- Hollywood East
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Not to be confused with East Hollywood.
Hollywood East is a term originally used by local press in Orlando, Florida after the opening of the Disney-MGM Studios (now called Disney's Hollywood Studios) in 1989 and Universal Studios Florida in 1990 in order to attract more filmmaking business to the region. While both are legitimate studios, they are predominantly theme parks, and although many film and television productions have used these facilities since before even the theme parks were built, Orlando was not able to retain the image of "Hollywood East." [1] In more recent years, "Hollywood East" refers to the growth of the film industry in New England, particularly Massachusetts[2] and Connecticut,[3] but it has more specifically been used as branding for Plymouth Rock Studios, a movie studio under development in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 2010.[4] The name is a reference to Hollywood, California, the center of the American film industry, located on the west coast of the United States. The term as used in New England was popularized in the press in 2007 as film and television productions migrated to the east coast to take advantage of tax incentives put in place by several state governments.[5][6] Old warehouses and office buildings have been used for filming due to a lack of infrastructure in the region,[7] leading to several groups of developers coming forward with plans to build full service studios. Two notable developments in Massachusetts, Plymouth Rock Studios, based in Plymouth, and SouthField Studios, based in Weymouth were profiled in the Boston Globe in April 2008.[8] More recently Plymouth Rock Studios has come into the spotlight after passing their Plymouth Town Meeting vote in October 2008[9] and announcing a partnership with MIT Media Lab in November that was featured in the New York Times.[10] The partnership is described as "a fusion between technology and the arts" that the studio and Massachusetts Institute of Technology believe will come to define Hollywood East as a movement.[11]
The Patriot Ledger, a newspaper based in Quincy, Massachusetts, has even created a special website cataloguing all news items related to the growth of Hollywood East.[12] New England actors have been working hard to get media attention and public awareness on the benefits of the Massachusetts tax incentives for film studios and the possible development of studios.[13] [14]
Contents
Use of "Hollywood East" by Plymouth Rock Studios
Hollywood East Sign
One group of developers, Plymouth Rock Studios, led by former Paramount executives David Kirkpatrick and Earl Lestz, licensed the rights to the iconic Hollywood sign from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in May 2008,[15] and plan to build to a “Hollywood East” sign in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the future home of the studio. Various versions of the sign have been created by the studio, many of which are made out of natural materials to emphasize the studio's commitment to sustainability. [16]
Hollywood East TV
Plymouth Rock Studios has also used their license to launch Hollywood East TV, a social networking website used for sharing user-generated material as well as videos and blogs produced by Rock Media, a branch of Rock Entertainment LLC.[17] [18][19] The site, on which every user possesses their own page and the ability to upload their own content, also updates viewers on the progress of the studio through a daily webisode entitled "The Series".
References
- ^ "What Happened to Hollywood East?" Southwest Orlando Bulletin, 17 July 2004
- ^ Cape Cod Times - Hollywood East?
- ^ New York Times - The State's Big Push to Be Hollywood East
- ^ KTBS LA - Hollywood East could hurt Ark-La-Tex
- ^ New York Times - Lights, Camera, Tax Credit - Massachusetts Lures Filmmakers With Generous Rebate
- ^ NECN - Hollywood East moving to Stratford, CT (VIDEO)
- ^ Eagle Tribune - Hollywood East: Massive vacant space in old Lucent building brings starpower to North Andover
- ^ Boston Globe - Hollywood East: 2 studios, with thousands of jobs, see work for them both, and more
- ^ Associated Press - Historic Plymouth OKs building $488M movie studio
- ^ New York Times - Saving the Story (the Film Version)
- ^ Boston Herald - Hollywood East goes to MIT
- ^ Patriot Ledger - Hollywood East: Proposed movie studio in Plymouth
- ^ Patriot Ledger, Studio plans give local actors hope, reason to get organized, Jack Encarnacao, February 22, 2008
- ^ The Daily Free Press, Studio proposal could bring the stars and revenue to Mass., Ben Kruger-Robbins, March 4, 2008
- ^ Business Wire - Hollywood Sign Lends Its Lustre to Plymouth Rock Studios
- ^ Patriot Ledger - Iconic Hollywood sign comes East
- ^ [1]
- ^ Brockton Enterprise - Hollywood vs. Hollywood East on the court and online
- ^ Yahoo! Finance - Plymouth Rock Studios launches "Hollywood East" broadband channel with New England Talent
Categories:- Connecticut culture
- Cinema of the United States
- Massachusetts culture
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