No Makeup on Set, Please

I have yet to see "Precious", the raw, gritty film about a poor teen single mother, staring new actress Gabourey Sidibe along with Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey. But I'm hearing it's garnering Oscar buzz. One of the things everyone is talking about, besides the amazing performance by the lead actor (who was a receptionist before being cast in Precious), is how "hard and tired" everyone looks in this film.

I've got to give a serious shout out to all of the actors who signed on to this project with the understanding that there would be no beautifying going on. No eyelash curling, no cute pink lipstick, no butt-sweeping fake hair.

If anything, as Mariah Carey was sure to point out, some of the stars were made to look worse. I can't tell you how good it does my heart to see an American film that is about something intense and meaningful (I know the story line). And the women aren't dolled up like sex kittens.

As a big fan of independent and international films, I'm always awed by how much is required of female actors in other countries. And how little they are allowed to skate on their good looks (Bollywood excluded from this discussion).

Could "Precious" signal a turning point in Hollywood? I hope so. I'm going to be taking screen writing courses at a film school in California next summer. I hope to write films that have something real to say about life.

Do you think you'd have the courage to star in a film in the nude (face, that is)?

Have any of you seen the film yet? What did you think?