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I don’t understand why any movie studio today would announce a production deal with Janet Jackson’s jdj Entertainment “to select, develop, and produce a motion picture” since she has zero following among filmgoers. Because her last name is Jackson? Because she’s a favorite of Tyler Perry? (His movies with her make the same money as his movies without her.) Here’s an idea: why doesn’t Lionsgate just turn the entire studio over to Tyler since he’s calling all the shots these days. I figure Perry couldn’t do any worse than Joe Drake.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Ouch!
Why even call them a studio anymore?
Heaven forbid a black woman gets a production deal… Kudos to Lionsgate and whoever represents her.
No…heaven forbid that a DESERVING black woman like a Tanya Hamilton (“Night Catches Us”) can actually catch a break and get a production deal. Are your standards so low that ANY black person will do?
Janet has been in five profitable movies. She DOES have a following, or she wouldn’t keep getting cast. She is not just any black person, nor is Tyler Perry.
Well said!
Yes, Tanya Hamilton is deserving and should have a production deal. Let’s hope she gets one. But Janet Jackson has been a singer and actress for decades and is not just ANY Black person. And let’s face it, whether you like his films or not, Tyler Perry seems to be the only director continuously casting Black actress in substantial leading roles. Perhaps that is why Janet has been given this opportunity but let’s not call it STUPID before seeing what can become of it.
Janet’s at least a star. Tanya’s a solid actress, but this isn’t a talent holding deal, it’s a production deal. This is about producing, not acting. It’s a stretch for Janet, it’d be absurd right now for Tanya.
Tanya Hamilton is talented but it took years for “Night Catches Us” to reach the screen for a reason. As someone who knows her also, her ideas are not big and therefore would be hard to sell to an audience so when you suggest people for a deal, please consider the source and the “business” of show business. Janet got her deal because of her name and reach as an artist and overall talent. Those don’t get handed out to just anyone with just one (not even successful) movie.
Don’t trivialize racial/minority issues like this.
Now that’s what I call a poison pill.
Is it still Black History Month at LGF?
Do the men have to dress in drag? Tim Palen always sharp in a dress.
Anybody in black face over there?
Did “The Lincoln Lawyer” help free the slaves?
If Tyler Perry is calling shots, including Lionsgate TV division, get ready for “Tyler Perry’s House of MAD Black MEN.” Because not getting finalizing a deal with Matt Wiener at this point just looks plain idiotic.
Matt Weiner’s deal, or lack thereof, is with AMC…not Lions Gate
More posts like this please. It’s how this blog took off in the first place.
Agreed!
Friends just taking care of friends. Doesn’t matter if they do anything that’s any good or not. Welcome to Hollywood.
Ahhh! A taste of the old Deadline.
At the end of the day, this is a good deal if your in the “business” of making films. Urban films make sense fisically at the DBO. Urban films typically contain a high concept that the urban community can connect to which is why urban is probably more defined by economics and education rather than any other characteristics.
Where did it say Janet was interested in making “urban” films? Urban is just a euphemism that Hollywood uses for “black.”
Not all black people are from the city so this blanket term of “urban” you white people use to describe us all needs to stop. It’s especially funny considering the average black person is turned off by true “urban” movies as we’d prefer to see ourselves in everyday situations, not just battling poverty in the hood. That’s what we think of when you come with your “urban” offerings. Would it kill you to just call us “African-American?”
Anti Union Tyler perry, Janet Jackson: irrelevant= hhm
In terms of black projects, Tyler Perry, King of mediocrity, has been ruling the roost at Lionsgate for a number of years. In 2007, I had a project that an exec there was willing to put a lot of money into. Far more money than they’d ever put into Perry’s films. And to dste they still haven’t given him the budget they were proposing to us. It just had to get by one other person. Not an exec, but Tyler. I knew the project was doomed from that point. It wasn’t an “urban” film, it was an epic film that would have crossed over, something Perry still supposedly wants, but will never achieve because, for the most part, his audience is illiterate, or people who are just happy to see a black face on the screen, no matter how terrible the product. The only award this incompetent clown willl ever win is the meaningless NAACP Award. Yeah, those white folks passed over “For Colored Girls.” Thank God somebody has some taste.
“illiterate” Wow. If that is your thought of the audience maybe it is a good thing your film wasn’t made. I am afraid of your what your film was actually about.
Agreed!
Not that I’m a Perry fan. Because I’m not. But I respect the fact that he has an audience, an audience I’d like to get to someday.
