Mayor Linda Hepner, Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services Amrik Virk and Skydance Media CEO David Ellison opened Skydance Studios in Newton on September 20 with an official ribbon cutting ceremony.
The newly converted building allows for more than 75,000 square feet of production space and houses one of the world’s longest and tallest sound stages at 460 feet long and 50 feet high. The first production slated for production at Skydance Studios will be the science fiction thriller Altered Carbon on Netflix.
“With so much production work occurring in Surrey, it is only logical for Skydance Media to make the City of Surrey a home rather than a destination,” said Mayor Linda Hepner.
“With the opening of Skydance Studios in Newton, the media company will have direct access to our local professionals who work within the film and television industry. The City of Surrey along with the Metro Vancouver region will benefit from the $100 million dollars a year and the 400 jobs that Skydance Studios will inject into our local economy.”
At the grand opening of the @Skydance studio in #surrey with CEO David Ellison & @amrikvirkbc. Excited for new beginnings! pic.twitter.com/t8ugtTPwsc
— Office of the Mayor (@SurreyMayor) September 20, 2016
Formerly the printing press building for the Pacific Newspaper Group, Skydance Studios has transformed the 13.8 acre site into a state of the art production facility with five sound stages. A unique feature is the ability to make it rain - on demand - inside one of the five stages.
“As we are focused on expanding our operations and increasing our film and television output, the establishment of Skydance Studios is an important milestone both for our Company and for the City of Surrey,” added Skydance Media CEO David Ellison. "We are incredibly excited about putting down new roots in Surrey and becoming a part of the community’s future growth."
Skydance Studios unveiled today in #Surrey with #AlteredCarbon crew. Thanks to the community for the warm welcome! pic.twitter.com/aoYQyVNOnA
— Skydance (@Skydance) September 21, 2016
“We recognize that a vibrant film and digital entertainment industry creates long-term stable jobs in B.C., which is an important driver of our #BCTECH Strategy, ” said Amrik Virk, Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services.