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Last night David and I met up with our friends Darion and Alex so that we could all see the new movie Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire at the ArcLight together. Having read the book myself, I was in for a huge emotional cry-fest … and that’s exactly what I got. I am happy to say that Precious is nothing short of an absolutely amazing film:

It is very difficult for me to say that I “liked” the film, especially considering the subject matter … but the movie is an amazing representation of the book Push which tells the tale of a young woman who manages to endure tragic abuse (both sexual and physical) at the hands of her parents and finds salvation thru education. I will be SHOCKED if the stars of Precious, Gabourey Gabby Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton and or Mariah Carey do not secure Academy Awards nominations for their work in this film. Each woman gives such a stunning performance, I was just riveted to what I saw on that screen. The book describes some very, very heinous acts and the movie alludes to most of those acts but, thankfully, spares the viewer from actually seeing them take place. If I have any complaint about the film, it would have to be about the fantasy scenes that Precious envisions as she is being abused. I understand the attempt to try and pull Precious out of her horrible reality into a world of happy fantasy but the unintended result is an audience laughing thruout some of the most tragic parts of the film. Nonetheless, the entire film is just … so powerful. I am not ashamed to say that I cried quite a bit thruout the film. Precious is such a stunning film … I hope it is rewarded well come awards season.

No big plans for today … I have to get my hair did and then we have some errands around the house to take care of. It’ll be a quiet day around here, something I’m very much looking forward to.

Newcomer Gabourey Gabby Sidibe was joined by some of Hollywood’s elite, including Oprah Winfrey, at the Hollywood premiere of her new film Precious which is based on the book Push written by Sapphire. As you may or may not know, Precious has been getting serious awards show buzz for its stark portrayal of a young girl’s life and her struggle to overcome her circumstances in order to save her own life. Here are a few photos from the red carpet arrivals at Grauman’s Chinese Theater last night and some deets about the Precious premiere:

With its U.S. limited release closing in by days, “Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire” has got a red carpet treatment in Los Angeles. The premiere, held on Sunday, November 1 at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, was a part of the drama movie’s participation at AFI Fest 2009, which runs from October 30 to November 7. Many of the cast members were present for the special screening event. Leading actress Gabourey Sidibe was present along with several of her co-stars, including Mo’Nique who stars as Precious’ mother Mary, Paula Patton who portrays Ms. Rain and Mariah Carey who takes on Mrs. Weiss. All of the last three mentioned actresses came to the premiere in the arms of their husbands. Mo’Nique was accompanied by Sidney Hicks, Paula by her singer/songwriter husband Robin Thicke, and Mariah by her actor/comedian/rapper hubby Nick Cannon. Joining them at the red carpet were director Lee Daniels as well as executive producer Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry. The festivity also managed to draw in a handful of celebrity guests. Mary J. Blige was spotted arriving with husband Kendu Isaacs, while actor Sidney Poitier tagged along his daughter Sydney Poitier. Other celebrities attending the premiere included Paula Abdul, Will Smith and Olivia Wilde. “Precious” is set in Harlem in 1987 and revolves around Claireece “Precious” Jones, an overweight, illiterate sixteen-year-old African-American girl born into a life no one would want. Abused by her mother and raped by her father, she is pregnant for the second time and reaches the ninth grade without being able to read or write. Instead of being swallowed by depression, she tries to break from the chains of ignorance by digging deep into her own resources. November 6 will be the date the movie originally titled “Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire” opens in limited theaters across the country.

I’ve started reading Push, the book this movie is based on, and I’ve already been gutted by the tale. I can already tell that when I see this movie, and I will be seeing this movie as soon as I possibly can, I will bawl my eyes out. I’m so curious to see how this group of actors — Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey — bring this story to life. I’ve only read amazing things about the film’s star, Gabby Sidibe, so … I think we are in for a revelation when this film opens. Have any of y’all read the book? Are you looking forward to this film’s release? If you are totally unfamiliar with this film, check out the movie trailer HERE. It look amazing. I can’t wait to see it.

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin; Source]

Mariah Carey and her youngster of a husband Nick Cannon were among the folks who made their way to Alice Tully Hall in NYC, NY over the weekend for a special premiere screening of her new film Precious (which screened earlier this year at the Cannes International Film Festival) which was shown at The Film Society of Lincoln Center‘s 47th Annual New York Film Festival … here are a few photos of Mr. & Mrs. Cannon upon arrival at the premiere event and some deets about the night:

