Room to dance The Madison
It's indeed too bad that Hairspray, the film musical version of the stage musical version of the John Waters film, won't be filmed in Baltimore but in Toronto. Producer Craig Zadan said we simply don't have the vast soundstages here that are needed to mount such an elaborate song-and-dance production.
Jumping right on this is Mike Mitchell, director of Chesapeake Habitat For Humanity and a candidate for state delegate from south-and-southeast Baltimore's 46th District. (The district covers Dundalk, Greektown, Highlandtown, Patterson Park, Canton, Fells Point, the Inner Harbor, Federal Hill, Cherry Hill, Westport, Brooklyn, Curtis Bay, and Locust Point.) Mitchell suggests renovating the old, vacant Crown Cork & Seal building, between Highlandtown and Greektown, for a massive soundstage.
"The Crown Cork & Seal building is ideal for movie production and its renovation would renew both its surrounding neighborhood and the city," Mitchell declared.
Mitchell says the long-vacant Crown Cork building demonstrates the need for more innovation in redevelopment around the city:
"Tens of thousands of vacant homes and buildings, owned by non-Baltimoreans holding on to property as though it's a stock or bond, preventing home ownership and decent housing for those who live here and, in the case of this building, preventing what has the potential to be a film-making center on the East Coast. With the right state and city resources, that building could be a soundstage attracting movies, and the talent that comes with them, making Hightlandtown truly an arts and entertainment district."
Comments
This is a great idea! We def. need the stage.
I work in this industry, as a make-up artist, and am very upset that Hairspray won't even be here for a bit of filming.
Of course tjhis hurts all of us that rely on films etc. for our income. Also, the state is losing out on tons of income. I haven't worked on a film in over 6 months.
Where are all the movies that our tax break were supposed to bring in?
Posted by: G Bateman | July 20, 2006 11:53 AM
I have many questions about all of this. How much would it cost? The last time I checked the city already spent around $500,000 on a "Slogan" for the city. Where would the money for this renovation come from? Would Habitat for humanity be doing the renovations, considering the chesapeak director made the suggestion? Doesn't it seem odd that Mr. Mitchell would suggest a renovation for a sound stage, instead of renovating the place for the people he is suppose to be helping? Why not put the money where it is really needed? For example, the city's school systems and not just where people with money live either. The entire school system really needs "renovating" and instead of wasting money on silly projects like this, why not focus on where the future really lies? The children that live there. Its been proven time and again, that places with decent schools, the drugs, and crime rate drops tremendously. Which therefore would improve the neighborhoods and the surronding areas Start there then work on becoming an "arts and entertainment district."
Posted by: Cassie | July 20, 2006 12:07 PM
Building a sound stage AND providing the funds for financial incentives to attract film projects will also help the children -- by opening up a wealth of career opportunities in the movie industry. Have you ever sat through ALL the final credits and seen how many people it takes to make a movie? There are drivers, carpenters, camera and lighting people, caterers, animal handlers, makeup and wardrobe people, computer artists and the list goes on -- not to mention the extras who appear on-screen. The more of those folks who are available locally, the more successful Baltimore will become at attracting more movies.
Posted by: Barbara | July 20, 2006 4:06 PM
As a Highlandtown resident, I think this is a great idea. The revenue for the city, the jobs created, even the lesser-important aesthetics of renovating that building would be a huge benefit. Every time I drive past I wonder how such a huge amount of square footage in such a prominent location goes on abandoned with so much redevelopment going on around it. The possible extra revenue from catering for the restaurants of Greektown alone should get this done. It would be a truly bold move, and a lynchpin in further defining the Eastside renaissance.
If Mitchell can't get funding entirely from the city, let's cash in some favors from our more famous sons & daughters. Jada Pinkett-Smith, Josh Charles, Edward Norton, David Hasselhoff, John Waters - how about it?
Posted by: Mobtown Matt | July 24, 2006 3:55 PM