A single mother living in inner city Chicago, Brenda (Angela Bassett) has been struggling for years to make ends meet and keep her three kids off the street. But when she’s laid off with no warning, she starts losing hope for the first time – until a letter arrives announcing the death of a father she’s never met. Desperate for any kind of help, Brenda takes her family to Georgia for the funeral. But nothing could have prepared her for the Browns, her father’s fun-loving, crass Southern clan. In a small-town world full of long afternoons and country fairs, Brenda struggles to get to know the family she never knew existed…and finds a brand new romance that just might change her life.

Based on the popular stage production of the same name, Tyler Perry’s Meet The Browns is a charming story about the joys of family, and the possibility of second chances. Meet The Browns was produced, written and directed by Tyler Perry, and produced by Reuben Cannon. Meet The Brown’s also stars Rick Fox, David Mann, Tamela Mann, Lance Gross, Sofia Vergara, and Irma P. Hall.

Urban Network’s Vice President and Managing Editor Tosha Y. Thomas had the pleasure to sit down with Tyler Perry for this exclusive interview and talk about his latest projects and what makes him laugh.

Tosha: When you first started out there was a certain stigma and stereotype associated with your movies. What is it about Tyler Perry that makes Oscar-nominated actors want to work with you?

Tyler: If I were them when I first started out, I don’t know if I would have wanted to work with me either. They are helping to elevate my game and elevate the work. I think the work is getting better and they are excited about it. Angela [Bassett] wanted to do Diary of a Mad Black Woman. I just found that out today on the press conference.

Tosha: Everyone is coming after you to work in your movies, but is anyone beating your door down to work in their movies?

Tyler: Sure, I got a couple offers. One I couldn’t do that I really wanted to do was Wolverine and I just finished Star Trek. That was pretty exciting. I’m getting some of those offers.

Tosha: When did you do Star Trek?

Tyler: About 4 or 5 months ago. Wolverine I couldn’t do because of the schedule of The Family That Prays. They were shooting at the same time, so I had to commit to my own.

Tosha: What is your role in Star Trek?

Tyler: I can’t talk about it. I’m under a strict confidentiality agreement. I need to check with them to see what I can and can’t say and how much the want me to talk about it. They asked me not to say anything. I am getting all the ‘what did you wear?’ and ‘what did you have on?’ questions, but I can’t say anything.

Tosha: You have a knack for making people laugh; what makes you laugh?

Tyler: (laughing) Black people! They are so funny to me. Looking at us a race of people, we are just hilarious at some of the things that we do. A lot of the stuff I come up with I have seen somewhere. I just love the things that we do!

Tosha: You have had a who’s who work with you in some of your past movies: Cicely Tyson, Angela Bassett, Jill Scott, Janet Jackson, just to name a few. Who would be your holy grail of actors to work with?

Tyler: Ben Kingsley and Diana Ross…for the same project. We’ll see what happens. I’m stalking both of them right now! (laughing) The project is called A Jazz Singers Blues and I play a jazz singer in 1947 and Ben Kingsley would play my manager and Diana Ross would play my mother, who was a juke joint owner and a singer.

Tosha: Who do you bounce your ideas off?

Tyler: I’ll just write it down, let other people read it and then just go from there. But for the most part it’s just me. I don’t like to be influenced. I don’t like other people’s influences on my thought or what I am saying or what I am writing about.

Tosha: What do you think the old Tyler that was homeless and had all these struggles would say to the Tyler that’s sitting in front of me now with all of his accomplishments, fame and fortune?

Tyler: I think he would be proud of him, but I think he would also say, ‘Don’t believe it. Enjoy the moment, but don’t fall into the hype.’ The great thing about living outside of L.A. is that it’s easy not to fall into it. This town kind of hypes you constantly. When you are seeing your face everywhere and everybody is telling you how wonderful you are, but then you get down to Georgia and somebody says, ‘that episode of House of Payne last night sucks.’ The old Tyler would tell me to stay in Georgia!

Tosha: Do you ever get any flack about keeping ‘our’ secrets off the big screen?

Tyler: (laughing) No I get, ‘you should have beat her ass in that scene,’ that’s what I get! They always want something violent to happen in my household. It is what it is.

Tosha: Have you ever though about doing a blooper reel of all of your movies? I can not get some of those scenes out of my head.

Tyler: (laughing) Maybe I should do that; a whole DVD of nothing but bloopers. That would be hilarious!

Meet The Brown’s hit theaters nation-wide March 21. (TYT)