In what looks like a studio boom for Manitoba, a consortium of American producers is putting together a proposal for a digital production and post facility in Winnipeg worth over $35 million, Toronto’s Cambium Entertainment is in discussions with Manitoba Film and Sound to develop an animation studio in the province, and ground-breaking is set to begin on the $8-million Prairie Production Centre.

American producer Elliot Lewit, who shot Kiefer Sutherland’s Woman Wanted (Michael Moriarty, Holly Hunter) this past summer in Winnipeg, is one of several Americans who are putting together a consortium of investors to finance the conversion of a hydro steam plant into a soundstage and also develop a special effects studio and satellite lab at the location.

The fully equipped production center will be worth $35 million to $50 million, says Warren Nimchuk, senior manager at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, coordinator of the feasibility study on the project.

The proposal calls for two 18,000-square-foot, side-by-side soundstages, which can be opened into a 36,000-square-foot studio. The building has a 95-foot ceiling, which would make it one of three studios in North America with ceilings higher than 60 feet, says Nimchuk.

The building will also house a 7,500-square-foot digital inset studio for blue screen and special effects, post-production facilities as well as a satellite lab which will be owned and operated by an outside company.

The hydro plant is located in an area of downtown Winnipeg that used to be the telecommunications hub of the city. A fiber-optic network has already been pulled through the underground hydro pipes, which will allow the production facility to be digitally accessible for realtime edit work.

With access to the fiber optic rings already available, Nimchuk says millions of dollars in expenditure will be saved. Actual renovations of the hydro plant will only cost about $5 million in construction costs.

Nimchuk says the list of production and production services companies which will partner up to fund the project is still being put together but he notes that a significant player in the laboratory post-production sector is at the table.

‘The facility will have full capabilities for post-production and special effects, film processing and the capability of realtime editing over long distances, such as with editors in l.a.,’ says Nimchuk.

As well, a u.s. company which specializes in turnkey production facilities and services is in discussions to run the new production center.

Smith Carter is the architectural and engineering firm preparing the development proposal and PricewaterhouseCoopers is working on the financial feasibility study. By May, the reports will be complete and Nimchuk says ground-breaking could begin late spring.

He envisions that the various sections of the facility will be opened in phases. Already a u.k. company is interested in shooting a $60-million project, Biggles Flies North, at the facility in February 2000, says Nimchuk, and particularly wants to take advantage of the digital inset so they can work with editors in other cities.

Details on the potential animation studio are sketchy. Carole Vivier at Manitoba Film and Sound says the agency is facilitating and working with an out-of-province company to set up an animation studio in the province but cannot release any details at this time.

Cambium confirms that it is involved in a proposal for an animation studio but says the project is still in the discussion phase.

Soundstage to open

this fall

Meanwhile, construction begins this month on Manitoba’s first soundstage, the Prairie Production Centre, which is set to open for business early fall in Winnipeg.

The project is being driven by Mark Raymond, ceo of Westsun International, with $2-million in combined funding from the federal and provincial governments as well as $6-million in private investment. Westsun, headquartered in Winnipeg and with branch offices across Canada and the u.s., is involved in sound, lighting, staging, scenic construction and other forms of technical support for the entertainment industry.

The facility will total 70,000 square feet and will be built on a three-acre parcel of land. The complex will include 3 soundstages totaling 37,000 sq. feet; production offices available for rental; a post-production facility; and permanent office space for production companies.

Local prodco GFT/Paquin is in discussions to manage the facility.

An air force base outside Winnipeg has also become available to the film community and offers a 90,000-square-foot warehouse space as well as production offices and paint and carpentry shops.