4/17/2023 0 Comments Moviemaker magazine facebook![]() No one can compete with the likes of Los Angeles and New York City - and much more recently the state of Georgia, which has unlimited film tax credits to offset production costs. “People who visit from elsewhere often wonder why no one’s ever told them how cool Pittsburgh is, so folks: We’re telling you now.”Īttracting film and TV projects is more competitive than ever. “Shockingly affordable, especially given its beautiful housing stock, it boasts architecture that begs to be filmed, rolling hills, countless bridges crossing its three rivers, and world-class museums, music and food. 1.) The magazine had previously ranked Pittsburgh a “small town,” based on its population.īut now “it can hold its own against much bigger cities,” MovieMaker editor Tim Molloy wrote about Pittsburgh. MovieMaker magazine recently bumped Pittsburgh into the big leagues, naming it one of the top 10 big cities for filmmaking with its 2023 “Best Places to Live and Work.” (Atlanta was No. “The amount of technology that’s needed for these facilities to operate effectively and efficiently? People have different requests now.” PORTIONS OF “FENCES” WAS FILMED IN A HOME ON ANAHEIM STREET IN THE HILL DISTRICT | PHOTO BY HUCK BEARD “But the industry has changed, the need has changed,” Keezer says. Other local facilities have been used as sound stages, including spaces in Carnegie, Churchill, an airport hangar and the WQED studios in Oakland. “We’re fortunate to have 31st Street Studios, fortunate we have the American Eagle distribution clothing place out in Warrendale.” “We’ve made do with repurposed warehouses,” says Dawn Keezer, the director of the film office for 28 years. And although the region has been home to major productions - ranging from “The Dark Knight Rises” to two projects about Fred Rogers - film crews on those projects have had to use retrofitted studios that began life as vastly different structures. The film office has assisted in more than 200 films and TV productions in southwestern Pennsylvania since it was established in 1990. This venture between the Regional Industrial Development Corporation and Allegheny County is “sort of the missing piece in our Mon Valley charm bracelet,” says Timothy White, RIDC’s senior vice president, business and development strategy. Once the latter is leased, a second, similar tech flex building will follow.Īnd all involved say there is room to grow. Next to this will be a 60,000-square-foot “tech flex” multipurpose building (a $15 million project). It will begin with a 52,000-square-foot structure to house at least two sound stages at a cost of $20 million, the vision of the Pittsburgh Film Office. Ground was broken late last year on the construction of film studios at RIDC Carrie Furnace along the Monongahela River in Rankin, right next to the historical blast furnaces. Voila: Pittsburgh really will be Hollywood on the Mon by 2024. But add some tax-credit magic and a dash of pixie dust. ![]() Start with a sea of mud near the bank of a river. GERARD PAINTER JR./PITTSBURGH MEDIA PARTNERSHIP In the shadow of the historical Carrie Furnace complex, film studios are on the rise.īy Maria Sciullo PHOTO BY K. ![]()
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