Mariah Carey arrived at Saturday night’s New York Film Festival screening of her movie Precious adorned with diamonds and a posse of security guards. But away from the glamorous hubbub, she’s just a regular girl at heart, say her costars. “If you’re around her enough, ‘Mariah’ goes away and she’s like everyone else,” says actress Gabourey Sidibe, who formed a close friendship with Carey on the set. “She’s just a normal girl who talks about normal things like fashion and things like that. She’s so nice.” In the film, opening nationally Nov. 6, Carey plays a plain-looking case-worker. For the role, the songstress, 40, bared her face in front of the camera free of makeup and donned dowdy outfits. “I basically told her, ‘I want to see the Mariah I see when I’m in your house and we’re kickin’ it, watching TV and eating popcorn,’ ” says director Lee Daniels, who also worked with Carey on the movie Tennessee. “Nothing at all [surprised me about Carey's performance]. I knew she had it in her. ” Based on the novel Push, the film tells the story of a pregnant, illiterate teen who tries to change her life by enrolling in an alternative school. Oprah Winfrey was so inspired by the film, she signed on as an executive producer after the shoot was completed. “She watched it and she went, ‘Whoa! This is something very, very special,’ ” Winfrey’s best friend, Gayle King, said at the screening. King, who’s now seen Precious four times, added, “The film is hard, sad and tragic. Oprah’s pulling out all the stops she can to make people go see it.”

Mimi + Oprah should = blockbuster hit! But I’m not totally sold just yet. I had to doubt Mariah Carey‘s acting prowess but if Glitter (or every single one of Madonna‘s films save for Evita) taught us anything it’s that popstars don’t always make the best actresses. There’s a belief in Hollywood that if beautiful women get ugly on screen, they’re headed for awards show acclaim. Now, I’m really not counting on Mariah winning any acting awards … but I do hope she does well in this film. It sounds like a great story … I’d love to see Mimi show the world that she can do more than sell hit records.

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

With memories of her ill-fated big screen debut Glitter in the distant past (she wishes), Mariah Carey made a grand appearance on the red carpet at the Grand Theatre Lumiere for the 62nd Annual Cannes Film Festival this weekend for their premiere of her latest film effort Precious. In the film, Mimi plays a supporting character who is as far from her glam image as possible … clearly, the singer-turned-actress is trying to show range. Here are a couple pics of Mimi on the red carpet in Cannes (one with co-star Lenny Kravitz — a singer-turned-actor himself) and a couple photos of Mimi and her young hubby Nick Cannon lookin’ all coupley on Roberto Cavalli‘s yacht:

For someone with only a few movies under her belt, singer-turned-actress Mariah Carey looked incredibly confident on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival last night. The multi-award winning singer, 40, showed off her curves in a figure-hugging Dolce & Gabbana black dress as arrived at the screening of her new film Precious. Despite a soggy evening on the French Riviera, Mariah beamed for photographers as an aide protected her designer dress from the downpour. As one would expect from a bonafide diva as Ms Carey, the singer was dripping with Chopard diamonds as she joined co-stars Lenny Kravitz and Paula Patton on the steps of the Palais de Festival … Mariah’s choice of black appeared to be the dominant shade at the Precious screening last night, with co-stars Lenny, Gabourey Sidibe and director Lee Daniels all opting for the colour. Precious is based on the book Push by Sapphire and tells the story of an obese, HIV-positive teenager growing up with abuse in Harlem. It stars newcomer Gabourey as Clareece ‘Precious’ Jones – the lead character -, Paula as her teacher, comedienne Mo’Nique as her mother, Lenny as a nurse and Mariah as a social worker. In a dramatic change from her usual glamorous image, Mariah looks tired and dowdy to play Mrs Weiss. The film received rave reviews when it first screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January and went on to win both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize for best drama. At a press conference earlier on Friday, director Lee Daniels admitted he only cast Mariah at the last minute. He said: ‘I thought how bold would it be to cast Mariah. If she could dye her hair, put on a wig, take off the make-up, darken under the eyes, I believed she would begin to give me her soul. And she did.’ Mariah added: ‘[My character] is the audience and is that shocked person who hears what goes on and has to kind of bare her soul because she’s hearing something that is so horrific that she’s never heard before. There’s a creative side of me that needs to do work like this.’ Precious marks Mariah’s fourth film since her critically-panned debut in Glitter in 2001. Her second film WiseGirls in 2002 was better received, but the film failed to find a distributor and went straight to TV. However, last year Mariah’s burgeoning acting career received a boost with Tennessee, in which she played an aspiring singer fleeing an unhappy marriage.

HMMM … well, mebbe 4th time’s the charm? I had pretty high hopes that last year’s Tennessee would be the film to finally bring her critical acclaim and box office success but … apparently not so. Appearing in a film that premieres at Cannes is a huge accomplishment for our dear Mariah. I can deffo see how she’s got some acting talent inside her (unlike our dear Madonna who, as much as I love her, couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag). I’m very curious to see his gritty movie. Good luck with this film, Mimi. I’m tired of lookin’ for your films in the DVD bargain bins.

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin; Source, Source]