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EXCLUSIVE: Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe has been fielding calls non-stop from agencies since her debut in director Lee Daniels’ Precious, which landed Sidibe a Best Actress Oscar nomination this past Tuesday not to mention a current BAFTA Best Actress nomination. She also earned Best Actress nominations for Golden Globes and SAG, and won the National Board of Review’s Female Breakout Award. I’m told she will be repped by a team led by UTA Board member Tracey Jacobs who met her for the first time two weeks ago. “They spent a couple hours talking and totally hit it off,” says a source. Prior to Precious, Sidibe’s acting experience had been limited to some college theatre and no formal training. A friend suggested she to go to the open call where she met casting directors Billy Hopkins and Jessica Kelly. Two days later, Hopkins and Kelly introduced her to Daniels who cast her in the title role after one meeting. Sidibe will continue to be repped by manager Jill Kaplan at Principal Entertainment.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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If there is justice in the world, she will win the oscar. UTA is the right place for her. They will work hard and be able to follow up this success.
SHE IS AMAZING. CONGRATS!!!
I hope she has a very long and successful career and doesn’t become a one hit wonder.
For her sake, I hope she gets repped better than the breakout star from “Hairspray.”
I hope she gets a smart manager. that will matter far more than the team led by tracy jacobs.
I’ve got scripts for her! I’ve got scripts for her!
She is the number one choice to play “Dee” in the “What’s Happening” movie.
Don’t get me wrong — she was great as Precious, but does she really have a career as an actress? I’m not sure how much acting she did in the movie. Plus I found Sidibe the most distracting part of the movie — her eyes looked closed most of the time, making it very hard to access into her character. The white eyeliner she used made her look freaky. If Jacobs can figure out how to chart a career for her, then all props to her. But right now it seems she might be a one-hit wonder.
Excellent news!
I hope she destroys all of the current stereotypes out there!
But it’s really up to producers to own up to the roadblocks, be real men & women & go beyond their established segregationist ideas in casting.
I hope this signifies a new paradigm.
How many roles has Jennifer Hudson landed since Dreamgirls?
The Nutty Professor 3?
State Puff Marshmallow Woman in the new Ghostbusters?
Love her! All the best!
Okay, call me a hater but I truly disliked Precious. So tedious and melodramatic I was sooooooooooooo bored by the whole thing. It felt like a 4th rate film festival movie. And as for this so-called “wonderful performance” by G. Sidibe? She just wanders from tragic situation to tragic situation w/o emotion or range. I doubt there’s much of a career here and signing her amounts to bragging rights for UTA. Again, sorry to be a hater but I suspect others feel the same way.
She does an AMAZING job in that movie. Look up a clip of her online being interviewed. If you see what she is really like, her real voice, her real demeanor – you will see how she truly inhabited another person. In real life she comes off as teh older version of a tween. And she plays a perosn whose life is basically shit and who is closed of emotianlly from the world to literally escape her world (in fantasy)- so maybe that explains the range of emotions being largely in the down trodden, life sucks category.
Also, some people’s lives are tragic situation after tragic situation – sorry if there wasn’t a moment at the end where she won homecoming queen for you.
unlike um, seriously, i liked precious, however, i agree that there wasn’t much to g. sibide’s performance. she played shut down very well.
have no idea where she’ll go from here.
I agree with the prior statement. I don’t see what the hype is about her performance. I wish her the best. I hope she takes the time to take acting classes. Hopefully the “real” actresses, like Angela Bassett, will get the respect they deserve.
Um, Seriously, you probably have no soul. I’m sure you love Michael Bay movies. Believe me, there’s a very short list of people that weren’t emotionally moved by that movie, they are called bad people.
I’d rather look on the bright side and see this as UTA’s optimism that Gaby has a bright future ahead of her. Where do you think she’ll turn up next? The possibilities are intriguing.
I agree wit you. Their really wasnt no acting done on her part. Everytime she opened her mouth to speak she sounded like she was’nt interested in her lines and she sounded like something was stuck in her throat! She got the part because of her size and nothing more, sorry to sound like a hater, but that’s real talk
Wow…you woke up this morning and drank a bottle of hatorade. She was wonderful, the film was wonderful…can’t wait to see your movie. Wait….ya’ probably don’t have one. Go UTA!!!! This is awesome and by the way “Um, seriously” she’s in the C-word on Showtime with Laura Linney. What are you in?
I feel pretty much the same way except I actually sort of liked the movie. But I agree her long term prospects seem very limited.
I feel the exact same way. This girl, while probably a really nice person, couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag.
is that Tracey or Sidibe??
Could not agree with you more. And what the hell else will she ever be cast in?
This shouldnt come as a surprise to anyone. Jill Kaplan puts all her clients with UTA.
are you insane? this is the craziest post I have ever read. Everyone who saw the movie not only thought it was brilliant, but also agree that Gabby, Monique, and the entire cast went above and beyond. I honestly, have not heard anyone calling it tedious and melodramatic. Maybe you are racist? I just do not understand this comment.
Not racist – but prejudiced against our weightier friends. I watched Sidibe on Charlie Rose and she is a very articulate young lady. Apparently she convinced these bloggers she was Precious in real life – that’s good acting! I can’t believe how dumb people are in this town. WTF do they think acting is, anyway?
I completely agree. what do you do with her? There are so few roles for someone like her. While I liked the film better than you, it should not have been nominated for best picture. Good luck, Untalented Talent Agency
Big sign!
Thank you.
Well I didn’t see Precious because my heroes punch people, but the question will be how do you market her? She won’t make a good “girlfriend” though I guess there maybe some movement for overweight black women with little experience.
It’s almost reminiscent of the Slumdog Kids.
Vanity Fair magazine forgot to put her on the cover as a young ingenue to watch in H-Wood.
It is so funny that people are dissing her talent. If she were a more traditional Hollywood beauty (blonde, thin, pale) people would be lauding her and saying give her a chance.
I say give her as much a chance to succeed or fail as….Taylor Lautner a k a Stretch Armstrong.
Gabourney I have three words for you: You Go, Girl!
Wow! Look at the fangs come out and all I did was state my opinion. I’m called a racist and my career is disparidged all b/c I didn’t like a movie.
To: a guy, stut up hater and jeff—your boss needs his dry cleaning picked up and his gf’s dog defecated all over the rug—let’s get those two things done. You three obviously live in a bubble (and in the Valley) and can’t tolerate an opinion that doesn’t mesh with yours. This despite that the fact that you don’t actually have an opinion that’s yours—just a collective opinions about a movie and an actress which will change next year with the wind.
I pit you guys actually. With your $30 K a year job and nowhere to go but the middle. You read Nikki’s board and spew venom b/c it makes you feel good about yourselves. Because there isn’t anyone lower on the totem pole than you that you can crap on.
For jeff who craped on my career—I had a movie out last year, did 80 mil domestically. So I think my career will be ok thank you very much. Perhaps in the future it would be best for you three to respect people like me who have an opinion and didn’t start this fight. You guys need someone like me. Because without me…how would you pad your mileage forms to make the wage you bring in even liveable?