Pinewood Toronto Studios (formerly known as ''Filmport'') is a major

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

television studio A television studio, also called a television production studio, is an installation room in which video productions take place, either for the production of live television and its recording onto video tape or other media such as SSDs, or for ...

complex in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario, Canada and is the largest of its kind in Canada. It is the first in Toronto capable of accommodating the production of large-scale films. The studio is named for the British Pinewood Studios Group. In March 2018, it was announced that

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

would be buying a controlling stake in the studio. It is located across the shipping channel from

Hearn Generating Station The Richard L. Hearn Generating Station (named after Richard Lankaster Hearn) is a decommissioned electrical generating station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The plant was originally fired by coal, but later converted to burn natural gas. The pl ...

along Commissioners Street.

History

The project covers of land in the

Port Lands The Port Lands (also known as Portlands) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada are an industrial and recreational neighbourhood located about 5 kilometres south-east of downtown, located on the former Don River delta and most of Ashbridge's Bay. Approxi ...

area of Toronto, a former industrial area, that is already home to a number of smaller studios. The Port Lands site was originally a

brownfield site In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use. It may be potentially contaminated, but this is not required for the area to be considered brownfield. The term is also used to describe land prev ...

owned by

Imperial Oil Imperial Oil Limited (French: ''Compagnie Pétrolière Impériale Ltée'') is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-biggest integrated oil company. It is majority owned by American oil company ExxonMobil with around 69.6 percent ...

, and required considerable cleanup prior to reuse. Initial work on the complex began in August 2006. In June 2009, the studio entered into a comprehensive sales and marketing agreement with the Pinewood Studios Group, resulting in the facility being renamed Pinewood Toronto Studios. Pinewood Toronto Studios was constructed to be a "green" facility with a number of environmental considerations. In March 2018, Bell Media reached a deal with the UK-based Pinewood studios group, the

City of Toronto government The municipal government of Toronto ( incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the city of Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a rec ...

, and several holdings companies to purchase a controlling stake in the studio. As part of the deal, Bell Media announced that an additional 170,000 square feet of sound stages would be built at Pinewood Toronto to ease scarcity of production space in Toronto.

Stages and facilities

The 11-hectare lot features seven purpose-built

sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a soundproof, large structure, building, or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or ...

s and one converted warehouse, ranging from to . The largest sound stage, called the Mega Stage, is more than and until 2016, was the largest purpose-built sound stage in North America.

Expansion

In November 2020, the company reported that an expansion has commenced, with a plan of adding over 200,000 square feet to the campus. The announcement specified that the expansion would "include five new sound stages (totaling 102,000 square feet), 58,000 square feet of office and support space, and 15,000 square feet dedicated to a mill shop and workshop". When the work is finished, the Toronto location will offer a total of 16 sound stages.

Filmography

* ''

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'' (CBC) * ''

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'' (20th Century Fox Television) * ''

Casino Jack ''Casino Jack'' (known in certain territories as ''Bagman'') is a 2010 comedy-drama thriller film directed by George Hickenlooper and starring Kevin Spacey. The film focuses on the career of Washington, D.C. lobbyist and businessman Jack Abramof ...

'' (ATO Pictures) * ''

Chloe Chloe (; ), also spelled Chloë, Chlöe, or Chloé, is a feminine name meaning "blooming" or "fertility" in Greek. The name ultimately derives, through Greek, from the Proto-Indo-European root ', which relates to the colors yellow and green. T ...

'' (Sony Pictures) * ''

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

'' (Universal Pictures) * '' Dream House'' (Universal Pictures) * '' Happy Town'' (ABC) * '' Scott Pilgrim vs. the World'' (Universal Pictures) * ''

Sundays at Tiffany's ''Sundays at Tiffany's'' is a romance novel by the authors James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet released on April 29, 2008. It has also been adapted into a Lifetime Television original movie that premiered on December 6, 2010. Plot summary T ...

'' (Lifetime Television) * '' Take This Waltz'' (Mongrel Media) * '' The Thing'' (Universal Pictures) * '' Total Recall'' (Columbia Pictures) * '' Kick-Ass 2'' (Universal Pictures) * ''

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'' * ''

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'' * ''

Crimson Peak ''Crimson Peak'' is a 2015 gothic romance film directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by del Toro and Matthew Robbins. The film stars Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam, and Jim Beaver. The story, set in Edw ...

'' * ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferre ...

'' * ''

Pixels In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the sm ...

'' * ''

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

'' * '' Debug'' * '' Star Trek: Discovery'' * '' It'' * '' Shazam!'' * '' It: Chapter Two'' (

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...

) * ''

How to Eat Fried Worms ''How to Eat Fried Worms'' is a children's book written by Thomas Rockwell, first published in 1973. The novel's plot involves a boy eating worms as part of a bet. It has been the frequent target of censors and appears on the American Library ...

'' (Warner Bros. Pictures)

References

External links

* {{Battle of the Blades Buildings and structures in Toronto Canadian film studios