THE 100 MOST POWERFUL DIRECTORS

What makes a filmmaker powerful in Hollywood? Is it strictly box-office or does critical acclaim and awards factor more heavily into it? Nate Jones with Vulture consulted with various agents, executives, producers, and publicists to help decide what it takes to achieve success and influence as a film director working today.

This was considered by using their body of work, bankability, creative control and reputation to help determine not only which directors would make the cut but also where they would happen to fall in this ranking. Streaming has certainly changed the game for directors working at this time and not a completely accurate way to help assess their power in the industry. So their achievements theatrically played a more important determination in making the list while not discounting any streaming projects entirely.

Please click below to read the selections:

Vulture: The 100 Most Powerful Directors in Hollywood

COMING SOON

I have previously expressed my conflicted views on the films of Tyler Perry. As I have stated, I greatly admire his incredible success as one of the few African-American power players in Hollywood yet I am troubled by many of the films that have built his empire. I have avoided most of Mr. Perry's recent movies as I hate the feeling of frustration over the continuous uninspired writing and broad characterizations after leaving the theater. However I must admit I am intrigued by his upcoming comedy, "Nobody's Fool".

Perry was wise enough to cast one of the hottest comics around, Tiffany Haddish to star as Tanya, a slightly unhinged woman fresh out of jail. She returns home and reunites with her successful sister (Tika Sumpter) who tries to help her get her life back in order. Tanya thinks that her sister is getting "catfished" by a man she has been in a relationship with yet never met. So Tanya decides to use some of her skills that helped land her in prison to track this man down.

I'm not sure how "Nobody's Fool" will end up but I'm going in with an optimistic, open mind. And we are also treated to the great Whoopi Goldberg back on the big screen playing the sisters' mother.

"Nobody's Fool" is due in U.S. theaters on November 2, 2018

TYLER PERRY'S TEMPTATION: CONFESSIONS OF A MARRIAGE COUNSELOR (2013)

Written & Directed by Tyler Perry


Where & When: MJR Theaters, Westland, MI  April 3, 2013  9:35 PM


I don't know why I keep allowing myself to be lured in to seeing yet another Tyler Perry movie but there I was, groaning through every torturous minute of his latest drama, "Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor". Perhaps it's in the hope that I may finally be able to scream from the rooftops that Perry has finally crafted a superior film but alas, that still has not come to pass. The writer/director has once again failed to impress as the film suffers from the usual infuriatingly, unimaginative dialogue, underdeveloped characters, unrestrained emotions, and overly simplistic plot conventions. Yet, Perry feels no strong need to alter a single moment as the audience for his brand of spiritually uplifting cinema turn out religiously to savor every new comedy or drama making him one of the most financially successful independent filmmakers of all-time. I absolutely understand the desire to support the rare African-American film maker out there but it feels like he's been virtually making the same film, using the same exact formula since his cinematic writing debut of "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" back in 2005. Perry, I feel certain, has the potential to stretch as an artist as well as challenge himself (and his audience) with a deeper and richer experience.

In "Temptation", Judith (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Brice (Lance Gross) have been in love since they were children and knew their future would always be together. As soon as they are able, the young couple are married and while Judith's devout mother (Ella Joyce) doesn't approve, she's well aware that she can't stand in the way of such passionate devotion.

Moving to Atlanta, Brice fulfills his dream of working as a pharmacist, but Judith isn't nearly as fortunate. Although she wants to be a marriage counselor, she has to settle by working for a highly successful match-matching business run by the colorfully flamboyant, Janice (played by Vanessa Williams, speaking in a ridiculous, unrecognizable accent). Judith makes no attempt to disguise the contempt she has for her new position, much to the annoyance of her co-worker, Ava (Kim Kardashian) who is supposed to show Judith the ropes.

Harley (Robbie Jones), a handsome and very wealthy businessman is not only interested in investing in the company but also in the lovely, Judith. They wind up working closely together with Harley coming on hot and heavy, trying to seduce the happily married woman. You would think Judith would be able to easily resist the mogul's charming but aggressive advances however; she becomes seriously tempted by the sexy millionaire. Soon, Judith finds herself torn as she loves her simple but devoted husband but is very attracted to the high-rolling lifestyle that Harley has to offer.

Many of the director's films began life as a theatrical work and "Temptation" is no exception. But there was no attempt to broaden the stage play as it heads down a highly predictable path where you know what's going to happen long before it ever hits the characters. With no clear concept of what subtly means, Perry seems to have based his ideas of drama from soap operas where melodramatic storytelling, overwrought acting and over-the-top plot twists are the norm.