But if Curtis looks down on that audience as illiterate, all I can say is Thank God your film wasn’t produced. That’s the last thing we need, someone pandering and looking down on the “poor illiterate black audience” because we are too ignorant to know better. Quit it with the self hate already.
At least Tyler loves his audience… even if his films are terrible.
How the hell did Tyler Perry get into a position where he couldn’t set up an epic film but was able to veto other producers’ projects? This story doesn’t read like standard Hollywood cronyism, something just doesn’t add up here.
Sadly, Mr. Curtis is right. Mike John and the guys take all things black to Tyler and he has killed every project there. Anyone black in the biz now knows to stay away from Lionsgate as long as the wicked witch is there.
The epic failure of For Colored Girls signals a seas change for Perry whose latest drag queen movie will end him one way or the other. Janet is a lovely woman but she was no acting talent.
You are calling people illiterate but yet post something riddled with grammatical errors. How interesting.
..what was this epic project? Something tells me the pass had nothing to do with Tyler Perry so stop blaming your failure on him. If the project was that great, where is it now? Shouldn’t another studio have picked it up? Please provide more details if you dare.
Shhh Janet Jackson is considered a world class superstar. Her brothers are the stinkholes trying to dump off the mother of their children. Creepy freaks.
Agree with Nikki and “wannabe.” The problem isn’t Lionsgate giving a black woman a deal, the problem has nothing to do with the profitability of urban movies. The problem is Janet Jackson has nothing to do with producing movies, knows nothing of producing movies and there are far more credible women of color to choose from. What a joke.
That is so baseless, and I’ll bet you never gave a damn about black women getting production deals until you saw Nikki’s post.
What’s with all the Janet hate? I don’t understand where it’s coming from.
What’s with all the Janet hate? I don’t understand where it’s coming from.
1) Take a look at the color of her skin
2) Her brother’s legal ordeals which have nothing to do with her
3) Take a REAL close look at the color of her skin
Seriously, Madonna directed a movie last year even though she’s a HORRID actress, and yet, you never heard a bad word about it.
this site is filled with hate whether the topic/subject is white or black, but for the record, it is a stupid production deal…
Silly liberals! (I got routed here by the Drudge Report)
This is the old acid I missed
So true. Janet has played a second in 5 or 6 vehicles, she’s never been a headliner, and I am wondering how the hell she gets this kind of deal…
There just HAS to be something in the water.
Has to.
No other way to explain it.
I agree with you on this Nikki. Janet Jackson is a musician , and when was the last time she had an album out? Producing is a hard job, and to produce quality movies that make $ is even harder given the box office records lately of major studios not doing well in this economy, and they have years of experience! I think it was a mistake they gave her a production deal, stupid move, and reckless especially in times like this! I don’t think Nikki is being racist at all, giving Janet Jackson the responsibility to produce a movie in a recession is just as bad as giving it to Michael Bolton to produce movies. They’re both musicians with no experience in movie making…it’s their money that they’re flushing down the toilet with. Talk dollar and cents, dumb move!
No one said anything about Nikki being a racist. And, what’s with the anti-musician vitriol? The entertainment industry has always been incestuous (musicians producing movies, actors singing, writing and producing music).
Janet was a child actor in the TV show “God Times” Your probably ignornant of the TV show in the early 70′s.
The only good tyler perry is good for is dressing like grouchy old ladies and selling it off as comedy. Thanks but no thanks liongates
She has a strong urban following. If the budgets are kept low, they’re almost guaranteed earners.
“Why doesn’t Lionsgate just turn the entire studio over to Tyler” Racist!
People are getting bent out of shape because talented black producers with a track record are not getting deals.
Personally, I wait until she hires her execs before writing off the deal as stupid.
If Tyler P makes money from movies featuring black people, no matter how “mediocre” the story – then doesn’t that tell you black people are crying out for movies which reflect their lives? And what’s wrong with that?
I’ve never seen a Tyler P movie because they’re not shown widely in the UK, however, I’m glad he’s out there as a successful producer, actor and writer.
This is a pure U.S. play. In international terms it’s a total dud. Not having been privy to the deal I can only speculate as to the terms, but I am sure Lionsgate feels it is to their advantage so good luck with that. At the very least they’ve landed some free publicity on Deadline Hollywood!
She’s using her own money; they are just a title for her.
The headline made me burst out laughing without even reading the story! So blunt!