Tyler Perry's fourth feature film, Why Did I Get Married?, tells the story of eight married friends who gather for their annual vacation only to have their time together spent examining their lives and marriages after a secret is revealed about one couple's relationship.
Why Did I Get Married? Press Conference
What was it you saw in these actors that made you want to cast them?
Tyler Perry: “First of all, I love new faces. I love breaking new faces in. Lamman [Rucker], Denise [Boutte] and Sharon [Leal] had already done a couple a few things and Dreamgirls. As I was writing the movie, the cast just kind of came together. What I do is just write it and surrender it. Denise really pushed for Tasha [Smith] to have this role. We had just [done] Daddy’s Little Girls and I’m so glad she got it because I don’t see anybody else playing the role. She was amazing. Janet [Jackson] and I were talking, I think, a week or so before we started because their deal went really quick. Jill [Scott] had auditioned and was perfect for it.”
You’ve said this is the best movie you’ve made. Why?
Tyler Perry: “I try to grow on every film, but I’m walking now. I was crawling on everything else. The way this story was told I think was very unique. Using the camera the way I did was very different for me. There’s some people who really get into camera movement and all this other stuff, but for me, I really stretched it. And having an amazing cast really made the movie come alive because everybody brought their own personality to it.”
Tasha Smith: “I think there was a lot of camaraderie among the cast. We all just hit it off and friendships were built from day one. It’s so sincere. We all genuinely really love each other. We had so much fun. We would always rehearse because we knew Tyler was so busy with our shooting schedule and everything. We always wanted to get on the set and be as prepared as possible so that he wouldn’t have to get us there, as far as our work was concerned. We would all come together and work it out. We would talk a lot about our characters and our relationships. The girls would hang out and bond.”
Tyler, was their any concern that when you bring in a big name like Janet Jackson, this wouldn’t be as much of an ensemble cast?
Tyler Perry: “Janet was very, very adamant going in that she wanted an ensemble piece. I thought, ‘Why don’t we change this? Why don’t we make it a little…’ She’s like, ‘No, it’s all there. Everything is there. It’s perfect for me.’ She’s very fair that way. I think the biggest hurdle was getting over ‘Janet Jackson’ as you’re watching the movie. But if you watch it for longer than 15 minutes, you realize that Janet is not Janet. She’s Patricia the character. She’s totally surrender to it.”
Janet, was there anything in the role of Patricia that you saw in yourself?
Janet Jackson: “There were a few things, actually. Like Tyler had said earlier, there was really no time to prepare for the role because he brought myself and my husband in last.”
Tyler Perry: “Her husband in the film.”
Janet Jackson: “Yes, yes. A lot of my friends they call me ‘the therapist’. They come to me looking for advice. I must be doing something right because they keep coming back. But I’m not very good at kind of looking into my own world and trying to pick apart what is really wrong and fix those things. I like to kind of shy away from certain issues and turn away.”
Jill, can you talk about the transition from musician to actor?
Jill Scott: “I don’t know that it’s really different, really. When I write a song, I tap into the emotion and the feeling, and then I use the emotion to write the words. It’s the opposite when I act. I use the words and tap into the emotion. It’s basically the same for me, in a lot of ways. I don’t know how different it is.”
You touch upon African American women dealing with HIV. Can you talk about that?
Tasha Smith: “One thing I will say about what I love about Tyler Perry and his writing is that he addresses things that a lot of times in our community we are afraid to address. He keeps it real. He keeps it honest, and that’s why it made it really easy for us as actors to say those words. They’re words that we think and things that we experience and see, but we don’t always say it. So we got an opportunity to do that.”
Lamman Rucker: “I particularly do a lot of work with HIV and AIDS prevention education, so that was definitely something that hit close to home for me as well. It was good. I think a lot of people obviously shy away from the pressure and the responsibility of being role models, or whatever language you want to use. But I also think it’s very important that you have a cast that not only as human beings, but as actors, even though characters were intelligent, highly trained, mature, loving people, we all are setting an example to some degree. If that’s the type of people and characters that we are, I found it very impressive that it was important that we were modeling at least certain types of behavior that other people would listen to and would emulate. He does a great job.”
Sharon Leal: “I think part of Tyler’s appeal, the reason he’s so loved and his fan base is so huge is because it’s undeniable that the social consciousness that he has. If you go to his website, he writes letters personally to his fans and gives them an opportunity to talk. He cares about what we’re all going through as a community. It’s amazing to have someone that in tune and that caring wanting to bring important issues to help people get through.”
Janet, you mentioned that you are the go-to person for a lot of your friends. Is that a recent development or is that something you evolved into?
Janet Jackson: “It has kind of always been that way with my friends.”
