NO BIT PLAYER: A film crew works on a production in a suburb
of Albuquerque. The state has “the best film incentive
program in the country,” a Hollywood director said.
of Albuquerque. The state has “the best film incentive
program in the country,” a Hollywood director said.
ALBUQUERQUE — The sign inside the airport terminal here proclaims a dusty mesa a few miles away to be "Hollywood's Newest Home," a reference to a plot of land where four vanilla-colored soundstages recently sprouted.
There, in the shadow of the snow-capped Sandia Mountains, the aircraft-hangar-like buildings at Albuquerque Studios house part of a budding film industry that one local newspaper dubbed Tamalewood. This year, four more soundstages will be added to anchor a bustling movie production center equal in size to 10 large supermarkets.
"This facility is second to none in the U.S.," said Chief Operating Officer Nick Smerigan, speaking over drilling done by a worker installing a vent. "Eventually, we'll be a first call for people who are leaving L.A."
DESERT CINEMA: The Sandia Mountains provide a distant backdrop for
the Albuquerque Studios in Albuquerque, New Mexico on
Thursday, March 1, 2007. The modern facility,
still under construction, caters to the needs of filmmakers.
Thanks to generous financial sweeteners, a fairly mild climate and an aggressive state film office, New Mexico can back up that kind of swagger.
Unlike scores of states seeking film shoots that pack up and leave when they are finished, New Mexico is zeroing in on the nuts and bolts of Hollywood. By luring the support companies that form the bedrock of the Los Angeles entertainment economy, New Mexico aims to lay the foundation for a top-tier movie and TV production business. Sony Pictures Imageworks plans to move a major chunk of its visual effects business — and more than 100 jobs — from Culver City to Albuquerque Studios.
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