On "30 Rock"'s season finale last night, Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) announced his intention to open his own movie studio that makes films where he dresses up as an elderly woman, that appeal entirely to black audiences. It's an obvious dig at the ludicrously successful Tyler Perry, who's made millions by writing, directing and starring in a string of pictures that have consistently been hugely profitable. He's a brand name now, but at the same time, outside the African-American community, Perry's yet to truly cross over, a tiny cameo in "Star Trek" having provided his widest exposure to date.
So for the first time, Perry's looking elsewhere: the multi-hyphenate is starring in "Alex Cross" for his usual home of Lionsgate, a reboot of the crime franchise that saw Morgan Freeman have two modest hits a decade ago with "Kiss The Girls" and "Along Came A Spider." Based on the series of novels by James Patterson, the film, directed by Rob Cohen ("The Fast & The Furious"), sees the actor play the detective/psychologist in an original story, trying to track down the murderous assassin who killed his wife.
The first images from the film have arrived courtesy of Kinopoisk (via The Film Stage), and aside from showing Perry and Edward Burns, who plays his partner, we also get a look at the film's antagonist, a cage-fighting killer played by a near-unrecognizably bulked-up Matthew Fox from "Lost." Seriously, in that photo below he looks like a 'roided up version of that warlock guy from "Game of Thrones." The film also stars Jean Reno, Rachel Nichols and Giancarlo Esposito, and his theaters on October 26th.
Perry hasn't left his roots behind, though: there is, of course, a new Madea film on the way: "Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection," which sees Perry don the fat suit again to help Eugene Levy hide from murderers. Can it be long before we get an Alex Cross/Madea crossover movie? It'll be like Perry's version of "The Avengers." Anyway, our pals at FilmDrunk have the trailer, which you can check out below. And head over to page two for more Matthew Fox.
And there's more! Matthew Fox, who's still trying to get a post-"Lost" foothold, has another movie on the way in the shape of "Emperor," a romantic drama set in post-WW2 Japan, and co-starring Tommy Lee Jones. The film, directed by Peter Webber ("The Girl With The Pearl Earring"), has debuted the first images and posters, and you can have a look at those below. [The Film Stage]
