Tag: Madea

Gladys Knight joins new Tyler Perry film

Gladys Knight and gospel singer Marvin Winans have joined the cast of Tyler Perry’s new film, “I Can Do Bad All By Myself.”  As reported earlier, Mary J. Blige and Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson were already cast in the movie set to be released Sept 11.

The movie follows the character Madea as she finds a 16-year-old girl and her brothers ransacking her house and sends them to live with their Aunt April, a nightclub singer played by Henson.  Knight plays Wilma, a neighborhood matriarch who sings at the Marshall Baptist Church where Madea hangs out. Knight, Winans and Blige will all sing in the film.

Tyler Perry signs deal for two new movies

After the success of Madea Goes to Jail, Tyler Perry has signed a deal with Lionsgate for his next two movies, reports Entertainment Weekly.  Next week, Perry begins production for I Can Do Bad All by Myself , which is based on one of his plays and features the popular character Madea.  The movie films at the new Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta and will be released September 2009. 

The sequel Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too will go into production later this year and is set to be released Easter weekend 2010.  Perry’s last seven movies have grossed more than $350 million domestically.

‘Madea’ is no. 1 at the box office

Tyler Perry’s “Madea Goes to Jail” topped the box office charts this weekend, raking in $41.1 million.  It is the biggest opening ever for Tyler Perry and for the movie’s distribution company, Lionsgate, reports Variety.  The per-screen average of $20,236 was the highest for any movie since last November’s “Twilight.”  “Madea” attracted a diverse audience with 35 percent of moviegoers being under age 35 and 13 percent being Hispanic.