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Gesica™ |
DIARY OF A MAD
BLACK WOMAN
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| Diary of a Mad Black
Woman |
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| Playwright
Tyler Perry exits Madea stage
left right on to the big screen.
In his play turned film Perry
mixes drama and comedy like
magic. Making the audience feel
wounded and cared for with
hilarious anecdotes along the
way. |
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By Tonisha Johnson |
Was it your
idea to turn this play into a movie?
Tyler Perry: When I was
writing the play I thought there was so
much more of this story that I wanted to
tell. So if I ever got the opportunity
to tell the rest of the story I would.
And so when the opportunity came up, I
thought, it has to be Diary. It’s got to
be Diary.
In the
beginning of the film, you have Helen
[Kimberly Elise] being dragged out by
her husband…
Tyler Perry: Yes. That needed
to be establish to determine why she was
so angry. I lessened it. I took a lot of
the stuff out of it because I didn’t
want it too brutal. But when she gets
revenge it makes it that much more
powerful.
Often in films
you find that black cast members are
beaten and then the black community has
to rise above that. What’s your take on
that type of casting?
Tyler Perry: I wanted to make
sure that we we’re all represented well.
Not just the females but the males as
well. If I’m going to show the bad side
of what we can be then I’m going to show
the good side of what we can be.
Where does your
inspirational creativity derive from?
Tyler Perry: It comes from
me…from everywhere.
How did you
come about writing plays?
Tyler Perry: I was watching
the Oprah show and she said it was
cathargic to write stuff down. That was
when I was about 18 or 19 years old. And
I guess I have been writing since then,
that day. I had wrote about a lot of
stuff I had been through. it was a lot
of different characters with different
names. And a friend of mine said wow
this would be a really good play. And I
said maybe that’s what it really is and
that’s how I fell into my destiny. Its’
been a 100 miles an hour ever since.
How much
adlibbing did you add to the film?
Tyler Perry: There was a
whole bunch that we cut out. When I’m in
the moment in the scene, I’m really not
myself. Even Uncle Joe had some of the
funniest stuff. But it will be on the
DVD because I wanted to film to stay
true to the story of what Helen was.
Did you ever
consider putting a real woman in the
role of Madea?
Tyler Perry: No. That would
put me out of a job. The only woman who
could be that is my aunt and my mother.
Most black
communities in the south have woman of
that size. It’s the ordinary?
Tyler Perry: I think that’s
what makes it so unique. Because it’d be
stuff to find a woman that big. Madea is
larger than life, literally. When you
see this character…she’s huge. And
that’s all apart of the comedy I think.
Some people may
confuse her to be a real lady?
Tyler Perry: Well a couple of
years on stage people actually thought
she was. Especially if you weren’t very
close.
What can we
expect next from Tyler Perry?
Tyler Perry: I’m working on
Madea’s Family Reunion. Then I’m going
to go completely left and do a story
about a jazz singer and a holocaust
survivor in the 1940s that I want to do.
So were going into a totally different
direction.
Would you
consider a television show for the
character Madea?
Tyler Perry: I had worked on
that with a major studio. But with the
amount of control that they want and the
amount of changes…they want to put you
in a room like this filled with writers
and have them put words in your mouth.
And I’m not for sale so that couldn’t
work Not necessarily control as much as
the content because I know the
responsibility to the audience and I can
look and see how our families are
represented. Where else can you see
grandma, grandpa, 8 year olds and 9 year
olds represented in one place, outside
of church and 9xs out of 10 the kids
don’t want to be there. It’s a huge
responsibility and I know what this
means and I know I have to carry it
well. I have to respect it so I can’t
just give it away.
What advice do
you have for viewers who aspire to do
what you do?
Tyler Perry: For a lot of
people its a lot of different things.
For me if you have a natural talent to
do things, then nurture it, educate it
into making it better. Do everything you
can. It goes back to a passage in the
bible…”Your gift will make room for
you.” And I’ve always believed that.
whatever your gift is and it’s given to
you no matter what’s going on in the
world, no matter how many singers, no
matter how many writers, your gift will
make room for you in that situation. So,
I always believe that. if its your gift
nurture it and make it the best that it
can be.
How was the
casting done for this film?
Tyler Perry: Kimberly was
first. Everytime I would write and I’d
get stuck with a scene I would go awe
man who would do this? So I called
Reuben Cannon who actual did the casting
and I said do you think Kimberly would
do this and he said well you know she’s
very selective. So we sent her the
material, she read it and said yeah I’ll
do it. that flowed for me. After
Kimberly everybody else came. Of course
when you look at Cicley Tyson and
Kimberly they look like mother and
daughter. And they always wanted to work
togther. They have a tremendous amount
of respect for each other. What they
don’t know about each other and I know
because I was outside looking at both of
them…was that when they prepare for a
role they prepare the exact same way.
They do the exact same thing. They hit
the same beats…it’s amazing. Their the
same people. So that was easy. And of
course Shemar being Orlando. There’s
something in him that a lot of people
don’t know. That when he comes from in
here [chest] like he does in his films
…when he proposed in that room the
entire set was silent. He nailed it. It
was really powerful. So those guys were
the easy ones. Charles was the hard one.
We went through three different guys
with Charles. Until we got to the guy
that was suppose to play Charles. He was
supposed to play him so much that he
just happened to be sitting on a plane
next to Reuben Cannon going to Vegas.
They had a conversation and reuben was
like…you’re who we’ve been looking for.
So he [Reuben] says what about Steve
Harris. I said The Practice guy, why
didn’t we think of this. So, he is
Charles. He made you hate him.
Was this the
Hollywood Homeless?
Tyler Perry: No. This is not
the Kato Kalin homeless. This is Georgia
homeless. It was only a 3 month period
and I would stay in a pay the week hotel
when I could. Or I would sleep in my
car. There’s various degrees to it. it’s
not the out on the street, sleeping in
the park.
How did the
writing take off for you?
Tyler Perry: It didn’t take
off until 1998. I had an opportunity to
do another show at the House of Blues.
After 92 to 98…30 people showing up to a
100 people showing up till the average
show selling out. It was something that
just clicked. The timing just became
right. God just said ok now’s the time.
Do you think
other cultures can be open to this type
of film?
Tyler Perry: I say that all
the time. If people can just get past
the title and just go in and be open to
it…it can fit to a lot of possibilities,
lots of situations.
There is a line
that you say I carry you in my spirit. I
pray for you more than I pray for
myself…
Tyler Perry: That is my base.
When everything else in my life growing
up…when I had nothing else; when I had
issue’s with my father, when my parents
where arguing and fighting…when I had
nothing else, I would pray. It has been
the only thing that has kept me going.
The only that carried me even through
the homeless period. I know that this
works for me. And its not me trying to
force it on anyone. It’s just me saying,
here’s an option. This works for me,
maybe it will work for you. if you
notice it’s not in your face. It’s very
sutle. But it is there.
What can we
expect from Madea goes to Jail?
Tyler Perry: You know, I
think this is my adult show because I
took 2 years off and I grew up. I
dealing with a lot of issues like foster
kids and infidelity. Im dealing with
different subjects. But this ones really
rich. I think this is my favorite show
of all.
Are you an only
child?
Tyler Perry: I have 2 sisters
and 1 brother.
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Copyright © 2005 Gesica Magazine |
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