Lee Louis Daniels was born in Philly on December 24, 1959.

The iconoclastic director/producer’s own life story is every bit as raw as the films he creates. Overcoming assorted childhood adversities, he founded and was running his own health care agency by the age of 21, providing nurses to private homes and hospitals while simultaneously trying to become a scriptwriter.

After selling his business, and abandoning screenplays, Lee began managing such actors as Loretta Divine, Michael Shannon, Natassja Kinski, and Aishwarya Rai. As a consequence of the frustration he encountered while searching for great projects for his clients, he later turned to producing, and the natural leap to directing soon followed thereafter.

Monster’s Ball, for which Halle Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2002, was the initial offering of Lee Daniels Entertainment. The movie also marked Mr. Daniels as the first solo African-American producer of an Oscar-winning film. He subsequently produced The Woodsman, made his directorial debut with Shadowboxer, and then produced Tennessee.

Here, he talks about new movie, Precious, the critically-acclaimed screen adaptation of Sapphire’s best-selling novel, “Push.” The picture stars Gabby Sidibe in the title role, along with an all-star cast which includes Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey, Paula Patton, Lenny Kravitz and Sherri Shepherd. The movie has been the beneficiary of considerable Oscar-buzz since winning three awards at Sundance Film Festival last January, including best picture.

Kam Williams: Lee, I loved the film, and I have lot of questions, but they told me I can only have 10 or 15 minutes with you, so I have to ask you to keep your answers brief in order to touch on everything.

Lee Daniels: To hell with the minutes! We can delve deeply into it. Don’t think about the time.

KW: Great! What inspired you to adapt “Push” to the screen?

LD: Its truth. I read the book, and it just left me gasping for air. I couldn’t believe it. My mouth was open as I turned page after page. I was like, “What the [bleep]?” And yet it was so truthful. I had never seen truth written in such a way. So, I had to have it. I became obsessed with it like a lover. I slept with it under my pillow.

KW: I assume the abuse issues struck a nerve because you had experienced that as a child yourself.

LD: I did. That’s part of the film, and it’s certainly something that I identify with. But through the abuse and through the darkness, I actually identify more with the sense of loving yourself, of finding self-love and ultimately loving yourself. That’s what I identify most with, because it took me a long time to love myself and not be so hard on myself. That’s what makes the movie not just a black film, but a universal story.

KW: One of the questions I routinely ask in my interviews is, What has been the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome in life? And I’m always surprised at the number of celebrities who answer something like “self-acceptance” or “self-love.”

LD: That’s deep, isn’t it?

KW: Yeah. How are you enjoying all the critical acclaim the film is receiving?

LD: I don’t read the reviews, the blogs, or anything else. Instead, I feel the audience when I show the film. And that’s my only experience with connecting to people around Precious. I cry inside when people are standing and clapping for me, and sometimes I even cry on the outside. And I often just have to walk away from it, because I have my own issue with accepting people’s embracing the film. It’s hard for me to accept love. I wish I could lie to you and tell you that it’s easy for me, but it’s not.

KW: How was it collaborating with Sapphire on bringing her book to the screen and having her on set during the shooting?

LD: It took me forever to talk her into letting me have the book. She was fine with it remaining solely in the literary form, and didn’t want anyone to throw it onto the screen. She’s a scholar and true artist who doesn’t really care about Hollywood. She’d already been courted by Hollywood. I think she believed that a bad screen version would reflect badly on her novel. She finally came around when she finally realized that whether the film was good or bad wouldn’t affect her great piece of literature one way or another.

KW: Why was she so protective of the book? Is it autobiographical?

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