Tyler Perry is a very talented actor and filmmaker who started his career making stage productions. He later got Hollywood famous bringing his character of Madea to life on screen. Unfortunately, his latest films have not sat well with critics, and perhaps because of some of those negative reviews, he's had a lot of big names turn down roles in his latest movie. Now the Madea director and star is speaking out about those rejections.
Reputation means everything when it comes to being a Hollywood filmmaker. Tyler Perry spoke all about that on the PEOPLE Every Day podcast about how approaching up-and-coming young actors gaining plenty of media attention were turning down his new Netflix movie, A Jazzman’s Blues.
Unfortunately with this film, I went to a bunch of up-and-coming young artists who were getting a lot of attention and I asked them about doing the role. They read the script, they loved the script, but I think there was a reservation or hesitation about working with me in particular on this film, because I guess they didn’t know how it would turn out. Too bad, so sad for them.
The 52-year-old filmmaker claimed on the podcast that actors and actresses have teams that choose to ignore his work and push their young talent away from him. The last Netflix film Perry took part in, A Fall From Grace, received mediocre reviews and got piled on a bit for a number errors that audiences couldn’t help but pay attention to. While it’s understandable from an agent's perspective, it’s still a shame for the Gone Girl actor to be turned down because he's made so many movies people enjoy.
Luckily, Tyler Perry is not letting these refusals weigh him down as he’s said how proud he is of the cast that’s in his latest movie. He felt that fresh faces Joshua Boone and Solea Pfeiffer helped make his film exactly the way it was and how important it was to open the doors to new talent. Even if A Fall From Grace did not receive the best reception, it still helped open the doors for The Haves and the Have Nots actress Crystal Fox who was waiting for a break like this for the past 40 years compared to normally playing supporting roles.
Tyler Perry originally started out as an outsider in Hollywood having come from the world of theater. In 1995 when he was in the middle of writing A Jazzman’s Blues, he was hungry, sleeping on his cousin’s couch, and eventually experienced homelessness trying to get his first play out there. Now Netflix has given this big-name filmmaker/actor the chance to show everyone the first movie he’s ever written.
This movie is a departure from Perry’s previous films in that this one is a 1940s period piece about the forbidden love between a black jazz singer and a Holocaust survivor. He originally pictured himself playing the lead with big-name actors like Will Smith, Halle Berry, Sir Ben Kingsley, Diana Ross, Cicely Tyson, and others as part of the ensemble. But as time went on, everyone aged out. But after 26 years, this longtime producer’s dream is coming true in A Jazzman’s Blues coming to Netflix soon.
Tyler Perry concluded his podcast by saying that he can’t wait for the young talent who turned down his movie to finally see it for themselves. We all will get the same chance as them to see it as A Jazzman’s Blues hits your Netflix subscription on September 23rd.
