If ‘Red Tails’ flops, are black audiences to blame?

Cuba Gooding, Jr. in ‘Red Tails’. ‘Red Tails’: If George Lucas war film flops, are black audiences to blame? (theGRIO) Red Tails, a biopic about the heroic Tuskegee Airmen fighter pilots, and arguably the most expensive film ever made with a predominately African-American cast, opens this weekend. The film has arrived with enormous hype and has renewed debates about whether ‘black films’ can succeed at the box office. Rightly or wrongly, the financial success, or lack thereof, of Red Tailsmay be seen as a barometer of black audiences’ buying power. Which begs the question: if Red Tails fails to meet expectations will African-American filmgoers be to blame? The film, which was largely financed by legendary Star Wars director and producer George Lucas, boasts…

Casting Kim Kardashian: Tyler Gone Too Far?

Kardashian ‘Marriage Counselor’ role: Blessing or curse for Tyler Perry? (theGrio) Keeping up with Kim Kardashian is getting harder and harder. To say she’s full of surprises is an understatement. In the midst of rumors about the newlywed’s recent marriage to NBA player Kris Humphries already being on the rocks, Kim K. has redirected the conversation. Friday, the reality start tweeted that she would be co-starring in Tyler Perry’s latest film, The Marriage Counselor, which reportedly starts filming this week in Atlanta. The film is the latest Perry play to hit the big screen. Given that Kardashian is bigger than ever at the moment, Perry’s decision to cast her is definitely a great marketing move. Years ago, the natural question…

Mustafa Goes From Old Spice to the Big Screen

(theGrio) Old Spice spokesman Isaiah Mustafa made a visit to the Today Show this morning to talk about his new debut role in Tyler Perry’s new movie “Madea’s Big Happy Family,” debuting nationwide tomorrow. The 36-year-old actor was featured on our Grio’s 100 list this year, sharing his experience as “the man your man could smell like” with Al Roker, new-found fame, and how his life has changed. Mustafa told Kathy Lee and Hoda that he found out he got the role while he was in his bathroom, Skyping with Oprah. “I was on with Oprah and I told her that I was auditioning for Tyler Perry. She said ‘you know I know him,’” Mustafa said….

Tyler Perry To Spike Lee: ‘Go Straight To Hell’

(HuffPost) The long-simmering war of words between Tyler Perry and Spike Lee is heating up again. Perry, in both a message on his website and a press conference to promote “Madea’s Big Happy Family,” hit out against Lee, who in 2009 said, among other things, that Perry’s films “harken back to ‘Amos n’ Andy’.” While Perry’s website message was vague and resilient, defending his work as both spiritually uplifting and fun, his words for Lee were blunt and harsh in the press conference. “I’m so sick of hearing about damn Spike Lee,” Perry said during the press conference (via Box Office Magazine). “Spike can go straight to hell! You can print that. I am sick of him…

Tyler Perry Buys New Home for 88-Year-Old Fire Victim

(AP/theGrio) — Movie mogul Tyler Perry delivered on a Christmas promise when he handed the keys of a new four-bedroom house to an 88-year-old woman who lost her rural Georgia home to a fire. Rosa Lee Ransby and her seven grand- and great-grandchildren lost their home a week before Christmas. Perry saw the story on a local television newscast and decided to rebuild the house. He also fully furnished it. More than 20 family members attended ceremony in rural Coweta County on Friday. Perry says he wanted to do something for Ransby when he found out the family didn’t have any way to rebuild. He says the main thing was getting her enough space for…

Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, LL Cool J and More Pick Up NAACP Nominations

(ET) The NAACP has released its list of nominees for their Image Awards, and many notables made the list. Rihanna, Craig Robinson, Tracy Morgan, Vanessa Williams, Amber Riley, Sofia Vergara, LL Cool J, Chandra Wilson, Selena Gomez, Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Usher, Kanye West, Black Eyed Peas, Tyler Perry, Denzel Washington, Justin Timberlake and bothWillow and Jaden Smith all picked up nominations. The nominations were announced Wednesday in Beverly Hills, California by stars including 50 Cent, Kimberly Elise, Sanaa Lathan and Smokey Robinson. The Image Awards celebrate the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film, as well as honoring individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors. For the full…

EXCLUSIVE DETAILS & MUG SHOT: Tyler Perry Presses Charges Against Teenage Trespasser

(RadarOnline) The Georgia home of actor and producer Tyler Perry was broken into last week and UrbanNewsRoom.com has exclusive details of the arrest and the mug shot of the teenage suspect. According to a spokesman for the Atlanta Police Department, officers were dispatched to Perry’s residence at 4:17am on December 23 after receiving a call for criminal trespass – Perry’s security personnel had spotted three suspects climb through the bushes to get around the front gate. PHOTOS:  Celebs Who Are Most Popular On Twitter Atlanta Police arrived at Perry’s home and met with him and his security staff who told the officers they were watching security cameras when they saw the suspects enter the property without permission. PHOTOS: …

Tyler Perry To Build Fire Victims New Home

(Atlanta) An Atlanta movie star is reaching out to help a great-grandmother of seven who lost everything in a fire. On Tuesday, 88-year-old Rosa Lee Ransby and her 4-year-old great-granddaughter escaped a fire that destroyed her home of 40 years. Coweta County firefighters began soliciting for donations from anyone they could find, and dozens of calls came in. With the community’s help, Ransby was climbing up the stairs to a new home just 48 hours after the fire. “It’s just good, you know. I didn’t think I had no friends, but I found out I got some,” Ransby said. And after Channel 2 Action News’ coverage of the fire aired, movie mogul Tyler Perry visited…

Tyler Perry to build home in Atlanta Suburb

(AJC) Johns Creek, meet Tyler Perry. The actor and entertainment mogul who is the creative force behind TBS sitcoms “Meet the Browns” and “House of Payne,” may soon take up residence in north Fulton County. Perry is the new owner of Dean Gardens, a 58-acre estate on Old Alabama Road in Johns Creek, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal. The $7.6 million property sale was completed in late July, according to FMLS, the local real estate listing service, but the buyer was not named. The house, most recently assessed at $6.5 million, took more than four years to build. Off and on the market for 15 years, it was to have…

Tyler Perry Finds Success Outside Hollywood’s Mainstream

From CNN: Tyler Perry has done it yet again. His latest opus to the melodrama of marriage, “Why Did I Get Married Too,” landed at No. 2 at the box office last weekend, with a gross of $29 million. But at this point in Perry’s career, his ability to sell movie tickets in spite of mostly poor critical reception is no surprise. The 40-year-old actor, author and filmmaker has gone from promoting his own plays to become a full-fledged brand — one that, although created outside of the Hollywood machine, is causing some industry people to take notice. Click below to view GALLERY: Tyler Perry’s Leading Ladies “Perry’s kind of unrivaled in the sense that…