Tyler Perry's Plans After 'Good Deeds' Shooting
Having finished the filming of “Good Deeds,” filmmaker Tyler Perry is now gearing up to play the lead role in Rob Cohen’s mystery “I, Alex Cross.” And in the meantime, he has a revelation to share.
With two movies already in motion for 2012, it looks as if it’s going to be another busy year for the 41-year-old producer, the star and director of “Good Deeds,” expected to be released in February.
Madea fans will be able to see a double dose of Perry, first in a romantic comedy, as the successful entrepreneur Glen Deeds, who just before he gets married finds himself suddenly more interested in a down-on-her-luck single mother (Thandie Newton) than his uptown fiancé (Gabrielle Union). Following “Good Deeds,” Perry will play Washington, D.C. detective Alex Cross in Cohen’s thriller, where he tracks down a serial rapist who may have murdered his pregnant wife.
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Having wrapped up filming for “Good Deeds,” Perry recently announced on his newsletter plans to rest and travel before starting his next project, losing 20 more pounds. Hence his two-in-one visit to the Grand Canyon for some hiking and climbing.
In his newsletter, Perry talks about a revelation that occurred to him during his travels. “At one point in climbing, I was over a steep drop and was tied to a safety rope, while a buddy’s safety rope was tied to me. It was my responsibility to help him up, since I was bigger and weighed more.
“I told him, ‘I’ll hold on to you to help you up but if you start to pull me over with you, I’m going to untie this rope.’ We had a good laugh about it, but I was serious...”
Thinking about this incident a few days ago, Perry reflected on the moment and realized, “How many times are we tied to a person, people or things that are pulling us down and we won’t untie the rope?”
He added, “For whatever reason, be it family, friends, society, or just the feeling of being obligated, trapped or that if you don’t, no one else will. I have watched so many people go over a cliff with a person that they are trying to help up, it’s sad.”
You must untie the rope, Perry exclaimed.
“This is your life and you are wasting it being tied to someone who is destroying his or her opportunities and yours,” he added. “Listen to me, untie the rope and don’t lose yourself trying to hold on to someone who can’t survive on your level...Maybe they have gone as high as they can go.”
Just because you can survive on that level doesn’t mean that everyone else can. Stop trying to help them, UNTIE THE ROPE!”
Acknowledging that his own advice might sound cruel to some, Perry noted, “What is more cruel is dying a death that’s not your own. Letting your destiny go to hell because someone else pulled you there... That isn’t God.”
As a former “self-saboteur” himself, the outspoken man of faith revealed that he was once a person who could not “untie the rope.”
“I would find a way to subconsciously destroy every good thing that was in my life and I didn’t even know I was doing it... Many times a lot of us sabotage subconsciously because of what mamma or daddy said, traumatic childhoods or any number of things that happened growing up that made us feel that we shouldn’t have or that we didn’t deserve it.
“I’m here to tell you all, that misinformation was wrong. You do deserve it! You are worthy of it! For me, knowing that Jesus died and rose again makes me know we are all worthy.”
Why is he saying this? “I’m just tired of people being upset with people who have realized their dreams. The only difference in someone who is living their dream and someone who can’t get it to come to pass is they don’t feel they deserve it. They don’t feel they are worthy of it.
“So many of us have dreams, dreams that the world is waiting for, talents that will help heal and change nations, but we keep destroying our own successes.”
Knowing for a fact that he would not have been “a happy soul” or where he was at in life right now had he not figured out this “revelation from God” before, Perry concluded, “The world is waiting for your gift. Give it to yourself and you will give it to them, but first you have to UNTIE THE ROPE.”
“Good Deeds” is Perry’s 14th film in which he has directed, written, produced, or acted. Lionsgate announced earlier that the movie would be released on Presidents Day weekend, February 24, 2012.
According to Variety, “Madea Goes to Jail” pulled in more than 90 million debuting at the same time in 2009.
Perry’s films, as of date, have grossed over $500 million worldwide. He was ranked among one of the highest-paid men in Hollywood by Forbes magazine in 2009.
