My New Project

My hair has always grown pretty fast and very healthy. I've never let it grow quite as long as it was in high school - yep that is all of my REAL hair on the graduation pic in the many faces of me. In memory of my cousin, I've decided to grow out my hair and donate it to Locks of Love! I'm EXTREMELY excited. It has to be 10 inches long - well a little bit longer because I have to put it in a ponytail and the ponytail has to be 10 inches. I'm going to keep my hair conditioned and my ends clipped, minimal heat so that I can have some gorgeous hair to donate. It will be good since people always say my hair looks like a weave or wig anyway! YAY!!!! Now the little sisters with health issues can have some hair more of their own texture for the wigs. I'm really excited about this ... and the best part is all I have to do now is nothing and watch it grow!

Do Your Thing Man!

I admit I'm not the biggest Tyler Perry movie fan ... but those plays on DVD with MaDear that is another story HILARITY! I am so inspired by him though. I find it remarkable that he has been able to build his brand so much in an industry that is not very open to new ideas. I also find his tenacity amazing (would I really be able to sleep in a Geo for my dreams?). Regardless of how you feel about his material or innovativeness, he is making a difference in his community and making it more feasible for independent filmmakers to carve their niche in the entertainment industry. GO MR. PERRY!

Tyler Perry prepares to broaden his empire
By Jay A. Fernandez
Aug 14, 2008, 08:08 PM ET

Tyler Perry is on one heck of a run.His five movies have grossed $250 million, and he's sold 25 million DVDs. He's got a top-rated TV show, another about to be announced and 11 boxoffice-busting stage plays. He's landed a book on the best-seller lists and in October will cut the ribbon on his own studio complex.Perry, who Forbes says pocketed $125 million last year, also has achieved something that even Steven Spielberg can't boast: ownership of his work.

Now one of the most elusive moguls in the business is tempting the Hollywood fates by trying to broaden his empire. With the momentum of a new studio deal, the 38-year-old New Orleans native is setting the stage for a lucrative but potentially risky brand extension beyond the millions of black fans who are loyal to his faith-and-family oeuvre -- and the sass-spouting, pistol-packing, sixtysomething alter ego Madea that Perry often plays in the movies and onstage.The first steps in Perry's latest push: "The Family That Preys," out Sept. 12, features both black and white lead characters -- a first for the filmmaker. He recently shot a cameo in J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" reboot, which should raise his profile globally. His TBS show, "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," goes into national syndication next month, and he's readying a new series that, like "Payne," might have managed another unprecedented 100-episode commitment from TBS.

Despite naysayers around town who point out just how hard it is to sustain a streak of nonstop hits -- and just how vulnerable an "independent" can become if failures multiply -- Perry and his associates are unperturbed."This is definitely the beginning of Tyler's next phase in the entertainment business," says Mike Paseornek, president of motion picture production at Lionsgate, which has released all of Perry's films and recently closed a new three-year, first-look deal with him. "Tyler is going to start working more with the Hollywood community, and that will bring a diversity of projects to him that he can then put his creative stamp on."

The Lionsgate arrangement -- which kicks in after February's release of "Madea Goes to Jail," Perry's adaptation of his most popular play -- contains some healthy deal points: Depending on whether he plays a lead or secondary role in a movie, Perry is now paid as much as $15 million for his writing, acting, producing and directing services, plus 15% of first-dollar gross and unspecified boxoffice bonuses. He has final cut and, more importantly, owns the copyrights. He keeps international distribution rights (which admittedly have been measly so far given foreign markets' reluctance to embrace black-themed content). He also pulls in an unheard-of 50% of all ancillary revenue.Lionsgate also benefits. Perry's production budgets have stayed well under $20 million, and marketing his films, targeted as they have been so far, has cost in the $16 million-$18 million range per movie.

Since his films have grossed from $31 million ("Daddy's Little Girls") to$63 million ("Madea's Family Reunion") and average another $35 million on video and DVD, profit margins are bigger than Madea's handbags. (Grosses go up when the trash-talking grandmother makes an appearance.)Paseornek and Perry's reps say the new deal is explicitly designed to widen Perry's reach by developing other filmmakers' work under a "Tyler Perry Presents ..." brand. This move undoubtedly will include a broader range of storytelling and casting choices, and it will multiply his output given that the prolific filmmaker already writes, directs and produces two movies a year."He has a true understanding of his brand, an entrepreneurial spirit and a willingness to bet on himself," says Charles King, Perry's agent at WMA.That bet also comes with risks.Even the most successful directors hit career speed bumps, and Perry surely won't be immune to a bomb or two.

