Tina Gordon Chism releases her first feature film Peeples today in theaters nationwide. The film marks one of extremely few times a major Hollywood company backs a film directed by a black woman.
A lot of times the writer is shut out of the filmmaking process,” Chism explains. “And with this, because it was a comedy, because I wanted the jokes to play in a specific way, it was very hard for me to let it go. I had a really clear idea of what I wanted things to look like. I’m so grateful that I got the opportunity to see it through.
Peeples tells the story of a happily cohabitating couple who are deeply in love, except for one catch: he hasn’t met the in-laws.
Sparks fly when Wade Walker (Craig Robinson) crashes the preppy Peeples annual reunion in the Hamptons to ask for their precious daughter Grace’s (Kerry Washington) hand in marriage. Wade might be a fish-out-of-water among this seemingly perfect East Coast clan, but he’s not about to let himself flounder. Instead, in a wild weekend of fun, dysfunction and hilarious surprises, Wade is about to discover there’s room for all kinds of Peeples in this family, no matter their differences.
Chism started her film career as a writer on the Cosby Show. She later wrote the hit Atlanta-based films Drumline (2002) and ATL (2006) and recently sold Inheritance, a thriller script about a young female lawyer, to Sony.
Producer Tyler Perry naturally thought that Chism would be a good bet to helm her own picture.
“It made sense to me. Tina is a great writer, and her style is sophisticated but still really accessible. I wanted to give her the opportunity to write and direct her own movie. I know what that feels like. So if I could use [my] 34th Street [Production Company] to give her a platform to do some great things, then I wanted to be in.”
PEEPLES hits theaters today – MAY 10, 2013.
Director/Writer: Tina Gordon Chism
Producers: Tyler Perry, Stephanie Allain, Paul Hall, Ozzie Areu, Matt Moore
Cast: Craig Robinson, Kerry Washington, David Alan Grier, S. Epatha Merkerson, Tyler James Williams, Melvin Van Peebles, Diahann Carroll
Rating: PG-13
Yay for women directors getting a big debut! Hopefully this leads to more great projects for TGC.