Precious

Top 10 Fun Facts

1. That's what friends are for: newcomer Gabourey Sidibe beat out more than 400 other girls for the part of Precious when her friends convinced her to audition. She was cast just six weeks before filming began.
2. Sidibe had previously read Sapphire's novel Push when her mother, singer Alice Tan Ridley, was approached to play Precious' mother in a production that never got off the ground.
3. Mimi vs. The Queen: Helen Mirren was originally cast as social worker Ms. Weiss - the role that eventually earned high praise for Mariah Carey.
4. Before winning an Oscar playing the mother of a girl named Precious, Mo'Nique herself had played a character named Precious in Shadowboxer - another film directed by Lee Daniels.
5. Although he'd appeared as himself in Zoolander and on The Simpsons, Grammy-winner Lenny Kravitz made his dramatic acting debut as the male nurse who befriends Precious in the hospital.
6. According to the website Box Office Mojo, Precious holds the record for second-highest grossing weekend for a movie playing at fewer than 200 theaters. Which film holds the top spot? Paranormal Activity.
7. Director Lee Daniels chose songs for the film's soundtrack that "resonate not only in Precious's world, but speak to your soul no matter who you are." Artists on the soundtrack include Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah and Donna Allen (What, no Lenny Kravitz?).
8. The film enjoyed a major promotional push from Oprah Winfrey - although surprisingly, Push was never an official Oprah's Book Club selection.
9. In addition to Mo'Nique's win for Best Supporting Actress, Geoffrey S. Fletcher took home an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film also earned Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Editing.
10. The film premiered at Sundance with the title Push: Based on the Novel By Sapphire, but eventually changed its name so as not to be confused with the 2009 sci-fi action flick Push, starring Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning.

Cast

Crew