mariah has never played this type before," said Daniels.

 

The movie came out of Sundance, at that time under a working title called "Push: Based on the novel by Sapphire") with an award and Oscar buzz. U.S. audiences can look for it on November 6, and international audiences will see it as it rolls out country by country.

Details of origins and plot of film from the source, Rotten Tomatoes: -

 

Cannes 2009: Mariah Carey Gets Precious

Precious, based on the novel Push by Sapphire, is the story of a young black girl from Harlem abused by her parents, struggling to get through high school and break out of the welfare cycle she's been born into. Playing as part of Cannes' official sidebar, Un Certain Regard, the film is directed by Lee Daniels and he was joined in Cannes today by stars Gabourey Sadibe, Paula Patton, Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey to welcome the premiere. Of course, they invited RT to lunch at the exclusive La Plage Vitaminwater on a beach front on the Croisette.

 

The film is a tale of tragic hardship but it's nevertheless full of hope and despite its starry lineup of supporting stars, it's as brutally real a portrayal of life in Harlem as we've ever seen on screen. Carey and Patton dispatch with glamour to play the film's integral supporting roles, as a social worker and teacher respectfully who work to rescue Sadibe's Precious from the world she's a part of, and we were impressed with just how good the performances were across the board.

 

"I read the novel many years ago and it really stayed with me," Daniels told us of his decision to direct the film. "Very few stay books with me, and they're mainly classics. This was that urban, edgy thing that was a modern-day version of those books."

 

Carey might seem an odd choice, but according to her director she wanted the role and was perfect for it. "Helen Mirren was going to play the role originally but Mariah and I are good friends and it was a very last minute thing, it sort of happened. I was surprised that she was as in love as I was. She never asked me to be in the movie but she hinted that she wanted to be a part of it and I felt if I was making a bold movie, how bold it would be to cast Mariah."

 

Carey told RT that she'd been a fan of the material for years. "I read it years ago and it changed my life. It's intense and it is life changing."

 

As a social worker in the film, it's her character's job to make Precious feel comfortable enough in her company to share the secrets of her traumatic past. "I said, 'Let me peel layers away of the world I live in and who I feel I am and really, truly become this woman,'" Carey told us. "I know there's a creative side of me that needs to do work like this and I trust Lee so much. I'm just grateful for being asked."

 

For Kravitz, the challenge came in completely abandoning his persona as a performer and inhabiting the character. "The thing Lee wanted to do was make me disappear. He'd say, 'You can't walk like that, you can't move like that, your hand can't do that, you can't talk like that." In an hour he completely changed my whole vibe. People didn't even know it was me."

 

The film's highlight in an already strong case is unquestionably Mo'Nique who plays Precious' abusive mother, Mary, and goes against type to deliver what may be the first truly Oscar-worthy performance of the year. She couldn't be in Cannes due to prior engagement, but her co-stars were strong in their praise. "Her truth as Mary was so intense," explains Carey of the one scene she shares with her, the film's emotional climax. "Honestly, that scene -- Lee just let us go. When Mo'Nique came in and it was the three of us, Lee was very protective of us. I knew my character wouldn't cry but it was so intense that I really wanted to."

 

For Gabourey Sadibe, the titular character playing in her first acting role, the experience of bringing the film to Cannes was emotional. "I'm having the most fun ever in Cannes," she told RT. "This is completely glamorous, something I never thought my life would be heading towards. I wasn't an actress, I was a college student."

 

The film releases in the US on November 6th with other territories to be announced. Keep an eye on it until then -- we suspect you're going to be hearing a lot of it as this year's awards season kicks into gear.

 

Source: - Mariah Daily Journal.

 

More in next post...

Edited May 18, 200916 yr by Flatcap

More on the film.

 

From the Washington Post: -

 

Friday, 15-May-2009, 4:44PM EDT | Posted by Lynn

A Platinum Star Turns to 'Precious'

Cannes, May 15 -- A genuine paparazzi star moment occurred here just after lunch on a clammy, drizzly afternoon as the Cannes Film Festival hit its peak today. Mariah Carey, bedecked in a gold-flecked full-length gown, bangly hoop earrings and jewel-studded aviators posed patiently under a white umbrella, while the photographers and gawkers got their fill.

