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Tyler Perry has reportedly opened a new movie and TV studio in Atlanta, The Associated Press reports.
The film maker’s list of stars that attended the opening ceremony included big names such as Will Smith, Sidney Poitier, Oprah Winfrey, Forest Whitaker, Hank Aaron and Whitney Houston.
R&B star Mary J Blige delighted the audience with some of her top hits. The opening ceremony took place on Saturday in the new studio built on 30 acres in southwest Atlanta, Georgia.
The opening of the new studio comes after Perry said he intended to leave Atlanta due to numerous complaints from neighbors over the noise and traffic caused by his old studio situated in a neighborhood near downtown.
"I was thinking about leaving at one point, but this is home for me," Perry told reporters. He also said the old near-downtown studio was "spiritually in the wrong place."
The new studio, Tyler Perry Studios, contains over 200,000 square feet of studio and office space. It is located on an area which had previously housed a Delta Air Lines center.
The five sound stages contained in the new studio bear the names of legendary figures: Quincy Jones, Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Cicely Tyson. One sound stage wasn’t named yet.
Perry said he will shoot his TBS sitcoms "House of Payne" and "Meet the Browns" at the new Tyler Perry Studios.
However, the opening ceremony didn’t go exactly as planed. A group of wearing Writers Guild of America T-shirts protested against the firing of four writers for the TBS comedy “House of Payne.”
“Tyler Perry has no shame,” the small group chanted. It is believed that the four writers were fired for seeking union representation.
Image Credit: Chris Hatcher / PR Photos
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