DavidE.Talbert Tagged Articles at Cinematical

See the expression on Ice Cube's face in this photograph? I wore that same expression for the entire running time of First Sunday. The transition of the holiday movie season into the barren movie wasteland of January is always a jarring one. For the past three months, it seems like I've seen nothing but Oscar-caliber movies -- masterful films by outstanding filmmakers working from amazing scripts. So maybe First Sunday just pales in comparison...

But I don't think so.

No, this is not yet another sequel to that terrific Ice Cube comedy Friday, as many have suspected. Sunday tells the story of "new" characters Durell (Cube) and LeeJohn (Tracy Morgan). As the movie opens, the boys are picked up by the cops for their involvement with some stolen wheelchairs. They are sentenced to 5,000 hours of community service, the owner of the wheelchairs comes to collect, and Durell finds himself broke. Things get even more desperate when Durell's ex-girlfriend (Regina Hall) tells him she intends to move to another state with his son...unless he can come up with $17,000 to pay off a debt. So Durell and LeeJohn do what anyone in their shoes would do -- they decide to rob a church. And of course, after a night amongst good Christian folk, they learn that crime is bad and God is good and blah blah blah.

Think one Tyler Perry is enough? Too bad, because now there's two. According to the Hollywood Reporter, there's a new multihyphenate on the scene who also has "chitlin circuit" roots. His name is David Talbert and his first major release, First Sunday, is out in theaters starting today (read Patrick's interview with Talbert here). But instead of waiting to see if he can reel in the dough the way Perry can, Fox Searchlight has already scooped up the filmmaker for a follow-up. Titled Baggage Claim and based on Talbert's 2005 novel, the movie will follow a flight attendant who travels the country on a 30-day mission to find a husband. Included among the men she considers are a politician, a preacher and a tycoon. And according to the Hollywood Reporter, the movie will be aimed at a black audience.

Like First Sunday, Baggage Claim will be written, directed and produced by Talbert, who comes to Hollywood following (and amidst, I'm sure) a successful playwriting career -- according to the IMDb, the Los Angeles Times apparently called him "one of the most prolific theater makers in America" and Wikipedia claims his plays have grossed more than $75 million. Sounds to me like Sony, which is distributing First Sunday via its Screen Gems banner, should have held on to Talbert for longer. If Talbert really is the next Tyler Perry, he's poised to be a home run hitter as far as box office profits are concerned. We'll see on Sunday if Sunday has Sony weeping and Fox cheering, or if this is just another case of bad punditry.