LOS ANGELES ? Lee Daniels, whose ?Precious: Based on the Novel ?Push? by Sapphire? is shaping up to be a serious contender in the awards season, confirmed with us that he is directing the movie adaptation of the musical, ?Miss Saigon.?

Lee showed up at our interview last Sunday morning with his terrific actresses?Mo?Nique, Gabourey Sidibe and Paula Patton?and singer Mary J. Blige, who sang the film?s theme song. (The following day, we interviewed Lee?s other actress, Mariah Carey, who also turned in a memorable performance in a small role.) The director du jour told us, though, that he?ll be doing ?Selma? first. ?Selma? is a civil rights drama that revolves around President Lyndon Johnson during the Martin Luther King Jr.-led marches in Selma, Alabama.

Script

We had interviewed the filmmaker earlier about ?Precious? at the recent Toronto film fest before news of the ?Miss Saigon? movie project broke out. In our recent talk, Lee stressed that he was mulling over how to effectively adapt ?Miss Saigon? from stage to screen. ?How to make that leap?? Lee asked aloud. He said that the script has yet to be written.

Cameron Mackintosh, who?s the original stage producer of the Vietnam War-set musical that tapped Lea Salonga and other Filipino thespians, is completely involved in the film adaptation, according to Lee. Cameron and Paula Wagner, Tom Cruise?s former producing partner, are coproducing.

We told Lee that ?Miss Saigon? has spawned a ?cottage industry? for Filipino performers all over the world, thanks to countless productions that have featured Pinoy talents. When we informed him about a current production directed by Filipino-American, Jon Lawrence Rivera, at the California State University, Fullerton, Lee wanted to check it out and asked for the performance dates (it ends this weekend?more information at www.fullerton.edu/arts/
events). The director disclosed that they?re considering filming in Saigon.

In the evening of that Sunday, ?Precious? had its Hollywood premiere in a gala screening, as part of the film festival of the AFI (American Film Institute) at the famed Grauman?s Chinese Theater. As if the Oscar buzz for ?Precious? wasn?t enough, the presence of Oprah Winfrey, who is the film?s coexecutive producer, added to the hyper-excitement at the SRO event.

Fans showed up on Hollywood blvd. to see Mariah and her castmates, guests who included Will Smith and Jamie Foxx, but most especially, O herself. Inside the theater, Lee and the cast were introduced individually to resounding applause. The director twirled Mariah around.

But, when Oprah walked up to join the group, the audience, including our guests, director Dante Nico Garcia (?Ploning?) and Filipino community leader, Prosy dela Cruz, went into a tizzy. For Prosy, who credits Oprah for turning her life around, it was a moment she had long dreamed about.

Adversity

On our second viewing of ?Precious,? the film held up well. The film?s story of Precious (Gabourey) who struggles to overcome adversity, including the cruelty of her mom-from-hell (Mo?Nique), is still gripping. The stunning performances of Mo?Nique, Gabourey, Paula (as a compassionate teacher), and Carey (as a social worker) are Lee?s finest achievement as a director.

The Oprah mania continued at the party held at another Hollywood landmark, Chateau Marmont. The crowd kept quiet only when Mary J. Blige performed the theme song from the movie, ?I Can See In Color,? with such passion and emotion. Lee was visibly moved. The gorgeous Paula and her husband, singer Robin Thicke, joined in the rousing ovation for the singer. In the hotel?s garden, Sapphire, whose first novel, ?Push,? started off this frenzy, fielded congratulations.

As Oprah exited the party, she was mobbed again. Amid the pandemonium, Prosy managed to tell her idol, ?Oprah, thank you for bringing the light.? Without missing a beat, O responded, ?Yes, the light. Thank you for sharing that.? Prosy shed tears of joy.

With such a persuasive and popular coproducer behind the film, and backed by its own merits, ?Precious? could, indeed, be headed for the Oscars.

E-mail rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com, and read his blog, ?The Nepales Report,? on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport.