Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Entertainment
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Film
Music
People
Television
Arts
Industry
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Gritty drama a "Precious" commodity in Hollywood
Wed Oct 28, 2009 7:01pm EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Todd Longwell
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Filmmaker Lee Daniels had modest aims when he brought his new drama, then called "Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire," to the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
He was just hoping to score a DVD deal with a company that could target black audiences.
But his representatives were convinced they could get big dollars from a top distributor.
As Daniels prepared to introduce his film at a screening, all the major buyers were still a mile down the road at the splashy premiere of "Brooklyn's Finest." His agent Charles King asked Daniels to stall.
"I was sweating bullets," Daniels says. "After 20 minutes, everybody that they felt needed to be in the room was in the room. I don't think (Weinstein Co. principal) Harvey Weinstein was there, but maybe some of his people were. The agents gave me the thumbs, and then we began."
The screening kick-started one of the most compelling stories of this awards season. When the end credits rolled nearly two hours later, Daniels was greeted with a tearful standing ovation.
"IT GOT NASTY"
Then came a flurry of negotiations, with Weinstein Co. believing it had purchased worldwide rights to the film. But days later, with Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry on board as executive producers, Lionsgate said it had bought the film for about $5 million. That touched off a bicoastal legal brawl still winding its way through the courts.
"It got nasty," Daniels says. "I got a little depressed about it because I felt like, just when things are good ...."
For Daniels, Sundance was far from the beginning of his "Precious" drama. He was given the book a dozen years ago by friend Charlotte Sheedy, the mother of actress Ally Sheedy and a literary agent for the poet who calls herself Sapphire.
When Daniels finally cracked the cover, he devoured the first-person narrative in one sitting and decided he had to bring it to the screen. But he was a talent manager at the time with no experience making films, and his initial meeting with the author did not go well.
"I said everything wrong, so she sort of had her people say no," he recalls.
But Daniels "stalked her," he says, as his career as a filmmaker blossomed. After producing the critical hits "Monster's Ball" (2001), which earned a best actress Oscar for Halle Berry, and "The Woodsman" (2004), he tried his hand at directing with the 2006 outre film noir "Shadowboxer." The movie was a critical and commercial disappointment, but he managed to convince Sapphire he was the man to bring "Push" to the big screen.
All he needed was financing. Because the subject matter -- an obese teen, pregnant for the second time by her father, seeks to escape her abusive mother -- made studio support out of the question, he decided to forgo traditional Hollywood sources.
"I had such a hard time with 'Monster's Ball,' and an even harder time with 'Woodsman,' that I never even bothered to go that way," Daniels says. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
"This Is It" heats up box office on first day
Also on reuters
Blog: Learning to love bad news about newspapers
Controversial couple makes waves in medical tourism
Video
Video: Artificial heart a breakthrough for patients
More Entertainment News
"This Is It" a fascinating look at work in progress
Cancer "didn't beat" Patrick Swayze, wife Lisa says
Miley Cyrus voted worst celebrity influence of 2009
Bigger Oscar field means tougher choices
"New Moon" rises to No. 1 on Billboard 200
More Entertainment News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Pacquiao set to deliver Cotto knockout, says trainer
Controversial couple dominates U.S. medical tourism
Andre Agassi revelations leave sport in state of shock | Video
Retail return fraud seen down this holiday season
China to launch case against Big Three automakers
Obama honors slain soldiers killed in Afghanistan
Wall Street tumbles on recovery woes
House Democrats to unveil health bill
Shanghai may greet Obama with Disney park deal
Galleon paid Wall Street banks millions for "edge": report
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Artificial heart breakthrough
Month's US toll worst of Afghan war
Gunmen target Greek police in attack
NASA launches Ares 1-X
Agassi admits to crystal meth use
Peru conjoined twins stay together
Inventor makes water out of air
Russians flock to see 'miracle' baby
Pakistan bomb as Clinton visits
Talk of the Town
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Journalism Handbook |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.