Diana Ross is ignoring Tyler Perry
Diana Ross performed at Madison Square Garden. (AP Photo by Jason DeCrow)
Tyler Perry attended a movie premiere in New York (AP Photo by Peter Kramer)
Film director Tyler Perry would like to bring his film “A Jazz Man’s Blues” to the big screen, but there’s one big-haired diva who is holding up the film. It’s the legendary Diana Ross.
Perry said he’s been trying to persuade Ross to take the starring role in the film, but she won’t give him the time of day.
In an interview with BV Buzz, Perry said “Diana Ross is still ignoring me. I’ve sent flowers. That’s why I haven’t done Jazz Man yet because I’m waiting for her to say yes. Once she says yes, I’ll do that film. Yes, Tyler Perry is stalking Diana Ross. I want her in the film. I’ve been sending flowers. I’ve been sending people by her. I’ve been sending e-mails to people who know her. I’ve talked to the man who walks her dog. I’ve been trying to locate where she’s at. Is she in this part of the country? Is she doing a concert somewhere? Can I get backstage? Tyler Perry is stalking Diana Ross.”
Ross, a former member of The Supremes, has proven herself as an actress. In 1973, she won a Golden Globe award for portraying Billie Holiday in the film “Lady Sings The Blues.” She was also nominated for an Oscar for that role.
Her last acting role was in 1999 with the television movie titled “Double Platinum.” She hasn’t acted during the past decade, and maybe that’s why she keeps ignoring Tyler Perry’s request.
If she doesn’t want to star in his movie, she should at least tell him no, instead of ignoring him.
Tyler Perry was sexually abused
Tyler Perry poses for a portrait at the Core Club in New York (AP Photo by Shiho Fu)
Film director Tyler Perry decided to come forward with revelations of some horrific events that occurred during his childhood.
Perry said he was sexually molested as a child, and he saw his father molest a friend of his. He also said his grandmother made him take baths in ammonia.
Perry reveals other shocking details about his childhood. He posted a lengthy letter on his Web site. The full letter is posted below.
“Hi there. I know I’ve been a little quiet lately but I’ve been in silent reflection, quiet meditation, and prayer. Turning 40 is such a blessing. Especially because as I child I always thought I would die before I grew up.”
Tyler Perry at the premiere of his film "I Can Do Bad All By Myself." (AP Photo by Peter Kramer)
“Believe me when I tell you, PRECIOUS is a powerful film. After seeing it, I had to be involved. I didn’t write it or direct it, nor am I making any money from it. Oprah and I both are giving any proceeds we would make to charity. I just wanted to get as many people to see it as I can. It gave me so much hope after watching it. For everyone who has been a Precious, male or female, this movie will make you so glad you made it through.”
“It took me through some raw emotions and brought me to some things and places in my life that I needed to deal with but had long forgotten. It brought back memories so strong that I can smell and taste them. Like, when I was very young, my mother decided to leave my father…she had had enough of his insanity. She loaded me and my two sisters up in an old Cadillac that he had bought for her, and drove to California. When he realized she was gone, he called the police and reported the car stolen, as it was in his name. My mother was arrested and my two sisters and I were put in the cell with her. He and my uncle drove from Louisiana to California to get us. We spent several days in jail waiting for him. He bailed her out and couldn’t wait to get her into the car. He got into the back seat with us and beat her black and blue from California to Louisiana, as me and my sisters watched Even though I was only two or three, I know that this had to have some effect on me. I’m tired of holding this in. I don’t know what to do with it anymore, so, I’ve decided to give some of it away.”
“Memories at 40: Not long ago, I was asked to speak at an engagement. I walked in and I was told that they had assigned a person to take care of me while I was there. She walked up to me, all of 5′2 ” of her, and asked if I needed anything. I looked at her and started to sweat. It took me back thirty-something years to her apartment. I couldn’t have been more than 10 years old when I went over to play with her son and Matchbox cars. She opened the door in skimpy lingerie. There was a man sitting on the couch, smoking. She told me that her son was in the bedroom. I was there playing with him about 20 minutes when I heard the man arguing with her. He said he was leaving and slammed the door. She came into the bedroom and told me that I had to go home. She told her son to take a bath and she locked him in the bathroom. I was at the front door trying to get out, when she came in and laid on the sofa and asked me if I wanted the key. I told her I had to go home as it was getting dark. She put the key inside of herself and told me to come get it, pulling me on top of her.”
