THE MAGIC OF STORIES

Movie mogul Tyler Perry tells DRUM how his painful past inspired his new Netflix thriller

- QHAMA DAYILE

HE’S as well known for playing a gun-toting grandmother as he is for being one of the few black entertainment moguls in America. But this time around you won’t be seeing Madea’s name alongside Tyler Perry in the credits. In fact, his new film couldn’t be further away from his beloved Madea films and his intense dramas like Acrimony and Temptation. This time around it’s a thriller – and it keeps audiences on the edge of their seats.

Tyler’s new movie, A Fall from Grace, is his debut Netflix original film, and it was made especially for the global streaming service.

When we catch up with the movie mogul on the phone, he reveals most of his movies are inspired by events in his life. “This story is about Grace, a woman in her fifties who really longs to be loved, and she finds herself in an unimaginable situation, which unfolds over time,” he says.

In the film, Grace is on trial for the murder of her second husband (Mehcad Brooks), and her lawyer (Bresha Webb) begins to suspect there’s more than meets the eye in this case.

Tyler pleads with those who’ve seen the movie, which is streaming now, not to give away the plot details.

“There are many twists and turns in the film, and the one big twist is almost at the end. And giving it away would just spoil it for everyone,” he tells DRUM.

“With every story around women that I write, I always have my mother and my sister in mind,” he adds.

Tyler (50) went public in 2009 about the emotional and sexual abuse he was subjected to as a child and the abuse his late mother, Willie Maxine Perry, endured at the hands of her husband, Emmitt.

Tyler was 40 when he learnt Emmitt was not his biological father.