INDIANAPOLIS — Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
That famous quote by poet and playwright Oscar Wilde applies to films like "Scary Movie," "Not Another Teen Movie," "Meet the Spartans," "Disaster Movie" — and now "Not Another Church Movie."
"It's a comedic journey through one man's life when he's on a mission from God to create a movie that uplifts mankind," said actor Kevin Daniels ("Modern Family," "Will Trent"), who plays Taylor Pherry and Madude Hims — based on actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry and his popular Madea character.
Perry has directed, written, produced and starred in more than 50 movies and TV shows in the last 20 years, receiving the honorary Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 93rd Academy Awards and the Governors Award at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards.
"I had such respect for him already going into it, but when I had to put on that wig and stand under the 90-degree sun, I was like, 'Oh, he do this for all the movies? Wow, we better give that man an award,'" Daniels said. "We were just trying to make people laugh and pay homage to the empire and the collection of movies that he's created."
The supporting cast for the 91-minute film includes Vivica A. Fox ("Independence Day," "Kill Bill" films), Lamorne Morris ("New Girl," "Fargo"), Tisha Campbell ("Martin," "House Party" films), Kyla Pratt ("The Proud Family," "Dr. Doolittle" films) — and Oscar winner Jamie Foxx ("Ray," "Collateral") and Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke ("The Wrestler," "Iron Man 2") as God and the Devil, respectively.
"(The film's director and writer) Johnny Mack worked with Jamie Foxx for years ... he had this script, and he was like, 'I think I want to get it to Queen Latifah. I think she'd be a great God.' And Jamie is like, 'Give it to me, I'll give it to her.' And he takes it and reads the script, and he's like, 'You know what? I think she's too busy for this. I'll go and I'll play God,'" Daniels said. "One of our other writers-directors, James Cummings, he's been friends with Mickey for years, so they came in, donated their time for the day, told a couple of jokes, shot them out, but it was really cool just to be a part of a movie with those guys."
And the big question: Has Perry seen the movie?
"I don't know, man. That's the question of the hour," Daniels said. "I'm sure he has a plan to see it, and I really hope he enjoys it because it's all made in fun. It's all a good, lighthearted tribute to this creation he's done."
"Not Another Church Movie" is now in theaters.