Tyler Perry Studios President Ozzie Areu Exits to Form New Studio With Brother

Dave McNary
Updated

Ozzie Areu is departing from his post as president of Tyler Perry Studios and joining with his sibling Will Areu to form Areu Bros. and purchase the former campus of Tyler Perry Studios.

The new company announced on Tuesday that the space is the former Delta Air Lines campus in Greenbriar, Ga., which served as Tyler Perry’s former studio space in southwest Atlanta. The brothers said they are building a multi-faceted media campus encompassing music, tech, motion pictures, and television operations.

While Ozzie Areu launches the venture, Will Areu will stay on as the president of production at Tyler Perry Studios.

“Ozzie has been a trailblazer in the entertainment industry since his start at TPS, where he and Will have worked tirelessly to contribute to our success,” Perry said. “While I am sad to say goodbye to Ozzie, I am excited for this next chapter in his career of entertaining people, as he continues to push the limits in Hollywood.”

The brothers noted that they are first generation Cuban-Americans, and that they will be the first Latinos to run and own a major film and television studio in the United States.

“I look forward to following in the steps of Tyler, my mentor, by owning a studio that also creates content and I’m especially inspired to build a 360 world that supports minority storytellers, creators, and innovators,” Ozzie Areu said.

Ozzie Areu oversaw the 2011 movie “For Colored Girls,” which won the best picture trophy at the NAACP Image Awards and the BET Awards. The lot in the Greenbriar area was the home for TPS from 2007 to 2016. It sits on 60 acres and includes five sound stages, four office buildings with executive offices, post-production facilities, a theater, a commissary, and a fitness center.

Since the move to the new studio at Fort McPherson, Tyler Perry Studios has been renting the Greenbriar space out to third-party productions for the last year while also exploring the option of selling.

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