Diary of a Mad Black Woman Tagged Articles at Cinematical
John McClane's Daughter Is Going To Dance Hard
Filed under: Drama », Music & Musicals », Romance », Casting »
Well, it looks like the studios are hoping to cash in early on the buzz surrounding big-budget musicals like Hairspray and are snagging any property with so much as a single dance number. Variety is reporting that Mary Elizabeth Winstead has just signed to star in the dance film Make It Happen. Written by the same man who brought us Save the Last Dance (or as I liked to call it, White Girls Can Jump) and Step Up, the pic will be directed by Darren Grant (Diary of a Mad Black Woman) and will tell the story of a small town girl (Winstead) who heads to the big city for a professional dancing career only to wind up working a Burlesque house. But since the film will be aimed at teens, I'm guessing the burlesque will be more like a Pussycat Dolls routine than anything R-rated.Winstead's career has been building steam over the past couple of years after some relatively high-profile roles -- including supporting parts in Bobby, Black Christmas, Factory Girl, and Grindhouse -- and while she didn't have the biggest role in Tarantino's Death Proof, I'm sure the sight of her in a cheerleader outfit managed to stick in the minds of a few of the audience members. Winstead will also be back in theaters this summer as John McClane's daughter in Live Free or Die Hard. You may remember that, at the Grindhouse junket, Winstead revealed to us that she'd have some ass-kicking to do in the film -- she won't just be a damsel in distress. Make It Happen looks to be Winstead's first foray into dancing but since she is a child star I'm sure there have been some dance lessons somewhere in her past. Production on Make It Happen is set to start this July, plenty of time to brush on a few steps if need be.
New Tyler Perry Film Opens Well Below 'Family Reunion' -- Is It Over?
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Lionsgate Films », Box Office »
The latest film from Tyler Perry, Daddy's Little Girls, is missing two things: Perry's Madea character and a significant opening weekend gross. Could it be coincidence? Or was it simply the result of an overly competitive weekend? In the six days since its Valentine's Day bow, Daddy's Little Girls has earned about $20 million, which is normally a good debut for a February. But this past weekend drew record attendances due to five major new releases, including a superhero action film, a fantastic family pic, a star-billed romantic comedy and a grown-up thriller. It isn't that surprising that a few of those, plus the very popular Norbit, would place higher than a lower-budget, "urban" romantic comedy on the box office chart. Still, Perry's first picture, Madea's Family Reunion, opened in the same month last year to $30 million. And two years ago, also in the same month, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which Perry wrote but did not direct, opened to $21 million. In the end those films grossed more than double their opening totals. But neither of them went up against any significant challengers at the multiplexes. With another slew of new films opening Friday, it is possible that Daddy's Little Girls will get lost in the mix, and it isn't likely that it will manage to finish with as noticeable a run as its predecessors.
Few in Hollywood like to defend low numbers with such logical explanations, so it is easy to imagine Lionsgate is right now pressuring Perry into adding the Madea character to his next film, Why Did I Get Married?, even though the source play did not feature the character. I think that Madea could very well be Perry's own Jay and Silent Bob.
Lionsgate Holds on to Tyler Perry
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », Deals », Lionsgate Films », Distribution », Cinematical Indie »
I don't really get the whole Madea thing, and therefore I haven't been able to appreciate the films of Tyler Perry. But, that is understandable, and perfectly fine with me. Perry's films aren't made for me. They aren't made for any white critics, really. Enough people like Perry and his cross-dressed performance as Madea to have made his previous two films, Diary of a Mad Black Woman (directed by Darren Grant) and Madea's Family Reunion, huge successes at the box office. Enough people like him to give him an award for best actor (albeit from Business Week). And, finally, enough people like Perry to keep him employed by Lionsgate Films. Lionsgate distributed both of Perry's Madea features and it will also release the writer-director's latest, Daddy's Little Girls, on Valentine's Day, 2007. Although neither Perry nor his Madea character appear in the new film, Lionsgate isn't waiting to see if audiences mind. The studio has announced that it will hold on to Perry for two more films, both of which go into production next year. The first is called Why Did I Get Married and deals with the pros and cons of marriage. Based on one of Perry's stage plays (like the Madea films), it starts shooting in January. The second, A Jazz Man's Blues, tells the story about a jazz singer on his way toward stardom who has to return to his rural hometown to save a woman he had an affair with.
Tyler Perry Wins Best Actor
Filed under: Awards », Box Office », Tom Cruise »
There are already so many movie awards already; why create a new one? Because there just had to be an award that Tyler Perry was eligible for, that's why. BusinessWeek.com has invented the ROI Award, which is given to an actor with the highest percentage return on investment. Since Perry's low-budget films Diary of a Mad Black Woman and Madea's Family Reunion earned such remarkable profits, that the writer-director-actor is currently the best bet for business. Basically the award is a gauge for financial backers who are looking to invest in Hollywood. So, basically we can expect a number of future Madea movies, since Perry will have no problem raising money for them (his next film, Daddy's Little Girl,does not feature his acting 'talents'). After Perry, the greatest investments are movies starring Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Tom Hanks and Ben Stiller (no women were deemed worthy ROI candidates yet).
I'm not sure if Perry will get an actual physical award, but as far as his movies go, the financial rewards should be enough. Regardless it makes me sad that this ROI award encourages the practice of investing in Hollywood simply for the financial gain and not for the love of the movies. We certainly don't need anymore businessmen deciding what is entertaining. We get enough of that from the studio suits.
[via Hollywood Wiretap]
White film critics irrelevant to Madea's success?
Filed under: Comedy », New Releases », Lionsgate Films », Celebrities and Controversy », Movie Marketing », Politics »
Hollywood eyes are on Tyler Perry's new film, Madea's Family Reunion, to see if the film will exceed the rather
surprising success of last year's Diary of a Mad Black Woman,
which grossed $50 million after being made for $5.5 million. Distrib Lions Gate funded Madea's to the
tune of $10 million, and there will likely be more of Perry's films to come, assuming Madea's equals
the success of its predecessor (Lions Gate acquired a seven - count 'em, seven - picture deal for the
remaining Madea films after Diary). Lions Gate is opening the film on 2,194 screens, compared to Diary's 1,483,
and has set up interviews for Perry, but did not release Madea's to press ahead of time, perhaps due to
the sound drubbing Diary received from critics.
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