One of the longest titled films of the season—Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire— is also one of the most eagerly anticipated films of the year. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and is based on the lesbian author’s debut novel set in 1987 Harlem. The long title, according to out director Lee Daniels, was the studio’s attempt to decipher the film from an action film released last year with the same title as the book.
This film follows 16-year-old Clareece “Precious” Jones, played by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, a junior high student pregnant with her second child, which is the result of her father’s rape. Comedienne Mo’Nique takes on a serious role as Precious’ physically and verbally abusive mother and Mariah Carey appears as Mrs. Weiss, a social worker who helps Precious through her teen years.
The film opened nationwide in theaters on Nov. 6, but Daniels spoke with Watermark before the release about being out in Hollywood and bringing LGBT themes to an socio-economically-repressed audience.
WATERMARK: What impact does being an openly gay filmmaker have on your choices for the films you want to direct or produce?
LEE DANIELS: 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; the black gay part is a bigger issue. There are so many gay men in Hollywood and they’re decision makers; it’s a cult, I think. I don’t have to worry about prejudices anymore. I fought prejudices all my life 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 embraced for my spirit and for me. It’s just so beautiful that people can accept me for me. 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?”
There’s not a lot of humor in your film Precious, but there is a scene where Precious goes to her teacher’s house and realizes that Ms. Rain is, as Precious puts it, “a straight-up lesbian.”
I love it (laughs). First of all, the movie is very gay-themed. Lower economic socio-backgrounds really are not embracing of homosexuals and in the book, Sapphire brilliantly executes it in a harder way. There are so many subjects: lesbian, race, self-esteem issues, obesity, all these issues in the film that I could only touch on [homosexuality]. 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.
How do audiences respond to that?
[Homosexuality] doesn’t affect 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.
What was it about Sapphire’s novel that made you want to adapt it for film?
The characters were very rich, very textured, very layered and honest. It had women and men I related to. It represented a world that I felt was mine. I felt that if I could sort of downplay the graphicness, maybe I could bring it to screen in a palatable way.
Was Sapphire enthusiastic about her novel being made into a movie or did she need to be persuaded about the idea?
I stalked her. She was not into this at all in the beginning. There were many people suiting her. And I know that she felt that if we did a bad movie, that it would somehow affect the novel. Slowly, she came to the realization that if the film were bad, 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).
Gabourey Sidibe makes her film debut as Precious. How did you find her?
Dude, it was a miracle. This is crazy. There were like 400 girls. We were checking out chicks and they were Precious. These girls were really the real deal. 
They were talking about McDonald’s slinging, Macy’s, they were working at the gas station, they were behind the counter at 7-Eleven. They all came and did good readings. Then Gabby’s audition came and I saw it—and then I heard her talk. She talked so differently than in the audition. I was like, “Huh? Who are you?” and I realized she was acting. If I had used one of those [other] girls, it would’ve been exploiting her, and it would’ve been making fun of her.
Mo’Nique, whom you’ve worked with before, plays Mary in the film. What made you choose her for the role?
Just instinct. I knew when she played Precious in my movie Shadowboxer—her character’s name was Precious—I knew that she was Mary. There were glimmers of that character in Shadowboxer. She understands words that come out of my mouth before they come out of my mouth. It’s like she knows me and I know her. It’s like we’re married but we have no sex.
Do you think you’ll work with her again?
…And again and again and again.
That’s quite a statement.
When you know somebody that intimately the truth is on screen. Comedians take the acting approach from a different perspective than the regular actor. They don’t take it upon themselves to take it the way a regular actor would. They just see it differently than we do.
Do you think it’s because of the comedy formula, “tragedy plus time equals comedy”?
Yes! Abso-fucking-lutely.
