What inspired ‘They Cloned Tyrone’? Director Juel Taylor talks about Netflix film

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Juel Taylor has revealed the inspiration behind his first film as a director, They Cloned Tyrone. Taylor is a co-writer on Creed II (2018) and Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021). They Cloned Tyrone is a science-fiction comedy inspired by movies like The Truman Show and even bits of Taylor’s personal life. Here’s what the director said.

Starring Jamie Foxx, John Boyega, and Teyonah Parris in the lead, They Cloned Tyrone has been described as a ‘Blaxploitation comedy’ like in the seventies and a comic caper. The film tells the story of Fontaine (John Boyega), Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx), and Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris), as they discover a government conspiracy to keep a watch on their citizens. In an interview with The New York Times, Juel Taylor talks about how his personal life growing up in Tuskegee, Alabama, has inspired parts of the story for his debut film.

Juel Taylor said he knew he wanted to make a mystery film. He had once jokingly discussed with Tony Rettenmaier, his writing partner and former classmate, that what if they could create heroes out of a trio consisting of a pimp, a prostitute, and a drug dealer? The director said the actual story was done only after he created the character of Fontaine. It was based on a friend who was arrested back in college, and how the experience completely changed his life. Hearing his friend completely changed Taylor’s perspective. “I started thinking a lot about blame and responsibility and that’s when all the elements of the movie came together. A guy is having an identity crisis and he has to overcome circumstances that are genuinely beyond his control,” revealed the director.