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TYLER PERRY On Why Offering MEGHAN MARKLE & PRINCE HARRY His House & New Movie 'A JAZZMAN’S BLUES'
Sep 23, 2022
Tyler Perry stopped by Sway In the Morning to talk about his new film 'A Jazzman's Blues' on Netflix today!
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Tyler Perry Talks New Netflix Film 'A Jazzman's Blues' | SWAY’S UNIVERSE
https://youtu.be/tHU1l47sj8M
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0:11
[Applause]
0:15
this is a great Champion we have right
0:18
here we got a supreme change agent in
0:21
front of US citizens we got a Vanguard
0:24
in front of US citizens we got a natural
0:27
born leader in front of US citizens we
0:29
got a survivor in front of US citizens
0:32
come on man come on come on we got a
0:35
father in front of us yeah we got a
0:37
Visionary in front of us
0:40
we got the one and only iconic
0:45
Tyler Perry is back
0:52
come on man good morning good morning I
0:55
heard Steve Harvey
0:58
who is somebody I follow in love
1:01
who I've been inspired by my entire
1:03
career Steve Harvey the way he's
1:05
transcended comedy and becoming an
1:07
entertainment Mogul that he has how he
1:09
does outreach for youth I heard Steve
1:12
Harvey talk about some advice that this
1:14
man gave him
1:16
wow that I was like damn that was some
1:18
good ass advice you needed it I need his
1:22
advice it was Steve from something
1:24
happened High podcast Steve Harvey
1:26
wanted to comment and he said Tyler
1:29
Perry called him and said what you doing
1:31
and Harvard Steve Harvey said I'm about
1:33
to go on CNN with Anderson Cooper and
1:35
confront this
1:37
and he said Tyler Perry said well what
1:40
was said was on the podcast
1:42
once you say it it becomes a press
1:44
conference oh yeah you remember that oh
1:47
yeah oh yeah oh yeah he got it too yeah
1:50
yeah and stay quiet and all went away
1:52
and it all went away how did you learn
1:54
that what moment did you
1:57
learned this is the hard way because you
2:00
know what I learned is that you know
2:02
when you have a microphone like you've
2:03
been given a platform your microphone
2:05
your voice is much louder than somebody
2:06
else so if there's somebody out saying
2:08
things uh crazy stuff what you have to
2:10
do is focus on what you what your vision
2:12
is and what you have to do and stay
2:14
there you don't come down from where you
2:15
are to go address something that's that
2:18
won't affect you yeah right so that's
2:20
that's what I was trying to get him to
2:21
learn I think it was Louis Farrakhan who
2:23
said if uh I'm probably going to get
2:25
this wrong but if a dog how's
2:27
at a moon nobody pays attention but if
2:30
the moon howls back at the dog
2:31
everybody's like oh my gosh what did
2:33
that dog do yeah yeah so honorable learn
2:37
that Minister Louis Farrakhan you quote
2:40
him man I sit and watch his quotes all
2:42
day smart man smart brilliant man have
2:44
you ever done anything with Louis
2:45
Farrakhan no we haven't we haven't we
2:47
met a couple of times so no we haven't
2:48
done it he needs a story he needs his
2:50
biopic yeah yeah
2:52
um interesting to see be interesting
2:54
would be interesting Tyler Perry is here
2:56
man get this man a big round of applause
2:57
the producer writer director of a jazz
2:59
man's Blues was premiering on Netflix
3:01
this Friday this was his first ever
3:04
written screenplay right yeah yeah in
3:07
1995 27 years ago man yeah wait all the
3:10
time to do it wow and well you because I
3:14
remember we talked about this years ago
3:15
how you were living in a car or at one
3:17
point did you write it in the car no no
3:19
I had a I had a place at the time I I
3:21
snuck into the alliance theater down in
3:22
Atlanta when people come out to smoke
3:24
and go back in during intermission
3:25
that's when I would go go in and see
3:27
these plays and uh August Wilson I think
3:29
the show was two trains running I got a
3:30
chance to meet him afterwards and I told
3:33
him you know I was doing this show
3:34
called I know I've been changed it
3:35
wasn't doing well and people were giving
3:36
me a bunch of [ __ ] because you know it's
3:38
chitlin circuit and he said man don't
3:40
let that bother you I have respect for
3:41
all of that and go and go and write
3:43
what's in your heart too so when and I
3:45
wrote Jazz man on my computer that had
3:47
been in and out of the pawn shop 10 20
3:48
different times and um and wrote it that
3:52
started it that night and and 27 years
3:54
