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Photo main: Gabourey Sidibe as Clareece ‘Precious’ Jones in Precious; top: Mo’Nique: centre: Director Lee Daniels; above: DP Andrew Dunn BSC
triple award winner at Sun- Adance ‘09. The film is set in
New York during the Eighties, it centres on a morbidly obese 16-year-old Clareece ‘Precious’
Jones (24-year-old newcomer Gabourey Sidibe) whose only es- cape from extreme parental abuse and everyday misery is a world of glamorous daydreams. Also in the cast are Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Lenny Kravitz and a deglamourised Mariah Carey.
Directed by Lee Daniels, who produced Monsters’ Ball and The Woodsman, it was shot by Andrew Dunn BSC who had first turned down the project because he was heavily committed and involved in various other productions.
According to Daniels: “I have al- ways been a fan of Andrew’s work.
His films span indie to mainstream studio and all are handled differ- ently... in a very brilliant way. I had creative differences with the DP I hired and shut down production.
“This is never done in my world of independent cinema. I was afraid. Andrew came in like a knight in shin- ing armour. Literally. He had no prep time. None. Yet he seemed to almost read my mind about how I wanted my film to look.
“He also made me feel safe again. That safety gave me the freedom to be brave and direct. It was an hon- our to work with him, and it is my hope to work with him always.
Says Dunn: “They had done about 15 days worth; there are a couple of little bits still in there but, basically, we re-shot everything. I in- herited a camera assistant, and the
key grip also stayed from the previ- ous incarnation. As the Writers’ Strike was on, people were available. We filmed either side of Christmas ’07 then returned to shoot a new ending last June.
“I didn’t actually meet Lee until I arrived having only spoken to him for 10 minutes on the phone. We looked through a lot of material and discussed references. I had, of course, shot in New York before.
“We did a bit of it in Harlem where it’s set, but in the end we filmed (on 3- perf 35mm ETERNA 500T and ETERNA 250D then a D/I) all over the place.”
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