Next on 60 Minutes: Tyler Perry's 'Why Can't Spike Lee Get Muzzled?'
Tyler Perry appeared on 60 Minutes last night, and any chance of revelatory fireworks was considerably muted by correspondent Byron Pitts, whose impassive reactions and not-exactly-penetrating follow-ups left Perry twisting in the wind. However, there were two good moments. One of them involved Oprah declaring of Perry, "Do not play him small, because he is not just some lucky, rich Negro turned black man." OK! The other?
That'd be when Pitts finally decided to introduce a semi-controversial subject: Spike Lee's comments that the Perry empire promoted "coonery and buffonery."
"I would love to read that to my fan base," Perry told Pitts. "All these characters of mine are bait -- disarming, charming, make-you-laugh bait so I can slap Medea in something and talk about God, love, faith, forgiveness, family, any of those things. That pisses me off, it really does. It's so insulting. It's attitudes like that that make Hollywood think these [black audiences] don't exist, and that's why there's no material speaking to them, speaking to us."
Translation: "Spike, I'm eleven feet tall and I wield a mean handbag. Keep bugging me and I'll exile you to the holding cell on Tyler Perry Island with nary a Knicks ticket in sight." Here's the clip.
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Comments
blowhard on blowhard violence has got to stop
Well Tyler makes the same movies and same subject matter over and over. And the reason Oprah likes him is because he's part of the millionaires club.
I think his direction is mediocre. I could probably do what he does. Tyler doesn't experiment and hasn't taken his craft to a higher level. It's stayed the same throughout his career. I don't think he has it in him to do something daring or experimental. But give him credit for keeping black actors/actresses employed, when the rest of Hollywood won't employ them.
Spike has some good points and I understand where he's coming from. I don't think he's anti-Perry and his characters, but he feels that Tyler could step up his game. Get some really good cinematographers, write more creativity, maybe even get another director to direct. Tyler does it all...and nobody can do it all and be 100% excellent. When you do it all (write, produce, direct) you end up distributing average material, esp. when you do it over and over again.
I'm a regular movie goer (at least 3-4 a week) but I've never seen a Tyler Perry. I've never seen a "X-Men" movie, either, or a one of the "Saw" movies. From the trailers, the subject matter and what I read in the reviews, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't enjoy them. However, there is an audience that enjoys these movies and eagerly awaits the next one in the line. If people enjoy them, what gives Mr. Lee or anyone the right to say they shouldn't be produced?
By the way, I did see "Miracle At St. Anna," the last film by Mr. Lee that I have seen and the last movie by Mr. Lee I shall ever see. There actually was a black soldier in that movie an Italian character continually referred to as "Chocolate Giant." My advice to Mr. Lee would be: Physician, heel thyself.
I did not appreciate the tone of Spike Lee. I feel that he was disrespectful. Tyler Perry has not been in the film making business as long as Spike Lee however I feel that he is Spike Lee's equal because one is as talented as the other in different aspects. Spike Lee as a rule of thumb prefers to stay on the side of " they have done the black people wrong", whereas I feel, Tyler Perry shows you, okay you've gotten yourself into a jam, you can still fix the situation and LEAN ON YOUR FAITH THAT GOD/ JESUS WILL HELP YOU. To my knowledge he is the ONLY film director who TRIES to remind our society (the black society) that God is there. Faith is important. He depicts REAL LIFE SITUATIONS THAT REALLY HAPPEN, THAT PEOPLE REALLY LIVE THROUGH, OR HAVE EXPERIENCED. Yes there are a few of us who are like the Cosby's, educated with incredible careers, and a nuclear family BUT unfortunately, that is not the NORM in black America. In Tyler Perry's movies & plays we ALWAYS COME away from the production with the belief.......NO MATTER WHAT THE PREDICAMENT......YOU CAN DO BETTER. IT'S UP TO YOU TO WANTING TO DO BETTER. LOVING YOURSELF ENOUGH TO FIGHT TO DO BETTER! I appreciate Tyler's style as well because for the most part it is a movie that kids and parents can go to and enjoy, understand, and appreciate the message that's being given. Spike Lee's style caters more to adults because the vocabulary is VERY RAW, as a parent of an 11 year old I chose not to let my child listen to so much profanity. The message Mr. Lee is trying to convey is probably "real" and "valid" BUT there is generally a great deal of profanity in his work.
We have VERY FEW (GOOD) BLACK FILM MAKERS. IT SADDENS ME A GREAT DEAL TO SEE THAT THE SEASONED FILM MAKER(S)LIKE MR. SPIKE LEE DO NOT RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE AND NEED TO BE SUPPORTIVE OF THE "NEW KID ON THE BLOCK". It would be interesting to see if these 2 VERY DIFFERENT film makers could collaberate and create something together.
Tyler Perry Island?! Why wasn't I alerted to this before? I keep a direct line on my nightstand with no buttons on it for just such a piece of information! So, is he going to shoot movies there? (OMG:Tyler Perry's Couples Retreat??) Does TP Island have a secret lair tucked behind a likenes of Madea carved into a mountain side? Is TP working on cloning himself, so that he can put out 15 movies each year? NEED MORE INFO!