later here it is here it is Tyler 27
3:57
years we were talking about strength
3:59
courage and wisdom in the IRS songs yeah
4:03
man that was our uh theme song for good
4:05
news Thursday I'm wondering though um if
4:08
this was your first play playwright that
4:11
you read written how much of it is about
4:13
or how much of you is actually in it
4:16
there's a lot of me that's in it man I I
4:19
um you know when I write characters show
4:21
up in my head I don't sit down and say
4:23
okay here's my outline here's one right
4:24
they just show up so I started writing
4:26
this guy shows up says his name is bayou
4:28
he starts telling me a story so I'm just
4:30
writing writing writing then the story
4:31
all unfolds but a lot of it
4:33
subconsciously is is things that I've
4:35
dealt with like he his father didn't
4:37
like him because he was darker skin was
4:39
I didn't realize at the time it was the
4:40
same way with my father my sister was a
4:42
lighter skin when hazel eyes she was the
4:44
adored one and me and my other sister
4:46
we're Brown so the colorism was alive
4:48
growing up for me and that showed up in
4:51
the film so there's all those kind of
4:52
moments that showed up from personal
4:53
experience wow is it also therapeutic
4:55
for your family like does anyone
4:57
recognize themselves in your work them
4:59
[ __ ] don't wear size okay that's a
5:02
good question
5:03
no no I think uh
5:06
I'm gonna try to give you an intelligent
5:08
answer he still got that Meek Mill in
5:10
them right there yeah
5:22
but no that's uh I don't know if when
5:25
they see it they're able to make the
5:26
connection but yeah I do I do we've been
5:29
having um and welcome again Tyler thank
5:32
you oh good to see you as well we've
5:34
been having so many full circle moments
5:36
this week for whatever reason
5:38
um I Engineer here and producer he
5:41
started out as an intern and on Monday
5:43
he became a full-time producer
5:46
his name is torch and brought back every
5:49
single paper that he ever had from his
5:51
internship to show swing and I it was
5:53
incredible that's awesome yeah that's
5:55
awesome I read you let that end you
5:57
letting it in right yeah okay let it in
5:59
let it in and that's that's what I
6:02
wanted to ask you about because I read
6:03
in People magazine that you said this
6:06
was your first right and you can't wait
6:09
for people that said no to see this yeah
6:12
I'm reading about how you let Prince
6:15
Harry and Meghan Markle stay in your
6:17
home imagine being homeless and now you
6:19
you have a mansion to offer to royalty
6:22
like these full circle moments do you
6:25
see that as confirmation from God and
6:27
how do you let that in oh there's a 100
6:29
I look at my entire life and everything
6:31
that's happened and I go at some point I
6:35
I I stopped dreaming and God's dreams
6:37
were much bigger than mine and I found
6:39
myself at a place where everything that
6:41
I had dreamed had come true so now the
6:43
things that happened are far beyond
6:45
anything I could have imagined you know
6:46
I I never knew I would know a prince of
6:50
the princess that wasn't even what that
6:51
was about what I was reaching out to her
6:53
for was because they were giving her
6:56
hell and a lot of it was because she was
6:58
a black woman flat out no denying it I
7:01
completely knew that and I wanted to
7:03
reach out and let her know that there
7:04
was somebody there for her and I sent
7:06
her a note and not expecting anything to
7:07
come of it and and she said thank you so
7:10
much and and um that was it and a couple
7:12
years later we started talking and she
7:14
was able to talk and the only reason I'm
7:15
sharing this because she shared it at
7:17
first okay and she we were able to talk
7:20
and and and she was telling me some of
7:22
the things that were going on and I'm
7:23
just so proud of where they are now
7:25
because I'm going to tell you something
7:27
those two people love each other let me
7:30
I don't care what anybody says I'm
7:33
seeing it up close and you can't fool me
7:34
yeah I got the Holy Ghost
7:36
I know what's real they really genuinely
7:39
love each other so I'm just so happy to
7:41
see where they are now but no I never
7:43
imagined this far in my life I had Big
7:46
Dreams but then there comes a moment
7:48
where it's much bigger than anything you
7:49
could imagine that's amazing man Tyler
7:51
Perry man that's amazing bro everything
7:53
you I'm a big I'm a huge fan yeah I'm a
7:56
huge fan can I tell you why it took so
7:57
long to make why
7:59
