Perry & Lionsgate Collaborate on New 'Madea's Big Happy Family' Film in 2011

According to reports from Variety, Tyler Perry will work with Lionsgate for the 11th time on "Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family." The strong filmmaker-studio bond is very rare in these times, and Lionsgate has distributed all of Perry's films.

"Madea's Big Happy Family" will be released on April 22, 2011. Perry, who will play Madea, will also write, helm and produce the film.

"It's very important to me to make movies that audiences can relate to, and I can't think of a more relatable subject than family. I'm looking forward to bringing back Madea and the gang, and I'm glad to have Lionsgate with me for the journey," Perry told Variety.

Perry's "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf" is set for release three months before "Madea's Big Happy Family."

The film is Perry's adaptation of Ntozake Shange's award-winning 1975 play FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF. Perry will write, direct and produce. The film will be the first project for 34th Street Films, Perry's new Production Company, which is housed at Lionsgate.

FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF will feature an all-star cast of female actors including Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Jurnee Smollett, Kimberly Elise, Kerry Washington, and Macy Gray. Principal photography is scheduled to begin in Atlanta in November 2009 and continue through December 2009. Lionsgate plans to release the film in 2010.

Commented Perry, "Making a film of FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF is a dream come true for me. Ntozake Shange's play is a magnificent tribute to the strength and dignity of women of color, and I think audiences of all generations will be able to recognize and embrace the experiences these women represent. Creatively, this movie is one of the most exciting undertakings of my career, and I'm excited to start production this November."

FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF brings to the screen Ntozake Shange's Obie Award-winning play, a poetic exploration of what is to be of color and a female in this world.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.