Director Lee Daniels never gave up on getting his film, Precious, made – a battle which parallels its main character’s fight for survival. Clareece ‘Precious’ Jones is sixteen-years old, lives in Harlem and is about to have her second child. She's got a verbally abusive mother. Precious is overweight, illiterate and poor, but has an aura radiating from within that let’s you know she may be down, but never out. The film follows her gritty journey to an alternative school where she finds hope, truth and a deeper understanding of herself. Daniels’ film attracted a pretty interesting array of big-name musical talent like Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz to play roles. The most risky casting by Daniels, though, might've been comedienne Mo’Nique as Precious' abusive mother, Mary. With Oscar buzz at a steady build over Mo’Nique’s star turn, it's looking more and more like the film's director and stand-up comedienne-gone-serious are having the last laugh. We spoke with Daniels about his pretty powerful film; one that takes the time to reminds us that every day is a new day and life is, indeed, very, very precious.

Whatever Works reunites director-writer Woody Allen with Larry David. The legendary funnymen had previously worked together on Radio Days and New York Stories. Most actors would be ecstatic to be offered the lead in a Woody Allen movie, but David had a much different take. “I thought Woody had become unhinged,” he says. “I wondered who put this crackpot idea in his head. And of course as with anything I’ve ever been offered, I didn’t feel up to the task. Feeling up to the task is not my thing.” David eventually took on the part of Boris Yellnikoff, a man who is so disenchanted with his marriage, luxurious lifestyle, and the human race that he tries to commit suicide. Saved by a canopy outside his uptown Manhattan apartment, Boris gets divorced, moves downtown, and meets a much younger woman, Melodie (Evan Rachel Wood). The two ultimately learn a tremendous amount about love and life from one another.

Did you have to dig deep to play the role of a middle-aged Jewish man?
That aspect was really unusual. I tried to find as many Jews as I could and befriend them and talk to them and see what made them tick. I went back to Brooklyn and walked the streets and interviewed people, "What's it like being a Jew? How do you behave?"

Ken Jeong began his professional career as a doctor, but he had a deeper interest in examining Hollywood. Jeong got his big break in Judd Apatow's Knocked Up playing, what else ... a doctor. After the success of that film, Jeong went on to a string of roles in hit comedies such as Pineapple Express, Role Models, and, most recently, Todd Phillips' The Hangover. The Old School director's newest film is about four guys who head to Vegas for a bachelor party, get trashed, wake up the next morning, and realize they've lost the groom. Oh, and none of them can remember anything from the night before. Jeong adds to the worst morning after, playing an Asian crime lord the guys find in the trunk of their car. With roles in upcoming films such as All About Steve, starring Sandra Bullock, and the Will Ferrell-produced The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, the scene-stealing MD proves he might just have what it takes to hack it in Hollywood. Now, open wide ...

Writer-director Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter, Where The Truth Lies) has made a career out of exploring the more extreme emotions triggered by lust, dishonesty, and love. BlackBook spoke with the prolific filmmaker about his latest effort, Adoration, which finds him juxtaposing a family’s troubled history with the cold, modern mediums we use for communication.

Harold & Kumar star John Cho takes the high road from stoner comedies to blast into higher dramatic echelons with his blockbuster debut in J.J. Abrams’ franchise-reviving Star Trek. BlackBook spoke with Cho about his otherworldly experience in George Takei-originated role of Sulu, and his strong desire to live long and prosper past it.

Director/writer Dito Montiel came onto the scene with a bang in 2006 with his hard-hitting coming of age drama A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. His sophomore effort, Fighting, hits even harder -- literally. The New York-based story centers around Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum), a young guy from Alabama who scrapes by selling counterfeit merchandise on the streets of the Big Apple. When scam artist Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard), sees MacArthur undoubtedly hold his own in a street fight, he offers him an opportunity to make some real money in the form of underground bare-knuckle brawling. I spoke with Montiel about the surprisingly non-bruising experience of making Fighting.

