Executive producer Tyler Perry decided to open up about his own personal demons in a letter on his Web site.

“I’m tired of holding this in," he wrote. “I don’t know what to do with it anymore, so I’ve decided to give some of it away.”

“Precious” tells the story of a teenage girl who endures molestation and physical abuse. “I watched all the things that Precious, a 16-year-old girl in the film, went through. I watched her mother be unusually cruel to her, and I realized at that moment that a large part of my childhood had just played out before my eyes,” wrote Perry.

The letter reveals some of Perry’s painful memories as a child, including the beatings his mother endured from his father, and an incident of molestation to Perry himself. “I got a call not long ago from a friend. He told me that a man that I knew from church when I was a kid had died and … his family was trying to reach out to me to see if I would pay for his funeral. I quickly said no, but I wish I would have said yes. There is something so powerful to me in burying the man that molested me. I wish I would have dug the grave myself.”

More after the jump…

He also talks about the time his mother tried to leave his abusive father, loading him and his two sisters in an old Cadillac and heading to California.

“When he realized she was gone, he called the police and reported the car stolen, as it was in his name,” wrote Perry. “My mother was arrested, and my two sisters and I were put in the cell with her. He and my uncle drove from Louisiana to California to get us. We spent several days in jail waiting for him. He bailed her out and couldn’t wait to get her into the car. He got into the back seat with us and beat her black and blue from California to Louisiana, as me and my sisters watched. Even though I was only two or three, I know that this had to have some effect on me.”

I’ve been a big fan of Tyler Perry’s immense success in Hollywood, and now more than ever. He’s released six feature films in three years, writing all of them and starring in four. Five of those films have collectively grossed upwards of $250 million worldwide. Both Perry and Oprah Winfrey, another producer on the film, are donating all of the proceeds to charity.

Both of these people didn’t grow up in the best circumstances, but the fact that they’ve made such positive changes in their lives – and helped others make changes in their lives – is amazing.

“Precious” New York premiere pictures

“Precious” Trailer

“Precious” Cannes premiere pictures

Images: INF; Lionsgate

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It tells the story of an overweight, illiterate teen (Gabourey Sidibe) in Harlem who’s pregnant with her second child. But when she’s invited to enroll in an alternative school, things might start turning around for her. Check out the photos below, and also the red carpet premiere at Cannes last spring.

Mariah Carey (I could make some snarky comment here, but I won’t)

Lenny Kravitz

Mary J. Blige

Sapphire

Sherri Shepherd

Zoe Kravitz

Angelic Zambrana

Gabourey Sidibe

Gayle King

Grace Hightower and Robert De Niro

Image: INF

Post from: Film Gecko

“Precious” tells the story of an overweight teen (Gabourey Sidibe) in Harlem who’s pregnant with her second child. But when she’s invited to enroll in an alternative school, it just might turn things around for her.

“Precious” has already scored three wins at Sundance, and looks to be a darling of the film festival circuit. It opens in theaters (limited) on Nov. 6, 2009. Hopefully, the movie will inspire others in that situation to try and better their circumstances – and people who can make a difference to step up and MAKE a difference.

Photo credit: Anne Marie Fox, Lionsgate

Post from: Film Gecko