Oprah Disqualified for Precious Oscar

Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry may be executive producers for Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire, but if the film wins big on Oscar night, neither Winfrey or Perry will be receiving a statuette.

Winfrey and Perry lent their names to the film after viewing a screening of the completed project.

Despite their support, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences allows only a limited number of Best Picture recipients, and Winfrey and Perry did not make the list.

"The rule is up to three producers get statuettes," a studio rep told the Los Angeles Times. "The producers are Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness."

Now a potential Oscar nominee, Lee Daniels, the gay producer and director of Precious, thought his film was headed straight to DVD until Winfrey called.

"I was winning my second award at Sundance and the phone rang," Daniels told E! Online. "It was Oprah. I knew then I was not going to DVD."

Nominations for the Academy Awards will be announced February 2.