Be Fruitful: The Tyler Perry Production Model

"It takes a week to do a sitcom in Hollywood. I do a show a day in my studio, three or four shows a week." -Tyler Perry. (IMDB.COM)


In less than 10 years, Tyler Perry Studios has released 10 feature films. His television series, "House of Payne" has aired over 200 episodes while "Meet the Browns" is well past 130 episodes. For "Better of Worse", a new series, is set to air shortly. His numerous stageplays have grossed well over $75 million dollars in dvd and ticket sales.


But why is this amount of production the exception and not the rule? Compared to the production capacity of old guard studios like MGM, Paramount, or Columbia, Tyler Perry Studios is still in its nascent stage, however, in terms of sheer production frequency, viewer recognition and popularity, Perry is the upstart start-up already wearing the crown, just as "The Big 5" dethroned RKO in the 1940's.


MGM and its peers are parent companies over a host of subsidiary production studios. Numerous shows and films are produced under the banner of those names, rather than overtly listing the main production company. Tyler Perry Studios, in an apparent shift, releases everything under its auspices, leaving no doubt as to "his" products.


Perry as CEO, producer, writer, and actor also receives a great deal of self generated public exposure, notably through his monthly emails to his fanbase.  Even the most ardent movie goers would have a very hard time naming the president of MGM or Tri-Star, let alone recognizing his face. Marketing at those big studios is handled by separate areas or marketing companies who focus on advertising upcoming films or dvd's. Perry pens personable emails, detailing highly personal information such as grief about the death of his mother and in the process gaining more fans. He invites fans to post on his message board claiming to read the messages in his "spare time."


By the time a movie is released, it has already been tested by select audiences. Perry's studios test too, I'm sure, but he avidly solicits feedback and ostentatiously pushes his fans to go see his films with a "reminder" email  just before opening weekend, while most studios simply bombard us with trailers that only show the few good parts of the film. 


So is Perry an independent filmmaker, part of the Big 6, or a self-contained multi-faceted production unit? He seems to be a magical hybrid of them all - like some exotic superfruit that can heal any and every illness transmitted by the established production industry. 


Remarkably, he's avoided producing any "reality" shows, a curious omission that constitutes an incredibly profitable aspect of the major studios production portfolio. In fact, Perry avoids touching the entertainment products that make others successful. Some may complain that his films are formulaic, but it is a magical, guaranteed money-making formula. New actors appear in every new Hollywood film, while Perry routinely "recycles" actors from his plays and films. It's not uncommon to see the same actor in successive films. His films are usually set in the South, a region still stereotyped in Hollywood films. 


I know Hollywood is listening and watching, nervously? Resentfully? The recent release of "Jumping the Broom" to a tepid critical reception proves that Hollywood is at least experimenting with Perry's "formula". But merely taking the best parts of Perry's productions -attractive Black actors, gorgeous scenery, weddings- and blending it all up is tantamount to grinding up apples, sugar, and a crust and expecting a pie to magically appear.


Perry's mad production schedule continues with the formation of a subsidiary film production company, 34th Street films, whose internet site is not live and about whom only sketchy details exist. He recently took another play on tour (a studio exec on tour?), though he reluctantly cancelled several dates due to exhaustion, proving that he is still human. At the date of this writing, he is planning...who knows? But there is no doubt that he is planning something, because all superfruits produce seeds.