PUSH, starring Lenny Kravitz and Mo’Nique

Lee Daniels is anxious but not anxious.

He’s been to the Festival before, as producer of the 2004 film THE WOODSMAN, the Kevin Bacon film about a pedophile that is what they call in the industry “a tough sell.” This year he’s got PUSH, another harrowing story about an overweight, illiterate teenaged incest victim in Harlem.

Daniels is not anxious because he feels that his film will succeed. It will sell and if by some chance it doesn’t, he feels his financial backers will find it the right home. He says he’s bursting with pride over this film.

But however not-anxious Daniels may be, there’s still that necessity of subjecting your baby to the world’s judgment. He has a routine before his films are screened at this and other festivals: “I have a lunch or early dinner where I pray with my cast,” he says. “We pray and thank God for the fact that I was able to finish another one, and that they were a part of it. . . . And then I go out and I have my one cigarette a year and a glass of champagne.” No, he doesn’t sit through the screening with the audience. “At that point, what does it matter?” he says. “There’s nothing I can do about it and it’s torture if they’re not laughing at the right spots or not moved at the right spots and I haven’t hit my mark. It’s torture.”

In light of this, you will understand his advice for those in the Festival for the first time: “You’ve got to believe in the baby that you’ve given birth to. Ultimately, if I’m stuck with this movie in my DVD player and that’s it, I’m happy about it. I’m in love with every frame.”

I couldn’t help but observe that PUSH sounds like it deals with some dark themes–just like his previous movies (He produced Monster’s Ball and directed Shadowboxer.) Daniels professed to be genuinely surprised by that. “I do think it’s a wrong impression,” he says. To him, his stories are real. “I’m watching a lot of movies and I don’t believe the people in them, I don’t believe the acting. I don’t buy the story,” he said. “We go to the movies to escape our reality . . . and I think rarely is the truth told.”

Nonetheless, I said, many people find suicide and incest to be dark subjects.

“I’ll have to talk to my therapist about this–seriously,” he replied. And that’s a business decision. “I want to do a studio film,” he explained

Now that summer is officially here, unofficial “wedding season” also cranks into high gear. For TreeHuggers, the notion of a “green” wedding can be a tough contradiction to tackle; it’s perhaps the biggest day of your life, and you want to share it with your friends and family, and have a really good time doing so. Yet, with each additional invitation, out of town guest, plate of food, glass of champagne, and piece of cake, the eco-impact goes up. Thankfully, there are more and more options for green-conscious couples to have a beautiful, meaningful, fun wedding and not trash the planet in the process. Today, we’ll look at some of the options available to couples before the big day arrives.

Before the question even gets popped, you can be a little greener with GreenKarat [www.greenkarat.com] engagement and wedding rings. Unfortunately, industrial and manual methods of extracting precious metals and gems can damage land and ecosystems. Small scale miners often use excavation and extraction techniques which are harmful both to themselves and to the environment. Thankfully, GreenKarat offers recycled gold and absolutely won’t touch “conflict diamonds” — that is, those that raise questions about smuggling, chain of custody compliance, and doubtful monitoring and verification in regards to financing the activities of various rebel groups. They also offer synthetic gems (no mining required) for those who have, shall we say, less traditional expectations about the ring. Once fingers are properly adorned, it may be time to start planning the big day. Services and sites like Green Elegance Weddings [www.greeneleganceweddings.com] and Organic Weddings [www.organicweddings.com] offer tips, info and services for couples who want their big day to be a green day. With eco-friendly wedding apparel, invitations, gifts, flowers, food and beverages, honeymoons and do-it-yourself projects, there isn’t much that can’t be made greener. There’s even a whole magazine devoted to the subject now; Portovert [portovert.com] focuses on content that empowers engaged couples with inspiring, eco-chic ideas for engagement parties, bridal showers, weddings and other related events. But “don’t expect to find inspiration for wheat bundled arrangements and DIY hemp dresses here,” they say; it’s a “more hip, less hippie” way to go green, and that’s what we like to see.

Perhaps the biggest decision before the big day involves the dress: something so important to most brides that they’ll wear it just once and keep it forever. For something so special and individual TreeHugger thinks it’s good to know where your dress came from, how is was made and what is it made of. London-based Wholly Jo’s [www.wholly-jo.co.uk] make gowns from organic, fair trade and cruelty-free products. They use Peace Silks (a vegetarian option), and organic cotton and hemp fabrics and also take opportunities to recycle old dresses. Of course, if a trip to London isn’t in the cards, we also approve of the increasing popularity of vintage dresses. Of course, if using someone else’s wedding dress is too much, there’s always the paper wedding dress [www.treehugger.com]. We’re just saying…

Stay tuned for more green wedding tips throughout the rest of the week!