-This is the third movie you've done with Taraji.
-Yes. I love working with her.
-And is it something where, when you write this part,
you know it's Taraji or you at least want it to be?
-Of course.
Yeah, I didn't see anybody else playing this role,
because, I mean, she's intense.
-Yeah.
-You know, when she commits to a character, she is in it.
There's nothing that gets in the way of it.
And she brought Melinda to life like I couldn't believe.
She's pretty scary, man. -She's really scary.
She's also a very fun person in real life.
Does she come in and out of it or is she very intense on set?
-Oh, yeah.
Right after that scene, she's like,
"Tyler, did you get it?" I'm like, "Yeah. Yeah, yeah."
"Okay. Y'all get me some crab legs and beer
so we can go on to the next scene."
I mean, yeah, she's a lot of fun.
She's a lot of fun.
-This movie is about a divorce. -Mm-hmm.
-Is this an idea you had always had or you had for a while?
-I just -- I've been a counselor to a lot of my friends
who are going through divorces and things like that,
and that's where this kind of spawned from,
just when people can't let go.
They can't move on.
The other person's moved on with their life,
but they're holding on to the bitterness
and they can't get to what's in front of them
because they're so focused on what's behind them.
And that's where this was born.
And this is that story on steroids, though.
-Yes. -Yeah, 'cause she loses it.
She can't get herself together after this.
-You --
-It's a comedy, by the way. Did you know that?
-You know, I was gonna say, it was very --
I don't know why we weren't laughing,
'cause it was a very funny scene.
-It's very funny, very funny, very funny, very funny.
-When do you make a decision, as far as
when you're working on a script,
"This is one I want to act in, as well,
or is this one where I just want to stay behind the camera?"
-Well, this one, I was doing -- I had shot "Gone Girl,"
and I loved working with David Fincher and Ben Affleck.
And it was a great movie.
And I wanted to do something different.
So I started writing it then.
So I always knew I wanted to be
behind the camera with this one.
And, you know, the only reason Madea's still around, man,
is that people love seeing this character.
But that broad is dead as soon as they stop coming.
I'm telling you, she's -- I'm telling you, she is --
-Yeah, it's up to them. -Oh, it's completely up to them.
It's completely up to them.
-I mean, could you ever have conceived
how long you have been playing Madea?
-That a 6'6" black man in a dress
would still be playing this role?
No, I could not have 20 years ago.
So, it's been 20 years, man,
and people are still coming, still enjoying it.
And I'm like, "Okay, hellur. You want to see it?
Hellur. Come on to the box office. Hellur."
So...hey... -Yeah.
And you have -- You already finished --
Another Madea film is coming, right?
-"Madea Family Funeral." Yeah, it comes out next year.
-That's really exciting. -See?
They're laughing already just at the "Funeral."
-Exactly.
-I'm telling you, 'cause if you've been to
a black person's funeral, it is really sad, but hilarious.
-I'm impressed that you waited this long to do a funeral one.
-Why?
-Just 'cause it sounds like such --
Like you said, it's such a natural --
-Rich material. Rich material. -Yeah.
Yeah, I didn't realize how funny some funerals --
Not all black people's funerals are funny.
I've got to be politically correct.
But 99% of them.
I did not know how funny they were until
I started going to funerals of
my Jewish friends or my white friends.
They're just so different.
-Yeah, Jewish funerals are not a laugh riot.
-No, not at all. Not at all.
So I'm like, "Wow. This is very different."
-Yeah. -"This is very different."
-Well, I very much look forward to that.
And then you shot both of those in your own studio,
Tyler Perry Studios, in Atlanta, which is an old Army base.
-Yes. It was Fort McPherson Army base.
It closed in 2011, and now it's the home of the studio.
-And not just your films, but they shot some of
"Black Panther" there and "Walking Dead."
That's fantastic.
Did you just -- As soon as you saw there was
an Army base for sale, did you know like,
"Oh, we could do movies there"?
