Tyler Perry Studios

Very Perry Productions, LLC
Tyler Perry Studios
Company typePrivate
IndustryProduction studio
GenreFilm, play and television shows
Founded2006; 18 years ago (2006)
FounderTyler Perry
Headquarters
Atlanta, Georgia
,
United States
Area served
United States
Key people
Tyler Perry (CEO)
RevenueIncrease US$907 million[1]
OwnerTyler Perry
DivisionsThe Tyler Perry Foundation
Subsidiaries34 Street Films
BET+
Websitetylerperrystudios.com

Very Perry Productions, LLC,[2] doing business as Tyler Perry Studios (TPS), is an American film production studio in Atlanta, Georgia founded by actor, filmmaker, and playwright Tyler Perry in 2006.

In 2019, Perry celebrated the grand opening of his newest Atlanta studio location, having purchased 330 acres (130 ha) of the former Fort McPherson complex in 2015 to make it the new home of Tyler Perry Studios.[3] Tyler Perry Studios is one of the largest film production studios in the United States, and established Perry as the first African-American to outright own a major film production studio.[4] Through 34th Street Films, a production arm of Tyler Perry Studios, Perry guides the work of other filmmakers.[5]

In 2018, Perry sold his previous studio location opened in 2008 to another minority-owned film production company.[6][7] The previous studio location occupied two former Delta Air Lines affiliated buildings in the Greenbriar area of southwest Atlanta, and included 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) of sets and office space.[8]

Tyler Perry Studios is a notable resource for Atlanta's robust economy.[9][10] The company often advertises for film and crew positions at its southwest Atlanta location.[11]

History

[edit]

Perry has full ownership of his films, and Lions Gate Entertainment used to serve as his distributor for all of his films starting from Diary of a Mad Black Woman to A Madea Family Funeral. After signing his deal with Paramount Global, Perry's films are now distributed by Paramount Pictures and Netflix starting with Nobody's Fool and A Fall from Grace.[12] His first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, produced on a budget of $5.5 million, became an unexpected commercial success prompting widespread discussion among industry watchers about whether middle-class African-Americans were simply not being addressed by mainstream Hollywood movies. Its final gross box office receipts were $50.6 million, although it was critically panned scoring only 16 percent approval rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes.[13] On its opening weekend, February 24, 2006, Perry's film version of Madea's Family Reunion opened at No. 1 with $30.3 million. The film eventually grossed $65 million and, like Diary, almost all of it in the United States. The film was jump-started by an hour-long appearance by Perry and his co-stars on the daily talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show.[14]

His next project for Lionsgate, Daddy's Little Girls, starring British actor Idris Elba and Gabrielle Union was released in the United States on February 14, 2007. It grossed over $31 million.[15] Perry wrote, directed, produced and starred in his next film, Why Did I Get Married?, which was released on October 12, 2007. It opened as the top-grossing movie in its first weekend, earning $21.4 million at the box office. It is loosely based on the play which Perry wrote in 2004. Filming began March 5, 2007, in Whistler, British Columbia, Vancouver, then Atlanta, where Perry opened his own studio. Janet Jackson, Sharon Leal, Jill Scott, and Tasha Smith appear in the film. Perry's 2008 film, Meet the Browns, which was released on March 21, opened at No. 2 with a $20,082,809 weekend gross.[16] The Family That Preys opened on September 12, 2008, and grossed over $35.1 million as of October. Madea Goes to Jail opened at No. 1 on February 20, 2009, grossing $41 million and becoming his largest opening to date. This was Perry's seventh film with Lionsgate.

On May 1, 2012, a four-alarm fire engulfed portions of the studio complex, causing the partial collapse of one building.[17] Less than three months later, another fire broke out on the roof of another building on the morning of August 27, 2012. On November 20, 2019, it hosted the MSNBC and Washington Post 2020 Democratic Party presidential debate on the Oprah Winfrey sound stage.[18] It also hosted Miss Universe 2019 on December 8.

In October 2023, TPS signed a first look deal with Netflix to develop film and television projects.[19][20][21]

In June 2021, Tyler Perry and T.D. Jakes announced they were purchasing over 130 acres in southwest Atlanta including a proposed expansion of Tyler Perry Studios for a public accessible entertainment district with theaters, retail shops, restaurants, and a Georgia film and TV museum. Perry is expecting the entertainment district to be completed in 2025.[22] [23] In February 2024, Perry announced his $800 million expansion project which included additional soundstages is temporarily on hold due to his concerns that rapid advances in video-related artificial intelligence could reduce demand for traditional filmmaking. Perry wants the filmmaking industry to galvanize as one voice and lobby for legislation to regulate artificial intelligence in Hollywood.[24]

On December 6, 2024, Tyler Perry Studios president and general manager Steve Mensch died in a plane crash.[25] The single-engine Vans RV-12IS plane crashed and ended up upside down on a road in Homosassa, Florida.[26]

Studio locations

[edit]

Before moving to its first southwest Atlanta location in 2008, the studios used the former studio space at 99 Krog Street in Inman Park on the BeltLine in central Atlanta. Perry had purchased the land from Atlanta Stage Works in 2006 for a reported $7 million.[27] The studios were later converted into the Krog Street Market.