Smollett-Bell, who you might recall as a child performer that was very impressive in her first leading role in the Southern drama, "Eve's Bayou", has grown-up quite nicely and still quite an impressive talent. She is clearly the best thing here as the actress helps make all this silliness appear engaging despite being called on to behave wildly out of character at times. That is a problem that occurs throughout as people respond or conduct themselves in ways that come without warning or explanation, serving only to push the underwritten plot forward.

With "Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor", Tyler Perry continues to add to his string of heavy-handed but highly popular films. The director may produce much needed films that looks into the lives of African-Americans who tend to be largely ignored by Hollywood yet seems to believe that his faithful audience doesn't deserve much better than mediocrity.

FOR COLORED GIRLS (2010)

Written & Directed by Tyler Perry



Where & When: The Grove 14, Los Angeles, CA.  November 23, 2010  4:40PM



Tyler Perry's latest film is based on the acclaimed play, "For Colored Girls (Who Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Was Enuf ) by Ntozake Shange which focuses on the lives of seven African-American women and their struggles with love, sexual assault, abortion and abandonment. In the play, each character was only identified by a color which Perry has used in the film by having each of the women mostly wear their symbolizing color.

Kelly (Kerry Washington) is a social worker who desperately wants to start a family with her husband, Donald (Hill Harper), a police detective but has just discovered that she is unable to have children. Kelly is sent to investigate on a suspected child abuse case which is the home of Crystal (Kimberly Elise), a woman trying her best to cover up her own pain and bruises. Kelly is questioning the two children when Beau Willie (Michael Ealy), Crystal's unemployed, damaged war veteran boyfriend, enters and scares her out of the apartment. Beau Willie gets mean and abusive when he drinks but Crystal endures his behavior because she has loved him since they were kids.

Before Kelly leaves the apartment, she is stopped by Gilda (Phylicia Rashad), the landlord of the building. She actually called Social Services after overhearing the savage beatings through the thin walls, begging Kelly to do something before it's too late.

Crystal works as the personal assistant to Jo (Janet Jackson), a hard-boiled fashion magazine editor who can't be bothered with finding out why Crystal has been late for work these past few days because she has problems of her own. Her marriage to Carl (Omari Hardwick) is strained due to him coming home late after hanging out with his male friend all night.

Tangie (Thandie Newton), who also is a neighbor of Crystal's, is a bartender with a habit of bringing a different man home every night, offending the landlord. One morning, a woman dressed in white bangs on Tangie's door. It's her mother, Alice (Whoopi Goldberg), a member of a religious cult, that's asking for more money. Refusing to say what it's for, Tangie, who was left as the executor of her father's estate, turns down the request.

The money was for Tangie's younger sister, Nyla (Tessa Thompson). Alice is led to believe that it's needed to enroll for college but it's actually for an abortion. Tessa knows that her mother would never allow her to keep this child so, with directions given to her by her sister, Nyla heads to her local run-down, back alley, drug den where a crazy, drunken woman (Macy Gray) is the abortionist.

Yasmine (Anika Noni Rose) is Nyla's dance instructor who lives and breathes for dance but doesn't allow much time for romance. When Bill (Khalil Kain) keeps pressuring her to go out on a date with him, she finally gives in because he seems like a nice guy. After the date, Bill is a perfect gentleman, and Yasmine decides to invite him over for a home cooked meal. While Yasmine is preparing the dinner, Bill turns into a vicious animal and sexually assaults her.

Juanita (Loretta Devine) is a nurse and community activist who is turned away by Jo when she comes to her asking for money to start a local charity. Juanita spends a lot of time telling women how they should protect themselves from contacting diseases, but she is unable to protect herself from a charming, manipulative man who keeps breaking her heart by repeatedly. After another horrific tragedy, all of these women come together, trying to heal each other and themselves.

"For Colored Girls" seemed like it could have been a major departure for Perry. The writer/director was creating a film based on a respected, award-winning play yet besides a few curse words and brief nudity, we are still very much stuck in a standard Tyler Perry movie. The over-the-top plot feels trite and overreaching with almost all of the male characters are presented as one-dimensional, abusive monsters as their women, inexplicably, seem to love them unconditionally, no matter what they do to them. There is no sense of cinematic style or subtlety anywhere to be found in this film. To be fair, there are a few well written moments scattered throughout the film, but the problem is suffering through everything in between. I'm sure Perry is of the mindset that, "If it ain't broke. . ." but I think he would benefit greatly by working with another writer to help curb some of his worst instincts as a filmmaker.

