Tyler Perry Moved To Tears By Signs Pointing To His Studios

ATLANTA — Tyler Perry, whose film and television production company is poised to become one of the world's largest, said he was moved to tears on Wednesday when he saw an Atlanta interstate sign being replaced with one pointing to his company. In a Facebook post, Perry recalled that when he moved to Atlanta, "I came here with nothing, lived off Sylvan Road, ended up homeless and starving, but I was always praying and believing. I was always keeping the faith, knowing that if I worked hard, did my absolute best, kept my integrity, honored every blessing, and remained grateful through it all that everything would work out.

"And it has, thank God."

Tyler Perry Studios is continuing its move into the once-thriving but now abandoned Fort McPherson Army base south of downtown. "Atlanta has truly been the promised land for me," Perry wrote. "Even in my darkest times when I wanted to give up, I kept believing, and I asked God to help me to believe past any naysayer, any doubt, and any problem.

"Just know that it is possible to believe in your dream and still wonder how or when it’s going to happen. Stay the course. Pray, work, believe and repeat. You’ll get there. Just believe for as much as you can, and ask God to help you believe for the rest!"

Perry is the first African-American to own his own major film studio, and arguably one of the nation's most successful entertainment entrepreneurs. Perry founded his studio in 2006 in south Atlanta, and in 2015, purchased the former Fort MacPherson.

Perry has made a firm commitment to Georgia, even while some lesser-known Hollywood actors and celebrities continue threatening the state with boycotts after lawmakers passed one of the nation's most restrictive abortion bills earlier this year. Gov. Brian Kemp has sought to calm Georgia's film industry in wake of the bill's passage, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2020.

Georgia is one of the world's top locations for film and TV production, mostly due to tax breaks and other policies that Kemp's predecessor, Nathan Deal, endorsed. However, two upcoming productions in Georgia are the state's first entertainment casualties as a result of the so-called Heartbeat Bill. Amazon's series "The Power" is the first TV production to leave Georgia after Gov. Brian Kemp signed the Heartbeat Bill. Emmy-winning director Reed Morano is pulling the Amazon series from shooting in Georgia. Also, actress Kristin Wiig and her collaborator, Annie Mumolo, have canceled shoots in Georgia for their upcoming film "Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar."

Oscar-winning director Ron Howard has also said he would boycott Georgia if the bill goes into effect next year.

Read: Kemp Seeks To Calm GA's Film Industry Over Abortion Law

The bill, authored by a suburban Atlanta Republican lawmaker, outlaws most abortions after about six weeks, which is when a fetal heartbeat is usually first detected. It would allow abortions in cases where the mother's life or health is in danger, or in cases of medical emergency. It also says an unborn child at any stage of development in the womb would be included in state population-based counts.

In 2017, Georgia was the location for 15 of the year's 100 top-grossing films — good for second place behind Canada, where 20 such movies were produced. A year earlier, Georgia had topped the list with 17 of the year's most popular features, beating out the United Kingdom, Canada and California.

In 2005, Georgia's legislature passed what would become known as the Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act. Under the bill, which went into effect in 2008, Georgia offered one of the nation's most aggressive tax-incentive programs to production companies working in the state.

As a result, TV and film studios were able to shave off significant sums from their overhead doing business in Georgia, as opposed to other states. Productions of $500,000 or more that take full advantage by including promotion for the state — usually in the form of the Georgia, USA peach logo – can save 30 percent on their taxes.

In the wake of the new law, Georgia's entertainment-industry infrastructure began to grow as studios, sound stages, post-production facilities and the like began springing up to support the companies arriving to take advantage of the tax break.

More Patch coverage:

• Clint Eastwood Starts Filming New Movie This Summer In Atlanta
• Ron Howard, Brian Glazer To Boycott GA If Abortion Bill Stands
• Alyssa Milano: Don't Have Sex Until GA's Abortion Law Is Dumped
• One Of Nation's Toughest Abortion Bills Signed Into Law In GA
• Hollywood Threatens Boycott As GA Heartbeat Bill Is Approved