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| Precious |
One highlight of the Toronto International Film Festival was the arrival of Oprah Winfrey at the screening of Precious, a film she executive-produced with Tyler Perry and which is based on the book Push, by Sapphire. Directed by Lee Daniels it stars newcomer Gabourey Sidibe as an illiterate, pregnant teen who finds a means for self-expression through an alternative school program. Precious won the top award at TIFF and is likely destined for an Oscar, given the buzz surrounding it and its actors. Teri Hart sat down with Sidibe in Toronto.
TERI HART: How did you know you could do this?
GABOUREY SIDIBE: I didn’t (laughter), I didn’t, is that weird? I didn’t know I could do it until seeing the film. I’m still not sure in many ways.
HART: How did it affect you, how scary was it?
SIDIBE: Well, it wasn’t that scary. The thing is, I was a fan of the book and so I felt pressured to bring that character to life. It’s so annoying when adaptations don’t get it right, you know? I felt a great responsibility to Sapphire, the novelist, and to Mr. Daniels, the director, and to the writer, Jeffrey Fletcher. I felt a responsibility to be what they thought Precious was.
HART: What do you think it is that people are responding to in this character?
SIDIBE: I think it’s because she transcends race and gender. I mean, we’ve all been in a place where we wanted the support of just anyone, not just someone we love, but anyone, and we weren’t getting it. I think we’ve all felt lonely and ignored by not just society, but our family and just people we wanted that attention from.
HART: What did you discover about yourself doing this?
SIDIBE: Oh my gosh, I don’t know. The funny thing is, doing this character helped me be more aware of myself, of Gabourey. I know who I am, and I didn’t know who I was until I took on this character.