The LA Times visited Tyler Perry at Fort McPherson for the first interview on the massive 330 acre compound and future home to Tyler Perry Studios.

Cited by the newspaper as “the most successful African American filmmaker in history and the ruler of an entertainment empire,” Tyler Perry talks about how the studio is the pinnacle of his dreams, the importance of ownership, and the trailblazing role he’s taken on as the first African American to own his own studio outright.

Tyler Perry Studios is set to open in 2017, but is already home to several productions including Perry’s own “Too Close To Home” and “The Haves and the Have Nots,” as well as outside productions like AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and HBO’s “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” The sprawling studio includes 37 historic houses and buildings, golf course fairways, ponds, woodlands, and 200 acres of greenspace, situated close enough to 14 soundstages, backlots, and various practical sets.

At the center of it all is the Dream Building, which compliments Perry’s “commitment to empowerment,” to build up the community he calls home. As he tells reporter Greg Braxton, “the responsibility is huge for anyone who has something like this. That’s why I named it ‘The Dream Building.’ When you walk in these doors, it’s OK to dream. In this economic area, in this neighborhood, for people to be able to see this happening and see my face, it’s moving. I get it. I didn’t have this kind of role model growing up. There was no one in the neighborhood to look up to.”

Read the full piece and see the tour of Tyler Perry Studios at The Los Angeles Times.