To state that The Family That Preys is Tyler Perry's most accomplished screen effort to date doesn't change the fact that it's still exactly the kind of preachy, pandering, tone-shifting, gospel-laced soap opera that he's served up time and time again to his dedicated audience. However, in the grand scheme of things, his skills as a writer-director have been honed just well enough to make one wish that Perry would trust someone else to polish his rough spots at the script stage, so that his cast might play at something a bit more substantial than petty drama and broad sermons, and so that his critical reputation as a filmmaker might grow (well, recover) from the shrill likes of his trademark Madea character.

Cinematical has just received this exclusive teaser poster for Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys (click image to enlarge), starring Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates as the matriarchs of two very different families being torn apart by greed and scandal. This marks the sixth feature from Perry, whose films usually tackle the inner workings of a dysfunctional family. Written and directed by Perry, The Family That Preys also stars Perry, Rockmond Dunbar, Sanaa Lathan, KaDee Strickland, Cole Hauser and Taraji P. Henson. I'm digging what I see from this poster; the art sorta plays tricks with your head if you stare at it long enough -- and I imagine that's the point as it feeds into the themes found throughout the film.

The Family That Preys hits theaters on September 12.

It's funny ... two days ago, I happened upon old gossip about Keshia Knight Pulliam and wondered what ol' Rudy Huxtable was up to these days. Now Tyler Perry gives her a job. But there's still that whole issue that although she has a handful of post-Cosby work, everyone still sees her as Rudy. What seems to be the only way to fix this problem in Hollywood? Get naked, or take on a role where your character does. Yes, The Hollywood Reporter posts that the now 29-year-old actress is going to play a hooker in Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail.

She'll play Candy, a prostitute in prison who has become the unfortunate focus of a large fellow inmate named Big Sal. When Madea gets herself thrown in jail, she comes to Candy's rescue. Meanwhile, Derek Luke (Lions for Lambs) will play Joshua, a lawyer who "has a past" with Candy. Filming will begin next month in Atlanta, with release in early 2009.

Well, the days of young Rudy, Peter, and Bud are long gone, so now we get prostitutes. Really, I shouldn't be surprised. It's not like she hasn't posed for saucy photos before, in that classic attempt to prove she's grown up. But what about you? Are you ready for Rudy, the imprisoned prostitute?

Phew! For a second there, I thought there wasn't going to be any footage of Madea in this new trailer for Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns. But if you're at all familiar with Perry's play Meet the Browns, you know she's not actually featured in the story. So, why was I expecting her to show up in the trailer? Well, IMDb mentions that she's in the movie, which is reportedly very different than the play it's based on. Plus, it's been too long since fans have seen Madea. She's like Tyler Perry's Jay & Silent Bob. Even though she shouldn't be continually milked as a cash cow for Perry's career, it's not smart box-office-wise to let her go. Anyway, that shot of Madea at the head of a police chase may be a lead-in for Perry's eventual film version of Madea Goes to Jail, which he has announced is in the works.

In case you couldn't tell from the trailer, which seems to give every bit away, the plot of Meet the Browns follows the story of Brenda (Angela Bassett), a single mom living in Chicago with serious financial woes, who finds out her father, who she's never met, has just died. She heads to Georgia with her kids and meets her father's other family, The Browns, many of whom, such as Cora Brown (Tamela J. Mann), have starred in previous Perry movies. As we can definitely tell from the trailer, Brenda inherits a house, finds a man (Rick Fox), deals with her son's venture into dope dealing and has a grand time settling in with her new Southern family. Meet the Browns arrives in theaters March 21.

Well, Tyler Perry has been outed as a possible roid-rager, and I'm sure it has made plenty of fans look at him just a little differently. Now, the man famous for dressing up in a housecoat has decided to take a stab at something just a little more dramatic, 'cause goodness knows, he could probably use the change. Variety reports that Jennifer Hudson is currently in talks to star in his family drama, Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys -- now I know I am not the first person to comment on this, but really, does he have to put his name in the title of every single film that he makes? Perry will direct and star along with Sanaa Lathan, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard and Rockmond Dunbar (Prison Break). Perry also wrote the script, which is about two families who become intertwined due to relationships in love and business.