-No, the last studio I had
was much smaller, and it was proprietary.
So I did all of my stuff there.
And I thought, "You know, why don't I do something bigger
so that I can lease space to other people."
And being a filmmaker and a creator,
I wanted to create a space where they can come and be happy
and evolve into whatever they want to do.
And that's what we've created there, so it's been pretty fun.
-That's great that you have a place for people to collaborate.
Another person you're collaborating with is
Tiffany Haddish.
-Yes, yes.
-And, now, I would assume, when Tyler Perry calls,
you answer the phone, and if you get a message,
you call back right away.
That did not happen with Tiffany Haddish.
-That did not happen. And we had worked together.
You know, years ago, she was on "If Loving You is Wrong,"
which was on OWN.
And I called her one day and I was like --
She didn't call me back. I sent her a text.
She didn't call me back.
So, somebody said, "She's at the Laugh Factory."
I was like, "Oh, okay. I'm going to the Laugh Factory."
So, she's onstage, man. She's performing.
She's like, "Hey, somebody bring me some peach Ciroc."
So, the waiter goes and gets the peach Ciroc.
And I grab it from the waiter and say,
"I'll bring it up to her.
So I bring it up there to her onstage, and she freaks out.
I was like, "You didn't call me back."
She freaks out, man, freaks out. She's hysterical.
-That is -- There's a level of heckle,
and then there's "Tyler Perry bringing you a drink" heckle.
-That's right. That's right.
That's right. That's right.
-Speaking of drinks, I heard -- true story --
that you have trouble sleeping?
-Yeah. -Is that just an active mind?
Is that your problem?
-Yeah, it's just on and on and on and on and on.
You know, I'm always writing. I'm always doing something.
So I'm on and on and on and on.
-And, so, someone suggested trying to give you a sleep aid.
-Where are you going with this?
-I heard that you drink -- Was it a weed drink?
Is that a fair way to describe it?
-Yes. 'Cause, yeah, I've never done any drugs.
My mother would kill me.
And, so, a friend of mine -- She said, "You know --"
'Cause I said, "You know, I'll just have
a little vodka before I go to sleep."
But I'm like, "Yeah, that could cause an issue.
That could cause a problem. She's like, "Don't do that.
Here's what you do.
I'm gonna send you this weed drink,
and I just want you to try it.
Just take one shot. It will help you sleep."
So I took it one night. Eh, it didn't do anything.
Next night, she's like, "Take more."
So I took two shots.
I was like, "Didn't do anything."
Next night, she said, "Take four shots."
I took the four shots.
And, man, I -- My legs started growing.
I swear to you.
I'm sitting there, and my legs started growing.
And I couldn't open my mouth.
And I was wondering if it was still there.
And then she FaceTimed me, and I was hiding behind the camera,
'cause I didn't want her to see me.
I said, "God, if you get me out of this,
I will never do this again in my life."
-[ Laughs ]
-And you're laughing like you enjoy it all the time.
-Well, I'm just thinking -- -Have you ever tried it?
Have you tried it? -No, I have not tried it.
-Okay, good. Don't. Don't. -I would.
If somebody suggested that to me, I'd take it in a heartbeat.
-Don't. Don't, don't.
-No, but I have kids now.
Nobody offers me fun stuff anymore.
-It was a lemonade, though. It was a pink lemonade.
I was just like, "This is really good."
I didn't even think about it until my legs started growing.
-Well, now, my question is -- when something like that
happens to you, do you immediately start thinking,
"Oh, this is --
Someone in one of my movies is going to do this one day."
-For sure. -Well, can it please be Madea?
[ Laughter ] Can it please?
I'm just saying, like, it doesn't have to be,
but I'd feel really good.
-Oh, her starting to freak out on a weed drink?
-Yeah. -Yeah, okay. Cool.
-Okay. Good. -Yeah. All right.
There we go. There we go. -And I just look forward to it.
All right. Hey, thank you so much for being here.
It's such a pleasure to meet you.