Targeting a mainstream audience also could alienate his core fans. Imbibing the Hollywood ethos while maintaining an independent voice and pocketbook also will require rare finesse.But Perry, who is considered an unusually grounded person, has never lacked for confidence. He and his camp have discussed creating or repurposing a cable or Internet channel, more actor-for-hire work is in the offing that will potentially increase his exposure overseas, follow-ups to his best-selling book "Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings ..." are in the cards and he has cut a deal with Exodus Film to create an animated series of direct-to-DVD titles featuring Madea.

Naysayers might snipe that Perry could be spreading himself too thin.However, Perry's troubled childhood, including a suicide attempt, and scrappy early career have prepared him for overcoming odds of all sorts. In his 20s, he staged several failed theater pieces that led to his sleeping in his Geo Metro. But his persistence and persuasiveness eventually paid off with a string of successes, including the play "Woman Thou Art Loosed!" He then bet $2.7 million of the profits on his first movie, "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," an adaptation of one of his plays that BET and Lionsgate helped finance. It opened at No. 1 at the boxoffice in 2005 and went on to gross more than $50 million domestically and sell millions of DVDs. (Perry held on to sequel and remake rights on "Diary.")

On the TV side, Perry's "House of Payne" deal with distributor Debmar-Mercury also raised eyebrows. Ultimately worth in the $100 million range, the arrangement involved a standard 10-episode test run after which the writer-producer was guaranteed a not-even-close-to-standard 90 episode commitment in first-run syndication. And yes, he also owns the show outright.TBS, which bought the cable rights, has no complaints. "Payne" debuted to record-breaking ratings in June 2007, becoming ad-supported cable's most-watched original sitcom telecast ever among total viewers (5.8 million) and adults 18-49 (3.1 million). It also ranks as TV's most-watched program among black adults 18-49 for the second summer in a row.The show has been "a game-changer for TBS prime," says Ken Schwab, senior vp programming at TNT and TBS. "The growth it showed in market-to-market was huge."Schwab won't discuss TBS' profit margin on Perry's show."All I can say is this has been a win-win proposition -- for Tyler, for Lionsgate, for Debmar, for us," he says. "Everybody has gained on this deal."

Schwab says Perry's audience has shown up for film repeats, which TBS also airs, and that the 18-34 demo has actually increased 15% from last summer. As a result, TBS has ordered another 26 episodes of "Payne."Perry will shoot those episodes at Tyler Perry Studios, a 28-acre complex outside Atlanta that he fully financed. However, the facilities business is a notoriously precarious one, especially in fraught economic times. And in this case, Perry owns the complex outright.With five soundstages, a back lot and 200,000 square feet of office space, the studio will officially open in October. The mogul rarely ventures to Los Angeles or New York as he continues to feed the local economy and take advantage of Atlanta's 30% tax break on local shoots."He has made a huge impact on Georgia's entertainment industry over the last several years," says Bill Thompson, the state's film commissioner, who estimates Perry's impact is in the range of $100 million annually. "He employs hundreds of Georgians and brings great promotional value to the state. He is the anchor of our indigenous film industry."

With the new Atlanta headquarters (he already built one downtown), Perry's ability to produce features and TV shows could grow exponentially."He's accomplished everything that he set out to do and then some from the first time that I met him," WMA's King says.

Be Blessed!!!!!!!

At Gloria's funeral, this guy got up to sing. He said that her mom had requested one song but that God placed another song on his heart on the day of the service. I could tell by his voice that he could sing and thought he was about to sing something that was going to make me super sad. Instead, he sang something that gave me hope. The song he sang was about praying and supporting those you love and are around so to all of my friends and blog readers, I offer the bridge of this song and you can hear the song on the link below.

I see you in the future
And you look better
I see you walking in favor and prosperity too
Let me encourage you
Let me speak life to you
You can depend on God to see you through
You can depend on me to pray for you
I pray for you
You pray for me
And watch God change things ...

100 Things ...

I was recently reading an article in Oprah Magazine. It was about how Martha Beck helped three women discover their "superhero powers." It was an interesting read and spoke of how everyone has powers but like Clark Kent we may be disguising or hiding them behind our own proverbial glasses. One assignment she gave one of her patients was to list 100 things that she'd accomplished that were valuable to her and no one else. I found this interesting and wanted to share. What have you done that is a major accomplishment to you? I bet you can find 100 ...

http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200809_omag_beck_coach/1

Just Can't Shake It

My cousin and I weren't especially close growing up. In fact we'd fight constantly. She and I were very different. I used to do anything and everything not to get fussed at. It is not that I didn't do things wrong, it is just that I would be very careful not to let anyone find out (it is not that I don't do things wrong now, but I just do my dirt quietly as not to bring much attention to it). She was different. It was always whatever with her. Back in the day, we'd fight all the time because of those differences. She was a good fighter and would talk a lot of crap. I still think my folks were scared of her ... they'd let her do whatever and say whatever (for example, I never cursed in front of my Grandmother, Gloria could say whatever she felt like). Because it was just the two of us for a long time (she and I were 8 years apart and my sister came 8 years after Gloria) we were more like sisters and sibling relationships sometimes have some rough spots.