um I had to solidify myself because I
8:01
knew as a black person in Hollywood I
8:03
wouldn't get a if this didn't work I
8:05
wouldn't get another chance I've got
8:07
some of my white counterparts I've seen
8:09
them get chance after chance after
8:10
chance even if their movies didn't work
8:12
well even though period piece whatever
8:13
and I know a lot of white people don't
8:15
get chances to get in Hollywood I'm not
8:17
saying that everybody does but as a
8:18
black person my my window to to make
8:21
mistakes was much smaller so I had to do
8:24
what I knew worked I had to do Medea I
8:26
had to do Why Did I Get Married dude
8:27
things my audience wanted yeah and they
8:29
man they solidified me they built me up
8:31
they helped me build the studio they
8:33
made me so solid in in the business that
8:35
now I can take the chance and do a jazz
8:37
man and some of the stories I've always
8:39
wanted to do so I had to be strategic
8:41
man congratulations to you man thank you
8:43
this is a wonderful love story like it
8:45
could go down as one of you know the
8:48
best uh there are did any love stories
8:52
inspire you in the past you know I I
8:55
wouldn't say a love story inspired me
8:57
but just listening to these characters
8:59
talking seeing their love for each other
9:00
and how no matter what tried to separate
9:03
them they stayed together even time and
9:06
space I mean it all they always always
9:09
came back together and you're growing up
9:11
you've got a woman that's passing for
9:12
white you got a young black man who they
9:15
fall in love and she didn't know she was
9:17
going to pass it for white her mother
9:18
forced her into passing for white and
9:19
they fall in love and nothing can
9:21
separate that love so when y'all see it
9:23
it's it's really going to blow your mind
9:25
I can't wait for people to see it Tyler
9:26
Perry is here promise to Citizens
9:28
they'll get a few questions the first
9:29
one is a young man who just started his
9:31
own film company his name is Orlando
9:33
he's in Illinois he's been holding for
9:35
45 minutes to ask you this question
9:37
Orlando you there oh
9:40
yeah
9:41
I'm here
9:45
go ahead meet Mr Tyler Perry Orlando
9:49
first of all Tyler Perry I want to say
9:51
it's a honor to talk to you I'm a big
9:54
fan of yours uh
9:55
I'll find a big fan of yours we always
9:57
watch our movies and TV shows
9:59
I do got a few questions because I
10:02
always wanted to work for you I've been
10:04
to Atlanta well been past your Studios a
10:07
few times but I was always hesitant
10:09
about coming up up to the gate and
10:11
trying to see how to work for you and
10:13
everything but I just got a few
10:15
questions and
10:16
uh hopefully you can give me leave me
10:18
down the right path my first question is
10:20
how many knows you had to hear before
10:23
before you heard yes we can do it
10:26
uh listen those were constant but as I
10:31
said before I tell you this man all you
10:32
need is one yes from God and none of
10:34
them knows will matter there you go I
10:36
got one yes and I'm still riding on that
10:38
one yes and and I don't care how many
10:40
doors slam because what I found about
10:42
doors closing and all this other stuff
10:43
not a lot of times that's not a bad
10:45
thing because what is what happened in
10:47
my life is as these doors were closing I
10:50
was forced to go in another Direction I
10:52
had to go right I had to go left and
10:54
it's like being in the Maze and you run
10:55
into a brick wall I was like no I'm
10:57
supposed to go this way no no there's
10:58
another way out you just have to find it
11:00
and keep pushing and pressing so so all
11:03
you need is that one yes on yes Orlando
11:05
I'm gonna let you get one more real
11:06
quick go ahead okay and then my next
11:09
question is
11:11
I want to give you I want to pitch you
11:13
my short narrative film that we had to
11:16
do for my classroom Forest Hill
11:18
University my pitch got voted best pitch
11:21
out I'm gonna bet well best pitch best
11:23
short film there to after class so they
11:25
want me to record it and it'll be a 30
11:28
minute short film but my pictures real
11:30
quick uh
11:31
you can't do your picture on the radio
11:33
let me tell you something about about
11:34
pitches we have a way to set that up and
11:36
it's on it's on the website at Tyler
11:37
Perry Studios you'll see how we audition
11:40
how we talk to people how people get
11:41
jobs when we have jobs in opening we
11:43
post them there but let me tell you
11:44
something about a public pitch like this
