I recently read "Push," the novel by Sapphire on which "Precious" (Lionsgate; 11/06) is based, and if Sundance buzz for Lee Daniels' adaptation is to be believed, the movie is bringing its A-game and won't disappoint. The film represents a commercially risky bet, but potential for payoff is big. Acquired for a reported $5 million after a Park City tussle with Weinstein over distribution rights, most of the
gamble arrives this fall when Lionsgate ramps up marketing efforts to convince the masses to spend $12 to see the inspirational story of an obese, illiterate Harlem teenager, living in poverty with an abusive nightmare mother and pregnant for the second time by her deadbeat rapist father, who struggles against unfathomable odds to empower herself with an education and a sense of self-worth. Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry bolstered "Precious" exponentially by signing on as executive producers shortly after Lionsgate's pickup, meaning that they will "present" the film to audiences when it opens in limited release on November 6. The unlikeliest of Oscar buzz for Monique (!!!), the boisterous, sassy comedienne not otherwise known for her acting chops, will surely help stir up commercial curiosity. Monique reportedly sinks her teeth into the horrifying role of Precious's verbally, physically and sexually abusive mother, and emerged as the early frontrunner for Supporting Actress kudos as soon as word spread from Sundance. While it may sound frankly cruel to state that audiences are likely to shy away from an ad campaign featuring the prominent likeness of a morbidly obese nobody (newcomer Gabourey Sidibe is the film's eponymous heroine), it is a testament to the story's fundamental truths and
the harsh realities of the world shown in "Precious." But the first glimpses of Lionsgate's promotional campaign are so artfully rendered, so breathtaking as images themselves that the notion of advertisement barely registers even once you realize you're looking at the the film's poster(s). The first, with its demonic hand dividing Precious's silhouette into distinctly broken pieces cast in pitch black against the shock of an orange canvas, a provocative allusion to horror genre convention, is disturbing and unshakeable. Its counterpart, using the same basic color scheme to opposite effect, tempers another portrait of the film's iconic central figure with angelic swaths of white to evoke the soft innocence and cerebral beauty that serve to predicate Precious's salvation. If the initial pair of "Precious" posters are any kind of fair indication, the promo push is going to be just right.
gamble arrives this fall when Lionsgate ramps up marketing efforts to convince the masses to spend $12 to see the inspirational story of an obese, illiterate Harlem teenager, living in poverty with an abusive nightmare mother and pregnant for the second time by her deadbeat rapist father, who struggles against unfathomable odds to empower herself with an education and a sense of self-worth. Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry bolstered "Precious" exponentially by signing on as executive producers shortly after Lionsgate's pickup, meaning that they will "present" the film to audiences when it opens in limited release on November 6. The unlikeliest of Oscar buzz for Monique (!!!), the boisterous, sassy comedienne not otherwise known for her acting chops, will surely help stir up commercial curiosity. Monique reportedly sinks her teeth into the horrifying role of Precious's verbally, physically and sexually abusive mother, and emerged as the early frontrunner for Supporting Actress kudos as soon as word spread from Sundance. While it may sound frankly cruel to state that audiences are likely to shy away from an ad campaign featuring the prominent likeness of a morbidly obese nobody (newcomer Gabourey Sidibe is the film's eponymous heroine), it is a testament to the story's fundamental truths and
the harsh realities of the world shown in "Precious." But the first glimpses of Lionsgate's promotional campaign are so artfully rendered, so breathtaking as images themselves that the notion of advertisement barely registers even once you realize you're looking at the the film's poster(s). The first, with its demonic hand dividing Precious's silhouette into distinctly broken pieces cast in pitch black against the shock of an orange canvas, a provocative allusion to horror genre convention, is disturbing and unshakeable. Its counterpart, using the same basic color scheme to opposite effect, tempers another portrait of the film's iconic central figure with angelic swaths of white to evoke the soft innocence and cerebral beauty that serve to predicate Precious's salvation. If the initial pair of "Precious" posters are any kind of fair indication, the promo push is going to be just right.
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