So Tyler Perry opened up shop and people are upset that he did? I’m not one of those people. Maybe it’s because I’m not as enamored with TP are – in negative and positive ways. I realize that when I go see a TP movie I’m going to be entertained, and not entertained with thought. Not to slight him in any way but he doesn’t create thought-provoking movies. They are for laughs with a nice little moral at the end and a happy ending. A fairy tale? Yes. I don’t think that he is committing any act of Tom Foolery or anything of the like. Him dressing up as a gun-toting grandma does not bother me. Nor did it bother me when Martin Lawrence did it, Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes, etc. The dressing in drag doesn’t bother me because at the end of the day I know that it is for entertainment and it’s not setting us(black people) back anymore than we already are. But back on topic
I look forward to this movie not because it has anything to do with TP but because the play was so well written and based on very short history of adaptations he did a good job. i.e. Precious and people are still talking about that movie. Also that movie was so good that it made people including myself buy the book and I was very pleased with how true the movie was to it. Yes he had some help from Oprah on the executive producing and he didn’t direct it but still I have faith in For Colored Girls and why? Well because people thought it was good enough to be moved from a typical TP February release to an Oscar season release. Also the cast is impeccable and because they are such seasoned veterans I don’t think that they would let the movie stray. I’ll also be pleased the awareness that it will bring and the play to the forefront and have more people read it and possibly revisit the play production and it can be seen by folks that were too young the first go round to see it or just haven’t been lucky enough to have it in an area that it visited.
A bit of a tangent here but for the directors and bloggers that have an issue with TP being a man directing the play or just him in general directing the play I tell them to suck it. Any beefs you have with TP fine don’t go and see the movie and stick to loving the play however don’t get angry that he directed it. The play has been out for 35 years and won its broadway accolades 33 years ago so in that time there has been 33-35 years for someone to take on this task of creating a film version of the play. Spike Lee, Oprah, Denzel, Chris Rock, Whoopi, Angela Basset, Laurence Fishburne,Robert Townsend etc all had the means and connects to make this come alive. Not throwing salt on them for NOT doing it but don’t be mad that TP did it when everybody had just as much opportunity and money before he arrived on the scene to do it. Also, if his testosterone is the issue in recent times more and more women have been directing and developing projects and any of the listed names could have helped them out but on the same hand TP could have done the same but he didn’t but I have faith that the women in the project will do it justice.
I admire that he built his own empire and is using his own funds for his projects. People need to think and realize that Black Hollywood although it is growing is still very small and there are limited resources and fundings for actors and projects so instead of tearing down somebody who found a niche market and has been ridiculously successful, think deeper about why he became successful. There are two few black directors/casts so when a “black” movie comes out people feel that they should support it but also his movies are Christian based, so one shouldn’t have to question why he gets support from Black Christians because we know how that group works. Then the persons who feel that because we have so few black directors/casts that all of our movies need to be Oscar-worthy need to look at reality. There are more crappy movies produced and starring white people each year than their oscar buzz movies. I actually think that black people are doing well with our movies because we are recycling the same good actors, producing more movies with positive messages, adapting from novels and creating exposure, and more actors are stepping behind the camera and creating a darker directors seat than ever before which is creating more quality and that is always better than quantity. Yes for every good movie we have there are 6 Soul Planes but still we are making progress. Also just because we started making better qualities it doesn’t mean that white people are going to see us in a better light or have a better understanding of black people as a whole and I firmly believe this based on the recent Oscars going to black people who played the antagonist. But if somebody feels that they need more variety in movies–either pick up a camera,start writing a screenplay or hit the film festival circuit to find something of “substance” instead of waiting for the mainstream production companies to deliver something to you.
