Tyler Perry continues to buck the Hollywood system by making his own movies and eschewing the conventional means of promoting them. With the exception of his first thearical feature Diary of a Mad Black Woman , none of his subsequent films have been screened for the press here in San Diego or in many other cities yet they have all done amazlingly well at the box office. Rather than relying on the mainstream and mostly white media, Perry taps into the strong fan base he developed on the urban theater circuit to build a loyal audience that comes out in force on the all-important opening weekends of his films. I admire Perry's ability to make films his own way so I wanted to highlight his upcoming film, The Family That Preys (scheduled to open September 12). Perry's sixth film crosses color and class lines as it looks to Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard as the matriarchs of two very different families being torn apart by greed and scandal. The only thing I regret is that Perry's fabulous Aunt Madea (played by Perry in drag) won't be in this more serious drama. Aunt Madea is a formidable and hilarious creation, and she actually has her own set of movies if you want to check them out. Trailer courtesy of Lionsgate.
