Acacia Filmed Entertainment to Build New State-Of-The-Art Studio in Arizona
- Details
- Category: Entertainment News
- Published on Tuesday, 26 July 2022 13:54
- Written by A&E Contributing Editor
Acacia Filmed Entertainment today announced a commercial agreement to develop a world-class, purpose-built film studio and production training facility to service the growth and demand for new content and Castle Rock's Matthew George will lead Development.
Motion pictures and television series filmed at this new state-of-the-art studio complex will qualify for financial incentives through the just enacted Arizona Motion Picture Production Program bill which will go into effect in 2023. Importantly, under the new Arizona law, film producers using purpose-built film studio production facilities can achieve the highest levels of the program's financial incentives.
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Acacia Filmed Entertainment and Savvy Media Holdings founder and Castle Rock Co-President Matthew George is spearheading the project development as President, supported by Hernan Narea as CFO. Acacia has partnered with the award-winning design firm, AJC Architects, designers of the successful Park City Film Studios near Utah's Sundance Film Festival.
Incorporating next-generation technology, Acacia's Arizona Studio Complex will house 14 soundstages and support offices across 624,000 square feet on 70 acres of land, with a 30-acre backlot for further expansion and boast high standards for energy efficiency and sustainability. Featuring a 60,000 square foot stage, one of the largest in the world, the studio will be in the heart of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, only a short 70-minute flight from Los Angeles.
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Source: AJC Architects - Acacia’s Arizona Studio Complex
"With strong consumer demand for quality original content, the need for studio soundstage space has increased and global studios are looking for financial incentives to support this ever-growing production pressure," said George. "Acacia's Arizona Studio Complex will deliver a world-class facility tailored to the highly specialized needs of top filmmakers coupled with competitive tax breaks to ease the burden of big budget productions."
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The multi-million-dollar facility, construction of which will be carried out over two phases, will aim to attract large-scale international and domestic productions. Phase One will see the construction of seven sound stages of various sizes, 30,000 square feet of workshop space, support office space, 2,200 car parking spaces, studio reception and perimeter security. Phase Two will include further expansion of sound stages, workshop space, post-production facilities, and affiliation with local colleges, incorporating lecture rooms, workshops, screening rooms, cafeteria, and campus grounds.
George formed Acacia Filmed Entertainment and Savvy Media Holdings in 2013 and has completed the financing and production on a diverse slate of films totaling over $100 Million, including: LBJ, directed by Rob Reiner and starring Woody Harrelson; Taylor Sheridan's Wind River starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen; Shock and Awe, directed by Rob Reiner and starring Woody Harrelson; and A Private War starring Rosamund Pike and directed by Matthew Heineman.
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As Co-President of Castle Rock Entertainment, George, along with CEO Rob Reiner and co-president Michele Reiner, develops, produces, and finances movies under a first-look deal with Warner Bros. In 2021, George led the team which raised a $175M film fund to re-launch this storied studio.