Tell me how Fighting came about.
It was a script that producer Kevin Misher had. It was originally a basketball movie and they had asked me to work on the dialogue. We were all trying to figure out how to make this movie and take out all of the sports. Channing had said that maybe it should be about fighting. He’s a pretty strong guy who was a lot more interested in that than basketball. So we just started messing around with it.

Writer/director James Toback has had a long career making movies about his obsessions. He penned the James Caan film The Gambler, which was based on Toback's pension for gambling. He wrote and directed The Pick-Up Artist starring Robert Downey Jr., which echoed his pre-occupation with the opposite sex. Toback also wrote and directed Harvard Man starring Adrian Grenier, which he loosely based on his LSD trip while attending Harvard University in the mid-60s. Toback is an auteur who makes thought-provoking and controversial films based on what he knows. That's why it's not surprising he wrote and directed a documentary on former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson -- one of the most controversial sports figures in history and someone Toback has known personally for 20 years. Tyson was praised at many film festivals, including Cannes where it received a standing ovation. Toback and Tyson pull no punches in this revealing film that delves much deeper than the familiar superficial headlines we’ve read over the years about Iron Mike.

[See also our interview with Watchmen's Jackie Earl Haley, a.k.a. Rorschach]

Swedish-born actress Malin Akerman has had quite a busy few years. She starred in numerous character-based romantic comedies such as 27 Dresses and The Heartbreak Kid. In Watchmen, Akerman turns up the heat taking on the role of superhero Laurie Jupiter, a.k.a. Silk Spectre. Watchmen is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated movies of 2009; directed by Zack Snyder, it also stars Billy Crudup, Carla Gugino, Matthew Goode, and Patrick Wilson. “All the characters have real human qualities,” says Akerman. “We’re not superhuman. We’re just people trying to figure out within ourselves good vs. evil.”

Tell me about your character in Watchmen.
I approached Laurie like a woman who had a stage mom who pushed her into a career that wasn’t really her own choice. When we first start this movie, we come into Laurie’s life where she is sort of breaking free because she had been this sheltered woman. She hasn’t really had her own identity or her own choice in life. She just followed and did what she had been told.

In Entourage, Kevin Connolly’s character “E” stays busy managing the career of childhood friend and star Vincent Chase. Week after week, he navigates the treacherous waters of Hollywood, dealing with Vince’s ego-driven agent Ari and his tough-as-nails publicist Shauna. But in his latest project, Connolly enters the most treacherous waters of all -- the dating pool. He’s Just Not That Into You (based on the bestselling book of the same name) boasts a cast of Hollywood heavyweights: Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, and Scarlett Johansson, just to name a few. I spoke with Connolly about the new flick, his worst date ever, plans for the future, and more.

Tell me about the character you play in He’s Just Not That Into You.
Connor is an up-and-coming real estate agent who is at that point in his life where he is looking to settle down. He is head over heels for this girl played by Scarlett Johansson who, at the end of the day, doesn’t feel the same way about him. While he looks good on paper for her, it’s just not sort of there. The name of the movie is He’s Just Not That Into You, but Connor is the only one where she’s just not that into him.

“What are you doing New Year’s Eve?” You’ll probably be asked this question a hundred times by your friends over the next week. However, for many, New Year’s never lives up to the hype, and partygoers' complaints are usually universal: Went to the same club I go to on a regular Friday night, paid ten times the price for admission, had ten times the amount of people there, waited ten times longer for a drink. Enter New Year’s Nation. This unique company hosts New Year’s Eve parties in ten cities, and what makes the events so different is the connectivity -- all cities will be linked live via the Internet. Plus, there’s no waiting outside behind a velvet rope to get in, and no chance of being empty-handed when the clock strikes midnight. NYN has a specific ratio of bartenders to guests, so everyone will get their drink on. And for your listening pleasure, NYN just announced DJ AM and Travis Barker will be DJing this year at their LA party -- their first time playing together since the plane crash.