Tina Gordon Chism talks about directing and writing PeeplesBy Wilson Morales
May 9, 2013
Coming out this week (May 10) is Tina Gordon Chism‘s directorial debut, ‘Peeples,’ which she also wrote.
Produced by Stephanie Allain and executive produced by Tyler Perry, the film stars Craig Robinson, Kerry Washington, David Alan Grier, S. Epatha Merkerson, Melvin Van Peebles, Diahann Carroll, Ana Gasteyer, Malcolm Barrett, Tyler Williams and Kali Hawk.
The story follows what happens when a child psychologist Wade Walker (Robinson) surprises his girlfriend Grace Peeples (Washington) by showing up at her family’s annual get-together at their Sag Harbor vacation home only to find them desperately in need of therapy.
For Chism, it’s been a journey getting to the director’s chair. She first got her start writing for The Cosby Show before making screenwriting debut with Fox’s 2002 blockbuster Drumline with Nick Cannon. She the scripted the Warner Bros. film ATL with T.I.
In speaking with Blackfilm.com, Chism talks about putting this film together with her team of producers and cast, including Tyler Perry, Stephanie Allain, and Kerry Washington.
Were did the idea for the film come from?
Tina Gordon Chism: The writing actually went really fast. I was on vacation and I came up with the idea when I was in Martha’s Vineyard. I was also in Sag Harbor during the same summer and both locations were brewing in my head. I had actually just came out of a breakup and I was doing an autopsy on the relationship. I was thinking about him and the family that he came from and how everyone kept secrets in the family. It just became funny to me. I was thinking about family and unconditional love. The writing went really fast and in three months, it was done. That’s pretty for me. Once I wrote it and turned it to my agent, again, it went very fast. We may have another three months casting it and getting the deal done at Lionsgate; and we were shooting soon afterwards.
Most of your previous work has been as a screenwriter, so what inspired you to become a director on this project?
TGC: I always had the idea that I wanted to direct. With ‘Drumline,’ the director’s vision was so close to the script that I never experienced what a lot of writers feel, which is that frustration between what you write on the page and what you actually see on the screen. Eventually, I began to realize that this is a director’s medium and I could not let ‘Peeples’ go because I knew I wanted the tone, and sometimes it can’t be conveyed in the script, to be quirky, sometimes deadpan and dry. I just had ideas about the set and how I wanted to present the Peeples family. I couldn’t let it go. Although I was a bit intimidated because it was a big ensemble cast. I went out and cast great players to come work with me hoping I could leverage it for me to direct and Lionsgate obliged. So, it worked.
How did you get Tyler Perry and Stephanie Allain to come aboard as your producers?
TGC: Well, Stephanie and I share an agent at William Morris Endeavor and I had met Stephanie socially. I had followed her work. I loved her passionate relationships with the directors she’s worked with, many first time directors. When I finished writing the script, I had asked to have a meeting with her. At the time I was on the fence whether I would direct the film or not, but she was so passionate about me directing it after we had our meeting, that it was the reason I chose her to produce the film. She just has a warrior’s spirit where she gets things done and her faith in me was really a boost of confidence. We went out and cast the film and Lionsgate became more interested in it and at that point Tyler Perry’s studio had read the script and decided to partner up. I can’t really speak for him and know what made him decide to do this, because it is the first time. We were really surprised and also very grateful because a lot of attention and support comes when Tyler Perry backs something. He also wanted my voice to come through, so he stayed hands off and was sort of like the Godfather of the project.
Kerry Washington had not done ‘Scandal’ at the time of production and Craig Robinson wasn’t as well known as he is now, and David Alan Grier hadn’t had a prominent role in films in years. How did they become the leads of the film?
TGC: The first thing is that there are so many talented actors out there obviously in Hollywood, but I really wanted a cast that I felt, even above their comedy chops, that their intelligence speaks for itself. Kerry was the first person I thought of when I was writing the script. Although it’s a comedy, you normally wouldn’t think of Kerry, but she’s Type A for perfectionism. She’s on it. She studies and she’s prepared. She has this Type A quality about her. I thought that if I could meet with Kerry and she would get the joke of the Peeples family, I know she would sell the belief that this is a quirky Type A family that is lovable. That was my first casting instinct. After that, I had always admired Craig Robinson from ‘The Office.’ Many of these actors are so funny and they make smart choices, but they just have smaller roles. On their brief moments on screen, they kill it. They are just so funny. I asked to meet Craig and he had not taken a leading man role before. I was grateful that I took a chance and just trusted me and I trusted him. We have a co-dependent relationship and it totally worked out.
There has been some rumors that this film is another version of ‘Jumping The Broom,’ and another end, others think this is the Black version of ‘The Fockers.’ What make ‘Peeples’ different from both of those films?
TGC: When I was shooting the film, I had heard people say that there is another Black wealthy family film being shot around the beach. I kept saying that it’s not the same. When you see the movie, you will know that it’s not the same. I realized that because there are few African American films. No one ever said that there were four movies set in the hood, but you show affluent Black people at the beach, you would think that you have seen the film before. We have that limitation that we fight in Hollywood, so I just think that you have to see the movie for yourself. I wouldn’t pick it apart or compare them because I don’t see the similarities aside from the fact that they are wealthy black people at the beach. I try to create a family that is grounded and that are dealing with unconditional love. Although it plays as broad comedy many times, I feel that I aimed to make a movie that is rooted and grounded and about unconditional love. It’s a musical in a lot of ways, Music is so present in ‘Peeples,’ that for me, I don’t see similarities as some people may with other films.
Is it better for you to work as both a writer and director so that your vision stays on course?
TGC: Yeah. I feel that it’s hard to let scripts go now. If I take the time and write it on the page, I really want to make sure that there is no gap between what I intended and what I see on the screen. My film is called ‘Inheritance’ and it’s a thriller set with Sony Picture. For now, yes, I will push to direct the pieces that I write.