Tyler Perry at the premiere of his film "Madea Goes To Jail." (AP photo by Peter Kramer)
“My mother was out one night, as she loved to play bingo, and my father came ome…mad at the world. He was drunk, as he was most of the time. He got the vacuum cleaner extension cord and trapped me in a room and beat me until the skin was coming off my back. To this day, I don’t know what would make a person do something like that to a child. But thank God that in my mind, I left. I didn’t feel it anymore, just like in PRECIOUS. How this girl would leave in her mind. I learned to use my gift, as it was my imagination that let me escape After he was done with his rant he passed out. Since my aunt lived two doors down, I ran to her. She saw me and was horrified. She loaded her 357 and went to kill him. Holding a gun to his head, her husband came and stopped her.”
“Memories at 40: I got a call not long ago from a friend. He told me that a man that I knew from church when I was a kid had died and he didn’t have any insurance. His family was trying to reach out to me to see if I would pay for his funeral. I quickly said no, but I wish I would have said yes. There is something so powerful to me in burying the man that molested me. I wish I would have dug the grave myself.”
“Memories at 40: I was about 8 or 9 years old. I had a crush on a little girl across the street. She would come over to my house and we’d play. She was about 12 or 13. One day she stopped coming and when I asked her why, she told me that my father was touching her. I didn’t believe her, so I talked her into staying one night. We were both asleep — she was in one bed and I was in another. I opened my eyes to see my father trying to touch her and her pushing him away. I moved in my bed trying to make him think I was waking up. He looked over at me and left out of the room. Not long after that, he beat me mercilessly for something again. Another mind game set up, so I told my mother what he had done. The blood drained from her face. We left that day. We were at my Aunt’s house and he came there about 1am. Not long after that we were back at home. Nothing would compare to the random, drunken, violent beatings I would receive from then until I was 19.”
Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey arrive on the red carpet for a screening of the film "Precious" during the Toronto International Film Festival. (AP photo by Sean Kilpatrick)
“Grateful at 40: I was asked recently how I made it through all of this, (half has not even been told) and my answer to that is…I know for a fact that there is a GOD. When my father would say or do those things to me, I would hear this voice inside of me say, “That’s not true ” or, “Don’t believe that ” or, “You’re going to make it through this “. I didn’t know at the time what “it ” was, but today I surely have no doubt that “it ” was GOD. That voice always gave me comfort. It allowed me to hold on. It kept me from being strung out on drugs, from dying when I wanted to commit suicide. It kept me from being a gang banger or drug dealer. Worse than all of those things put together, it kept me from being him. It brought angels to comfort me after every foul, harsh word or every welt on my legs or back GOD, only GOD.”
“To know that the little boy that I was went through all that — he went through and made it. Then me, as a man…I have to take on the responsibility of forgiving all of those people. I owe it to that little boy that I was and, more than that, I owe it to the man that I am Think about it, as a child we have no recourse. We have nowhere to go. We have to endure it. But as adults, we have choices. I choose to forgive with all my might. Forgiveness has been my weapon of choice. It has helped to free me.”
“If you’re having a hard time getting over something in your life, maybe you can try forgiveness too. It’s not easy, but it does bring forth healing. I know that there are a lot of people out there with stories far worse than mine but you, too, can make it. To those of you who have, welcome to life. I celebrate you. We’re all PRECIOUS in His sight.”
Tyler Perry
New movie releases (Sept. 11)
“Sorority Row” starring Teri Andrzejewski, Adam Berry, Jamie Chung and Rumer Willis
“I Can Do Bad All By Myself” Taraji P. Henson, Adam Rodriguez, Mary J. Blige and Tyler Perry
“Whiteout” starring Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt and Columbus Short
“9″ starring the voices of Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Elijah Wood and Jennifer Connelly
Janet Jackson returns to the movie set
After spending several days grieving the death of her brother Michael Jackson, singer/actress Janet Jackson has returned to the movie set to continue filming “Why Did I Get Married Too,” which is the sequel to “Why Did I Get Married.”
Jackson was in the middle of filming the movie when Michael died. The film is directed by Tyler Perry. Janet stars alongside Malik Yoba and Tasha Smith.
The film will be released in theaters April 2 (2010). The first “Why Did I Get Married” movie was released in Oct. 2007 and earned $55 million at the box office.
Janet earned an NAACP Image Award for best supporting actress for her role as Patricia.
Tim Henley
Mary J. Blige will be in Tyler Perry movie
Mary J. Blige has the strongest vocal chords in the R&B community.
But the question remains can she act? We will soon find out.
The singer has signed on to appear in the Tyler Perry film “I Can Do Bad By Myself.”
