Tyler Perry directs his first screenplay after 27 years | Entertainment

TORONTO — Tyler Perry directed his first screenplay 27 years after it was written.

“The Jazz Player’s Blues,” which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, was Perry’s first foray into screenwriting before Madia made him a media mogul when he poured his little money into the less-successful Atlanta in stage play.

After directing multiple films, dozens of TV episodes and expanding his 330-acre Tyler Perry studio empire in Atlanta, Perry, who barely changed a word in his first film for Netflix, is back That old script. (“The Jazz Player’s Blues” begins Sept. 23.)

“The timing seemed right,” Perry said in an interview ahead of the film’s premiere on Sunday.

Set in mid-century Georgia, the film stars Joshua Boon as Bayou, a punk who falls in love with Leanne (Solea Pfieffer) before leaving Chicago for big plans. Years later, she returned to her hometown to get married and passed away. A romance set in the segregated South and the era’s thriving music scene, featuring songs by Terence Blanchard and dancing by Debbie Allen Choreography.

Notes edited for brevity.

AP: What was going on in your life when you wrote this article?

Perry: I was really struggling and poor. It was a really tough time. I had a chance to see August Wilson perform. If I remember correctly, I think it was “Seven Guitars”. I have to sneak in at halftime and get in when people come out to smoke. I can’t afford a ticket. There was a party at a small cafe and I met him. I told him what kind of show I was doing and what more I wanted to do. He encouraged me not to be ashamed of what I was doing and to do whatever else I wanted to do. I went home and started writing, and “Jazz” came along.

AP: Where did this story come from?

Perry: I grew up in New Orleans and have family in rural Louisiana. That’s where I spend the summer with my grandmother. So I know the world very well. When I was a kid working on Bourbon Street, I would hear all kinds of music. All this music is in my head when I write. I’m not trying to write a period article about someone passing by in the South. A few years ago, I remember seeing a picture of my grandmother and great-grandmother who looked like white women. My grandmother married my grandfather, who was obviously black. According to my aunt – and I’m verifying this now – there are people in my family who are considered white.

AP: Is that something your family talks about?

Perry: No. This is the weirdest thing in generations before me. I find this is the case with my Jewish friends whose grandparents survived the Holocaust. It just wasn’t talked about. It is not mentioned. I feel like this is a terrible disservice to future children and to those who benefited from the atrocities our family suffered. If you don’t know the facts of what happened and how it happened, I think you’ve done a disservice to your family.

AP: This is probably your most ambitious film to date. Do you feel like you have to build up?

Perry: One hundred percent. Diary of a Mad Woman, my first film, I didn’t have a director because I didn’t know how. It takes all these movies and all these TV episodes to really understand filmmaking. I’m really thankful for David Fincher and (Ben) Affleck, when I was on “Gone Love”, I really started to understand and understand it. For me, the camera has always been about telling stories. I didn’t fully consider all the things a camera can represent.

AP: So why fix it now?

Perry: I’ve always been very strategic. I have to make sure I super serve my niche, my audience. I need those successes to get it here. It’s all part of the plan. The reason it’s showing up now is that I’ve been watching so many politicians and powers try to downplay and whitewash the experience of black Americans. I think because of this assault on history, we as storytellers should bring these true stories to the forefront.

AP: Georgia has been at the center of some battles over voting rights, abortion rights and school curricula. What do you think about having your studio there?

Perry: I have two views on this. One is: seeing their battles and seeing the dynamism it takes to get the job done, in the land and home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. There’s an abundance of where I thrive, where I’m invested, and where I appreciate. On the other hand, we’re dealing with all these gerrymandering, voting rights issues, abortion issues. All these moments are happening, but I have to focus on the fighters so I can play in the state I like.

AP: Some in Hollywood had previously called for a boycott of the Georgia production. Last year, Will Smith’s “Liberation” pulled out of filming in the state. How do you feel about these measures?

Perry: I think some of them are extreme. We now have this cancellation culture where if someone does something you don’t like or says something you don’t like, they get cancelled. If the state has laws you don’t like, you don’t go there. The reason I take issue with all this is that elections are held every four years, or midterm elections are held every two years. We have the opportunity to try to change it. So I think a drastic immediate shutdown could be detrimental to the people who work here. Currently, I have over $400 million in funding at Tyler Perry Studios. There are a lot of people who come to work there who never had the opportunity to be in the business. I know Hollywood takes diversity very seriously now. Well, nothing is more diverse than Tyler Perry Studios. If you try to boycott the country, you are boycotting those people.

AP: You have a multi-year content deal with Viacom. This is your first movie with Netflix. Are you looking for a bigger platform?

Perry: I’ve built this machine and it’s ready to produce a lot of content. So I wanted a place where I could create content, a place where I could express things like “jazz” or whatever I wanted to do next. I have a zombie movie that I’ve been working on for a while that I want to make. I just want to be in a place where I can practice these things.