Story Behind the Movie "Precious"

TV Guide takes you into the world of the award winning film with "PRECIOUS: THE STORY BEHIND THE MOVIE". Extensive interviews and inside stories on the stars, including Gabby Sidibe, and, exclusive clips.


Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire is a 2009 American drama film directed by Lee Daniels. Precious is an adaptation by Geoffrey S. Fletcher of the 1996 novel Push by Sapphire. The film's mainly female cast features Gabourey Sidibe as the title character, with Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz in supporting roles. The film marked the acting debut of Sidibe.


The film, 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. According to wikipedia, t 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's screening at Sundance in February 2009, Tyler Perry announced that he and Oprah Winfrey would be providing promotional assistance to the film, which was released through Lions Gate 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.


Lions Gate gave the film a limited release in North America on November 6, 2009 (the release was expanded on November 20). Precious received largely positive reviews from critics: the acting, the story, and its message were generally praised. Some criticism mainly aimed at fears of the film's content sending a negative message; some reviewers felt that the film did not live up to its hype. In the film's opening weekend in limited release, it grossed $1.8 million, putting it in 12th place at the box office. The film, as of February 2010, has made over $50.8 million, recouping its $10 million budget. The film has received awards and nominations including three Golden Globe and Screen Actor Guild nominations, and 6 Oscar nominations.