L.A. Seems Soundstage Boom Even as Dark Clouds Loom Over Hollywood
01.11.2023 - 14:43
/ variety.com
Todd Longwell A few years ago, grip-turned-producer Brian Gork and cinematographer Richard Swindell got the idea they could open their own soundstage complex.
“We wanted to design a stage that would essentially be something that would be recommended from every department — art, electric or whoever,” says Gork.
Back in the 2000s, it might’ve remained just a crazy, unrealized dream. But thanks to the spike in demand for content created by the streaming explosion, Gork and Swindell made their dream a reality with AKS Stages, which the duo co-owns with Sean Pascale.
Located in northeastern Los Angeles neighborhood of Sun Valley, it has three soundstages totaling 52,000 square feet, along with 18,100 square feet of production offices and workspace. Since opening in early 2020, it’s hosted everything from two seasons of Netflix’s “Bake Off” to the Disney+ special “Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 u (a SOUR film).”
AKS Stages is part of a larger soundstage boom.
According to a report released by FilmLA in March, Los Angeles County has 17 studio complexes in various stages of development, comprising of 155 stages and approximately three million feet of space, including Sunset Glenoaks in Sun Valley, Reframe Studios in Atwater Village and East End Studios in Glendale.
Meanwhile, several of the city’s oldest and most iconic studio lots are getting massive refurbs and expansions.
At Warner Bros. Ranch in Burbank, Worthe Real Estate Group recently razed the façades of homes seen on sitcoms from “Bewitched” to “Young Sheldon” to make way for a $500 million development that will include 16 soundstages and a 320,000-square-foot office complex.
Scheduled to open in 2025, it will be leased back to Warner Bros. Discovery.
Four miles away
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