What happened to Precious Jones?
In 1987, 16-year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones lives in New York City 's Harlem neighborhood with her unemployed mother, Mary, who has long subjected her to physical and verbal abuse. Precious has also been raped by her now-absent father, Carl, resulting in two pregnancies. The family resides in a Section 8 tenement and survives on welfare.
Who is Precious Jones in push by Sapphire?
Claireece "Precious" Jones is the main protagonist of both the book, Push by Sapphire and the 2009 film, Precious. She is the daughter of her two antagonist villain parents Carl and Mary Jones.
How much did precious cost to make?
Precious was well-received by critics; the performances of Sidibe and Mo'Nique, the story, and its message were highly praised. The film was a box office success, earning over $63 million on a $10 million budget.
What is the setting of Precious Jones?
Plot In 1987, 16-year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones lives in New York City 's Harlem neighborhood with her unemployed mother, Mary, who has long subjected her to physical and verbal abuse. Precious has also been raped by her now-absent father, Carl, resulting in two pregnancies. The family resides in a Section 8 tenement and survives on welfare.
Is Precious Jones a real person?
"The level of abuse I suffered is not nearly as extreme as in the book, and there is no character in the story, not even the teacher, who is based on me." Rather, Precious is a composite character, she says, created from the real-life stories she encountered while teaching for seven years, from 1987 to 1993, in an ...10-Apr-2012
Who is Precious based on a true story?
Movie fans know the story of Claireece "Precious" Jones — the pregnant African-American teen who was a victim of incest and abuse — from the provocative, award-winning film Precious starring Gabourey Sidibe. The movie was based on the novel Push by Sapphire. WBUR is a nonprofit news organization.06-Jul-2011
Is Push by Sapphire based on a true story?
The novel Push, by Sapphire (pen name of Ramona Lofton), later renamed Precious, is not based on a true story.
What does Precious mom do to her?
Mary is the cruel, narcissistic mother of the novel's main character, Precious, whom she subjects to constant verbal, physical and sexual abuse. She turns a blind eye to the sexual abuse Precious suffers at the hands of her father, Carl Jones, because she resents Precious for "stealin' her man".
Who got Precious pregnant?
By 1987, a 16-year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones is impregnated twice by Carl and, when the second pregnancy is discovered, forced to attend a alternative school to continue her education.
Is there a sequel to Precious?
The Kid is the sequel to Sapphire's 1996 novel Push, about a girl called Precious who is routinely sexually abused by both her mother and father. When that novel was turned into the Oscar-winning film Precious in 2009, some critics complained that it represented black people too negatively.19-Aug-2011
Is there a Push sequel?
The Kid, Sapphire's sequel to Push, the novel on which the movie Precious was based, is a grueling book.
Is Push the movie based on a book?
Originally called Push (but recently renamed Precious to coincide with the film), the book, by the writer known simply as Sapphire, tells the story of a dark-skinned, heavy-set, illiterate African-American girl who has survived multiple pregnancies by her father.06-Nov-2009
What happened at the end of Precious?
Precious realizes that her relationship with her mother is hopeless. Precious thanks Ms. Weiss for her efforts but says that she can no longer help, and tells her mother Mary that she will never see her again. The final shot is of Precious with both of her children in her arms.
Who wrote the book Precious?
SapphirePrecious / Story byRamona Lofton, better known by her pen name Sapphire, is an American author and performance poet. Wikipedia
Who abused Precious?
She was raped by her father from the age of 3, pregnant with his child at 12 (the baby, which she names Mongo, has severe Down syndrome), and then pregnant by him again at 16, when the novel begins.30-Oct-2009
How old is Precious in the movie?
16-year-oldIn 1987, 16-year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones lives in New York City's Harlem neighborhood with her unemployed mother, Mary, who has long subjected her to physical and verbal abuse.
Does Precious get a happy ending?
