31st Street Studios making it big
Under one 45-foot-high roof, the offices of a morgue sit in front of a ceiling-tall portrait of a city.
Another space is a gigantic, underground gathering spot for a coven of witches on an uprising in New York City.
It's a typical day's work at the 31st Street Studios in the Strip District.
The 12-sound-stage, 300,000-square-foot site has housed sets for “Jack Reacher” and “The Dark Knight Rises,” as well as two upcoming major productions, “Concussion” starring Will Smith and “The Last Witch Hunter” with Vin Diesel.
Chris Breakwell, president and CEO of the studio, is optimistic his 3-year-old enterprise can continue to help the film industry here.
He acquired what was a Crucible Steel mill in 2011 and says he has spent $10 million to purchase and improve the site.
Dawn Keezer, director of the Pittsburgh Film Office, says movie work has brought an average of more than $100 million in annual revenue to the area in the past five years.
The success of 31st Street is “not unexpected,” she said, but she is “excited” about its growth.
While soundstages evoke images of movie stars, the work involves hundreds of everyday workers. Caterers bring in food. Firefighters stand guard over scenes that involve pyrotechnics to ensure safety.
Chip Eccles is the business representative of Local 489, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. He said on any given day, 250 of his members do carpentry, sound, electrical and paint work.
The soundstages have plenty of “clear span,” or space that is open with no support posts. That space allows huge sets, such as the morgue in “Concussion,” to be built.
The buildings range from 10,000-square-feet to 60,000-square-feet. The tallest has a 65-foot-high ceiling.
One soundstage is used as a lumber mill to cut the wood for sets.
Reed Lafferty from Jack Lafferty Truck Parts and Service says his firm provides trucks that can be used in the films as well as jobs at the site. The studio generates a great deal of work for the company, he says, and to other businesses in the Strip.
“He's doing great things for the neighborhood,” Lafferty said of Breakwell's work. “Property values alone have got to be going up. This is all so positive.”
Eccles says site improvements have made it more attractive to filmmakers.
Breakwell says there are talks with 15 major films and two TV series. Having a large soundstage operation in Pittsburgh adds to the opportunities the area offers. The city has urban settings, but it is possible to “drive an hour and be in some mountains or Amish country,” he said.
Breakwell is constantly concerned about sustaining the state's film tax credit program.
The tax program gives a 25 percent credit to film companies that spend at least 60 percent of production costs in the state. They can get an additional 5 percent if they work in what is called a “qualified” soundstage — one owned and not rented and one that meets requirements for soundproofing and clear span.
Breakwell's studios meet those criteria.
He is worried about the future of the program under Gov. Tom Wolf.
Wolf spokesman Jeff Sheridan says the governor “will thoroughly review spending programs” as he works “to solve our state's financial crisis.”
Bob Karlovits is staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7852 or bkarlovits@tribweb.com.
