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Of all the film franchises at Lionsgate, the most financially reliable are Tyler Perry’s. Like his racial stereotyping or not, he’s a money machine especially when his films star his female alter ego Madea. 
Now the studio has acquired rights to his 11th title, Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family, and planned an Easter release on April 22, 2011. The film is adapted from his new stage play “Madea’s Happy Family,” which is currently on tour in the U.S.
Perry’s 10th film for Lionsgate, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf, is scheduled to begin principal photography on June 1st in Atlanta. He is directing his screen adaptation of the Obie Award-winning play by Ntozake Shange, and produces alongside Paul Hall. The film stars Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Jurnee Smollett, Kimberly Elise, Kerry Washington, Loretta Devine, Anika Noni Rose and Macy Gray. The pic is scheduled for nationwide release on January 14, 2011.
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Its a sad state of affairs when this hack, None writting talent of a man gets to direct and write on of our premier stories and kasi lemmons apparently can’t get a film greenlit.
I hope that with all the star power attached to the movie, Mr. Perry hires an independent editor for his script… and listens to him/her. Otherwise this production will be like everything else he’s done in film and TV: somehwere between predictable meh and WTF?
I second you wholeheartedly. The (black) creative literati’s concern for his adaptation is real.
Thanks for consistently calling him out for being anti union and for making bafoonish films that are often littered with caricatures and racial stereotypes.
Anti Union, hell yeah!!!. Those parasites have killed off most of the American manufacturing with thier unrealistic rules. Now they are trying to kill off the service sector
i LOVE tyler perry’s movies and I’m not black, just saying that to show that his movies are of universal appeal — why is lionsgate releasing the movies so close together within 3 months of each other?
I hope he changes the title – isn’t that politically incorrect to say colored????
It’s the name of a groundbreaking famous work written years ago. No, the title will not be changed.
McDonald’s has mass appeal too. The sad thing is, Perry’s soo full of himself, he doesn’t realize the harm his horrid scripts have on the culture of his own people. Spike Lee was trying to help the man when he called him out and sadly, Harpo and Janet Jackson’s support have made this man delusional to his own inadequacies.
The fact that he refuses to hire a union crew is just additional proof of how out of touch he is with the people he is supposedly writing about.
Kasi Lemmons, thank you for your artistry and integrity.
Please, Spike Lee is not the end all, nor does he rep for all black people everywhere. Carl Franklin, Gina Prince-Bythewood, F. Gary Gray, Antoine Fuqua, Sanaa Hamri and Lee Daniels are all exceptional directors who let their work speak for them instead of being a self-involved “brand” like Spike Lee.
I’ve worked on three of his films and one tv series as a union set electrician. But I’d love a spirited debate on the affect of his films on black society.
“I hope he changes the title – isn’t that politically incorrect to say colored????”
You’re kidding, right?
I am still disheartened that he himself will be directing “For Colored Girls..” The piece is far too important for him to tarnish with his hacky hands.
Is this really a big surprise? LionsGate was the studio that gave Perry a chance with “Diary Of A Mad Black Woman” as well distributing his plays on DVD and owning the television distributor of his shows. Perry would be stupid to go anywhere but with LionsGate. It would be news if Perry went with another studio otherwise it’s just day to day business between Perry and LionsGate. Not really news otherwise.
Tyler Perry and his usual suspects strike again. I’ve seen the play “For Colored Girls” and I’ll be keeping my coin. Perry doesn’t even have the sense enough to get someone like Lee Daniels or dare I say a new and talented upcoming director to endorse and support – growing the black film community beyond himself and his fabulous friends.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but the good thing about Spike Lee was that a) even if he used the same people frequently, he always introduced new talent, and b) he didn’t give less quality in terms of story and film production quality. However you feel about Lee, he at least made an ernest attempt at thought provoking and compelling story lines and picture quality that paralleled his white counterparts. His movies weren’t just relegated to the “Black” movie pile.
The picture above shows Perry beside his Madea character and all he is is clean shaven with glasses and a wig. WTF?! Higher a quality SFX make-up person. Higher writers or story editors who make sure the plays turned movies have an arch with meaningful sub-plots and characters with depth (all things he could learn by watching quality film or even picking up a book. True artists work harder to be better cause mediocre is just not enough). It doesn’t take away the funny. Why not at least aim for the quality of a Mr. Doubtfire or Tootsie? But right now he’s got the market cornered for his genre so until someone comes along that will give him a run for his money, he will continue to serve up this stereotypical, buffoonery to the masses.
Thanks, Mr. Perry! You’re the man!
