Tyler Perry Credits Chris Rock for ‘Boo! A Madea Halloween’
Two weeks before Halloween, Tyler Perry brought his signature Madea character back to life Monday night for the world premiere of his ninth Madea movie — “Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween” — at the Arclight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood.
Perry said he was genuinely pleased to have revived Mabel “Madea” Simmons again and was quick to credit the story’s origin to Chris Rock’s inclusion of a fictitious Madea Halloween movie in his 2014 film “Top Five.”
“This really was Chris Rock’s idea from ‘Top Five,'” he said. “I gave permission, then went to Lionsgate and said, ‘I can do this.'”
Shooting on the comedy started last January in Atlanta with several key actors, such as Brock O’Hurn, making their feature debuts.
“It was so much more than I expected,” said O’Hurn, who plays a fratboy character named Horse. “You see him as Madea on the set and it’s just so funny.”
Perry admitted that the faux Halloween event had him far more revved up than the actual holiday on Oct. 31.
“It feels really good to be here,” he said with a wide grin. “Halloween isn’t my favorite holiday, but this is special to have a world premiere at the Dome.”
Asked about his Halloween plans, Perry replied, “I’ll probably go trick-or-treating with my son.”
The post-screening bash took place at Lure Nightclub with Southern-style snacks and a photo opportunity for attendees to appear in a stand-up coffin.
Perry directed from his own script and produced with Ozzie and Will Areu. Diamond White, Bella Thorne, Cassi Davis, Patrice Lovely, and Liza Koshy also starred.
“Boo! A Madea Halloween” hits theaters on Friday.
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