Film Investing Article about "Precious"
from the New York Times
by The New York Times
© New York Times: Lee Daniels and Mo' Nique Read
Think you have it rough? Lee Daniels is known for producing controversial films, such as The Woodsman starring Kevin Bacon as a convicted sex offender and Monster’s Ball, a melodrama about bigotry and interracial love in the South. The first film he directed, Shadowboxer, which he also produced, has a loony premise: a hit man having an affair with his dying stepmother and raising a child together.
...and he decided to raise the money and produce it. “Just like that,” Daniels recalled. “I had a 90-day option to raise the money for ‘Monster’s Ball,’ and on the 90th day, I had the money.
Think you have it rough? Lee Daniels is known for producing controversial films, such as The Woodsman starring Kevin Bacon as a convicted sex offender and Monster’s Ball, a melodrama about bigotry and interracial love in the South. The first film he directed, Shadowboxer, which he also produced, has a loony premise: a hit man having an affair with his dying stepmother and raising a child together.
When figuring out the film financing, Daniels had to face that Shadowboxer hadn’t done so well. “It was very, very hard to get financing for Precious. All the studios said no. They didn’t want to make a film about a 350-pound black girl who is abused. Everybody kept saying no. My whole life was no. It was just a bunch of nos.”
Eventually, Daniels found independent financing. For Shadowboxer, he found a “ rich man in Philadelphia who paid for the movie, God bless him.” For Precious, Daniels raised the initial $8 million from Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, who live in Denver.
Things to note in this article for yourself, the Film Maker, and your Business Plan:
- Daniels pursued some very "non-Politically Correct" type subjects, with some flops on under belt, but yet, has produced some of the decades' finest and highest grossing films
- Critics didn’t like ‘Shadowboxer,’ but a lot of African-Americans understood it. And Sapphire (the Author of "Push") saw it and trusted Daniels "with her baby.”
- "It was very, very hard to get financing for ‘Precious.’ All the studios said no. They didn’t want to make a film about a 350-pound black girl who is abused. Everybody kept saying no. My whole life was no. It was just a bunch of nos.”
- "He had read a script for one of his clients, a white actor named Wes Bentley, called “Monster’s Ball,” and he decided to raise the money and produce it. “Just like that,” Daniels recalled. “I had a 90-day option to raise the money for ‘Monster’s Ball,’ and on the 90th day, I had the money.”
- Lionsgate bought “Precious” for $5.5 million
Source and Full Article: The Audacity of ‘Precious’ New York Times, October 25, 2009 ©
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