02.23.08
By CHAD
CALDER
 Advocate business writer Published: Feb 23, 2008 - Page: 1D Celtic Media Centre will begin work soon on its fourth building at the film and television production facility it opened near Bluebonnet Boulevard and Airline Highway in October. Project manager Howell Gibbens said the $3 million building, which will house a sound stage and be used to construct sets for Celtic’s productions, should be operational by the summer. While the tax incentives created several years ago by the Legislature have spurred many a plan to build a theater, Celtic is the only major local studio up and running so far. Bob Bayham, The Celtic’s Group’s chief financial officer, said the first building opened on the 11.5-acre site was the O’Connor building, which houses the studio’s administrative hub; the commissary; a 4,100-square-foot sound stage; a 7,000-square-foot sound stage; a mixing and screening theater for post production; and production offices. The second building is the Shannon building, which houses a 29,000-square-foot sound stage. The third building, known as the Oak Tree building, has a 25,000-square-foot sound stage and production office space. After the fourth building — known as the Rebecca building — is completed in the summer, Celtic will move ahead with the last two buildings, one of which it says will house one of the largest sound stages in the world. The Caitlin building, Bayham said, will have two 25,000-square-foot sound stages separated by a movable wall. The two halves can be brought together to make an enormous, 50,000-square-foot sound stage. The last building, the Brianna building, will also have two 25,000-square-foot sound stages, though they won’t be able to be combined, and another 15,000 square feet of production offices. These last two should be done by spring 2009. “It’s a massive construction and design undertaking,” Bayham said, pointing out these aren’t old warehouses being used for soundstages, but purpose-built studios that he said will help attract major productions. Kevin Murphy, Celtic’s director of studio operations, said that most of the productions that shoot in Louisiana do their location shooting here but leave the state to do their interiors and set work. With production facilities the size and scope of Celtic, Louisiana can capture more of those production dollars, “not just what they spend on location,” he said. Gibbens said that while it’s too soon to get into specifics, Celtic hopes its facilities will help it land major production. The studio has only been open to the public since December, Bayham said, and two films — “The Loss of the Teardrop Diamond” and “The Open Road” — have been filmed there, as have some local and one national commercial. He said some contracts are pending to bring in more work this spring and through the end of the year. |