Tyler Perry Studios Opens Up With Star Studded Celebration
I will be the first to admit that I was a critic of the way Tyler Perry and his films portrayed Black America but I've come to realize over the years that Perry always had a bigger goal in mind and over the weekend that goal came to fruition.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Perry hosted a celebration for the opening of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta over the weekend and A-listers from Hollywood were in full force to show their support.
Viola Davis, Ava DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Halle Berry, Samuel L. Jackson, Tiffany Haddish and over 800 guests were given a tour of the 330-acre studio and each of its 12 soundstages named after African American pioneers in entertainment.
Why is this such big news you may ask? Because Perry has become the first African American actor/director/writer/producer to own a studio OUTRIGHT with no partners or corporate backing. His studio is also larger than Disney, Warner Bros, Paramount, Fox and Sony COMBINED with space to spare.
Yes, a lot of us didn't like the "Madea" movies, but we now understand that Perry's goal to have the ability to create, control and tell our stories OUR way is much more important. He saw the forest while we were still looking at the trees. Congratulations Mr. Perry.