Via: defendernetwork.com
Before Tyler Perry went mainstream, becoming the first black man to own his own studio, he was a very popular playwright in the black community. People came in droves to see his plays, you couldn’t pass a bootlegger who didn’t have one of his DVDs and slowly but surely black folk were starting to adopt Madea’s vernacular. (Hell-er!) Then he hit the big screen with his first feature film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman. Coming out the mixed reviews, the film featured some decent actors, including Kimberly Elise, Steve Harris and the legendary Cicely Tyson. Maybe you’re more familiar than a little bit with this film, but we bet you don’t know the secrets behind this film. Check them out.
Fox didn’t want it
Originally, Perry took his script to Fox Searchlight but the company wasn’t feeling it and decided to pass. But Lions Gate had a completely different reaction. When they received the script in 2004, it only took them a week to decide they were going to make the movie.
Tyler’s got that dough
Diary of Mad Black Woman cost $5.5. million dollars to make and from all of his very successful plays, he was able to finance half of it. It turned out to be a very good investment in that the movie made $21 million in the first weekend and over $50 million during its box office run in the United States.
Wasn’t that a nice house?
Remember the house that Charles so ruthlessly threw Helen out of? The same house that Madea demolished with a chainsaw? That was Tyler Perry’s real life home. So hopefully that was prop furniture. After all of his success, he’s probably upgraded since 2005.
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