Tyler Perry says Georgia will remain his home base even as he plans to spend extended time in Puerto Rico, where he recently closed on a sprawling mansion. The filmmaker made the comments around the premiere of his new Netflix holiday film, The Gospel of Christmas, at Atlanta's Tabernacle on Monday night.
Perry told reporters that Georgia will stay home while he works in Puerto Rico for a while, according to WSB-TV. He also said his studio will remain in Georgia, even as he plans to live in Puerto Rico full-time for a while. The comments follow reporting that Perry closed on a Puerto Rico home, with outlets differing on the exact price — TMZ reported the purchase at $30 million, while PEOPLE reported it as more than $30 million.
The home itself is described consistently across reports: a 14,475-square-foot property sitting on nearly 1.4 acres, according to PEOPLE. The five-bedroom, 10-bathroom house was built in 2021 and sits within a gated community, the outlet reports. Perry said in a September interview that he intended to move to Puerto Rico at the top of 2027 and pull back significantly from his workload.
Slowing Down to Spend Time With His Son
“It's time to slow down a bit, enjoy more time with my son and just take it all in,” Perry said, per the same account. TMZ reported that Perry plans to open a production office in Puerto Rico and film projects on the island, while his Atlanta studio will continue operating, according to TheGrio.
That studio has deep roots in Atlanta. Perry purchased roughly 330 acres of the former Fort McPherson Army base in June 2015 to build Tyler Perry Studios, which opened in 2017, per PEOPLE's reporting. The site has since grown to 368 acres after Perry acquired an additional 38 acres, and the studio recently signed a multiyear deal to convert an existing stage into a virtual production soundstage expected to be operational by the end of this year and available to outside productions.
A Premiere With Deep Personal History
Perry chose the Tabernacle for the premiere of The Gospel of Christmas, a faith-based musical holiday drama filmed primarily in Atlanta, because of the venue's connection to his career. He began working at the Tabernacle seven years after performing at the 14th Street Playhouse, and he said he wrote the new film to inspire people amid sadness, war, anger, frustration and division. Channel 2 Action News was the only local television station at the premiere. The film premieres on Netflix Wednesday.
Fantasia Barrino, who won season three of American Idol in 2004, attended the event and said Perry asked her to appear in one of his films for a second time. She said she would always be available when Perry calls. Also at the premiere was Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms, with whom Perry said he is involved on a transition team; he said he called Gov. Brian Kemp after Bottoms won and asked how to continue Georgia's business and progress while giving Bottoms tools to help all Georgians thrive.
