Precious moments
Flashes of fantasy punctuate “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.”
The main character, Precious, played by Gabourey Sidibe, escapes the bleakness of her life – an urban nightmare of sexual abuse, physical abuse, illiteracy and poverty – by imagining herself a movie star, beaming at flashbulbs on the red carpet.
That’s Precious’ delusion, but it’s Sidibe’s reality.
She’ll be there tonight at the Golden Globes (7 p.m., NBC), nominated for best actress in a drama – an overweight young woman with no acting training who, she says, “could very well work at Wal-Mart.”
“There’s more of me in the world than there are of Reese Witherspoon,” says Sidibe, 26, “but that’s not reflected at these events. So I’m doing it for the rest that are like me. I’m doing it for those people.”
A lot of regular people would have difficulty handling it, but Sidibe has looked very much like she belongs.
At Tuesday’s National Board of Review awards, she ended her acceptance speech for best breakthrough performance by an actress by confidently announcing: “George Clooney, let’s get a drink.”
“I don’t try to live up to the standards of Hollywood or any of that,” she says. “I know that I’m different and I celebrate it. In a weird way, I kind of really, really love being the alien in the room.”
Raised in Harlem, Sidibe performed in small parts in a handful of college productions, but her focus was on studying psychology.
She was returning from a school break when a friend told her about the “Precious” audition. Sidibe was hesitant, but her friend and her mother urged her to go.
So she skipped school to audition on a Monday, was called back on Tuesday to meet with director Lee Daniels and was cast on Wednesday.
She’s just shot a Sundance Lab film titled “Yelling to the Sky,” and a Showtime pilot called “The Big C” starring Laura Linney.
As for the Academy Awards, Sidibe didn’t grow up watching them much. She tuned in to see ’N Sync perform in 2001, and she caught the acceptance speeches of Halle Berry and Jennifer Hudson.
But knowing she’ll likely have a front-row seat, she says: “I’ll be watching this year, though.”
The birthday bunch
Actress Betty White is 88. Actor James Earl Jones is 79. Talk-show host Maury Povich is 71. Singer Steve Earle is 55. Actor-comedian Steve Harvey is 53. Singer Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles) is 51. Actor Jim Carrey is 48. Musician Kid Rock is 39. Actress Zooey Deschanel is 30. Singer Ray J is 29.