At the beginning of 2020, Tyler Perry was criticized when he bragged that he’s the only writer and director of all of his many television shows and movies.
It appears that the founder and CEO of the gargantuan Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta has pivoted from the previous posture that he has “no writer’s room.” He now intimates he wants to bring young creatives into his empire. Or perhaps this was Perry’s vision and goal all along, which was to build TPS to a certain plateau and then begin transitioning the creative authorities at the studio in increments.
Perry, 50, is looking forward to bringing in “fresh, exciting talent,” he explained to Variety.
Michelle Sneed, the president of production and development for Tyler Perry Studios, told Variety of Perry’s plans for an infusion of dynamic filmmakers and scribes.
“We’re super excited about the young, up-and-coming filmmakers and new writers that we’re working with,” she says. “Tyler has solidified his place in the industry; his brand is amazing, and we’ll continue to grow that. Then on the other side, we’re working on promoting, providing a platform and advocating for this new talent, both in front of and behind the camera.”
This represents an about-face from what Perry said to his six million Instagram followers in January 2020, saying: “I have no writer’s room. Nobody writes any of my work. I write it all.” He then added this after he was hit with a blizzard of criticism:
