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Five things you need to know about Filmport’s mega-stage
Posted: February 10, 2009, 10:24 PM by Barry Hertz
Six months after Filmport opened for business, its star attraction is finally out of makeup and ready to face the camera. Crews have finished construction on the biggest film studio in the lakefront project east of downtown Toronto. Michael McKiernan has five things you should know about the new mega-stage.
1. They don’t call it “mega†for nothing. Its 45,000 square feet of space make it the largest purpose-built soundstage in North America. The largest of the six other studios on the site is 18,000 square feet. Inside the studio, the emptiness of the six-storey room accentuates its size. A couple of empty hydraulic platforms are the only items on the floor and the slight dusty haze in the air supports Filmport’s claim that construction finished on Tuesday, just hours before reporters were allowed in for a look.
2. For Ken Ferguson, the president of Filmport, filling this vast expanse of nothing means everything. He says directors could build a full-size replica of the Parthenon and still have room for all the lighting and camera equipment. The quicker they do, the better, as far as he is concerned. “This is $12-million worth of building,†he said. “That’s a lot of money to put up and then wait for people to come and use it. It’s not a business for the faint of heart.â€
3. Mega-stage equals mega movies, Filmport hopes. When the Toronto Economic Development Corp. leased the land for the project, it demanded a large soundstage to fill a gap in Toronto’s film industry it believed was costing the city blockbuster film-shoots. The X-Men franchise decamped to Vancouver after filming the original in Toronto because the converted warehouses that form most Toronto studios couldn’t accommodate them. It may be too late for X-Men, but there are plenty more superhero fish in the sea. “The aim was to create something unique and that would draw big features that might not come otherwise. It’s already having that impact,†Mr. Ferguson said.
4. Filmport will take all the help it can get. There are still no big-money takers for the mega-stage and the slow Toronto film market has made it difficult to drum up business. Since its peak in 2000, the industry in Toronto has had to battle SARS, strikes, tax incentives south of the border and a strong dollar north of it. Earlier this month, Mayor David Miller went to Los Angeles to promote the city, with Filmport one of his main selling points. Mr. Ferguson is confident the tide is about to turn. “2008 was the worst year for film and television for I don’t know how long, but the Canadian dollar is weakening and the Screen Actor’s Guild looks like it will avoid a strike,†he said. “I think we’ll have someone using [the mega-stage] by the summer.â€
5. Mr. Ferguson is open to all offers. Although the mega-stage is designed for a big-budget film to use for six to nine months at a time, smaller productions are welcome on a short-term basis, just as long as they’re willing to pay for the privilege. “A buck is a buck and if someone wants it for a day and it’s not being used, then certainly we would listen,†Mr. Ferguson said. Naming rights could also be an option for someone with a more creative or more lucrative moniker than the “mega-stageâ€: “If someone wants their corporate name attached, we wouldn’t shy away from that either.â€
source: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/...e-things-you-need-to-know-about-filmport.aspx