ARTICLE WRITTEN & EDITED BY:
Lee Fenton
There is a studio that isn’t really that known to the public, and it’s responsible for housing the productions of some major motion pictures. It isn’t a production company in itself, no, rather it is just a space for established film studios to rent out – enabling them to utilize Toronto’s largest modernized film production facility.
I know. It’s a tad confusing, isn’t it?
Well, to simplify things – here’s a quote from Wikipedia: “A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company that makes films. They may have their own privately owned studio facility or facilities; however, most firms in the entertainment industry have never owned their own studios, but have rented space from other companies. The day-to-day filming operations are generally handled by their production company subsidiary.” [1]
So, there are tangible film studio spaces, and then there are business entities that are referred to as ‘studios’ as well, in common parlance.
But that is all beside the point, we’re here to talk about ‘Pinewood Studios’ and its contributions to the industry.
Located on Commissioner St. in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Pinewood Studios (previously known as FilmPort) is the biggest facility of its kind, in all of the country. The complex is named for its parent company Pinewood Group, located in the United Kingdom. Funnily, the company in Canada was not originally owned by its namesake. However, in 2019, Pinewood Group sold its stake in Pinewood Studios Atlanta, instead choosing to bet on the horse it had been eyeing for years – Pinewood Studios Toronto. There had already been a business strategy put in place by the UK company to refer bigger budget projects to the burgeoning Canadian studio. In the end it paid off, since by May of 2023, the acquisition had gone through.
Pinewood Studios Toronto is the only movie studio in Canada that is capable of housing blockbuster sized productions.
Here’s a few films (and TV shows) that were produced at ‘Pinewood Studios’,
see if you recognize any of them:
– Shazam!
– Star Trek: Discovery
– Kick–Ass 2
-Total Recall (2012)
-The Thing (2011)
-Suicide Squad
-It: Chapter Two
-Casino Jack
-Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
-Pacific Rim
-It (2017)
-Crimson Peak
Interestingly enough, ‘Netflix’ doesn’t F around when it comes to the space that it negotiates at ‘Pinewood’, here check this out:
“At Pinewood Toronto Studios, Netflix has a long term lease on four soundstages and adjacent offices for around 84,580 square feet of production space.” [2] -HollywoodReporter.com
So, next time you’re watching an American production – better check that “made in Canada’ tag at the back.
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Sources:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_studio
[2] www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/pinewood-group-acquires-toronto-mega-studio-1235479172/
If you would like to learn more about Pinewood Studios Toronto, and its vast contributions to the film industry, proving a space and community for industry heads – copy & paste the link below!
PINEWOOD TORONTO STUDIOS
THE PERFECT BASE FOR PRODUCTIONS
https://pinewoodgroup.com/studios/pinewood-toronto-studios
