National Post (National Edition)
AND … ACTION!
NETFLIX SAYS IT PLANS TO MAKE TORONTO ITS CANADIAN TV & FILM PRODUCTION HUB.
TORON TO • Netflix is setting up a dedicated production hub in Toronto, which film and TV creators hope will provide new opportunities for local talent.
The California-based streaming giant announced Tuesday it is expanding its presence in Canada by leasing two studio spaces along the downtown industrial waterfront area.
At Cinespace Studios, Netflix is leasing four new sound stages — along with spaces for office and support work — totalling about 164,000 square feet.
At Pinewood Toronto Studios, Netflix is also leasing four sound stages and adjacent office space totalling 84,580 square feet.
Netflix said the commitment will provide jobs for up to 1,850 Canadians per year, and that the leases are “multi-year” but didn’t specify for exactly how long.
“This is great news for the Toronto and the Ontario community, because it’s an endorsement of the high quality of the work that comes out of our industry,” said Jim Mirkopoulos, vicepresident of Cinespace.
“Netflix has made a commitment to the film and television industry here that they’re going to continue to do stuff and by making this announcement, they’re standing by that,” added Nanci Maclean, president of Pinewood Toronto Studios.
Cinespace said its sound stages leased by Netflix are under construction and set to be operational this summer.
Pinewood said Netflix will move a production onto one of its sound stages in the next couple of weeks.
The four sound stages being leased are separate from Pinewood Toronto Studios’ previously announced planned expansion.
Projects already set to be made at the hub include the horror anthology series Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight and the film Let It Snow.
Netflix has production facilities in Los Angeles and recently announced new hubs for Madrid and Albuquerque, N.M.
It also leases British Columbia’s Martini Film Studios and production sites across Canada on a case-bycase basis.
Its co-productions with Canadian partners have included Anne with an E and Alias Grace with CBC, Trav- elers with Showcase, and Frontier with Discovery Canada.
Speculation of a Toronto hub started swirling last month when Mayor John Tory, who has been making annual trips to Los Angeles to lure film and TV projects to the city, told The Canadian Press he had “a very high level of confidence” that Netflix would open one up.
Tory’s words drew positive reaction from local screen talent, who said they hoped it would foster Canadian projects.
“In television right now, they’re always going to be my first stop, frankly,” said Toronto producer J. Miles Dale, who is developing 10 After Midnight with del Toro, with whom he won an Oscar last year for The Shape of Water. Dale is also developing his own Netflix series, 44 Chapters About Men, which he hopes will be at the hub.
“You can say whatever you want, you can show whatever you want, you can show real adult situations without the kind of censorship that comes in.”
Streaming services are also one-stop shops for Canadian creators who usually have to go through multiple avenues to find producers, sellers, distributors and financing, said Oscar-nominated Toronto director Hubert Davis.
“For filmmakers, that might be the best option for your project to get it going, as opposed to going to all of these different sources to get it made,” he said.
But some worry the hub will take up precious studio space that producers are clamouring for in Toronto.
Netflix has also faced heavy criticism from Canadian broadcasters and other industry players for not being on a level playing field when it comes to regulation in Canada.
Because i t ’s a foreign digital company, Netflix isn’t required to collect or remit federal or provincial sales tax.
So far Netflix also hasn’t fallen under federal regulations that require the country’s broadcasting companies to pay into the Canada Media Fund for the creation of homegrown programming.
Ne tflix has argued it shouldn’t be forced to pay into such funds, pointing to the money it’s already putting into the system by creating shows here.
In September 2017, the company pledged to spend $500 million over five years to fund original content made in Canada, a number it recently said it will exceed.