Tyler on Madea and More
Born in New Orleans on September 13, 1969, Tyler Perry�s is a true rags-to-riches story. He overcame a troubled childhood during which he had to endure the endless abuse of his own father. In 1992, inspired by Oprah Winfrey, Tyler started writing some soul-searching letters to himself as a catharsis for his pain. These journal entries, in turn, would ultimately serve as the basis for his first play, entitled I Know I've Been Changed.
The 6�5� actor/writer/director's success with that hit musical would change the face of urban theater, enabling him to tour the country with his company in a string of sellout performances of that and Woman, Thou Art Loosed, Behind Closed Doors, and I Can Do Bad All by Myself. A year ago, he parlayed his most popular character, Madea, into a major motion picture via the big screen version of Diary of a Mad Black Woman. Here, he talks about his return for another round in drag as the sassy, 68 year-old senior citizen in Madea's Family Reunion.
The Madea's Family Reunion Interview with Kam Williams
Kam Williams (KW): How does all the success you�re enjoying impact you, given
where you've come from having once been homeless?
Tyler Perry (TP): What it does is it completely makes me grateful, totally. I'm really so grateful for all this stuff that happens. Whenever I think of any of the other stuff I'm hearing, the good or the bad, which tries to take me away from the gratitude, I always remember to get back to the base of the gratitude and to thank God for it. I thank God for it everyday. I really do.
KW: In Madea's Family Reunion, like Diary of a Mad Black Woman, you tackle the serious issue of the abuse of women. Is it a burden trying to deal with such a serious subject while making a comedy?
TP: I try not to take on the weight or the burden of it. Once it's on the paper, I try to leave it, because I want to surrender to what I'm supposed to write about. I'm supposed to write about this character, how she overcomes, and completely just let that go, after I do that. But I think a part of me, at some point, remembers the little boy that I was, and watching my mother go through a lot of things, and hopes that some other child's mother will see this and go, �You know what? My kid is watching this.� And maybe that will make them better. I do get that kind of letter, and those are priceless for me.
KW: How did life change for you following the release of Diary of a Mad Black Woman at this same time a year ago?
TP: I was still working. I stayed on tour all the way until June, so I didn�t feel any of what was happening. I just knew when I got back to Atlanta and tried to go to the mall, something had changed. Before, I could always go to the mall, and a few people might recognize me and stop me, but after that, there was a lot of pointing and stuff, and I realized I had worked my way completely through it.
KW: So, where are you living now?
TP: It's in Atlanta. It's an actual plantation. There were 150 slaves living on it at one time. It's called the Gaither Plantation.
KW: Are you concerned that Madea's spanking a kid in this movie might be controversial?
TP: I wrestled with that. I asked myself, �Do I take this out? She's spanking a foster child, of all children.�
KW: How did you resolve it?
TP: You know what I did when I found myself wrestling with it? I asked 30,000 people a week, at the end of the stage show. I said, �Listen, there's a scene in here where I'm spanking this kid. What do you think? Should I leave it in?� They went, �Yes! Yes! Yes!� So, I went with the people on it.
KW: To what do you credit your uncanny ability to tap into something that resonates emotionally with so many people?
TP: I totally give credit to God for all of this stuff, because if I had tried to make these things happen, I couldn�t have. To have all these things happen has been absolutely amazing. The road that I'm on is a path that I didn�t choose. It chose me. I'm just trying to walk it, and to do the best that I can to honor and respect it.
KW: What's involved in your creative process as a writer? Do you squirrel yourself away from the world and then start recalling experiences from childhood?
TP: No, I don�t, because a lot of times what happens is, I�ll write something, and my sister or somebody will see it and they�ll go, �Do you remember when that happened? That's probably where you got that from.� And I go, �Wow! You know what? You�re right.� Because once I forgave a lot of things from my past, I really have forgotten a lot of them.
KW: How important was it to you to have Maya Angelou and Cicely Tyson participating in this project?
TP: It was extremely important because I speak across generations, and I thought this was a great opportunity to introduce Dr. Angelou and Ms. Tyson to a whole younger generation of children who may not even know who they are, but they know Madea. So, I just think it was a wonderful thing.
KW: Why did you decide to direct Madea's Family Reunion yourself? Afterall, you let someone else direct Diary of a Mad Black Woman.
TP: Because I know the story and the character, and when I tried that with Diary it kept coming back to me. The more I tried to throw it out, it kept coming back to me like a boomerang. All the questions kept coming back to me. �Why is this like this?� Since I had all the answers, this time I decided to save the headache and just direct it.
KW: Who inspires you?
TP: Overall, the person on Earth would be the legacy of Oprah, and what she's done. Both her great business sense, and what she's tried to represent.
KW: Thanks a lot for the interview.
TP: Thank you, take care.
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Related Links
Tyler Perry - The Family That Preys
Interview Why Did
I Get Married? - Film Review Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea's
Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life - Book Review Meet the Browns - Film Review
Blacktrospective 2007 Annual Look Back at the Best (and Worst)
in Black Cinema
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