Over the weekend, Tyler Perry launched the grand opening of his brand new 330 acres film complex in Atlanta, GA, and it was a huge success. Many celebrities such as Spike Lee, Oprah Winfrey, Samuel L. Jackson, Beyoncé and many more showed up to help him celebrate. Bigger than Warner Brothers, Walt Disney Studios and Paramount, Tyler Perry Studios has a total of 12 top of the line sound stages, 40 buildings on-site listed on the National Register of Historic Places and more than 200 acres of green space.
This business move makes him the first Black American to completely own a film studio. After purchasing the land back in 2015, the studio was built on a former Army base called Fort McPherson, which is south of downtown Atlanta. It also holds a bit of irony because during the civil war the base was used to aid in the fight to keep slavery legal in the south, which Tyler Perry addressed at the BET Awards.
Perry went from being homeless to becoming a major force to be reckoned with as a filmmaker and is now officially being honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which he received last Tuesday. He recently partnered with Viacom to launch the BET Plus streaming service, which debuted last month. He also has two new drama series, “The Oval” and “Sistas,” premiering on BET this month.
