Jamie Foxx, who recently recovered from a medical scare, has a new movie heading to theaters. Foxx is slated to star opposite Mickey Rourke in the new film “Not Another Church Movie.” The pair reportedly will face off as God (Foxx) and the Devil (Rourke) in the forthcoming film.
Deadline reports that “Not Another Church” movie was filmed before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes started. That means it will likely have an end-of-year release. IMDB.com listed the release date as “expected October 2023” at the time of the writing of this article. Meanwhile, an August 3 report says the movie is “slated for theatrical release in Spring 2023.”
Poking Fun at Tyler Perry
The film “follows Taylor Pherry, who is given a mission from God Himself: to tell his family’s stories and inspire his community. What he doesn’t know is that the Devil has plans of his own.”
Anyone familiar with actor/filmmaker Tyler Perry and his work will pause at the main character’s name. Not only does “Taylor Pherry” sound similar to the Madea creator’s name, but Taylor Pherry’s divine calling isn’t far from the real-life filmmaker’s own motivations.
Perry’s career in stage and eventually film took off when he discovered his Black Christian audience, according to Netflix. He has also been vocal about leaning on God for direction in his work. While Perry’s characters are part of popular Black culture, the filmmaker has been criticized for how he presents some of them.
A Tribute
The movie’s website confirms that “Not Another Church Movie” is indeed focused on spoofing Perry’s popular works. According to the description: “The film fires hilarious shots at MEDEA [sic] GOES TO JAIL, THE DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN, MEET THE BROWNS, WHY DID I GET MARRIED, and more!”
Kevin Daniels takes on the lead role of Taylor Pherry. He has reportedly said that “Not Another Church Movie” also pays tribute to the real-life filmmaker.
“You meet Madude Hims who is a very sassy little woman who wants to protect her family and will shoot you if you get out of line, and there’s Tyler [sic] Pherry, who is an entrepreneur who discovers that he is a writer and he writes a story and we get ‘Not Another Church Movie,’ Daniels told The Savannah Tribune.
The forthcoming movie also stars Vivica A. Fox, Tisha Campbell, Jasmine Guy, Kyla Pratt and Lamorne Morris. “Not Another Church Movie” was directed by James Michael Cummings (“The Fighter”) and Jonny Mack (“Wild ‘N Out,”). Mack also takes writing credit.
Relatedly, Foxx played Tyler Perry and his iconic character Madea during a 2013 appearance on the “Saturday Night Live” sketch comedy show.
