All eyes were on American filmmaker, Tyler Perry, as he celebrated the opening of his new movie studio in Atlanta, Georgia. This makes him the first black person to own a major film studio in Hollywood. The launch was commemorated with a giant bash attended by the crème de la crème of pop culture.
The party featured a star-studded list of Hollywood royalty including Samuel L. Jackson, Spike Lee, Oprah Winfrey, Halle Berry, Ava DuVernay and Beyoncé; as well as political figures like President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Stacey Abrams and Rep. Maxine Waters, to name a few.
The facility, which was once a Confederate army base, is a 330-acre studio, making it one of the largest of such in the world. According to Oscar-nominated film director, Ava DuVernay, the studio lots of industry giants like Disney, Warner Bros, Paramount, Fox and Sony could all fit into Perry’s studio at once and there would still be 60 acres left to spare.
The studio features twelve sound stages, each of which is named after a legendary black actor. Speaking at the event, Spike Lee—one of the icons honoured with a soundstage—praised Perry, saying “It means I’m a part of history. This is an historic night in American cinema. It’s never been done before. So, I’m honored and humbled that my brother asked me part of it.”
Oprah Winfrey also had kind words for Perry, telling reporters, “He didn’t wait for other people to validate or to say you should go this way, or that way. He said: ‘I’m going to create my own way,’ and as we can see here, become a force for himself.”
Speaking at the event, Perry expressed gratitude over the outpour of support from others in the black Hollywood community. “For people to drop what they’re doing in their very busy schedules to come and join me in this moment is beyond anything I could’ve imagined,” he said. “It makes me happy. It makes me want to cry. It makes me grateful. It’s just I’m beyond.”
“I think it’s pivotal in everything that we’ve done, everything that we’re doing still, that we continue to try to motivate and inspire people,” said Perry, who was once homeless.
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