Great Point Studios opens, marking a new chapter for Buffalo’s film industry

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo and Hollywood may not be very similar, but a new $50 million production facility on Niagara Street shows the two cities may have more in common than we think.

Great Point Studios held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday at its new television and film production facilities on Buffalo’s west side. The facility includes a 20,000 square foot stage, two 5,000 square foot stages and 70,000 square feet of office and support space.

The company announced Buffalo as its flagship location among six studios around the world, including Atlanta, Los Angeles and Wales in the United Kingdom.

“Great Point Studios will play a major role in helping Buffalo become one of the most sought-after movie destinations in the country,” said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. “Yeah, I said that – in the country.”

Robert Halmi is the former founder of Hallmark Channel and the current CEO of Great Point Studios. He called Buffalo a “dream” location for filmmakers because of a tax incentive where 40 percent of the budget goes to the filmmaker.

This push sparked the start of a shift in the film industry where Buffalo plays a larger role.

In 2012, there were only two large-scale independent film productions in the city, which created 280 jobs and took 25 days to film. Over the past decade, the state has encouraged more than 65 different projects in Western New York, resulting in more than 12,000 hires and $240 million in economic activity.

“It all comes down to economics when studios figure out where they’re going to shoot something,” Halmi said.

The new studio has already started attracting big names like actor Stephen McKinley Henderson, who lives in Buffalo and starred in Lady Bird and Dune. He believes the new studio can finally show the film industry everything Buffalo has to offer.

“To not have to use my passport, I would be happy to sleep at home and work here,” he said. “Oh, that would be a joy.”

A new film called “The Panic” starring Cary Elwes and Malcolm McDowell will be the first project filmed at the studio, a financial thriller based on a true story set during the Panic of 1907. Filming is expected to begin in June. .