It's very sad to say that many big-name African-American actresses have not been able to get a lot of screen time in feature films but fortunately Perry has given some of them many opportunities to display their talents in leading roles. Despite having these wonderful, respected actresses giving poetic monologues, (that I believe are probably from the play) that worked perfectly well on the stage, these speeches completely pull you out of the film. Perry manages to get many fine performances from his leading ladies, particularly from Elise, Rashad and a little unexpectedly, Jackson. Unfortunately, the weak script makes their significant efforts feel wasted.

"For Colored Girls" could have been a chance for Perry to grow as a filmmaker and to challenge himself as an artist. But ultimately, he chose to stick with the tried and true, doing what he thinks is his best and squandering a great opportunity in the process.

I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF (2009)

Written & Directed by Tyler Perry



Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. September 13, 2009, 8:05PM


First, let me say I am very proud and very happy for the success of Tyler Perry. The writer, director and producer is a self-made man who has impressively achieved success on his own terms and without the interference of traditional Hollywood. He is also responsible for giving starring roles to many talented yet underused African-American actors as well as introducing new actors to audiences who might not have received the same opportunity through conventional, narrow-minded producers.

Now having said that, all I can say about Perry's latest film, "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" is that I really enjoyed the terrific performance by Taraji P. Henson, the musical numbers from Gladys Knight, Mary J. Blige and Pastor Winans, and Madea is always good for a few laughs. Oh, and Adam Rodriguez and his dazzling smile. But the rest of the film left me unimpressed and fatigued. To be honest, I have felt that way about most of Perry's films. I tend to find that his films don't offer much more than comedy skits or dramatic segments loosely tied together in order to create some sense of plot. This might be fine for a television sitcom but this does not really work for a feature film. Or at least my idea of a film. I would like to see Perry make more of an effort to try and create something as fresh and inspired as possible, not simply continue to travel down an overly familiar and obvious path.

We begin with Madea (Perry) sound asleep when she hears someone breaking in to her house. Bad move. Very bad move. She wakes her husband, Joe (also Perry) and they go downstairs to confront the thieves. The "thieves" turns out to be three young children, Jennifer (Hope Olaide Wilson) and her younger brothers. Madea wants to know why they are stealing but they aren't talking but Madea has a way of getting answers. She finds out that their grandmother who takes care of them has disappeared for four days and they were only stealing to get money to buy food.

Madea finds their only other relative, April (Henson) who is their aunt. She just got home from her job as a nightclub singer and she can't be bothered with them. All she wants to do is go back to sleep. Madea wants to be reimbursed for the VCR that Jennifer broke during the attempted robbery. April has no intention of paying even if she had some money but Madea agrees to have the kids work off their debt by cleaning her home.

April reluctantly lets the kids stay at her home until she can find her mother. April is certainly not maternal and has zero interest in taking care of some body's children even if they are relatives. She is much too busy drinking heavily and keeping company with a mean and repulsive married man, Randy (Brian J. White).

After April tries to go back to bed, Paster Brian (Marvin Winans) comes to the house. He tells her he has a young man who has just arrived from South America and needs a place to stay. He can do repairs around her house in exchange for a room. April agrees just to get him out and she can go back to sleep.

As soon as her head hits the pillow, there is another knock at the door. There stands the handy man, Manny (Adam Rodriguez) who also happens to be very easy on the eyes. She sets him up in the basement and now her house is full of uninvited guests. Manny bonds with the kids and becomes a kind of surrogate father to them. April also develops an attraction for Manny but fights to resist those feelings.

April soon learns that her mother has passed away and she is racked with guilt over not speaking to her mother in years because of a disagreement. Randy is of no comfort but Manny is there for her with open arms. April's life is a mess and cannot possibly raise children, so she decides to put her niece and nephews in foster care. The kids and Manny beg her not to do it but April is torn and she doesn't know what to do.

I'm not giving anything away by saying that this film ends with a happy conclusion since that was made very clear since the beginning of the film. There is no real suspense and the dramatic moments all feel very predictable. "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" might have been better played strictly for laughs.

I really wish I could offer more high praise for the work by Perry but I always find myself disappointed after every film I have seen. I certainly realize there is an audience and a definite need for his style of films but perhaps it is lost on me. I have heard that he is going to next tackle the 1976 play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf". I am slightly concerned what he will do with the material yet also hoping for the best.