Before Oprah Winfrey lent her name to Lee Daniels’ “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” there were producers Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness.
Before actor-director-mogul Tyler Perry signed on to introduce his sizable audience to a Harlem teen named Claireece “Precious” Jones, there were the Magnesses.
The couple live in Denver and have their production company, Smokewood Entertainment, here. As producers of one of the most talked-about movies of the year, they were there when it mattered most.
They were there when risk and faith — that dynamic duo of independent film — were the things that could make a movie (or not) out of a fledgling project.
This evening, the Magnesses get their hometown due when “Precious” opens the 32nd Starz Denver Film Festival. Daniels will join them at the red-carpet happening.
“I’m more excited about this night than anything we’ve done thus far,” says Siegel-Magness, sitting in Ink cafe in Cherry Creek. Husband Gary was in Brazil at work on a documentary they’re producing.
“It is an honor that we never thought we’d achieve,” he later added via e-mail.
The couple, married for nine years, have been at times fodder for boldface- names columns. She’s the daughter of Celestial Seasonings co-founder Mo Siegel. He’s the scion of a cable-TV company fortune. Each has had success. She founded a clothing company called So Low. He’s involved in real estate and energy.
Making a film about an abused Harlem teen who faces unimaginable odds might seem a stretch. Yet, making “Precious” was the extension of an “aha” moment Siegel-Magness had three years ago.
“I had an epiphany, both my husband and I did, but mostly me because I was heading up our personal philanthropy efforts,” she says. “I decided I didn’t want to be invited to parties anymore. I don’t want to go to charity events. I won’t just write a check. I decided I need to know who I’m helping personally.”
The Magnesses did more than write a check for “Precious.” They invested in Daniels.
While Siegel-Magness and Daniels had friends in common, they didn’t meet until she received a call from Daniels’ company about a movie called “Tennessee,” which Daniels was producing.
The financing for the film, starring Mariah Carey, had fallen apart. Were they interested in stepping in?
The Magnesses met with Daniels in Albuquerque, where the film was in preproduction.
“Of course, Lee’s so incredible,” Siegel- Magness says. “I loved him from the minute I met him. When we walk down the street, people think we’re a couple. We laugh about it. I love him like my family.”
She recalls that during that preproduction visit, Daniels “did something really funny. He said, ‘Sarah, go talk to Mariah.’ So he removes Mariah’s bodyguard. Sticks me, Mariah and Gary in a closet. She pours her heart out.”
The Magnesses became executive producers. It was the start of something durable.
They optioned three more projects with Daniels. One of them was “Precious,” then titled “Push.” Daniels had secured the rights from Sapphire earlier and already had a script.
“When I read it, I knew we had something special,” Siegel-Magness says.
In January, the film won both the audience and grand jury prizes at Sundance. In September, it won the Toronto International Film Festival’s audience award. No other film has garnered all three kudos.
” ‘Precious’ was really risky material and they just went with their gut on this. More important, they went with their heart,” says local filmmaker Donna Dewey. The Oscar winner is co-directing a yet-to-be-titled documentary on Brazil for Smokewood.
“A lot of times, producers try looking at something only from the standpoint of what would draw an audience. Sarah recognizes good material. The hardest thing is finding great material. The second- hardest thing is to get that material out to the audience. Those are the two biggest jobs for a producer. And they’ve got it.”
No one is foolish enough to shrug off the oomph Winfrey and Perry bring to “Precious.”
“Lee and I joked on set, ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing to have Oprah involved,’ ” says Siegel-Magness.
Still, she hopes she and her husband’s commitment to films with messages inspires similar leaps of faith and financing.
“I’m trying to say you can invest in these crazy, difficult pictures and be successful at it. Hopefully,” she adds. “At this point, I’m thinking we’ll probably be successful at it.”
Probably, indeed.
Last weekend, “Precious” broke box- office records for a limited-release film. Industry tracker reported that the film, which opened in 18 theaters last Friday, had “the 12th biggest weekend average on record (unadjusted), and the biggest for a movie playing at more than six theaters.”
At 7:30 tonight, “Precious” will screen at a sold-out Ellie Caulkins Opera House. It opens in local theaters Nov. 20.
Film critic Lisa Kennedy: 303-954-1567 or lkennedy@denverpost.com; also on blogs.denverpostcom/madmoviegoer
“32nd STARZ DENVER FILM FESTIVAL.”
An 11-day movie extravaganza. Through Nov. 22. More than 200 films plus tributes, panels, filmmaker Q&As. Venues include Ellie Caulkins Opera House, King Center on the Auraria campus and the Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli. General admission $10-$12; special presentations $11-$13; red-carpet films $30-$35.
