Sorry, but isn't New Millenium Studios in Virginia owned by Tim Reid the first film studio to be owned by an African-American?

Sergio beat me to the punch. Tim Reid opened his studio atleast 15-20 years ago in his native Virginia. I went to a black film panel several years ago and he spoke on it at length.

Here is a link I found from B. Smith's website. He runs the studio with his wife Daphne Maxwell Reid who was a "Black First" in her own right. She was the first black woman on the cover of Glamour magazine.

http://www.bsmith.com/style/pe.....reiddaphne

In addition, Daphne Maxwell Reid is a founding member of the production company New Millenium Studios, a full-service film studio in Petersburg, Virginia, which she runs with her husband. At New Millenium, it is possible to create, shoot, and even distribute a full length movie.

Tyler Perry's studio is still great whether he is the 1st, 9th or 89th black to open one.

Have times changed all that much? The protest is cool (glad to see people meant their outrage during the strike), but where are all the non-AA people at Perry's opening? Seems to me Hollywood is pretty segregated, save for Don Cheadle, who gets to hang out with George, Brad and company, and Will and Jada, who let Tom and Katie hang with them. Sad, sad, sad. Then again, they still market movies and films to people of particular hues. And gossip site subsidiaries… Sad.

If the mainstream major studios made movies about everyone instead of greenlighting 73 movies about the Queen, the Duchess, every Emily Bronte book or all-white rom-coms, maybe there wouldn't be an ignored demo (multi-hues, etc) but they don't. This is necessary and I am proud of TP for creating a variety of stories, pushing himself out of his comfort zone a bit more with each flick, and for putting some of the more invisible Black actors to work on a consistent basis. I am also a fan of Tim & Daphne Maxwell Reid's work over the years, especially Linc's and Asunder (which I have on DVD). However, they have not been able to gain the visibility and mainstream push as TP. There is room for all of us at the table and two studios is just the beginning.