Tyler Perry Makes History As The Only Black Man To Own A Major Movie Studio In The U.S.
Written by Smooth FM on October 7, 2019
Hollywood stars came out in full force for the grand opening of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. The red carpet buzz surrounded Perry’s history-making as the first African American actor/director/writer/producer to own a studio outright with no partners or corporate backing.
A-list stars including Viola Davis, Ava DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Halle Berry, Samuel L. Jackson, Tiffany Haddish and Stacey Abrams walked the carpet lined with walls adorned in roses and shared their admiration and support for Perry.
Back in June, Tyler Perry explained during his BET Awards acceptance speech that “when I built my studio, [it was in the] poorest Black neighborhood in Atlanta so the kids can see that a Black man did that and they can too.”
“The studio was once a confederate army base,” he said of the land, known as Fort McPherson, which was previously used as a Confederate Army base during Civil War, when the south fought to keep Black people enslaved.
According to his website, Perry purchased the land in June 2015, which now holds 12 sound stages for movie productions. He dedicated each soundstage to a Black person who’s made strides in Hollywood, including the late Diahann Carroll.
