Ridley bringing film industry center to Pabst site
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee film school, as well as a film post-production facility, will be among the new tenants in a former Pabst brewery building that’s being redeveloped by Oscar-winning filmmaker John Ridley.
Ridley, a Mequon native, announced Tuesday that the facility, No Studios, will provide offices for local individuals, organizations and companies in film production and other creative fields.
The three-story, 40,000-square-foot facility, at 1037 W. McKinley Ave., also will feature a 50-seat screening room, food and beverage services, galleries and a rooftop event space.
No Studios isn’t trying to compete with Los Angeles and other major film production areas, Ridley said.
Instead, it will help nurture local filmmakers, for both documentaries and narrative movies, and connect that talent to financial backers and others involved in the production and distribution process.
Five years from now, Ridley hopes that No Studios will have helped nurture three film projects that are widely known.
“We’re not trying to bring Hollywood to the lakefront,” he said during a news conference at the Brewhouse Inn & Suites, at the former Pabst complex, now known as The Brewery.
“But what we know we can do is create a conduit,” said Ridley, a writer and director. His work includes the screenplay for “12 Years a Slave,” for which Ridley won an Oscar in 2014.
Ridley announced in November that Milwaukee Film Inc., which operates the Milwaukee Film Festival, will be among the redeveloped building’s tenants. Ridley and County Executive Chris Abele, his business partner in the forprofit venture, are both on Milwaukee Film’s board.
The organization will move its offices this spring from 229 E. Wisconsin Ave. to No Studios. Milwaukee Film will lease an entire floor.
Additional tenants announced Tuesday include University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s film program, Marquette University, 371 Productions LLC, Custom Reality Services Ltd. and the Milwaukee Filmmaker Alliance.
The specific plans for how UWM and Marquette will use their spaces at No Studios are still being formed, said Steve Mech, president of CSA Commercial Inc., a firm owned by Abele.
UWM’s Peck School of the Arts includes both undergraduate and graduate degree programs in film, video, animation and new genres.
The film program’s graduates include Chris Smith and Sarah Price, whose 1999 film “American Movie” was named by the New York Times as one of the 1,000 best films ever made.
Marquette offers an undergraduate degree in digital media through its Diedrich College of Communication.
371 Productions is a media production company now based at 220 E. Buffalo St., in the Historic Third Ward. Its documentaries include the 2012 film “As Goes Janesville,” which focuses on that Wisconsin city’s struggles after General Motors Corp. closed its factory there.
Custom Reality Services is another production company, focused on virtual reality, based at the same address.
The Milwaukee Filmmaker Alliance is a nonprofit group, founded in 2016 by Milwaukee Film, which supports the area’s artistic and commercial media companies.
Also, a company that provides post-production services, such as editing and sound mixing, will relocate to No Studios, Mech said. Its name will likely be announced in a few weeks, he said.
The building has around 2,000 square feet still available for lease, Mech said.
The No Studios building was sold in September for $3.2 million to a CSA Commercial affiliate.
It was last used as Cardinal Stritch University’s College of Education and Leadership, and is undergoing renovations.
No Studios will open in September with a weekend of programs highlighting its space. That will include film screenings and discussions, dance and music performances, readings, and photography and fine art exhibitions.
In addition to providing space for the creative community, No Studios will present year-round programming that includes work from local and international artists and artisans.
Ridley picked the name No Studios for its double meaning.
“‘No’ is the Japanese root word for skill, talent, artistic endeavor, while the English word ‘no’ is one that artists hear many times throughout their careers and yet continue to create, in spite of many obstacles,” he said.
“‘Yes’ is something we just don’t hear enough in our lives,” Ridley said.