11:45
to me
11:47
um I've been sued several times are
11:49
people who said oh oh he took my idea he
11:51
stole my idea so I don't receive
11:53
pictures if there's a process it has to
11:55
go through it has to be registered it
11:56
has to go through agents so that it can
11:58
get directly to me because I've never
11:59
stolen anything from anybody in my life
12:01
especially somebody's idea so when
12:03
you're pitching like this it has to be
12:05
the right way to anyone not just me to
12:08
anyone to protect you and to protect
12:10
that person right and I'm sure probably
12:12
very very good and one day I'll get a
12:14
chance to see it but it's got you've got
12:15
to go through the proper Channel go to
12:16
his website Orlando you're a citizen
12:18
brother you got it all man I'm proud of
12:20
you man good questions too all right all
12:22
right okay man thank you all right don't
12:24
stop Orlando Michael's on the line from
12:26
Illinois real quick question go ahead
12:28
Mike
12:29
hey hey everybody uh Tyler what's up
12:33
man looking for Access when you
12:35
get Monroe
12:37
you know I I'm not always looking for
12:39
the the person who has the most Talent
12:43
I'm looking for the person who has the
12:45
most uh idea of what it takes to get the
12:48
work done and the most tenacity to get
12:50
it done like a talent for me is
12:52
important but if you find somebody who
12:54
has who's there's somebody who has a lot
12:56
more talent but that person has just
12:57
enough but they have the right attitude
12:59
spirit and and and drive to get it done
13:01
then they usually are somebody I'm going
13:03
to lean towards that's why Yeah well
13:05
yeah that's right okay cool man write me
13:07
in right now
13:09
like if you look at jazz man these are
13:11
all new faces and it what it does what
13:13
it did was first of all when you're
13:15
watching it it takes you out of having
13:17
to get over this a star that you
13:19
recognize being in the movie but in my
13:21
entire career I've always been somebody
13:23
who's tried to break new Talent yeah you
13:25
know from Idris Elba to in in Daddy's
13:28
Little Girls his first movie too that's
13:30
true yeah Viola Davis being in in Medea
13:34
Goes to Jail I mean I remember being on
13:36
set with her she did the scene I was
13:37
just like I walked up and said who are
13:39
you like you knew then I'm like who are
13:42
yeah yeah of course yeah so having the
13:44
opportunity to work with all these
13:45
people and break all these new faces
13:47
it's it's really awesome so it's always
13:48
about the talent what is it like though
13:50
cause I was going to ask you that that
13:51
normally you have you have reoccurring
13:53
actors that have appear in your in your
13:55
pieces of work but this like you said
13:56
you have new artists so how does um how
13:58
does that work for you establishing new
14:00
relationships with the new actors you
14:02
know honestly I went to a bunch of up
14:04
and coming young black Talent
14:06
and uh and you know they read the
14:09
scripts like yeah we want to do it we
14:10
want to do it but then they were like
14:12
um I don't know as if they thought I was
14:13
gonna have Madea in the movie somewhere
14:15
you know not understanding this is a
14:17
period piece right so so that didn't
14:19
work out and in the middle of that I had
14:21
to go back to remembering what my
14:23
purpose is in this business is to launch
14:24
new Talent new voices new faces so I I
14:28
started looking for but I didn't want
14:30
just any talent I wanted that talent
14:31
that that had that commitment to it like
14:33
Denzel and Howard Rollins and uh all
14:36
Lawrence Fishburne all these people in
14:37
in a soldier story yeah and I found them
14:40
here in New York in on Broadway and what
14:42
I noticed is that one always knows
14:45
another so there's a click of that kind
14:46
of talent so it's pretty amazing we
14:49
started the conversation off with some
14:51
advice that you gave to Steve Harvey
14:52
that just really set him straight is
14:54
there is this something you could share
14:56
from somebody you looked up to that gave
14:58
you advice once that you utilized oh all
15:00
the time man from Maya Angelou one of
15:03
the greatest gifts I've had is that the
15:04
the the
15:06
veterans dude you know who came before
15:08
us they all loved what I did from me
15:10
getting a message from Rosa Parks saying
15:12
how much she laughed about the Medea
15:13
joke a d on the bus you know too so they
15:17
all gave me great advice I'll never
