Actor/producer/director Tyler Perry has mandated COVID-19 vaccines for studio personnel working on sets where actors and crew have the most unmasked contact. Named Zone A, these areas are the most restrictive safe work zones on location. This vaccine includes booster shots for those who are eligible. This latest update happened this week in response to the rapid nationwide surge of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Deadline reported the decision was made after Perry attempted to start production on the second season of his BET+ series All the Queen’s Men. The shoot was postponed to January 10 after the number of positive tests shot up from 0 to 16 during the routine pre-production testing, sources said. The recent Omicron variant surge has further delayed production start to January 31.
Forbes reports that Perry was one of the first producers to return to work amid the onset of the pandemic in April 2020. The producer has hosted vaccination drives at his studio for employees, and 95% of his cast members are vaccinated, according to Deadline.
When major Hollywood studios and unions agreed to COVID-19 standards when returning to productions, vaccine mandates were not implemented on a widespread basis. Instead, the agreement gave individual producers power to mandate them on a production-by-production basis.
Wednesday, the Grammy Awards postponed its January ceremony, and the Sundance Film Festival announced it would be going all-virtual for the second year in a row. Production of several shows, including 9-1-1, NCIS: LA and Grey’s Anatomy, have all been delayed in some capacity because of the intense rise in cases around the county.
The directory acquired the Tyler Perry Studios in 2015. The 330-acre lot is located in the heart of Atlanta on the historic grounds of the former Fort McPherson army base. The major motion picture studio, one of the most extensive production facilities in the country, showcases forty buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, twelve purpose-built sound stages, 200 acres of green space and a diverse backlot.
