It appears entertainment mega-mogul Tyler Perry has made a Madea-sized land purchase in Douglas County. The AJC reports a firm called ETPC Company LLC recently acquired the 856-acre lot about eight miles southwest of Six Flags, just south of Sweetwater Creek State Park and I-20. The company has ties with Perry, the producer, director and actor most famous for his Madea film series: ETPC "shares the same principal office address and suite number of Tyler Perry Studios LLC and Tyler Perry Studios Casting on 10th Street in west Midtown," the newspaper reported.
While the $5.4-million purchase of the lot — previously zoned for (and planned as) a mixed-use development with more than 1,000 houses and 14 acres of commercial space — has been confirmed, Perry's role has not been. But it's worthwhile to wonder what exactly he might have in mind for the space. As the AJC points out, the lot is much bigger than Perry's current studio near Greenbriar Mall in southwest Atlanta. (Please, wager guesses in the comments section.)
While the intentions for Perry's presumed purchase remain cloudy, it has the potential to be another positive sign for Georgia's budding film industry. Just this week, the Savannah Morning News reported that an independent film company called Medient Studios wants to build a movie and video game production studio in Effingham County. In February, plans to build a huge film complex in Fayette County — to theoretically be run by London-based Pinewood Studios — went public. Maybe someone will eventually film a GOOD movie around these parts.
— By Curbed Atlanta contributor Tyler Estep
·Tyler Perry believed to be buyer of massive Douglas County property [AJC]