EXCLUSIVE: Todd Tucker Reveals The Real-Life Story Behind ‘Don’t Bring Your Man To Atlanta,’ Calls Tyler Perry A ‘Genius’

Jasmine Brand, Tyler Perry, Todd Tucker

EXCLUSIVE: Todd Tucker Reveals The Real-Life Story Behind ‘Don’t Bring Your Man To Atlanta,’ Calls Tyler Perry A ‘Genius’

Todd Tucker is revealing the real-life conversation that helped inspire the title of his film Don’t Bring Your Man To Atlanta — while also giving Tyler Perry his flowers for the business model he’s built in entertainment.

During an exclusive interview with theJasmineBrand founder Jasmine Brand for “Visionaries Only,” Tucker explained that the movie actually had a completely different name at first. “Originally, it was called Switch,” he said, adding that he eventually decided the title needed to “hit a little harder.” Inspiration struck when he remembered a conversation with a female friend about bringing her boyfriend from New York to Atlanta.

Tucker recalled his friend explaining that after bringing her man to the city, she essentially gave him time to experience everything Atlanta had to offer and “get Atlanta out of his system.” The story stuck with Tucker and ultimately helped inspire Don’t Bring Your Man To Atlanta. He also revealed how quickly the project came together, saying, “I wrote it in like six weeks,” before adding that they shot the film in approximately two weeks.

The conversation later turned to filmmakers Tucker admires from a business standpoint, including Tyler Perry. Tucker described himself as someone who considers both the creative and financial sides of a project, explaining, “I’m business and creative.” He praised Perry for building a production model that takes costs and audience into account, calling him a “genius.”

Tucker continued praising Perry’s ability to know exactly who he is creating for, saying, “He’s figured out his audience.” He also pointed to Perry’s approach to keeping production costs manageable as something he respects when looking at the business behind filmmaking. For Tucker, understanding the numbers appears to be just as important as bringing an idea to life.