 

Chances are, they won't recognize her in the movie she's come to promote, "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire." In the film, a harrowing coming-of-age story about an overweight teenage girl battling abuse, incest, early pregnancy and other depredations in 1980s Harlem, Carey, the multi-platinum selling singer with a penchant for glamorous, revealing clothes, plays a tough, no-nonsense New York City social worker named Ms. Weiss.

 

In "Precious," which will open in theaters in November, Carey undergoes a startling transformation that transcends the physical into the virtually existential. Gone are the trappings of fame and fashion that she brought out with full force at a press conference on the beach. The highlighted tresses she carefully tends with beige-polished fingernails are in the movie a mousy brown; out goes the square-cut diamond right-hand ring, out comes the full Long Island accent; even the perfectly blushed cheeks take on a bureaucratic pallor in the film, which is showing out of competition in the Un Certain Regard section of the festival. ("Precious" made its world debut at Sundance, where it won the festival's three top awards and caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, who signed on as executive producers.)

 

"Precious" director Lee Daniels, who appeared with Carey and co-stars Lenny Kravitz, Paula Patton and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe at the press conference, , said he cast Carey in the role after Helen Mirren dropped out -- surely making him the world's first director who, when Helen Mirren dropped out of his movie, thought, "That's okay, I'll get the pop singer who starred in 'Glitter.'"

 

In truth, the decision wasn't that spontaneous. Daniels admits that when Carey, a good friend and fan of "Push" the controversial 1996 novel by Sapphire, began dropping hints, "I never thought she'd be right" for the role. But he gradually came to realize "that if I was making such a bold movie, how bold would it be to cast Mariah? Why not go all the way there? And I asked her if she could dye her hair, put on a wig, take off the makeup and darken under her eyes. I thought she would begin to give me her soul. And she did."

 

Carey's is a supporting role in the film, which is dominated by a mesmerizing breakout performance by now 26-year-old Sidibe in the title role of Claireece "Precious" Jones, and the comedian Mo'Nique, who plays Precious's mother Mary, an almost psychotically abusive woman with a vicious violent streak.

 

As Ms. Weiss, Carey is a linchpin in the story, bearing witness to unspeakable breaches of faith Precious has been forced to endure. Carey's frank, unblinking performance is so free of mannerism and vanity that it literally takes a few moments to realize that it's her on screen. And it's all the more remarkable considering she joined the film's cast only three days before filming.

 

"I said, just let me kind of peel layers away of who the world thinks I am and even I personally think I am as a performer, and really, truly become this woman, who has a large responsibility," Carey said here today . "In a way, she is the audience, she is that shocked person who hears about what goes on and has to bare her soul because she's hearing something so horrific that she's never heard before." Even with such a daunting role and on such short notice, Carey says, she was confident she could do it. "Because I know that there's a creative side of me that needs to do work like this, and I trust Lee so much that I felt that there was no way we couldn't pull something out we could both be proud of."

 

Mo'Nique is already being touted as a probable Oscar nominee for her performance as Mary (she couldn't be in Cannes due to commitments to BET and her children, but she taped "Oprah" earlier this week). But with a well-timed release late in the year, "Precious" might bring Carey a nomination, too. It couldn't have escaped either woman's notice that Daniels shepherded Halle Berry to her Oscar win in 2002, for "Monster's Ball."

 

Daniels recalled a particularly searing moment in "Precious," when Mary throws a baby on the floor. It was one of the few times Mo'Nique didn't bring a sense of humor to the otherwise unbearably sad story. "I told her something I told Halle Berry when she was in prison and she had that conversation with Puffy before he went to the electrocution chair," Daniels recalled. "I said to Halle, 'You're gonna win an Oscar for this. I think you can win something for this.' I told Mo'Nique, 'People are really going to be blown away by this moment. She said to me, 'Lee, my Oscar is that I made you happy and that you had M&Ms on the set for me."

 

For his part, Daniels was clearly giddy that his Cannes debut is a film it took 12 years to make "with a little bit of bubblegum, Popsicle sticks and grease." He quipped, "I'm waiting for somebody to yank the rug from under me and tell me, 'Negro, you are not in Cannes. You are in Kan-sas.'"

