Bat Boy Creator Weekly World News Hopes To Develop Movie Studio In NJ

VINELAND, NJ — The company whose satirical "Weekly World News" has captivated readers for decades with stories such as Bat Boy is one application approval away from establishing a movie studio in Vineland, an economic development leader told Patch.

"An Urban Enterprise Zone application is going to the state for approval ... and that should happen, hopefully, in September," said Sandy Forosisky, director of economic development for the City of Vineland.

Assuming the application is approved, the Weekly World News team would have to release three films from the Vineland studio before the end of 2026, Forosisky said.

The Weekly World News team would also have to pay Vineland the $1 million the city lent it to support the application, plus an additional 10 percent of that amount and a "split" of the first film's profits, she said.

The Weekly World News team's studio would be housed within the two-floor, 37,000-square-foot building that was once an Amish Farmer's Market, according to Forosisky.

"Once we get the approval, things will start to happen," she continued.

Those "things" include dozens of new jobs and millions of dollars in new revenue for the Vineland area, according to Forosisky.

"It will help the hotels because people in the movie will stay in hotels," she said. "They committed to using local vendors for some of their production needs and casting. Restaurants will benefit too."

The city co-signing an application for $1 million, in a county with one of the highest unemployment rates in the Garden State, is a gamble, but she said the benefits far outweigh the risks.

"I'm cautiously optimistic and a realist," Forosisky said in the interview. "If this is everything we anticipate it to be, it will transform our downtown and the city at large."

Got a news tip? Story idea? Send me an email with the details at janel.miller@patch.com.