Yay!! Another terrible film. Great work Tyler!! Way to elevate your content. Sure hope Hollywood starts charging $24 per ticket so I REALLY get the bang for my buck because right now, only paying $10-12 is like winning the lotto when I see your films!! Such a treasure that I have to go buy two copies of your amazing movies on regular DVD and Blu-Ray so I can enshrine them in the hall of fame of Hollywood crap that is as thought provoking as a cook book or documentary on sand. You’re my hero.
I know your comment is sarcastic — but none of this films that I know of are available on Blu Ray — Is that because his audience don’t have have that technology?
Oh Jesse! I have no words.
Actually Jesse Tyler Perry has 3 films out on Blu-Ray. “I Can Do Bad All By Myself”, “Meet The Browns” and “Daddy’s Little Girls”. Oddly enough his biggest hits are only available on DVD.
If Hollywood would just make some quality films for this audience Mr. Perry would be done in an instant. Unfortunately, the arrogant, dismissive and racist attitude in this town gives him leave to defecate out his movies out every six months.
I have no clue. Being a white guy, I can’t tell you how many ‘black’ television, movie ,projects I’ve liked over the years. Some of it was really inspired, but it’s not to see that a person of any person can come up with something so not great and become a success.
No wait, that’s not what I meant. I don’t get why his stuff is supposed tobe that great, it looks like a guy in a dress. That’s it.
That’s like George Clooney playing Batman!
Atleast the guy in the dress didn’t ruin the Star Trek movie.
Personally, I thought Perry’s cameo appearance in “Star Trek” was his most subtle and skillful performance to date. That’s saying something.
When he directs himself and writes his own movies, he needs a co-writer to help him refine it. His writing is just terrible.
I love all the anti Tyler Perry comments from everyone. You people knock him for using a small budget and yet his movies continue to perform great at the box office. Sounds like he’s actually business savvy unlike everyone else in Hollywood who pours out over budgeted film after film. I have nothing but respect for a made man who supports his people which are constantly shunned by main stream Hollywood. (Try to name 10 Black A-List actors!) Kudos to Tyler Perry for not following the norm of Hollywood, which essentially ignored him. Not to mention I’m white and I have far more respect for him than these other Hollywood bozos.
“Supports his people”?
You mean like the black writers he fired off his terribly unfunny sitcom because they attempted to bring the show under a union contract?
And no one is knocking him for making small films that are profitable. It’s more because his films perpetuate the very worst black stereotypes imaginable.
no one said anything about his business savvy. i’m talking about his product. and it’s really hard not to win when you have no competition.
Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Samuel Jackson, Morgan Freeman, Jamie Foxx, Chris Tucker, Forest Whitaker, Eddie Murphy, Don Cheadle, Beyonce Knowles (we’re talking bankability), even Halle Berry still ranks in bankable which makes is what accounts for A-list at the studio level to a degree. Zoe Saldana (who is dominican but tends to portray african american characters) is gaining a name for herself) so if he’s not using A-list black actors and still making a sh*t load of money, how can it possible hurt him to break some new talent and make them look good with great stories and artful cinematography? his movies are like back handed compliments. he’s setting up the people he “helps” to be unequipped to compete.
Steven Spielberg took a group of talented and largely unknown group of black actors made an excellent movie because it was a well-crafted story shot exquisitely. you didn’t have to be black to get it because the story had universal themes. Perry’s movies are not like that and I refuse to believe that they can’t be. he has the resources to make at least one or two good movies between the Madea ones. he can’t himself and he refuses to surround himself with people who can.
a great business man he is. a filmmaker he is not. the sad part is he thinks he is and he’s setting black cinema back to before the early 90s which was an amazing time in black film.
We knock him for being a union-buster and creating awful material that further perpetuates negative stereotypes about both black art and black people as a whole.
10 Black A-Listers (and 2 to grow on) without breaking a sweat: Halle Berry, Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Don Cheadle, Forrest Whitaker, Angela Basset, Terrence Howard, Taraji P Henson, Lawrence Fishburne, Alfre Woodard, Morgan Freeman, Samuel L Jackson
Here’s 10:
Halle, Denzel, Don Cheadle, Sam Jackson, Larry Fishburne, Forrest Whitaker, Will Smith, Terrence Howard, Jamie Foxx, Chiwetel Ejiofor
I agree with most of the previous commnents though some are overly harsh. Tyler Perry’s movies are just substitutes of each other with different titles, for the most part. I see he went to the Eddie Murphy school of film making (playing several different roles in your own movies). Big name actors/actresses seem to flock to him because it’s a sure payday for them. He needs to step back and take a hard look at himself and his “talent”. His House of Payne on TBS is very funny, in my opinion, but I don’t see that talent in many of his movies. How many film makers today don’t use union workers? That, in and of itself, is a shame. But the motto of most famous people has always been “show me the money”. And he’s getting that money from people like me.