Precious doesn't get a happy ending, but as she heads toward her own death, she can know that a happy ending may be possible for her child. Of course, Precious takes place in 1987.09-Nov-2009
Who is precious' mother?
That he impregnates Precious, twice, before infecting her with AIDs, and then dying, to Precious’ mother, Mary Johnson, only strengthens her deluded stance. ‘This is too, too much,’ I said, as though making some eloquent pronouncement.
Who adapted the book "Precious"?
Admiration of this dark but forceful tale made the media-titan delighted to learn that producer and director Lee Daniels had adapted the unlikely book into his far less likely movie, “Precious”.
Is the Birth of a Nation a mainstream movie?
In no uncertain terms, writing in the New York Press, outraged critic Armand White counters, “Not since “The Birth of a Nation” has a mainstream movie demeaned the idea of black American life as much as “Precious”. Full of brazenly racist clichés... it is a sociological horror show.
Movie Precious True Story
She does an impromptu version of her dance for my benefit, after which she falls down, grinning, and takes a few deep breaths. “The best thing, though, is that it isn’t actually about me at all.
Sapphire is being interviewed
Sapphire is being interviewed for the first time by a British publication. Sapphire, born Ramona Lofton in Fort Ord and who appears much younger than her 59 years, is a very down-to-earth person. She claims to be bisexual and that her own father, a US army sergeant, sexually molested her when she was eight years old.
How much did precious make in 2009?
Precious was given a limited-theatrical release on November 6, 2009, and was originally scheduled to appear on screens only in North America. During its opening weekend, the film earned $1,872,458, which placed twelfth on that weekend's box office list, despite being in only 18 theaters. The film saw a 214 percent increase in its second week of release, earning $5,874,628 at 174 theaters, which catapulted it up to third place in that weekend's box office, with a per-theater average of $33,762. On November 20, 2009, the film received a wider release, showing at 629 theaters (thus tripling the number of theaters showing the film). In its third week, Precious, as studios had previously estimated, placed sixth at the box office, with the revenues estimated $11,008,000—an 87.4% increase from the previous week.
How much did the movie Precious make?
The film was a box office success, earning over $63 million on a $10 million budget. Precious received six nominations at the 82nd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Daniels, and Best Actress for Sidibe.
Why did Lee Daniels screen Precious?
The film's director, Lee Daniels, stated that he was initially "embarrassed" to screen Precious at the Cannes Film Festival because he felt that it would show African-Americans in a negative light, due to its content.
What is precious based on?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, or simply Precious, is a 2009 American drama film, directed and co-produced by Lee Daniels. Its script was written by Geoffrey S. Fletcher, adapted from the 1996 novel Push by Sapphire. The film stars Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, and Mariah Carey.
When did the movie Precious come out?
Lionsgate gave the film a limited release in North America on November 6, 2009, with an expanded release on November 20. Precious was well-received by critics; the performances of Sidibe and Mo'Nique, the story, and its message were highly praised.
Where does precious live?
In 1987, 16-year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones lives in New York City 's Harlem neighborhood with her unemployed mother, Mary, who has long subjected her to physical and verbal abuse. Precious has also been raped by her now-absent father, Carl, resulting in two pregnancies. The family resides in a Section 8 tenement and survives on welfare. Precious's first child, a daughter named "Mongo" (short for Mongoloid ), has Down syndrome and is being cared for by Precious's grandmother, though Mary forces the family to pretend that Mongo lives with her and Precious so she can receive extra money from the government. When Precious's second pregnancy is discovered, her high-school principal arranges for her to attend an alternative school, where she hopes Precious can change her life's direction. Precious finds a way out of her traumatic daily life by escaping into daydreams in which she is loved and appreciated.
Why was the soundtrack chosen for Precious?
Daniels stated that the artists featured on the film's soundtrack were selected because they "resonate not only in Precious's world, but speak to your soul no matter who you are.". Two other songs, performed decades earlier by Queen Latifah and Mahalia Jackson, were also chosen for the film's soundtrack.