 

Aside from a moment when Carey, a beauty school alum, snuck a little blush on to her cheeks , she was a surprisingly good sport for a bona-fide diva. "I honestly felt that [Ms. Weiss]would throw a little blush on," she said like a seasoned Method graduate. "But it doesn't matter. To me, it wouldn't be the same performance if I even remotely looked like the person that's on stage as a singer." For now, it's back to recording on her next album, a process she craves. "Being in the studio for me is the antithesis of these moments," she says, gesturing to the circus-like atmosphere around her. "I like to go downstairs in my pajamas and sing. There's no hairdo, none of that. Lee, you'd love it."

 

From AFP: -

 

Coming-of-age ghetto tale 'Precious' triumphs at Cannes

Hard-hitting US indie movie "Precious," the tale of an obese teenager trying to escape a lifetime of abuse, won a standing ovation for its director Lee Daniels at the Cannes festival Friday.

 

Daniels was moved to tears by the enthusiastic welcome for his film, which picked up the Grand Jury prize at Sundance and is running on the Riviera for the Un Certain Regard prize for new film talent.

 

The director was flanked by his mother, and by US singers Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz, who both hold supporting roles in the film -- she as a dowdy social worker and he as a male nurse -- and who brought a splash of glamour to the red-carpet screening.

 

Set in 1980s Harlem, Daniels' harrowing film is the story of an illiterate black teenager, crushed by abuse and pregnant with her second child, who finds a chance to escape a dead-end life through a learn-to-read scheme.

 

The director said before the screening of his film, which is adapted from the Novel "Push" by Sapphire, that he was "deeply honoured" to be in Cannes. "It is a dream, and it is a far cry from where I came from," he told the audience.

From Roger Friedman, Showbiz 411: -

 

Final Precious Cut to Feature Mariah Song: "100 Percent"

Mariah Will Write/Sing Precious Theme

Mariah Carey is so good in Lee Daniels's "Precious" in a small pivotal role of a social worker. But her involvement in this extraordinary independent film won't stop there. She told me yesterday at a lunch in Cannes that she and Jermaine Dupri are recording a theme song called "100 Percent" to be added to the final print. Expect to see and hear Miss Mariah at the Oscars next March.

 

Indeed, expect to see all the folks from "Precious" at lots of awards shows next winter. "Precious" is this year's "Slumdog Millionaire" or "Juno." It's a passionate, breathtaking offbeat drama that if handled properly - and that's questionable at this point since Lions Gate is not Fox Searchlight - could upset everyone's apple carts.

 

"Precious" is not in competition at Cannes because it was already shown at Sundance. Nevertheless, if it were part of the main race here, it would win hands down. It's just that good. Lee Daniels has taken the work of African American cult writer Sapphire and wrought a deeply honest, affecting, and indelible portrait of a young woman's triumph out of abuse.

 

Clareece Precious Jones is a 16 year old, morbidly obese and pregnant for the second time. She's an incest victim, and she's physically and mentally abused by her mother. This horror of a human being is played by comedian Mo'Nique in a performance that is guaranteed Best Supporting Actress in every award show. You've never seen anything like it: I cannot wait for the first Oscar nominee with an apostrophe in her name.

 

Precious is played by newcomer Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe, who got the part after one audition. Like Ellen Page in Juno, Gaby is going to startle audiences who may think that she is Precious. She is not. She is simply a gifted, natural actress who has an amazing presence. The 26 year old New Yorker is going to be an actual overnight sensation.

 

Daniels, who produced "Monster's Ball," fills out the rest of "Precious" with a talented supporting cast. Paula Patton, a striking beauty, is Precious's astute, involved teacher. Mariah and Lenny Kravitz are each excellent in their supporting roles. Carey is a revelation as the social worker who must bring the movie to its climactic moment toward the end. She does everything right as Mo'Nique and Gaby play out the film's incendiary truths.

 

One thing "Precious" does need, however: better back end credits. I'm sure whoever designed them thought they were clever, but the actors' names are hard to read and disappear too quickly. Trust me, everyone's going to want to sit and see who's who when this film comes to an end. The producers should make it easier.

 

If you don't know already, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry saw "Precious" and decided to 'present' it to the public this fall. I hope they can get some others on the bandwagon, like Ellen Degeneres and Anderson Cooper. "Precious" has got to be a film that is not missed - by adults and teens, too. And PS, there's great older tracks from LaBelle on the soundtrack and a couple from Lenny Kravitz, too.

