Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girl
Tyler Perry on Daddy's Little Girls
Daddy's Little Girls tells the story of Monty (Idris Elba) fighting for custody of his three daughters when his druggie ex uses her gangsta boyfriend's money to manipulate the legal system. Monty falls for his lawyer Julia (Gabrielle Union) who needs a good man like him. Friends of Perry may find this all familiar.
"I've got a friend who was working for me at the time and he was always on the phone and I was thinking who is this guy talking to all the time. Every time I turn around he's on the phone and he's supposed to be working. And then I found out it's his children. He has these three beautiful daughters. So he was my muse for Monty. He was a guy that grew up in the hood. Then I have another friend, who is very successful in corporate America who is really, really rich. She was my muse. She was always saying how she can't find a man. So I was thinking, what if I introduced the two of them. And I started laughing so hard, I said, I gotta write this. It would be hilarious."
The actual connection between Monty and Julia is pure Hollywood. "They know each other but it could never happen. Only in the movies, man, only in the movies."
Monty clearly breaks the stereotype, which is even mentioned in the movie, that black men ditch their families. But the film includes other stereotypes, like a 40-year-old trying to break into rap.
"I don't try to balance it. I can look at my life. I've got a friend who's 40 years old who's trying to become a rapper. It's like, guy, let it go. He's rapping and doing tunes and beats and I'm thinking, let it go! If you look at my life, I'm sitting here having this great conversation with you guys and in two minutes I'll be on the phone with my mother, who's like Madea. So my life is like that. It's not about balance, it's about reality."
Having dealt with issues of spousal abuse and child molestation before, the time felt right to hit single parents. "I just think that it's like feeling what am I led to do next, and I think fathers is what I'm supposed to be talking about now. However it fits in I think it'll fall in right where it should. Whatever happens, I'll be happy either way. I think what makes a lot of people in this town unhappy is that you start off with a script or idea, and bring it to a studio. It's shot down. It's changed. It's watered down. So then the movie comes out and doesn't do well and everybody's disappointed, but your vision was lost. But because I'm in the position that I'm in I've been able to maintain my vision. If I do something that's 100 percent that's my vision, which this movie is, and it fails, I'm still happy because I maintained my vision."
If Daddy's Little Girls looks more professional than his other films, that's because Perry is learning. "Madea's Family Reunion was the worst directing. I'll say it first hand. I think that this was my beginning because I had an opportunity to understand you're supposed to do things with the camera here. There was a movie that drove me crazy, Friday Night Lights, which I really wanted to see, but the camera movement, I got sick in the theater. I was like why is the camera a character. I always want the camera to just be in the room and let that be my eyes. My eyes don't jump around when I'm watching things, you know? But yes, I'm taking more choices with cameras and doing some different things. It's fun. I'm watching. Like Their Eyes Were Watching God, I was watching the camera work. Just my favorite films and I'm like wow. And I never noticed it before and then you go back and think, 'That was sweet' when you think of it in technical terms."
Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls opens to theatres on February 14th.
For the trailer, posters, and more movie info, go to the Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls Movie Page.
Stay tuned for updates.
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