Director Tyler Perry generally can do no wrong, as far as his fans are concerned. His film “Madea’s Big Happy Family” opened to a $25 million-plus box office. The great American success story had been suicidal and homeless after surviving a difficult childhood. Perry built his blockbuster film career on a foundation in the theater. The actor is best-known for playing the female character Madea, in addition to writing and starring in most of his films.
Kim Kardashian, meanwhile, has been having the worst honeymoon period ever. Since announcing that her marriage to Kris Humphries was over in a 72-day Hollywood minute, the reality megastar has been dealing with consistent backlash. Her ex-friend and publicist Jonathan Jaxson’s bad press didn’t help matters. Then the Perry fans got wind of the fact that she is slated to participate in one of his upcoming projects.
The Southern multi-hyphenate filmmaker has felt a significant part of the anti-Kardashian fallout. It all started when the mogul and “FOO” (Friend of Oprah) tapped the “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” starlet for a part in his upcoming film “The Marriage Counselor.” Perry’s angry film fans took to the message boards on his personal site and other social media to express their Kim-related discontent.
Many of the protesting posters couldn’t understand why Perry would hire the Armenian beauty to star in an African American film. Black women are the target audience for his projects, which often have a Christian story. Last month, Kardashian faced a black woman who expressed her personal outrage about the starlet’s connections with the African American community, namely black men, on the defunct CW series “H8R.”
Perry is a business man who understands the power of his fan base, so he now explains his controversial casting choice in a post on his own blog. According to Perry, an “old lady” confronted him in a cafe. The woman said, “I want to talk to you about KAR-DAT- CHA-NEM.” She went on to ask the popular movie maker, “What is wrong with you putting her in the lead role of your movie?”
Perry said that by the time he explained why he wanted to cast Kimmie K, the sweet, elderly lady said, “Oh, I see your point and I can’t wait to see the movie.”
There are three key points that the director wants his supporters to know:
Kardashian is not the star of the film.
The movie is about Judith, played by the fabulous Jurnee Smolett. Legendary actress Ella Joyce plays her mother. Judith wants to be a marriage counselor but finds a gig working for Janice the Matchmaker played by Vanessa Williams. Kardashian’s character Ava also works for Janice. Apparently Ava is always trying to influence small-town Judith about her shoes, her hair, and life in general.
The film is aimed at the youth.
Anyone who has seen a Tyler Perry movie (and I will cop to seeing only one) knows that he aims for a message with a capital “M.” It seems that the positive message for the youth here is to remain true to who you are. Will Judith stay humble and worthy of her roots or be influenced by big-city Ava? We’ll have to tune in to see.
Perry desperately wants young people to see this movie. He explained on his blog, “I wanted a younger cast, that’s why I put Jurnee in the lead and invited Lance Gross, Robbie Jones and Brandy.” He goes on to point out, “I said to one of my producers, ‘who else is out there that young people are looking up to?’ One of my producers showed me pictures that his daughter had taken of several hundred kids lined up around the corner to get into a Kardashian store.” The director then knew that Kim Kardashian was his woman.
The movie is about what happens when you make the wrong choices.
Perry was obviously not blind to the fact that Kardashian heads up an empire of her own that includes multiple TV shows, fashion, books, perfume, fitness products, and more. He says that he decided to choose her before he had heard of her marriage or divorce. The businessman feels she can use her fame to make a positive impact by being in his project. Perry writes “that it would be very responsible of her to be a part of this film.”
Perry is holding firm to his casting choice. As for whether it affects his box office for “The Marriage Counselor,” stay tuned. He points out on his site, “I believe that my films speak from the inside out, why wouldn’t Kim Kardashian be invited into a film about Faith, Forgiveness and the healing power of God? What is wrong with that?”
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