LEE DANIELS MADE ‘PRECIOUS’ TO HEAL
Nov 16th, 2009 by Bilal Ali
Director Lee Daniels says he felt compelled to bring the story of child abuse to the big screen in “Precious” because it helped heal the scars from his own painful past.
The filmmaker has won critical acclaim for the movie, based on author Sapphire’s book Push, about a pregnant teenager who is sexually abused by her father and subjected to physical beatings from her mother.
Child abuse victims Oprah Winfrey and director Tyler Perry were so moved by the film, they jumped on board as executive producers - and now Daniels, who is gay, reveals his motivation to make “Precious” a success is rooted in his own traumatizing experiences.
“My dad wanted me to be a strong man, and I was walking downstairs in my mother’s red high-heeled pumps,” he tells Vanity Fair magazine. “He couldn’t beat it out of me… I made this movie to heal - and hopefully to heal others.”
*Meanwhile, in other Lee Daniels related news, “Precious” broke into the top-10 as it expanded to more theaters after a huge debut in limited release the previous weekend.
Finishing at No. 4, “Precious” took in $6.1 million in ONLY 174 theaters, averaging $35,000 a cinema and raising its 10-day total to $8.9 million. That compared to a $19,095 average in 3,404 theaters for “2012.”