VIDEO: MARIAH TALKS ABOUT PRECIOUS

MC hovoří v interview pro Black Film o jejím novém filmu Precious. Download zde.


Transcript:
"I've loved this novel Push by Sapphire for years and just the whole process. It feels like it's a part of me. It really does. I relate to so many of the characters on so many different levels. Everytime I watch it, I still laugh, I still cry. It's one of those things where if someone I know hasn't seen it, I can't wait for them to see it. Not because I want them to see me. I'm almost like, 'Close your eyes, my part is coming up' but because I really feel like it takes us to another level. It really elevates us as a people. I think it's a brilliant piece of work."

"I really had to become this woman and I had to say lose anything and everything that would be connected with me internally, externally, everything. This woman goes to work every day. She deals with stuff every day with people who basically want their check and she's got to be strong, she has to be tough. And it's difficult. By the time she gets to Mary (Mo'Nique's character) that is one serious lady. It was difficult when Gabby, Mo'Nique and I did that scene together, for all of us to keep together, 'cause it's a really emotional scene where a lot of information is revealed - kind of through my character in a lot of ways so we were crying and hugging each other and getting through it in the outtakes but during those scenes I had to be really stoic."
"I think that Lee Daniels, the director, is an artistic genius in my book. He knew what he wanted. He wanted me to be homely, he wanted me to be a complete departure from anything glamorous, and that way we could work from the inside and we could really get to the core of this character."

"I think Gabby is incredible and especially the fact that she never thought she wanted to act. And now she's got this whole new career. I'm really proud of her. I'm so happy for her. She's just this amazing talent - raw talent - and she's the opposite of Precious like she's full of light and love and everything. Not that Precious doesn't get there. Gabby is just an amazing person and I've come to really, really love her. I'm just so happy for her."

"I can't even express the amount of respect I have for Mo'Nique because she is a true talent. She really is. And of course, she makes us laugh. Of course, her day job when she makes us laugh, no one can deny how funny she is but this puts her in whole other place because even in the depths of how miserable she is, there's something about her that you know even when she's improvising like this there's a levity to what she does. Like she's deep but she's also got some, there's little comedic angels around her too. The character I just really have to say for her to do this character that was big, that took a lot because it someone you're gonna hate on a lot of levels. She was really abusive to her daughter."

"One of the things about Lee that I really love is that he kept us there in that moment where he would throw us a little side kick like he would say, 'Okay, now do it but when you say this to her' he would whisper something to me or he would whisper something to Gabby and he would throw us for a loop. We weren't expecting anything that happened. And that was the great thing because it's such rich material to begin with but then when Lee gets down with it, it's like okay, we don't know what to expect."

"Lee called me and said, 'You know I'm doing Push, I want to know if you want to do the part of Mrs. Weiss' and I had read Push like a long time ago. A friend of mine who gave me the book and it changed my life. I read twice in a row. I was like this book is sick, this is amazing. Like sick in a way meaning you have to read it. When Lee asked me to be a part of it, I said, 'Yeah, that would be incredible. I would love to do it' but I knew working with Lee it would be a journey."

"I think it's one of those things where no matter what happens you never have to lose hope. We were in a press conference and Tyler Perry said something to that effect and I thought that was really along the same line with what I was feeling because even when Precious is leaving that last scene she's smiling finally. She's smiling, she's empowered. We can assume what we think might happen to her but where we leave with her is in her power place."