 

Note: We first heard about "100 Percent" as a rumored song title in June 2008 when it was reported Mariah wanted the track to be a theme song for either the Olympics or Barack Obama's campaign. At that point, the song had not been recorded yet.

 

In March 2009, producers Jermaine Dupri and Bryan Michael Cox raved about the song after a recording session with Mariah.

 

More from Huffington Post: -

 

Raped by her father, abused by her mother, and pregnant for the second time, l6-year-old African-American Precious, played with intensity by debut actress Gabourey Sidibe, does not seem to have much of a shot at happiness. Her fantasy, as an obese introverted teenager, to hook up with the handsome stud Nurse John, played by glamour rocker Lenny Kravitz, strikes one as so far-fetched, it is humorous.

 

Asked by her teacher what she is good at in life -- "everyone is good at something" -- Precious responds, "I am good at nothing."

 

Any spectator of this new dramatic film by Lee Daniels, who has a tad of a self-esteem issue, will identify with the pains of this story. Indeed, the singer Mariah Carey -- who does an astonishingly good job as the compassionate social worker who deals with the dysfunctional family -- said at a press conference that what she liked about this film was that "Every one of us is Precious. And every one of us can make it like Precious does at the end of the film. So the film gives us hope."

 

Of course, there is a marked contrast between the group of stars gathered around the table at the sea-side of Cannes, in sunglasses, decollete, and mod hairdos, speaking about their future projects (a new album, a new film, a new acting role) with the life of Precious in Harlem. Precious lives with her mother (Mo'Nique), who beats her regularly, out of jealousy that she stole her husband's attention. In self-nurturing resignation, she eats fried food alone on a couch, expressionless as she watches television.

 

Or she fantasizes. One of the stellar highlights of the film is when the lonely girl fantasizes that she has been transplanted to an Anna Magnani movie, in the role of an Italian daughter, while a kind mother serves her food: "Muovati il culo" translates in subtitles as "Move your big ass."

 

Many stellar moments mark this film. My favorite -- and it is worth watching the movie simply for this -- is the scene where the mother cries out to the social worker that she let the husband abuse her baby out of fear that he would leave her, because "who would love her then?" In a shockingly human performance, Mo'Nique pleads that others do not understand how terrible it is when a husband's attention strays to the offspring. "I want him to make love to ME," she says, bawling, tears running down her face.

 

During the press conference, the team of stars referred to this mother as "a monster," the star going out of her way to insist that Mo'Nique herself, however, was warm and full of hugs off-screen. Yet what makes this performance so powerful is the fact that the mother does not seem like a monster, but merely a scared human being, very limited -- and hence all the more recognizable.

 

The film weakens its pull ever so often with some predictable "after-school special" scenes (the classic student-guidance counselor tete-a-tetes; the too well-meaning teacher played by a too beautiful Paula Patton), but the acting by the lead character and by Mo'Nique -- and the funny idiosyncratic fantasy scenes -- make the film, based on Sapphire's novel Push, an emotionally rewarding experience. As does the fact that Precious, at the end, does know something she is good at.

Belgian news site 7 sur 7: -

 

Mariah at Precious Press Conference

Written by Déborah Laurent for the Belgian news site, 7 sur 7.

 

Mariah was less stupid than we thought, we met her

"Would you like an interview with Mariah?" an all-smiling US publicist asks us. Wait, let me translate that correctly: a meeting? with Mariah Carey? THE Diva? Meuriah Carey? For the amazing movie, Precious, in which she appears for 5 minutes? "YES, with pleasure!" The meeting is arranged, things look well. It seems almost too easy.

 

And what if Mariah cancels?

We don't have a very positive image of Mariah: apart from thinking she is vulgar and too affected, according to long-last rumors she's a capricious diva. It wouldn't be surprising then she changes the promotional agenda and cancels all her interviews at the last minute (without notice). We think she's shy and scared by the press as she makes herself scarce and then we fear the interview won't be that exciting.

 

On Cloud 5

But she didn't. At 1:50pm, a few specially-selected journalists (including me) who will have the chance to talk to Mariah are gathered in the 3.14 hotel hall, right next to the Carlton. We're heading to the 5th floor, named "Sky." Men among the journalists already think they are on cloud 9, excited at the idea of meeting the singer with a crazy cleavage.

 

"Bonjour," in French

Once we reach our destination, we are hurried, "Hurry, hurry, please!" A diva can't wait. Voice recorders are on the table. Next to me there's an opened picture window letting a warm and pleasant breeze in and looking out onto the sea.

