Earlier this month, Tyler Perry hosted a star-studded red carpet event to mark the grand opening of his studio, located near Atlanta's airport. The A-list events are set to continue when the Democratic presidential candidates debate at Perry's studios next month.
It's been public knowledge for a couple weeks that the fifth debate will be held on Nov. 20 in Atlanta and MSNBC announced the all-female moderator lineup earlier this week, but the exact location had been a question mark.
On Friday night, former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams confirmed that the candidates will converge at Perry's sprawling studio.
In a tweet, Abrams called Perry "a model for Georgia's vibrant film industry, an engaged corporate citizen and an exceptional location for our #DemDebate."
So just how big is Tyler Perry Studios? In a word: massive.
The property is 330 acres in total. For comparison, the famous Warner Brothers studios in Burbank, California, are 110 acres, with an additional 32 acres on a nearby ranch.
Perry — whose long resume includes his widely popular "Madea" movies — bought the land in 2015 for $30 million, the AJC has previously reported.
The studio, which is the only major film studio in the country owned by an African American, sits on what was formerly the site of Fort McPherson army base.
It includes 40 buildings that are on the National Register of Historic Places, 200 acres of green space and 12 soundstages, according to the studio.
The soundstages, which are named for notable black actors and actresses, range in size from 10,000 to 38,500 square feet.
Additionally, the property already has a bit of presidential feel. The grounds house a replica of the White House, which is about 80 percent to scale, for Perry's show "The Oval."
In addition to the White House, there are also permanent sets on 50,000 square feet of the property, which include a luxury hotel lobby, a trailer park set and an authentic 1950s diner, which Perry had relocated to the property, according to reporting by the film site IndieWire.
Perry previously told the AJC that he also has plans to open a theater on the property which could hold up to 3,000 people for concerts and events.
He has said that he plans to open up the property to the public for tours and told the AJC that he is considering opening a shelter for sex trafficking victims on the property.
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