As we got older and I began doing/learning about the inner workings of the soul, I began to have a new appreciation for her and her openness and lack of concern about other people's thoughts about her. There is some freedom in not being concerned with those things that are a staple in my life. For me, most of what I do (and don't do; or the precautions I take when doing undesirables) is about how I and my actions would be perceived. That is sometimes highly limiting. When I hung out with her last September that one night at my mom's party, we were different. We had a ball - she was doing her and it was quite alright. After that we'd talk on the phone every now and then but we never really talked about much. I couldn't afford Christmas gifts so I cleaned out my closet and collected a huge box of clothes, purses, shoes and books for her. I wrote her a letter expressing my new respect and love for her and stuck in the box. I put the box in my trunk but never mailed it. Even when she got sick, I thought of sending care packages with books and journals but never did. I honestly thought she'd make it.

I can't shake my sadness because I don't know if she know how I felt about her. I really loved that little girl (not age, but stature - she was like 4'9") but I don't know if I ever said it - I can't remember ever being like "I love you". I do remember and know that I spoke a lot to her (and about her) expressing all that I felt she could be or could become, but not so much for who she was right now. There were so many of her actions that I felt were out of line that I know I made known that I didn't appreciate it. I don't know if she could grasp that my concerns for her life were out of love for her and her son.

With Bernie, I had an opportunity to at least express some of my feelings toward him (when he got sick, we did a company get well video and everyone got a few minutes to say what they pleased). I never said a thing to her. When I'm misunderstood by my friends or dudes that end up falling off, I go out of my way to make sure they know how I feel. Why didn't I do that with her? I can't shake it because I know I didn't do my best to make her know how I felt. I was going to go and see her on the 8th but she was gone on the 1st.

I know this isn't about me but I can't help but feeling like a dirty, shady selfish person - if you love someone, you should be down. I always say I'm down but I wasn't and I can't shake that feeling. I don't want to talk about it or see anyone because I don't want to hear how I didn't know or it is not my fault or other words of comfort. I know my friends love me and know me and I'll go as far as to say they know my heart. But I can't shake that my cousin died not knowing any of those things about me so there is a huge change she died not knowing that I loved her.

R.I.P. Bernie!

As I find it hard to see the silver lining these days, I do know that I have been very fortunate to have worked for some of the best people in the industry. Most recently I worked at a company influenced by one of Hollywood's giants. He was a great man and that greatness oozed through everything at that company. It was the best place I ever worked and I so miss my times there. This man was so MAJOR as far as his status in entertainment, but EVERY morning that he was there he'd stop and chat up ALL of the assistants. We all had a very special relationship with him ... LOL! Our conversations were literally about my hair and how I'd definitely fall in love one day. He passed on as well ... such a sad time. RIP Mr. Bernie Brillstein, I'm better for having worked for you and known you!

It is Mourning ...

Last night when I got home from work, I couldn't really sleep so I decided to watch my shows from DVR. Big Brother was good but still couldn't sleep and started watching America's Best Dance Crew. I had my phone on vibrate because this dude is supposed in town that I thought might call and I didn't want the ringing to wake up my roommate. Around 12 something the phone rang, it was my mom ... Gloria had died.

Often when people die, you wish your last time with them hadn't been the last. I do wish I could see her and talk to her again but I don't regret the last time I saw her one bit. It was at my mom's 50th. Gloria looked really pretty and happy and we KICKED it! We danced all night and just enjoyed being around one another.

If it is one thing Gloria taught me, it is to be myself. Gloria was ALWAYS Gloria ... LOL even when I just wished she could "do right". She was a very independent thinker - she did what she wanted all the time and put herself first until she had a son. I will never know for sure but I really feel that in her life she just desired to be loved. I hope she left knowing that she was ... Gloria's passing forces me to ask the question what is really important to me. I often say my career is the most important factor in my life. I know for a fact today this is not true. As I sit at work, I know this (or no other job) can give me the comfort and joy I have when in tune with my family ... like at my mom's bday party last year. That was a day that really mattered. I had no idea then she'd be gone now ... no one did, she was just fine. Which is another lesson - you never know what tomorrow brings so live your life being happy today.

I'll miss you Gloria ...