WHY ARE WE ALWAYS TEARING EACH OTHER DOWN,FIRST OFF RATHER YOU WANT TO AMIT IT OR NOT EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST BEEN TO OR SEEM AT LEAST THREE OR MORE OF HIS PLAYS.AND YOU HAVE ALL HEARD THE RUMOR THAT BLACK PEOPLE DON’T GO TO TO THE MOVIES,I GUESS THEY THINK WE SEE EVERYTHING ON BOOTLEG!TYLER PERRY HAS WENT FROM HOMELESS TO A FORCE TO BE RECKON WITH. AND HE ALWAYS USES PEOPLE YOU KNOW AS WELL AS FRESH YOUNG TALENT.THE YOUNG GIRL FROM I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF IS FROM ENGLAND.JUST ABOUT EVERY MOVIE HAS A MESSAGE IN IT,AND I DON’T CARE IF YOU WANT TO AMIT IT TO YOURSLF OR NOT, EVERYONE KNOWS SOMEONE LIKE MADEA,WE USE TO CALL THAT PERSON BIG MAMA.WHO WOULD TELL YOU THE TRUTH NO MATTER WHAT! SO THE ONES OF YOU WHO ARE COMPLAINING.IF YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN DO A BETTER JOB,GO TO FILM SCHOOL GET THE TRAINING AND GET OUT THERE AND PROVE US WRONG.IF NOT SHUT-UP AND JUST GO WATCH THE MOVIES WHERE WE ARE CASTED AS HOOKERS ,DRUG ADDICTS,RAPIST,MURDERS AND THIEVES.STOP THE HATE!
Is it really tearing each other down when one realizes that that not every black face on the big screen is a good face. Many slave traders were/are black as well. Does that mean that they had good intentions for our people? Hell no! I am happy to admit(not amit as you spelled it) that I have never seen a Tyler Perry movie/TV show/play in it’s entirety. It’s not for a lack of trying. I told myself that before I criticize this brother I would at least try to stomach his “art” & I just couldn’t do it! I have no idea what message you think can be conveyed by perpetuating coonery. It’s like when Amos & Andy was originally performed by white men in black-face & then they turned it over to black men to make fools of themselves. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy and it’s sad that folks like you fail to see the danger in negative black imagery.
P.S. White people quit trying to tell black folks what is & isn’t bad for our people!
Your comments are hilarious! All of them! I am laughing my ass off right now. I wanted to know why somebody said he should hire a union crew? A lot of talented people who are trying to make it or not in the union and what are the advantages of a union crew over a non union crew? Basically I’m asking what difference does it make?
I don’t care for TP’s films, but I admire his rags-to-riches success. He’s becomea one-man studio, essentially, by addressing a niche market that had been ignored. Granted, he’s done it by using the broadest of stereotypes, and he basically keeps making the same movie over and over again. Same formula, different plot. He just tells his audience – urban church ladies – what they want to hear. And he’s become phenominally successful doing it. I just wonder when he’ll be honest.
Tyler Perry is making good movies that’s based upon his life and experiences. Why should he write about white experiences if he hasn’t had any. He is using black people, like the white producers and film makers and writers are using whites and sometimes blacks, like the white writers write for whites and sometimes uses black. Tyler Perry keep on writing your funny material. Those of you who are hating. Ask God to bless you and help you to use your gifts and you can become rich like Mr. Perry. Hats off!!!!!!!!!!
From reading your comments, it is a little sad that a movie boils down to colour and quality, if you keep it simple Mr Perry is producing movies for his audience which is no different to what has taken place for the last 100 years. I am a person of colour and when you start down the road with what should and should not be shown and knocking someone for actually producing material which clearly there is an audience which enjoys it.Tells me how little we have progressed with attitudes and behaviours. please think about your comments and the impact they have on someone reading them from another country.
I am a middle aged white female writer from the midwest, who ADORES Tyler Perry and his films. I’ve seen them all and will continue to go see them all.
There is a universal appeal in his writing. Everyone with an iota of humanity can relate to them, which –Hellooo? — is why he is so wildly popular. Any writer worth his or her salt will recognize that.
All this trashing of his work is clearly motivated by jealousy or bigotry or pure racism.
Tyler will just have to cry all the way to the bank.
I love Tyler Perry. Obviously his movies are striking a chord with the movie going public. Tyler is AWESOME!!!!!!