The grand opening of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta was a star-studded event, with the likes of Oprah and Beyoncé there to support the movie director as he became the first African-American filmmaker to own his own major film studio.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, the guests were given a tour of the phenomenal 330-acre studio and each of the 12 soundstages, which are named after iconic African Americans in show business: Cicely Tyson, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Will Smith, Halle Berry, Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis and Diahann Carroll.
The studio is so vast that it is, in fact, larger than Disney, Warner Bros. and Paramount’s studios combined.
Watch the 50-year-old talk about it with Gayle King on CBS This Morning:"I clearly believe that I’m ignored in Hollywood, for sure. And that’s fine. I get it. My audience and the stories that I tell are African-American stories specific to a certain audience, specific to a certain group of people that I know, that I grew up [with], and we speak a language," he told CBS News. "Hollywood doesn’t necessarily speak the language. A lot of critics don’t speak that language. So, to them, it’s like, ‘What is this?’ But I know what I do is important."
"I know what I do touches millions of people around the world. I know how important every word, every joke, every laugh [is]. I know what that does for the people where I come from and the people that I’m writing for. So, yeah, I get that."
Perry then went on to talk about the importance of representation and making minorities feel that they matter: "You know, if they get it, that’s great. If they don’t, I really feel it from the bottom of my heart, if they get it, great. If they don’t, then that’s fine, too," he said.
He continued:
"I know for a fact that when I drive in through these gates, onto this 330 acres and see these 12 sound stages, and see the highway sign that says ‘Tyler Perry Studios’ as you’re making to the exit in here, as I come in here and I see these hundreds of people working, these black and brown – I’ve been on sets where I’ve been the only black face on, only black face, as recently as 2019 going, ‘Where are the black people in this movie?’ Back behind the camera? So, when I come to work here and every black person that comes to work here they go, ‘Oh my God, it’s heaven. Here we are. We’re represented.’ Where everybody’s represented. LGBTQ’s represented. Black, white, gay, straight, whatever. We’re all represented, working hand-in-hand, arm-in-arm.
So, what I know about what I’m doing is, any doubters, just come take a visit and walk these streets, see these people, see these underdogs and you tell me what I do don’t matter."