Horror movie, romantic comedy could be on location in the Emerald Coast

Could writer/director/actor Tyler Perry succumb to the same charms that brought Jim Carrey, Gregory Peck and Roy Schneider to the Emerald Coast?

Perry, Okaloosa County Film Commissioner Linda Sargeant told The Log, is “looking for an extremely luxurious house that’s secluded and large enough to house four couples on a tropical getaway” for his upcoming film, “Why Did I Get Married Too.” It’s one of two movies Sargeant is scouting locations for in the hopes of bringing the productions — and the payroll that comes with them — to Okaloosa County.

Perry, whose movie career began with 2002’s “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” wouldn’t be the first film-maker to make use of the area’s white beaches, military property and winter-time greenery. “Twelve O’Clock High,” “Jaws II” and “On the Threshold of Space” were filmed in Okaloosa County; Carrey’s “The Truman Show” was shot at Seaside in South Walton. The area also draws crews shooting commercials, documentaries and travel shows.

As film commissioner, Sargeant’s job is to promote Okaloosa County to film and video-makers, to provide photographs of possible locations and to connect them with local professionals who have the talents they need, such as members of Northwest Florida’s Production Services Association.

“The PSA is a gift from God, I can tell you,” Sargeant said at last month’s meeting.

Sargeant said the ideal location for the Perry film — a sequel to his “Why Did I Get Married?” — would be a house on “a beautiful beach with calm blue water” with no houses next to it. The house could be “anything from a cottage look to a modern mansion.”

The other movie, Sargeant said, is a teen horror film that will start shooting November or December and needs a campsite location in the woods.

“They’re looking for outdoor locations that look summer green, which of course, we could provide,” she said. “They don’t want it to look like Florida, which, face it, Northwest Florida doesn’t. They don’t want any palm trees.”

As for the Perry film, she said, “Palm trees would be great on that one.”

Sargeant said she’s hoping to find a location within the next week or so.

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If you have a location to suggest, Sargeant requests you contact her at lsargeant@co.okaloosa.fl.us