Staff Blog
Lee Daniels’ Push owns Sundance
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| Mo'Nique in Lee Daniels Push |
Hell yes to West Philly native Lee Daniels, whose film Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire took home three big awards at the Sundance Film Festival. And, no, it's not that new flick with the dude from Not Another Teen Movie and Old Dakota Fanning.
Via the LA Times:
"Push: Based on the novel by Sapphire" scored a rare triple victory Saturday night at the Sundance Film Festival, winning both the grand jury prize and the audience award for drama as well as a special jury prize for acting.
Directed by Lee Daniels, best known for producing the Oscar-winning "Monster's Ball," and adapted by Damien Pearl from the 1997 novel, "Push" tells the raw, nightmarish story of a 16-year-old pregnant girl who tries to escape from the domination of her terrifying mother (played by Mo'Nique, who won that acting prize) and make something of her life.
Set in 1980s Harlem, Push also stars Paula Patton and Mariah Carey (!!).
UPDATE: Read a review of Push by LA Weekly film editor Scott Foundas here: …Push isn't half the piece of controlled, confident craftsmanship that Ballast [ed. note: Sam Adams' review of Ballast] was, but it may be that Daniels' crude, wildly undisciplined, anything-goes directorial style is exactly what the movie calls for. Hothouse melodrama one moment, pungent social realism the next, with dashes of slapstick farce (be they intentional or not) in between, Push takes the better part of an hour to settle on something resembling a consistent tone, yet even when the movie is at its most schizoid, you can't take your eyes off of it.
Related: Smokin’ Joe — and T.O.?! — hit up Sundance
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[...] It’s December so that means Awards Season is officially upon us. This morning, the Spirit Award nominations were announced and Philly freakin’ owns them. Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire, directed by Philly-born Lee Daniels, leads the proceedings with five noms for Best Feature, Best Director (Daniels), Best First Screenplay (Geoffrey Fletcher), Best Actress (Gabourey Sidibe) and Best Supporting Actress (Mo’Nique). A.D. Amorosi interviewed Daniels way back when Precious — then called Push — took Sundance by storm. [...]