Madea Goes to Jail

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Producer

Reuben Cannon

Bio

REUBEN CANNON (Producer) is a visionary producer who has helped to shape and guide some of the most groundbreaking and critically acclaimed film and television projects in Hollywood for the past three-decades. From his humble beginnings in the Universal Studios mailroom (a.k.a. the executive training program), Cannon was promoted after one year to Universal Television’s casting department as a trainee. There, he set a personal goal to become the first African-American casting director at Universal Studios within a year. He achieved that goal. It was his unwavering diligence that later paved the way for Cannon to reach yet another professional milestone, becoming head of Warner Brothers television’s casting department from 1978 to 1980. In so doing, Cannon became the first African-American to hold the distinction. His keen eye for talent also earned Cannon the well-deserved reputation for being an innovative and trendsetting force in the industry. Early in his career, Cannon took a chance on then fledgling young actor Bruce Willis casting him in the television series “Moonlighting,â€� which jettisoned Willis into stardom. Under the banner of his company Reuben Cannon and Associates, Cannon has cast nearly one hundred television series, made-for-TV movies as well as motion pictures. Among those projects include THE COLOR PURPLE, which earned 11 Oscar nominations and showcased the talents of artists who would become some of our industries most distinguished stars: Danny Glover in one of his first starring roles; and Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey made their feature film debuts each earning Oscar nominations in the category of Best Supporting Actress. Broadening his range of projects, Cannon, a Chicago native, branched out into producing motion pictures and television programs. One of his early projects was the critically acclaimed television special “The Women of Brewster Place,â€� which he not only cast, but also produced in collaboration with Oprah Winfrey who starred in the tele-film. “Brewster Placeâ€� marked their second project together and the two have remained business allies and close personal friends throughout the years. Cannon continued his partnership as a producer with some of the nation’s most influential luminaries in their respective industries: DOWN IN THE DELTA, directed by Dr. Maya Angelou; Spike Lee on GET ON THE BUS, LOVE DON’T COST A THING starring Nick Cannon, and the box office sleeper hit WOMAN THOU ART LOOSED, based on the bestselling book by Bishop T.D. Jakes. In the summer of 2004, Cannon began collaborating with a brilliant young playwright and actor turned director, Tyler Perry. Reuben Cannon Productions (RCP) formed a production alliance with Tyler Perry Studios (TPS) that would prove to be powerful, garnering both record-breaking box office grosses and television ratings. The feature films, DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN, MADEA’S FAMILY REUNION and WHY DID I GET MARRIED, opened #1 at North American box offices and together with DADDY’S LITTLE GIRLS, have collectively grossed more than $200 million. The fifth film MEET THE BROWNS starring Angela Bassett, Rick Fox and David and Tamela Mann continued with record breaking box office numbers; followed by the sixth, THE FAMILY THAT PREYS, starring Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates was released in September 2007. Reuben Cannon served as Executive Producer on the first one hundred twenty six (126) episodes of the comedy series Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne,â€� which remains the #1 rated television series in African-American households. Cannon has received numerous awards including an Honorary Doctorate of Human Letters from Morehouse College. His work has also been recognized by The Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (which has honored him with two Emmy nominations), the Casting Society of America, the DuSable Museum of African-American History, and the 2002 NAACP Image Awards who with Daimler/Chrysler honored Cannon with a “Behind the Lens Awardâ€� for his outstanding contributions in entertainment in the areas of film and television. ROGER M. BOBB (Co-Producer) career in film began as an Assistant Director. Over the last 10 years, he has been the producer or assistant director on more than 40 feature films and television shows. Bobb's collaboration with Tyler Perry began as an assistant director on Tyler's first film DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN. Bobb has co-produced all of Perry's subsequent films MADEA'SFAMILY REUNION, DADDY'S LITTLE GIRLS, WHY DID I GET MARRIED?, MEET THE BROWNS and THE FAMILY THAT PREYS. Bobb serves as Supervising Producer on Perry's popular television sitcom "HOUSE OF PAYNE," which recently aired its 100th episode. He also serves as Executive Producer Perry's new sitcom MEET THE BROWNS. Bobb is the only two time winner of the Best Film Award at the American Black Film Festival and was the youngest African-American First AD member of the Director's Guild of America. Bobb was recently named by The Network Journal Magazine as one of the top 40 executives under 40. Born in London and raised in Brooklyn, Bobb's film career began in 1995 when he was accepted into the Director's Guild of America's prestigious Assistant Director Trainee program. Under this program, Bobb was fortunate to work on projects from notable directors such as Woody Allen, Mike Nichols and James Mangold. Upon completing the program, Bobb worked within the New York independent film community as an assistant director and quickly rose to become a producer. His many credits include "NYPD BLUE," "NEW YORK UNDERCOVER," COPLAND, and STATE PROPERTY 2. Bobb attended Brooklyn College and the School Of Visual Arts.

Producer- Job Description

The chief of a movie production in all matters save the creative efforts of the director. A producer is responsible for raising funding, hiring key personnel, and arranging for distributors.