 

Two bodyguards as large as the doorway from their waists to their shoulders are waiting for Mariah's arrival, she arrives simply without putting on airs, saying a smiling "Bonsoir," in French to no one in particular. She recomposes, noticing the room is bathing in the sun, "Bonjour!"

 

Mariah is beautiful

Looking at her, as seconds go by I change my mind, Mariah Carey isn't vulgar. She's wearing a strict mauve dress, too short though and a simple colored cardigan with her sleeves pushed up above her elbow. She has sleek blonde hair. She wears small hoop earrings. She wears make-up of course, but slightly. Mariah Carey is beautiful when she isn't doing too much.

 

Surprising: Mariah is humble

You quickly realized she has more neurons we thought she had: she happens to be more intelligent as planned, and moreover, she is funny. Maybe that modesty, that surprising humility and generosity are due to the fact she's here to defend a project that means a lot to her and in which she completely involved herself, the movie Precious was greeted after the official screening by a standing ovation and got great reviews.

 

"The Story left me speechless"

"I was a big fan of the book," Mariah explains. "A friend of mine told me to read it. She told me that all colored women should read it. I thought that everyone should read it. That story is so intense that it leaves you speechless. It bowled me over. When Lee offered me a part in the movie, I was very excited." The star confides she is 'very sensitive.' "I cried at the end of the story. That book changed my life."

 

"What a Mess"

Playing a social worker brings back personal memories. "In my father's family, one of my uncles had problems and he was in a very precarious situation. So I personally know people who had a difficult past. I experienced it myself as well. Everyone who plays in the movie felt like they were outsiders one day, ignored just like Precious. People think I grew up carefree in a magical world and I've been reaching high notes forever. But no, it wasn't like that at all. Yes, I know people who live in a mess. She insists in French "What a mess!"

 

Without make-up

About her appearance without make-up, she confesses it wasn't easy. "I'm so used to wearing make-up. Well, they put on make-up: they added dark rings under my eyes (she laughs). It was a decisive choice. Had I refused, it would have been detrimental to the movie. To be honest, it wasn't easy for me. Music and movies are two different things as far as cameras and lightning are concerned. Here, we had a kind of office lighting reminiscent of the light of a dentist's surgery. It was so ugly!"

 

"That's your wrong side"

"Precious is also about the glittering side of the music industry. Whenever Precious is given a rough ride, she focuses on positive thoughts and pictures herself as a movie star, a singer or a model... And yet things aren't easy either." Mariah remembers her first days in the showbusiness.

 

"When at 19 I set foot in the music industry and I signed my first contact, I've been told: 'That's your best side (she shows one side of her face), the other is the wrong one. Never do any photos showing that side. You look awful.' And obviously i got hang-ups like I didn't have enough already." She bursts out laughing.

 

If Precious finds the strength to face her misfortunes, thanks to her teacher. Mariah thinks that "music" and "her faith in God" allowed her to move forward in life. "My mother always told me: 'You'll become a star.' She definitively gave me that faith in myself. I took refuge in music a lot too. With time, it came from friends, from people who helped me through my first difficult relationship."

 

Mottola, "an abusive relationship"

She hints at her seven-year-long mariage to Tommy Mottola who discovered her when she was 19. "I don't want to go any further with that question because it belongs to the past but honestly we can say it was an abusive relationship. Emotionally, but not only. Well, it's an old story."

 

Today, Mariah is married to Nick Cannon who encourages her to blossom. She hopes in the future she'll get other roles in movies as interesting as Precious, "A necessary movie," according to her. "especially for the US audience. Everybody should see that movie so that they will never ignore those kinds of situations."

 

The message got through, the meeting is coming to an end. Mariah leaves the room smiling making a small gesture with her hand, moving her fingers gracefully, a gesture reminding us she is a diva. We almost forgot it for half an hour.

 

This last article was translated by Sam (I am guessing a member of the Mariah Daily team).

 

Further pictures and videoes available from the source.

 

Source: - Mariah Daily Journal.

Thanks for posting this John! :D

 

The film actually looks brilliant regardless of Mariah's performance. :o Apparently she's only in the film for like 5 minutes but her minimal performance has impressed all of the critics which can only be good news. ^_^

The film was great!