Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Tuesday 19 december 2017
Perry writes about the ‘Higher’

power that sustains him

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY he wants to uplift people, lose faith. How have you
AP Entertainment Writer and he tries to do that for a stayed the course?
NEW YORK (AP) — Tyler Per- demographic that may be Perry: Just my mother, just
ry has always relied on the searching for inspiration. growing up with her. She
word of God to lift him up “They can’t go to the ther- just would always keep me
in troubling times, but even apist. They can’t get in focused.
he admits the onslaught of the car and just go to the And even now I don’t
negative headlines over country for the weekend to know how to do this with-
the past 18 months has clear their head,” he said. out praying. I don’t know
In this Nov. 16, 2017 photo, actor-filmmaker and author Tyler tested his spirit. how to do (it) because I
Perry poses for a portrait in New York to promote his book, “I got so consumed with “I want it to be what make mistakes, I get things
“Higher Is Waiting.” this (presidential) election church was to me growing wrong. I don’t know how
Associated Press
and the negativity of the up — going to church was to do this without surren-
campaign and all of the our relief.” der. I don’t know how to
horrible things that were Associated Press: You say do this without taking a
being said back and forth you’ve become known in moment to go, ‘OK. ...
... (and now) the threat of Hollywood as the guy to go What am I doing here?’
nuclear war in North Ko- to for advice. How did that Because walking by faith
rea, and I just found myself happen? is uncomfortable at times.
completely getting lost in Perry: I’m not judgmen- And I find myself breaking
it, waking up sad and de- tal and I never ever share records and doing things
pressed and didn’t know people’s business. ... So it and opening studios and
why,” he said. was just over the years, I things that are much big-
So the entertainment mo- just think that people just ger than I could have ever
gul decided to stop wak- started to, the word kind imagined in my life, and I
ing up with bad news, re- of got around that, ‘You wouldn’t know how to do
stricting his TV diet to only should call him, you should that without prayer. You
certain times of the day so call him.’ ... know, it’s scary.
that it wasn’t flooding his And it’s exhausting at AP: How did the birth of
brain. But the film and TV times. But for the most part your 4-year-old son, Aman,
mogul also held tighter to just being able to be in the affect your faith?
what he says has kept him position where you’ve got Perry: First of all, seeing
balanced — his faith. a bunch of people in this him born, seeing that mo-
Perry details that faith in his business who can’t trust ment, I was just the most —
new book, “Higher Is Wait- anyone, and then some of I was just in tears. Just the
ing,” published by Spiegel this information is so sensi- thought of a human be-
& Grau. It’s part autobi- tive and so private and so ing coming into the world,
ography, part Bible-study painful that they needed it blew my mind. ... I pray
guide. Perry uses examples somewhere to be able to now more than I prob-
from his own life, from liv- work it through and I’m ably ever have in my life
ing with an abusive father just glad God put me in a just for him. ... It makes me
to his early missteps in show position where they could depend and lean on God
business, to show how faith come to me. even more.
led him through; each AP: You’ve never writ- AP: So many women and
story leads back to a Bible ten your autobiography men have spoken out
passage to underscore the but you tell various stories about the abuse they en-
point. about your life here. Will dured in Hollywood. You
“Higher Is Waiting” isn’t the you write one in the future? have been vocal about the
first Perry project to involve Perry: I was very careful sexual abuse you suffered
religion; his movies often what I share. There’s a lot as a child. How hard is it to
touch on spirituality, to more. I don’t know how reveal something so pain-
the point where it has gar- to tell my full story without ful?
nered him some criticism leaving people, bodies in Perry: It takes a tremen-
over the years. the street, and I’m not in- dous amount of courage
Perry says he’s not a Chris- terested in doing that. I’m and it’s very, very scary
tian filmmaker; he’s a film- not interested in tearing and you don’t know how
maker who believes in anybody down, not inter- people are going to react
Christ. ested in destroying any- to it, so being in this mo-
“If you look at ‘Acrimony’ body. ment you know I’m hoping
that’s coming out next, So as long as those peo- that there is change.
there are no undertones ple are on the Earth, that But here’s what I’ll say
of spirituality in it at all. It’s (auto)biography probably about that as far as change
just a thriller that I wanted won’t ever happen again. goes. The most times that
to do just something totally And the only reason I’m I’ve seen change is when
different,” he said of his up- talking about it as much people in power start to re-
coming film starring Taraji P. as I am now is because flect the victim.
Henson due out in March. my mother’s passed. Yeah, So the more the people in
“So I’ll be all over the place I wouldn’t have talked power start to look to act
in my storytelling.” about it before. like the victims, the more
But there are times when AP: It’s easy for people to things will change.q