Cinespace Film Studios

Canadian company founded 1988

Cinespace Film Studios is a group of film studio facilities in the US and Canada. It was founded in 1988 by Greek-Canadian Nick Mirkopoulos.[1] The studio started with a facility in Vaughan, a suburb of Toronto, which had been in operation since the 1960s. Current studios include facilities in Toronto, a branch in Chicago (Cinespace Chicago Film Studios) founded in 2007 with Mirkopoulos's nephew, Alex Pissios, and facilities in Atlanta and Wilmington, NC acquired in 2023 from EUE/Screen Gems. [2] In 2022, TPG Real Estate Partners acquired the Studio Babelsberg facilities in Potsdam-Babelsberg and merged them into Cinespace.[3]

## Studios

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### Kipling Avenue Studios

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The company acquired a 30 acres (0.12 km2) campus at 777 Kipling Avenue in Toronto's Etobicoke area in 2009.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

At the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, Mayor of Toronto John 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.

Selected Feature Films  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

* Beauty & the Beast (2012–2016)
* Black Mirror
* Condor
* Conviction (2016)
* Falling Water
* Good Witch
* Reign (2013–2017)
* Taken
* The Handmaid's Tale
* The Umbrella Academy
* Titans
* Locke & Key

### Kleinburg

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Toronto International Studios is a film studio that was established in Kleinburg, Ontario in the 1950s. Its geo-coordinates are 43°51′09″N 79°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, a baseball training complex.[10]

Selected Films  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
Selected television films  TV movie links | Year

|

The Day Reagan Was Shot | 2001
The Brady Bunch in the White House | 2002
Selected television shows  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

### Chicago

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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:

* Chicago Med
* Chicago Fire
* Chicago PD
* Chicago Justice
* Empire
* Shameless
* Utopia
* Next
* Mixtape
* Jack's Big Music Show
* The Chi
* Fargo
* The Exorcist
* Sense8
* Patriot
* APB
* Proven Innocent
* Night Sky
* Zoobiquity

Selected Feature Films 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's North 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 in film-related spending to Chicago.

## References

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1. ^ a b Susan Caminiti (2018-01-03). "How a Greek immigrant family built a booming Hollywood film studio in downtown Chicago". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-01-03. "Nearly 20 years earlier, Mirkopoulos had started Cinespace Film Studios in Toronto, now a major studio with four locations in the city."
2. ^ "Cinespace Buys EUE/Screen Gems' Atlanta and North Carolina Campuses". Deadline Hollywood.
3. ^ "TPG Real Estate completes acquisition of Studio Babelsberg AG". Retrieved 2024-02-13.
4. ^ "Toronto's Cinespace Film Studios Announces New Film Studio Development". Cinespace Studios. Toronto, Ontario. 2009-12-15. Retrieved 2018-01-03. "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."
5. ^ Cynthia Reason (2010-01-15). "Fire ignites at new Cinespace location". Etobicoke Guardian. Retrieved 2018-01-03. "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."
6. ^ a b Taylor Simmons, Ramna Shahzad (2017-09-07). "2 new film studios to be built in Etobicoke as TIFF kicks off, mayor announces". CBC News. Retrieved 2018-01-03. "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."
7. ^ Bruce Demara (2013-03-22). "Toronto's film and television industry soars to new heights". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2018-01-03. "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."
8. ^ a b Guy Dixon (2009-12-18). "Etobicoke plant to become film studio". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2020-12-28. Retrieved 2018-01-03. "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."
9. ^ a b David Rider (2017-09-07). "Cinespace to build 2 new film studios in Etobicoke". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2018-01-03. "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."
10. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2021-12-28. Retrieved 2020-11-15.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
11. ^ Jones, J.R. (December 2019). "The Accidental Movie Mogul - The Cinespace Saga". Chicago magazine. Archived from the original on 2019-12-10. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
12. ^ Petrella, Dan. "State extends film tax credits to keep 'Chicago Fire' and other productions in Illinois; Gov. J.B. Pritzker says it could also give a boost to South Works movie studio plan". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
13. ^ Swartz, Tracy. "Chicago's film industry saw some growth last year, thanks to indie movies". chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2020-07-17.

43°37′51″N 79°31′43″W﻿ / ﻿43.63095°N 79.52856°W﻿ / 43.63095; -79.52856