It reminded me of several excruciating days observing Daniels at close quarters on the set of "Precious" (then called "Push"). The most pertinent of which relates to the 'signature scene' where Paula Patton is trying to teach Gabby Sidibe to read and says, "Push, Precious, Push."

After it became obvious that every single shot was going to be angled with the camera on the outside of an office window with half closed blinds, I queried how he was going to be able to work in the requisite insert shot – y'know, of the illiterate character's finger trying to trace the words she cannot understand on the pages of the book. This then led to an magnificently fruitless 10-minute endeavor where I tried to explain to him, like a 3-year old, the difference between 'objective' and 'subjective' point-of-view, the end of which I was left in doubt he understood what those words actually meant, let alone their potency as film-making devices. It was a miracle the guy could even direct himself from his trailer to the set most days, but yes, his talent certainly lies in massaging and luring neurotic female egos to the brink of their comfort zone. Now if only he'd spare us his delusions of grandeur.