In 2019, Tyler Perry Studios officially moved into 330 acres (130 ha) of the former Fort McPherson complex in southwest Atlanta.[28] The studio has 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m2) of the site dedicated to standing permanent sets, including a replica of a luxury hotel lobby, a White House replica, a 16,000-square-foot (1,500 m2) mansion, a mock cheap hotel, a trailer park set, and a real 1950s-style diner that was relocated from a town 100 miles (160 km) away. It has a residential neighborhood cul-de-sac with 12 homes, many of them with actual functioning interiors, furnished and decorated, not simply "facades." It also hosts 12 soundstages named after highly accomplished African-Americans in the entertainment industry.[3][29]

Sets

  • Airplane
  • Bank
  • Baseball Fields
  • Chapel
  • County Jail
  • Modern Courtroom
  • Courtroom
  • Coffee Shop
  • Culdesac
  • Classic Diner
  • Farmhouse
  • Historic District
  • Lakeside Cabin
  • Luxury Hotel
  • Mansion
  • Maxineville
  • Motel
  • Post Theatre
  • Prison Yard
  • Rustic Cabin
  • Tennis Court
  • Theatre
  • Trailer Park
  • White House
  • The Dream Building
  • Greenspace

Filmography

[edit]

Film

[edit]

Television

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Tyler Perry Company Inc". D&B.
  2. ^ "Very Perry Productions". OpenCorporates. November 22, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Obenson, Tambay (October 3, 2019). "Tyler Perry Is About to Open a Studio Lot That Will Rival Hollywood's, as He Leaves Madea Behind".
  4. ^ "Take a tour of Tyler Perry's massive new studio on a former Army base in Atlanta". Los Angeles Times. October 13, 2016.
  5. ^ "Tyler Perry Biography, Movies & Net Worth". May 5, 2019. Archived from the original on March 10, 2009.
  6. ^ "Meet the creator of one of the nation's first major Latino-owned film studios". Los Angeles Times. December 16, 2019.
  7. ^ "Tyler Perry Just Sold His Former Studio Lot For $18.5 Million". SHOPPE BLACK. January 3, 2019.
  8. ^ Schilling, Mark (November 4, 2007). "Index sets up China shop".
  9. ^ "Neighbors near Tyler Perry Studios optimistic about possible job opportunities coming to area". June 27, 2019.
  10. ^ "Metro Atlanta Economic Development Growth Resources & Statistics".
  11. ^ Johnson, Tee (November 4, 2019). "How To Get A Job At Tyler Perry Studios".
  12. ^ Christian, Margena A., Becoming Tyler.Ebony. Oct. 2008: 78.
  13. ^ "Diary of Mad Black Woman". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 29, 2008.
  14. ^ "Madea's Family Reunion". Box Office Mojo.
  15. ^ "Daddy's Little Girls". Box Office Mojo.
  16. ^ "Meet the Browns". Box Office Mojo.
  17. ^ "Official: Cause of Tyler Perry fire 'undetermined'". Archived from the original on May 5, 2012.
  18. ^ "What The Site Of The Democratic Debate Says About Georgia, Role Of Black Voters". NPR. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  19. ^ Sanchez, Flora (October 23, 2023). "Netflix Signs Multiyear First-Look Deal With Filmmaker Tyler Perry". Media Play News. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  20. ^ Legacy, Spencer (October 23, 2023). "Tyler Perry Signs First-Look Movie Deal at Netflix". ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  21. ^ "Tyler Perry Signs First Look Deal With Netflix". TV Shows. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  22. ^ "Tyler Perry Plans Atlanta Expansion; New Development to Include Theater District, Restaurants, Retail". June 17, 2021.
  23. ^ "Tyler Perry concerned about emissions from future FDA lab near his studio".
  24. ^ Ho, Rodney. "Tyler Perry, fearful of AI advances, halts $800M Atlanta film studio expansion". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  25. ^ Dunn, Jack (December 7, 2024). "Steve Mensch, Tyler Perry Studios President, Dies in Plane Crash". Variety. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  26. ^ "Executive of Tyler Perry Studios dies when plane he was piloting crashes in Florida". AP News. December 7, 2024. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  27. ^ "Filmmakers have Georgia on their minds", Todd Longwell, The Hollywood Reporter as reported on Houghton Talent site
  28. ^ Braxton, Greg (October 2, 2019). "Tyler Perry Studios, the house 'Madea' built, becomes a landmark for black Hollywood". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  29. ^ Buckley, Cara (October 2, 2019). "Tyler Perry Builds a New Kingdom, With Madea Behind Him". The New York Times.
  30. ^ "Stages at Tyler Perry Studios". Tyler Perry Studios. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  31. ^ a b c d e f g h Will Smith (November 1, 2019). Our first visit to Tyler Perry Studios (Video clip). Tyler Perry Studios (Van Horn Rd): Youtube. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  32. ^ a b c d e Tyler Perry Studios Grand Opening Gala - DEDICATIONS (Video clip). Tyler Perry Studios (Van Horn Rd): Youtube. October 11, 2019. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  33. ^ Kring-Schreifels, Jake (April 16, 2024). "How 'Civil War' Staged an Attack on Washington, D.C." The Ringer. Archived from the original on May 9, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  34. ^ Zuckerman, Esther (April 16, 2024). "How They Pulled Off the Ending to 'Civil War'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  35. ^ "Divorce Court" shooting in Atlanta and Lynn Toler needs more local couples
  36. ^ a b Petski, Denise (February 4, 2020). "Tyler Perry Confirms House Of Payne Revival On BET, New Assisted Living Comedy Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  37. ^ 'Hawkeye' To Start Production At Tyler Perry Studios
[edit]
Preceded by Miss Universe venue
2019 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tyler_Perry_Studios&oldid=1261791314#34th_Street_Films"