In a historical move that could create one of the very few movie studios ever headed by an African American, Keenan Ivory Wayans and brother Marlon’s bid to turn the defunct Oakland Army Base into a studio/theme park was approved by an Oakland City Council committee last week. “We see it as a sort of mini-version of Universal Studios – a production facility that also is an entertainment destination,” Keenan told KRON TV in California.
Though approved by the Community and Economic Development Committee, plans to convert the 70-acre base into a studio will still have to pass a vote by the entire City Council. That vote is scheduled for June 21.
“We see Oakland as a sleeping giant,” Keenen Ivory Wayans reportedly told the news organization.
“It’s a place to get in early before everybody else recognizes its potential.” Though the possibility of a black-owned movie studio is a rarity, the Wayans would not be the first African Americans to own one. Currently, actor Tim Reid (“Frank’s Place,” “WKRP in Cincinnati”) owns an independent studio – the 60-acre New Millennium Studios – in Petersburg, Va.