Why did Sapphire move to Manhattan?
Sapphire is in the process of moving from Sunset Park, in Brooklyn, to Manhattan, in part to be closer to the theater, and in part because “I need a doorman. You get to that point in life where you don’t want to have to worry about who’s behind you.”.
What happened to Precious's mother?
The novel opens the day of Precious’s funeral, and we later learn that her abusive mother, Mary, has died of AIDS as well. Precious’ son, Abdul, bounces from foster care to a Catholic orphanage to the streets, suffering beatings and sexual abuse at every turn.
Where did Abdul find his salvation?
Abdul finds salvation, of sorts, through dance, first at a Harlem YMCA class, then, eventually, in a downtown interpretive dance troupe. Through dance, he learns about artists like Nureyev, Basquiat, and Thelonious Monk. He begins to conceive of himself as an artist too, and, through a relationship with another dancer, ...
Is Abdul a victim?
Like his mother, Precious, Abdul is a victim of the cycle of abuse (he eventually learns from his great-grandmother how that cycle started) but unlike Precious, he perpetuates the abuse, molesting the younger boys in the orphanage. “He is the victim and the victimizer,” Sapphire says.
Who is precious Jones?
Claireece “Precious” Jones, the obese, HIV-positive teenage protagonist of the 1996 book Push and the 2009 movie Precious, is an irrepressible character. So irrepressible that her will overrode that of her creator, the writer Sapphire, who had planned for Precious to give birth to a daughter after being raped by her father.
Overview
Cast
• Gabourey Sidibe as Claireece "Precious" Jones. The film's casting director, Billy Hopkins, found her at an open-call audition held at New York City's Lehman College. Sidibe was chosen over 300 others who auditioned in nationwide casting calls and had no prior acting experience.
• Mo'Nique as Mary Lee Johnston, Precious' unemployed, profane, and abusive mother. Mo'Nique and Daniels had previously worked together in Shadowboxer (in which her character was named Precious). I…
Plot
In 1987, 16-year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones lives in New York City's Harlem neighborhood with her unemployed mother, Mary, who has long subjected her to physical and verbal abuse. Precious has also been raped by her now-absent father, Carl, resulting in two pregnancies. The family resides in a Section 8 tenement and survives on welfare. Precious's first child, a daughter named "Mongo" (short for Mongoloid), has Down syndrome and is being cared for by Precious's grandmo…
Production
Daniels had said that he was attracted to the initial novel based on how "raw and honest" it felt. In an interview with AMC he noted that reading the book brought back a memory from his childhood of a young abused girl who knocked on his family's door, claiming that her mom was going to kill her. Daniels recalls that the incident was the first time he saw his mother frightened, specifically noting the helplessness of the situation, and stating "she knew that she'd have to send this little …
Music
Lionsgate, in association with Matriarch/Geffen Records released the soundtrack online as a digital download on November 3, 2009, and in stores on November 23. Daniels confirmed that Mary J. Blige's "I Can See in Color" song will be released as a single from the soundtrack. The song was written by Blige, Raphael Saadiq and LaNeah Menzies and is produced by Raphael Saadiq. The soundtrack consists of various artists (Labelle, Donna Allen, Jean Carn, Sunny Gale…
Release
Precious was screened during the 2009 Sundance Film Festival from January 15, 2009, until January 25 in Park City, Utah. At Sundance, Precious was listed under its original title of Push: Based On The Novel By Sapphire; however, the title was later altered to avoid confusion with another 2009 film entitled Push. Precious appeared in the Un Certain Regard, an award section recognising unique and in…
Reception
Precious received favorable reviews from film critics, particularly for Sidibe's and Mo'Nique's performances. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 92% of 238 critics gave the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.80/10. The site's consensus is that "Precious is a grim yet ultimately triumphant film about abuse and inner-city life, largely bolstered by exceptiona…
See also
• Cinema of the United States
• List of American films of 2009