The film will mark the first time that Perry has included white actors in the major storyline of the film -- but I can't say that it is really going to matter. Let's just say that I'm enough of a cynic to pretty much assume that any Tyler Perry film isn't exactly going to rock my world. But it's not like I've never been proven wrong about this kinds of things, so you never know. Hudson is still hard at work filming the big-screen version of Sex in The City (as Carrie's assistant, or better known as the "sassy black female friend #1703") as well as The Secret Life of Bees (based on the critically acclaimed coming-of-age novel by Sue Monk Kidd). The Family that Preys is set to start shooting March 2 at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. After an Oscar and a slew of high-profile roles, is it wrong to suggest that maybe Hudson should steer clear of this particular film?

Steroids -- they were the charming drug of the sports world -- the little demons that upped performance while also having a number of lovely side effects -- smaller testicles and larger man boobs, baldness mixed with extra facial hair, high blood pressure, jaundice, acne, tumors, and the list goes on. Now, however, it's taking the world of entertainment by storm. CNN reports that a number of celebrities and entertainers have been named in connection with a steroid investigation in Albany, New York, launched by District Attorney P. David Soares.

Along with musical names like Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, and Wyclef Jean, is one lone film name -- Tyler Perry. The man behind the successful collection of Madea films, as well as Daddy's Little Girls and Why Did I Get Married? is said to have possibly received or used steroids. The weird part comes in with this: "Law enforcement officials have said evidence does not indicate that the celebrities broke the law, but that investigators are focusing on doctors, pharmacists, and clinics that provide the drugs." So, all these big names were just offered steroids and assumed they were legal? I don't get it, unless this just means that none of the celebs will be charged for their involvement. Soares won't confirm, deny, or discuss the famous names listed in the investigation, and Perry's spokesman declined to comment.

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.

Talk about a casting scoop. The nice people over at UGO.com are reporting with all confidence that Tyler Perry -- yes, you heard me -- has joined the cast of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek. According to the site, Perry will play the head of Starfleet Academy who acts in a sort of prosecutorial role in a courtroom scenario when a young Kirk cheats on a test and must be punished. This is apparently a well-known event in Trek lore, and UGO gives the whole breakdown of what happens. It seems that Spock finds out that Kirk cheated and turns him in and then ... that's about where the scoop stops. But forget all that -- Tyler Perry?! I'll admit that I've been lucky enough to avoid all of his movies, but I live in the same country as you do so I know who he is, and this seems like casting that's almost intended to be jarring. And lucrative ... everyone knows what an insane moneymaker Perry is, and this move is obviously designed as a test to see if that money tree can be planted in foreign soil.

I imagine that Paramount will create an entire secondary marketing channel that caters specifically to Perry's devoted church crowd. It will go something like this: "Come and see the latest Tyler Perry movie, in which he delivers some down home Southern schoolin' to a test-cheating white boy and shows him that the only place he needs to 'boldly go' is straight to church." Will the teaser trailer show a guy in drag chasing a pointy-eared guy with a rolling pin around the deck of a ship? Probably not, but this casting is so out there that, combined with how incongruous the other casting choices have been so far, I'm now almost excited to see this film.

After asking Why Did I Get Married?, writer/director/actor Tyler Perry already has Meet the Browns and A Jazz Man's Blues cooking. But now he's adding two more to the list, and The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Lionsgate has nabbed both of them. The first up is The Family That Preys Together. I'm digging the play on words. (If confused, please look up "prey" and "pray.") Unfortunately, THR is saying absolutely nothing about that this specific production is about, other than that it will be a typical Perry feature: "humor, uplift, and unlimited heart and soul." Bah. I just want to know the plot.

The other feature will be Madea Goes to Jail. Now, you might be confused since Perry already has a video title for that, but that's a video of the theatrical play -- this will be a feature film based on it. For this project, the title explains it all -- his famous character, Madea, heads to jail, and the film will deal with what happens after she does. As per usual, Perry wrote both features, will direct them, and will act in both, playing a "major role" in Prey, and starring, of course, in Madea. This has worked well for Perry in the past -- Married opened at number one last month. I'm just wondering when the guy will burn out. He's done a ton of work since his directorial debut in 2002, and doesn't seem to be slowing down at all.