15:19
forget
15:20
um Sidney Poitier sitting in my living
15:22
room and we were talking listen I sat on
15:25
a plane with Sidney Poitier and Cecily
15:26
Tyson flying to Africa
15:29
I invited them to fly with me so I sat
15:32
on the floor literally for hours
15:33
listening to them talk so I've got one
15:35
day I'm going to write a book about all
15:37
this stuff I wish I had one thing in
15:38
particular I can say but from Oprah to
15:40
them they've all said some incredible
15:42
things wow what did they talk about
15:43
because I'm sure they were swapping old
15:45
school secrets and moments right and and
15:47
Sydney was just such class man just I
15:50
mean he was just a man that was Frugal
15:52
and upright and you couldn't get him to
15:54
come off of
15:55
his his kingship you know he knew who he
15:58
was it was so inspiring for me to see
16:00
but they talked about the business they
16:01
talked about being black in the business
16:03
and Sicily said this that that that that
16:05
really slayed landed with me she said
16:08
that she looks at young people now she
16:10
said we fought for so much we don't
16:13
think we left him enough to fight for
16:15
which blew my mind I was like wow they
16:17
overcame so much that you've got a group
16:20
of young people that are fighting for a
16:22
lot of things but we should have left
16:25
them mortified for it's like wow and I
16:27
think about that when I think about jazz
16:29
man I've got like somebody is sending a
16:31
note to me saying dude why do we keep
16:32
having to have these black stories that
16:34
are oppressive and all this other stuff
16:36
why do we have to why can't we just talk
16:37
about good beautiful black things which
16:39
is which we can but you cannot forget
16:42
where we came from or the debt that
16:44
people paid so you can have those
16:45
freedoms get out a round of applause I
16:47
say that all the time yeah because folks
16:49
don't want to see movies that they're
16:51
dealing with slavery and all these
16:52
different things and I'm like yo I like
16:54
to see it because I don't want us to
16:55
feel you look at um
16:58
Jewish folks that look they they want
17:00
you to remember the Holocaust yeah yeah
17:02
and I and I know I know why we want to
17:04
get removed from it because a lot of us
17:06
are still in the struggle and I get it
17:07
yeah but but I don't want my because my
17:10
son when he describes the kids he goes
17:11
to school with he's never said the black
17:13
girl the Indian girl the Asian girl
17:15
never seven years old he's always
17:16
talking about oh her with the blonde
17:17
hair with him with the him with the
17:19
redhead you know he he doesn't see it
17:22
the way that we did growing up but I
17:24
don't ever want him to be in a position
17:25
growing up in this in the seat that he
17:28
and that he misses what we came through
17:30
yeah yeah he he is going to be on the
17:32
Forefront of the understanding of what
17:34
it means to be black in America and all
17:36
that his ancestors and even me had to
17:39
endure just so he could go to a private
17:40
school yeah yeah absolutely yeah Tyler
17:42
Perry I want to thank you brother every
17:44
time you come here man I I woke up this
17:46
morning feeling good because I knew you
17:48
were going to be here I appreciate it
17:49
absolutely a jazz man's Blues premiering
17:51
on Netflix this Friday who's your number
17:53
one rapper right now in the game who you
17:55
like most I ain't saying they're the
17:56
best but who who's inspired right who
17:58
you who you feeling the most now
18:00
Kendrick man Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Mr
18:03
Mr morale yeah man and and for him to
18:06
drop my name in it I'm like wait a
18:07
minute hold on a second come on
18:09
I was just like when I heard it I was
18:12
like wait wait what's happening here but
18:13
he's he's brilliant on a level that I
18:16
think Tupac was and he's also spitting
18:19
some truth that a lot of young folks
18:21
need to hear I mean Kendrick is on a
18:23
whole nother thing right now I'm I'm
18:26
yeah I'm Blown Away by Kendrick Lamar
18:27
Kendrick Lamar like it man once again
18:29
man we agree Tyler Perry get up for
18:32
Tyler Perry Tyler thank you George okay
18:35
thank you
18:36
congratulations all right torch he said
18:38
congratulations congratulations
18:39
absolutely absolutely congratulations
18:41
all right man we got the mix coming up
18:43
but check this out real quick
18:46
[Music]
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