They say all good things must come to an end, which is why Tyler Perry is saying goodbye to the woman he’s spent the last 20 years with — Madea. Tyler was in Miami Thursday, and he sat down with the man that we never want to say goodbye to, Chris Van Vliet.
Tyler Perry spent the morning in Miami, which means of course that we spent the morning with him.
Tyler Perry (as Madea): “I know something about funerals. I’ve buried a lot of men. A lot of them.”
The movie starts off as a family reunion, but that changes completely when a family member dies and Madea has to plan the funeral.
Tyler Perry (as Madea): “I hope y’all can appreciate what I’m going to try to do.”
We spent the morning with Tyler Perry, and of course, Madea was there, too.
Chris Van Vliet: “What does Madea think about being in Miami?”
Tyler Perry (as Madea): “It’s hot, baby, it’s hot. It’s hot, and you know, these spanks and this sweat don’t work. I need to be up in the cold.”
Tyler pulls quadruple duty in this movie. Not only is he Madea, but he’s also Joe, Heathrow and Brian. That’s on top of writing, directing and producing the movie.
Chris: “If you’re going to play four characters in a movie like this, what time do you show up in the morning, and what time do you leave at night?”
Tyler Perry: “I’m usually there about 4 or 5 in the morning when it’s time for the makeup, and then I’m leaving around 8 or 9 at night.”
Tyler Perry (as Madea): (hits guy) “I’m a real thug. I’m an O.G. M-A-D-E-A.”
Tyler Perry has been playing Madea for the last 20 years since he debuted her in a play in 1999. He says this movie will be her last one.
Tyler Perry: “It’s time for her to hang up the shoes and the muumuu.”
Chris Van Vliet: “So this is it?”
Tyler Perry: “This is it, this is it. It’s been fun. It’s been fun.”
So if this is in fact the last Madea movie that we’ll see, it’s fitting that it ends with a funeral, although I should point out it’s not Madea’s funeral. But it’s a movie that brings Madea’s entire family together.
Tyler Perry: “Well, I wanted it to be about the family. She revolves around the family, her stories evolve from her situations, so it’s definitely about the family. If you want to be touched emotionally and deeply moved by a passionate performance, this ain’t it. This is just stupid silly fun.”
“A Madea Family Funeral” is in theaters now, and I know Tyler says this is the last Madea movie, but without giving too much away, the end of this movie makes it feel like there could be many more movies. So who knows?
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