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Only On 4: Inside Pittsburgh's Newest Movie, TV Production Studio

Channel 4 Gets Exclusive Tour Of New Facility

POSTED: 6:39 pm EDT August 27, 2008
UPDATED: 6:56 pm EDT August 27, 2008

Pittsburgh has already been recognized as one of "America’s Most Livable Cities," now Hollywood is intensifying its love for the region.

To accommodate Tinseltown’s growing interest in the area, an enormous 330,000 sq. ft. production studio is being built along the Allegheny River in Lawrenceville.

The facility, large enough to hold about 8 football fields, was once an old Flatrol sheet metal plant.

Soon, Mogul Mind Studios will move in to the new location that’s the largest in the eastern U.S.

Workers have already begun sound-proofing the ceiling.

“There’s a huge influx of production companies that simply come here to shoot and say the city is beautiful, the workforce is fantastic, the union is fantastic, but where do I go?” said John Yost, owner of Mogul Mind Studios.

Yost, an actor and Penn Hills native, said the facility will allow production companies to shoot movies from beginning to end under one roof, and rival similar places in Los Angeles and New York.

“This is the amazing thing. About 85 percent of total dollars spent in production is spent in post production. And we're not getting a cent of it,” said Yost.

Yost added that the facility will house everything from post production to space for casting agencies, ad agencies and enough storage space to house tractor-trailers.

“I hate to use the term but it's a one-stop shop,” said Yost.

The Pittsburgh Film Office said the project represents the missing piece film companies have been craving while shooting in Pittsburgh.

“John's space would provide that state of the art facility so they can bring television series here,” said Jessica Connor of the Pittsburgh Film Office.

The movie industry has spent $150 million into the Pittsburgh region in the past 12 months, according to the Pittsburgh Film Office.

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