If you’ve seen the trailer for David Fincher’s much-anticipated thriller, "Gone Girl," which will be out this fall, it looks like an incredibly gripping thriller. And just judging from it alone, Tyler Perry, who was the unlikely choice for what is a major role as Ben Affleck’s
lawyer, even looks like he gives a really solid performance in the film.

So maybe it was a surprise to learn that, in an interview published today by Yahoo Movies, Perry claims he had no idea who Fincher was before
he accepted the role.

Like seriously? I’m not making this up. Read the piece here.

Here’s the quote: "When he agreed to play
Gone Girl’s charismatic defense attorney, Perry wasn’t familiar with the film’s
inspiration or its A-list director (whose films include "The Social Network" and "Fight Club"…. “I probably would have walked away from it. If I had known who
David Fincher was, and his body of work, or if I’d known the book was so
popular, I would have said, No,” he admits. “And my agent knew that! He didn’t
tell me until after I signed on!”

Now, we’re not talking about some regular Joe audience member who goes to
the movies once in while, and who I wouldn’t necessarily expect to know about any particular director and his
body of work. I could understand that if Perry wasn’t who he’s become. But he’s no ordinary person. He’s a filmmaker. And also, in this case, the director in question is an
established, very successful filmmaker in David Fincher, with many credits to his name. Not someone obscure like Alain Robbe-Grillet, but David Fincher, one of the most influential directors of the last 20 years!

And furthermore why would he have rejected the role if he had known who Fincher was? Yes, he has a well known and established reputation for being very tough, demanding and known for doing some 50-60 takes for every scene. But most actors love a challenge like that, to be pushed to the limit. One wonders after working with Fincher did Perry have any change of attitude or some new point of view regarding filmmaking after working for someone who is totally committed to the craft.

Yeah, yeah I know what some of you are going to say. What
does it matter? He has his own studio, he’s rich, he’s made it on his own, without Hollywood’s permission… yadda yadda yadda. But I’m not buying it. There’s
no excuse for boasting ignorance.

This proves something I’ve always suspected about
Perry – and that is, he just stumbled into films by accident, and that if he made the same amount
of money in some other field, like say real estate, he would have been just as happy. Essentially, he doesn’t have the passion for it. It was never about the art of it, but rather showing
up all those people from his past who abused him, and challenged his worth. This is why he’s never improved as a filmmaker,  nor even seems to care to.

It recalls a question we previously asked on this blog on who Tyler Perry’s cinematic influences are.

It
was never about films; instead, it was really about being a success. That’s all well and good. Just don’t
call yourself a filmmaker.