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Oscar Nominations Go To Mo'Nique and Gabourey Sidibe as Harlem's 'Precious' Cleans Up

By DNAinfo Staff on February 2, 2010 8:49am  | Updated on February 2, 2010 11:24am

Mo'nique was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress. She won best supporting dramatic actress at the Golden Globes on Jan. 17.
Mo'nique was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress. She won best supporting dramatic actress at the Golden Globes on Jan. 17.
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AP Photo/Matt Sayles

By Nina Mandell

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — The nominations of the 82nd Academy Awards are in and Harlem's "Precious" cleaned up.

Not only was the film nominated for Best Picture, but Mo'Nique was nominated for a best supporting actress nod, while newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, 25, was nominated for best actress.

Geoffrey Fletcher was nominated for writing the best adapted screenplay, Lee Daniels was nominated in the best director category and Joe Koltz picked up a nod in the film editing category.

"Precious," based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire, has already amassed an impressive amount of nominations and some hardware during the movie awards season.

Mo'Nique earned a Golden Globe and a Screen Actor's Guild award in the supporting actress category for her portrayal as Precious' abusive mother.

The film
The film "Precious" starring Gabourey Sidibe received multiple Academy Award nominations.
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AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

A gritty film dealing with the traumas of an obese, illiterate and abused Harlem teen, "Precious" was also nominated for the Best Picture award at the Golden Globes, but lost to James Cameron's "Avatar."

While the film cleaned up the nominations, it’s no guarantee it will walk away with the hardware.

In the Best Actress category, Sidibe is facing off against Meryl Streep ("Julie & Julia"), Carey Mulligan ("An Education"), Helen Mirren ("The Last Station") and Sandra Bullock ("The Blind Side").  Mo'Nique also has stiff competition, including Penélope Cruz ("Nine") and Vera Farmiga ("Up in the Air").

Precious reveived fewer nominations than other leading films, however. "The Hurt Locker" and "Avatar" each picked up nine nominations.