Thursday, March 05, 2009

PERRY GETS MORE LIONSGATE LOVE


I kid you not I was just explaining this whole Lionsgate deal Tyler Perry has to a friend last night in detail. So it's ironic that it was just announced that Lionsgate has acquired rights to two more Tyler Perry films- "Why Did I Get Married Too" (you know what...no comment) and "I Can Do Bad All by Myself" -- with Perry writing, directing and starring in both projects.

The most recent Lionsgate-Perry collaboration, "Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail," has led the domestic box office the past two weekends. "Madea Goes to Jail" has topped $65 million in its first 11 days of release.

In addition to the news of the two new projects, it's been announced that Taraji P. Henson, Oscar-nommed for her role in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," is starring in "I Can Do Bad All by Myself," based on Perry's play of the same name. The film will begin shooting March 16 at Perry's newly opened studio complex in Atlanta.

"Bad," which features Perry's Madea character, is set for release Sept. 11.

"Why Did I Get Married Too," a sequel to 2007's "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married," has been set for release on April 2, 2010, the start of next year's Easter weekend. The first pic, based on Perry's stage play, grossed $55 million domestically.

According to Variety, Perry has released seven films through Lionsgate since "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" in 2005. His pics have garnered a collective domestic gross of nearly $350 million and sold nearly 25 million DVDs. Lionsgate's Debmar-Mercury syndication company has also distribbed 126 episodes of the prolific multihyphenate's TV series "House of Payne" and 80 episodes of spinoff "Meet the Browns" to TBS and firstrun syndication.