Tyler Perry has laid out a plan to reopen the country’s largest movie studio, Tyler Perry Studios. During an interview with Deadline, Perry opened up about his decision to close the studio before Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued a stay at home order for the state’s largest city. Furthermore, he laid out a plan in which his studio would be able to reopen in the future.
“I was growing more and more concerned, so I decided to shut down the studio a few days before our production start, just to keep everybody safe,” he said.
“Last week, I took 100 of my essential employees — including security guards and gardeners at the studio — and we did a test with a private lab. Thank god, out of the 100 essential workers, all tested negative,” he continued.
“My goal is to find a path forward to protect both the health and the livelihoods of my cast and crew..We would be looking at about 200 people in quarantine — that’s cast and crew, we would have to cut crew way back,” he added.
Perry was working on The Oval and Ruthless prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is also in the process of promoting his new series, Bruh, on BET. There’s no word on when the studio will reopen as health officials continue to warn about a second COVID-19 wave.
While we wait to see what happens next at Tyler Perry Studios, check out our interview with Melissa L. Williams.
