Cinespace Film Studios is a group of film studio facilities in theUS andCanada. It was founded in 1988 by Greek-Canadian Nick Mirkopoulos.[1] The studio started with a facility inVaughan, a suburb ofToronto, which had been in operation since the 1960s. Current studios include facilities inToronto, a branch inChicago (Cinespace Chicago Film Studios) founded in 2007 with Mirkopoulos's nephew, Alex Pissios, and facilities inAtlanta andWilmington, NC acquired in 2023 fromEUE/Screen Gems.[2] In 2022,TPG Real Estate Partners acquired the Studio Babelsberg facilities in Potsdam-Babelsberg and merged them into Cinespace.[3]
The company acquired a 30 acres (0.12 km2) campus at 777 Kipling Avenue in Toronto'sEtobicoke area in 2009.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
At the2017 Toronto International Film Festival,Mayor of TorontoJohn Tory joined with Cinespace officials to announce plans to build two very large new studios on the site, with a combined footprint of 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2).[6][8][9] One of the large studios will be permanently devoted to underwater filming.
| Film Links | Year |
|---|---|
| Resident Evil: Retribution | 2012 |
| The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones | 2013 |
| Pacific Rim | 2013 |
| Pompeii | 2014 |
| xXx: Return of Xander Cage | 2017 |
| Flatliners | 2017 |
Television Series
Toronto International Studios is afilm studio that was established inKleinburg, Ontario in the 1950s. Its geo-coordinates are43°51′09″N79°38′53″W / 43.85243°N 79.64809°W /43.85243; -79.64809.
Cinespace moved out of the studios and upgraded to the Vaughan Sports Center in 2015, abaseball training complex.[10]
| Film links | Year |
|---|---|
| The Hired Gun | 1957 |
| The Fox | 1967 |
| The First Time | 1969 |
| The Reincarnate | 1971 |
| Mahoney's Estate | 1972 |
| Recommendation for Mercy | 1975 |
| Death Weekend | 1976 |
| Silver Streak | 1976 |
| Equus | 1977 |
| Rituals | 1977 |
| Welcome to Blood City | 1977 |
| Riel | 1979 |
| H. G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come | 1979 |
| Fish Hawk | 1980 |
| Virus | 1980 |
| The Amateur | 1981 |
| Class of 1984 | 1982 |
| The Wars | 1983 |
| Strange Brew | 1983 |
| Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird | 1985 |
| The Fly | 1986 |
| Love at Stake | 1987 |
| Divided Loyalties | 1990 |
| The Good Son | 1993 |
| To Die For | 1995 |
| Murder at 1600 | 1997 |
| Dick | 1999 |
| Thomas and the Magic Railroad | 2000 |
| The Sentinel | 2006 |
| Casino Jack | 2010 |
| TV movie links | Year |
|---|---|
| The Day Reagan Was Shot | 2001 |
| The Brady Bunch in the White House | 2002 |
| TV links | Year |
|---|---|
| Hudson's Bay | 1959 |
| The Forest Rangers | 1963–1966 |
| Hatch's Mill | 1967 |
| The Adventures of Timothy Pilgrim | 1975 |
| The Littlest Hobo | 1979-1985 |
| You Can't Do That on Television | 1979-1990 |
| Matt and Jenny | 1979-1980 |
| Fraggle Rock | 1983-1987 |
| Shining Time Station | 1991-1996 |
| The Doodlebops | 2005-2007 |
| The Big Comfy Couch | 2006 |
Cinespace Chicago Film Studios opened for business in 2011[1] and Alex Pissios, the president and CEO of the company, worked with his uncle, Nick Mirkopoulos, to establish the Studios in Chicago. Mirkopoulos and Pissios purchased 60 acres of the former Ryerson Steel complex in the Windy City's North Lawndale neighborhood. The Studios are the largest independent movie studios outside of Los Angeles.
The studios have continued to expand and now have 36 sound stages. Pissios and Cinespace Chicago Film Studios were featured in the December 2019 Chicago Magazine and highlighted the success and influence the studio has had on the film industry in Chicago.[11] Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, is the “Hollywood of the Midwest,” bringing more than 15,000 jobs in digital media and education opportunities to the community and region by revitalizing a depressed neighborhood.[12] Cinespace Chicago has been instrumental in infusing billions of dollars of revenue into the city and the state of Illinois.[13]
Its 70 acres (0.28 km2) campus has been the nexus for over 40 major productions used to film multiple television series and feature films, including:
| Film Links | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Transformers: Dark of the Moon | 2011 | |
| Divergent | 2014 | |
| Captive State | 2017 | |
| Rampage | 2017 | |
| Widows | 2018 | |
| Proud Mary | 2018 |
Thstudioio is planned to have 36 sound stages on its 2 million square foot main campus in Chicago'sNorth Lawndale neighborhoods. Additional studios have been under construction at 31st and Kedzie. In addition to studio space, Cinespace Chicago Film Studios houses numerous production offices and support spaces as well as production tenants.
Cinespace partnered with DePaul University's film school in 2013 to house student classrooms, two interactive stages, faculty offices, lounges, and equipment vaults. Ranked in the top 25 film schools nationwide,DePaul University's School of Cinematic Arts program teaches aspiring producers and creatives about all aspects of television and film production.
Since its inception, Cinespace has brought in more than $3 billion infilm-related spending to Chicago.
Nearly 20 years earlier, Mirkopoulos had started Cinespace Film Studios in Toronto, now a major studio with four locations in the city.
Cinespace Film Studios ("Cinespace"), Toronto's 21-year film studio veteran, has announced the acquisition of a 30-plus acre property for the development of their next and most ambitious film studio complex.
There were no injuries reported at the three-alarm fire, and although there are no damage estimates in yet, Mirkopoulos said only a small area of the roof was primarily affected.
Cineplace Film Studios used be a glass factory until the Mirkopoulos family bought the building in 2009, hoping to start a new film node in the city.
Pinewood and Cinespace are two big reasons why Toronto's and Ontario's film and television production industry is on a roll, with two successive years of record spending, $1.28 billion in 2012, preceded by $1.26 billion in 2011 — helped by massive Hollywood productions Pacific Rim and Total Recall, respectively. It's the second year that the city and province have reclaimed the title of Hollywood North from Vancouver and B.C., which led the industry in Canada for more than a decade.
Cinespace Film Studios, which provides studio and office space for films shooting in Toronto, has bought the old Consumers Glass factory in the west end. The plant was more recently owned by glass bottle and container maker Owens-Illinois and closed last year, eliminating 400 jobs.
Cinespace, home to the Hulu hit "The Handmaid's Tale", recently wrapped period drama "Reign" and many other productions, says the addition will allow concurrent filming at its Kipling Studio Campus of seven big productions, up from six. The expansion will also include a large, permanent underwater filming tank.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)43°37′51″N79°31′43″W / 43.63095°N 79.52856°W /43.63095; -79.52856