Two days. That’s all the notice Toronto’s new Filmport studio needs before a film production can move in. A full 250,000 square feet of soundstage and support facilities are ready to go in 48 hours. Now they just need some movies.

After a full Cook’s tour Tuesday morning, Filmport CEO Ken Ferguson and his VP of business development Andy Sykes sat down to discuss next steps.

‘It all comes down to SAG,’ says Ferguson, referring to the production hiatus imposed by the major studios while they negotiate a new contract with the Screen Actors Guild. The current contract expires June 30. ‘I expect them to go down to the wire,’ he adds.

Certainly, the studios know Filmport is here. A trip mounted in April by the Ontario Media Development Corporation included reps from all the majors. Four significant productions have placed so-called ‘soft holds’ for next year. ‘When they start booking a year in advance, you know they are going to be big,’ says Ferguson. ‘Three of the four are interested in the megastudio.’

Ah, the megastudio. If that sounds like a broken-record promise to Toronto producers who have been waiting decades for the real thing, head down to Commissioners Road in the Portlands district and see for yourself. It may not be completely finished, but it’s close — late July, early August, says Ferguson — and it’s huge: 45,000 square feet with a 60-foot clear span.

‘It’s the largest in North America,’ says Sykes. Indeed, it is the largest genuinely sound-proof stage in the world. Pinewood’s 007 stage is bigger, but its tin roof makes for a noisy environment during a rain storm. Filmport’s mega-stage will be a bunker in comparison. They’re getting ready to pour a six-inch-thick shield of ‘monolithic’ concrete on its roof, meaning it will be super-insulated. That’s more than enough to silence the comings and goings of the Toronto Island Airport.

Now Toronto is just like Vancouver and Montreal: quiet…literally and figuratively. Ferguson is philosophical. ‘We knew there would be some bumps the first year. Every jurisdiction is quiet.’ Adds Sykes: ‘We are suffering in good company.’