Tyler Perry, DeVon Franklin Partner To Produce Faith-Based Films For Netflix
Tyler Perry and DeVon Franklin have partnered with Netflix to produce faith-based films under a multi-year, multi-picture first-look deal. This partnership will not affect Perry’s pre-existing creative deal with Netflix.
“I’m so excited to be working with DeVon on this and future projects,” said the media mogul in a statement. “I think in this polarizing world, and at a time where the world seems to be growing colder every day, we both share the common goal of wanting to spread some good. And there’s no better place than Netflix.”
Franklin added, “Tyler and I have been great friends for over 15 years, so when he called me to team up on movies that can uplift the human spirit, I jumped at the chance. And we couldn’t have a better partner than Netflix to help us inspire the world.”
The best-selling author recalled on Instagram how he nearly relinquished hope when spending over a year in search of a new film deal, until Netflix’s former head of film came along. “What was supposed to be a breakfast turned into a 2-hour meeting,” recalled Franklin. He later received a call from Perry. “My ego was thinking ‘well I want to do this on my own,’ but then I thought of the Steve Jobs quote: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, go together!’ And we proceeded to negotiate the best film deal I’ve ever had in my career to make films that I was born to make!”
The first film under the new partnership will be R&B, written by Michael Elliot (Brown Sugar) and Cory Tynan (Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day). Most recently, the duo co-wrote Relationship Goals, a faith-based romantic comedy for Franklin and Amazon MGM Studios.
R&B is a modern reimagining of the love story between Ruth and Boaz. Set in Tennessee, R&B centers around a young woman who flees the Atlanta music scene to care for an elderly widowed woman; she winds up falling in love and gaining the mother she never had.
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