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Bam! Tyler Perry pops open the studio door and comes out into the hallway briskly, all business and snazzy in a gray suit and argyle sweater vest, trailed by his bodyguard, personal assistant, production assistant, makeup artist and a few others. He's been in the studio since about 6 a.m., on a day that may run 14 hours, and that's without any major projects shooting.

At the former Atlanta Stage Works, a large warren of soundstages and offices on Krog Street near Inman Park, the sign on the door now reads Tyler Perry Studios — TPS. It's not a cooperative deal with a Hollywood studio — he flat-out owns it.

Photos by KIMBERLY SMITH/Staff (ENLARGE)
Tyler Perry tapes promotional segments for his sitcom "House of Payne," which will be shot at his new independent film studio in Atlanta.
(ENLARGE)
Makeup artist Patrice Coleman touches up Tyler Perry.
(ENLARGE)
Tyler Perry's media power has risen to a new level. "I am the money people," he says.
Alfeo Dixon (ENLARGE)
Madea (Tyler Perry) in "Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion."
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There is no sign of Madea, the outspoken, tough old bird he created years ago and rode to fame while all gussied up in fat suits, wigs and ugly floral dresses in a series of theatrical plays and movies. No drag for Perry these days — he's sporting a trim mustache and beard.

"I'm not gonna stop doing Madea," he promises. "As long as they want me to do it." But for now, he is giving the old gal a rest. Rest, for Perry, being a term without much meaning.

He bought the warehouse at the end of June for nearly $7 million and is in the midst of renovating it, even while using it this summer to shoot parts of his next movie, "Daddy's Little Girls," due out in February. He also plans to shoot 100 episodes of his syndicated sitcom "House of Payne" here, as well as his next two feature films.

TPS, which has been kept under wraps and is being officially unveiled today, is the first independent movie studio of its size in Georgia. Movies and TV shows have come and gone over the years, but what Perry is doing, being his own backer on this scale, is pretty rare.

"He has been our bread and butter, with 'House of Payne' and the Madea projects," says Lee Thomas, interim director of the Georgia Film, Video and Music Office.

"It keeps everybody working, which is nice," Thomas says, but adds it's too early to tell what sort of impact the new studio might have on the film production business in Atlanta. Perry estimates that when he shoots a feature film, he'll have 100 people on the payroll.

Like many aspects of his life, Perry's stake in Atlanta has its roots in his childhood, growing up poor in New Orleans.

"My father was — is — a carpenter," he says in his office. "And he'd go build these houses and come home with a few thousand dollars. But the guy who sold the houses would make 50 or 60 thousand. I said that doesn't make any sense. Why don't you own the houses and then you fix it up?

"It just taught me about ownership and the big picture and the long run."

Perry moved to Atlanta in 1992 and failed at nearly everything he tried — from selling cars to writing plays — until 1998, when a gospel musical he wrote, "I Know I Have Been Changed" — was finally a hit. He wrote and toured the so-called "chitlin circuit" relentlessly, until Madea became a hugely popular figure in the African-American community, and Perry was hanging out with Oprah Winfrey and Bill Cosby.

The plan for the studio — 60,000 square feet on 3 acres — is eventually to have an acting school and a theater company, as well as production company offices and the two huge soundstages.

Meanwhile, in another part of town, Perry's new play, "What's Done in the Dark," opens Thursday for a four-night run at the Fox Theatre. The comedy sounds even stranger than usual for the risk-loving Perry, whose plays apply strong Christian messages and traditional values to contemporary social problems.

"It's a great opportunity for me to talk about the rise of HIV and AIDS among African-American women and talk about men having colonoscopies," he says. "It takes place in a hospital and there's all these jokes around serious subjects, but the idea is to provoke thought in people."

At his studio, Perry is taping promotional spots for "House of Payne," which he produces but does not star in, and an introductory skit for the Black Movie Awards, which he hosts Oct. 18. It's the second outing for the new awards show, and Perry's movie "Madea's Family Reunion" is up for three awards, including best picture. But what viewers may remember is a filmed bit, in which Perry will play both Ike and Tina Turner, but giving Tina a distinctly Madea twist.

That's an easy day. But here's what's going through his head: " 'Daddy's Little Girls' comes out Feb. 14, we've finished that. Then at the end of February, we start [feature film] 'Why Did I Get Married?' here in the studio. 'Jazzman's Blues' [the film after that] we start in the summer [of 2007] here. And in the middle of all that we're knocking out 100 episodes of 'House of Payne.' "

"He's a notorious workaholic who goes from one project to the next," says Thomas.

"This is how my mind works," Perry explains. "I'm all over the place."

"House of Payne" was a sitcom that TV stations didn't want, he says. But he knew there was money to be made in syndicated TV and that the WB-UPN merger was going to eliminate some black sitcoms. He funded the first 10 episodes himself, shot them at Atlanta Stage Works and gave them away, free, to TBS in Atlanta and stations in other cities. It did so well that stations decided they wanted the show after all, and he signed a deal to make 100 more. Taping in front of live audiences will begin in January, with the show scheduled to debut in June nationally on TBS.

It's probably the first situation comedy ever taped in front of a live audience in Atlanta; Thomas says she can't think of another.

Asked about dealing with the "money people" in Hollywood, Perry smiles and says simply, "I am the money people."

And he's already looking ahead to his next move — two moves, actually. Although he's pouring money into Tyler Perry Studios, his plan is to stay in the facility for only two to three years. He's already bought a block of land at the intersection of Hoke Street and Northside Drive, not far from Atlantic Station, and plans to build a more permanent studio there.

His other big move will come much sooner, as he vacates his mansion in Fairburn because of the lack of privacy — and moves to a more secluded home in Buckhead.

This period was supposed to be a break, what he earlier this year had called "a breathing space." He'd been working nonstop for years but had achieved a rarity earlier this year — in February, "Madea's Family Reunion" debuted at No. 1 at the box office, and in April, his Madea book "Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings" also debuted at the top spot.

But Perry insists this is relaxing — just being able to write and go home, instead of touring nonstop as Madea.

"This is it. This is a huge break for me to just sit still and write. I enjoy the building of new things. This is my break."