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Hey all. Been gone a couple o' days....mama had bidness to attend to :-)
I've gotten some very interesting comments the past couple days...surprise, surprise (not) more than a few involved the great Tyler Perry. Of course Sergio weighed in:
'I have a friend who met Angela Bassett shortly after she made Meet The Browns and told him confidentially that it was the absolute WORSE experience she had ever had in her career. That Perry has no clue what he's doing either in directing or handling actors.
Of course when it came time to promote the film she couldn't say that, but let's face it. She's a 50 year old black actress in Hollywood and it's a struggle just to get a role let alone lead roles. Which is why she's now going to be a regular on the last season of ER (wearing a really bad wig judging from the promo pictures of her on the show). But I have a feeling that other actresses who have been in Perry's movies (Lathan, Woodard, Givens, etc) would all say the same thing about Perry in private too.'
From IW: Dang! And Manchild, who may be the most positive blogger in the Afrosphere, had this to say:
'Ouch!!
I'm hoping and praying that Mr. Tyler Perry will survive his "humble beginnings" as a film director, screenwriter, and producer. It's just a matter of time before he triumphantly delivers the high-quality films people will gladly pay to see.
Despite Mr. Perry's short-comings right now, at least he's involved in the game and doing the best he can to live out his "Big Dream" while he still can.
We all know some creative person who's been shackled and chained by "perfectionism" and the "paralysis of analysis" for years and died with their dreams still in them. Fear and Peer Pressure have persuaded many aspiring writers, actors, and film producers to give up, quit, and abandon their dreams too soon.
Adversity, Setbacks, and Failure will prove to be Tyler Perry's most effective teachers. Time will be his most reliable critic. Been there. Done that.
Manchild'
From IW: Interesting take, and well said. There is hope on the horizon...from reader Awkward Black Girl:
'I have gotten my wish! Tyler Perry is taking a step back to produce OTHER filmmakers and writers. YES JESUS!!!!!
From IW: lol! On another note, from my self-proclaimed lurker "KS" in Kansas-for my Midwest fam, there is an amazing showing of works in Topeka by Separate Cinema from Oct 1-Nov 1.
It is a festival of Black literature adapted to the big screen with the cinema of books by Earnest Gaines, Gordon Parks, Chester Himes, Richard Wright, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and a host of others...wish I could be there! For more info on this wonderful fest, entitled "From Micheaux To Morrisson" click HERE.
6 comments:
Great comments on Tyler Perry. Time will definitely tell. I wish I could be there for the Black Lit Festiva. These are some of my fave writers.
I hope you're doing well IW.
I'm with Manchild, Tyler's out here making it happen. I feel oft times his films are not for me but the brother is empire building! He and Keenan (not my cup of tea either) are Black film maker as mogul, that's a new role for us. They have a degree of green light power in film. I cannot hate on that! We need a Tyler Perry right about now. He is an important film maker despite the importance of his films in my eyes. He's become a new "black film" avatar, ushering in a new age of film makers that are an accurate reflection of the peoples sentiment if not an accurate depiction of the people themselves. Basically Perry is making movies that fill a void Blacks in America are feeling right now. In spite of their portrayal in the films. They suspend belief long enough to actualize the positivity in his films if only for a moment, if only in their minds.
Thanks sdg :-)
I wish i could go with you to the lit fest--i think it would be cool!
@kiss mba: very, very well said; thanks for leaving that great comment (which i do agree with)
I dont doubt it. Tyler really did her wrong with that sript. Supposedly he wrote "Meet the Browns" for Angela Bassett. So why would he write a stereotypical single mother of 3 who is more kind to her worthless baby daddy than the man who paid to fix up her house? When I think of Angela, I think regal, class, sophistication. All the things Tyler didnt write in that film. He did her no justice, so I'm not surprised by those comments. Thanks for posting this IW!
I'm not a fan of Tyler's movies, however I do agree that he is filling a void and I respect his hustle. I just wish we had a black director who has Tyler's popularity but understands and knows how to make great cinema, and could make movies about black people and stories, that are overlooked. We have had more than enough urban, family, and comedy movies. It's time that we go to the next level and have great cinema.
@ IW- you should checkout the book "Now the Hell Will Start: One Soldier's Flight from the Greatest Manhunt of World War II."
I just started it and it's a great book.
hi there ms. diva: i can always count on you to light up my blog by having ms. bassett's back at all times! haha :-)
@darkside: very timely: if you check out my post today about the movie it's in alignment with what you said.
thanks for the heads up about the book; i really appreciate it!
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