According to Entertainment Tonight, Blige will play a singer who manages a nightclub. Taraji P. Henson will play her friend.
Perry’s Madea character also will be in the film which will be released in September.
The cast includes Brian J. White, “CSI Miami” actor Adam Rodriguez and singer Gladys Knight.
Tim Henley
Tyler Perry sued by contractors
Filmaker Tyler Perry is being sued by construction workers. Perry is well known for directing “Madea’s Family Reunion,” “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” and the upcoming film “Madea Goes To Jail.
According to the Atlanta Constitution Journal newspaper, six construction firms filed suit claiming Perry owes them about $200,000 in unpaid bills. The contractors were hired to work on his home and his new movie studio.
Perry is claiming he only withheld the money because the work was shoddy.
During the interview, one contractor said “He wanted to do it his way. He wouldn’t take any advice. I guess in Hollywood it works that way, but not in real life.”
I can understand where Perry is coming from. If you pay someone hundreds of thousands of dollars to do construction on your dream home and your studio, you want everything to be perfect.
However, he hired six contractors, and they built the structures for him. He wasn’t happy with any of the six contractor’s work, and I think he might be overly picky.
Maybe next time, he should just do the work himself since he’s never satisfied.
Tim Henley
My New Year’s resolution for celebrities (part 1)
– My News Year’s resolution for Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson is for them to tell us the truth soon about whether they are pregnant. They keep denying media reports that they are pregnant, but yet, we keep seeing photos of them gaining weight. Please show us the pregnancy test results so we can put this behind us once and for all.
– My New Year’s resolution for Barack Obama is for him to stay away from all religious pastors. First, he got in trouble for associating himself with Rev. Jeremiah Wright who blamed America for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Now, he’s under heavy scrutiny for selecting Pastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration. Warren has a history of making derogatory statments about gay people.
– My New Year’s resolution for MTV is for that network to start airing music videos again. MTV stands for Music Televsion, but they rarely air music videos. They typically only air reality shows. Maybe they should change the the name to RTV (Reality Television).
– My New Year’s resolution for Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and Kim Kardashian is for them to find a real full-time job. I get annoyed when I see them making millions even though they don’t have a job.
– My New Year’s resolution for Caroline Kennedy is for her to stay away from the U.S. Senate. Just because her last name is Kennedy, that doesn’t mean she should be appointed to that seat.
– My New Year’s resolution for George W. Bush is for him to NEVER run for public office again. No explanation needed.
– My New Year’s resolution for Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen is for them to gain some weight. It’s very unhealthy for adult women to weigh 75 pounds. They need to go to McDonald’s and eat a couple of Big Mac’s, fries and an apple pie every day this year until they tip the scale at 105 pounds.
– My New Year’s resolution for Tyler Perry is for him to take his sitcom “House of Pain” off the air permantently. That is the worst sitcom I have ever seen.
Tim Henley
Halle Berry and Tyler Perry will host NAACP Image Awards
Actress Halle Berry and filmdirector Tyler Perry have been selected to host the 40th annual NAACP Image Awards Feb. 12.
Perry directed “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” “Madea’s Family Reunion,” “Family That Preys” and “Why Did I Get Married.”
Berry won an Oscar for her role in “Monster’s Ball.” She is currently filming the movie “Frankie and Alice” with Chandra Wilson and Phylicia Rashad.
The award nominations will be announced Jan. 7.
Tim Henley
Tyler Perry’s “The Family That Preys”
Taraji P. Henson, from left, Tyler Perry and Sanaa Lathan at the screening of “The Family That Preys.” (Associated Press photo)
I was sitting in the movie theater watching Tyler Perry’s latest film “The Family That Preys” and I noticed that I was almost dozing off during the first hour of the movie.
I will not reveal specifics about the movie because I don’t want to spoil it for those who yet to see it.
The first half of the movie kept me wondering what was the plot of the movie? During the last 15 minutes of the movie, the plot was finally revealed.
It turned out to be an excellent plot, however, it was too little too late.
I applaud Tyler Perry’s directorial skills in his previous movies. However, I felt like he could have done more with this film.
There were plenty of moments in the movie where he could have added more excitement. Anytime a movie doesn’t become interesting until the last 15 minutes, that’s not a good thing.
The movie starred Sanaa Lathan, Oscar-winning actress Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, Robin Givens, Cole Hauser and Taraji P. Henson.
He had great actors in the film, so I expected great writers as well, but I didn’t get that. Although I enjoyed the movie’s ending, I still feel robbed.
Tim Henley
