Another Hollywood Studio Proposed For Banning

BANNING, CA — Streaming companies are taking over television, and competition for more and more shows to feed audiences' ever-hungry appetite is fierce. Viewers can now binge-watch a show's entire season in a weekend. Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Hulu, YouTube, HBO, Disney and others are producing boatloads of shows as fast as they can, according to filmmaker Angel Garcia, who says these companies are running out of space to make their creative programming — and Banning could help fill the need.

Garcia — perhaps most well-known for his work on 2011's "From Prada to Nada" — was on hand during the Sept. 27 Banning City Council meeting via Zoom to provide an update on a proposed 30-acre high-end film and television studio complex near the city's wastewater treatment plant on Charles Street. After hearing Garcia's presentation about the proposed project dubbed Super Studios, council members voted 4-0 without comment to authorize City Manager Doug Schulze to proceed with discussions on an Exclusive Negotiated Agreement for the deal. Creative Tank Inc. is working to refine the Supers Studios proposal and Garcia is representing the effort.

While the project is currently a conceptual design, if an Exclusive Negotiated Agreement is reached between the city and Super Studios — and City Council signs off — a development agreement would then need to be ok'd by the city and that would start the ball rolling on the lengthy California Environmental Quality Act process.

The Super Studios project would be all-inclusive with multiple sound stages, production offices and mill shops that allow crews to build sets on site, according to Garcia.

The Pass Area location is a natural fit, given its proximity to Hollywood, urban settings, open space and diverse topography. The facility could compete with U.S. studios sprawling in Georgia, New Mexico and Montana, and in Canada, the filmmaker said.

Calling the project a "monster studio," Garcia said it would bring local jobs and approximately $5-$6 million to city coffers during its first year.

A similar proposed project is in discussion for Banning: Grandave Studios would house a movie studio at Banning Municipal Airport. The project would incorporate offices, retail stores, sound stages, outdoor filming facilities, rentable storage facilities and parking.

Continued interest in proposed Pass Area studios comes as Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his support in August for SB 485, which would invest $1.65 billion in the state’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program to extend it for an additional five years, through 2030. The program allocates $330 million per year in tax credits for the industry, according to the governor.

The program generates $24 in economic activity for every $1 invested — spurring tens of billions of dollars in economic output, helping create over 110,000 jobs, and bringing shows and films to California, according to the governor.

Newsom's summer announcement coincided with demands that production companies implement protocols to protect employees in states where abortion is outlawed following the U.S. Supreme Court's June decision to roll back Roe. v Wade.