NJ has come a long way with soon-to-be film studio openings

We’ve always known that we have so much to offer to the filmmaking world here in New Jersey. It was just a matter of time before Hollywood figured it out, too.

New Jersey is poised to become a major force in the filmmaking world, rivaling New York and Hollywood, now that studios are being planned all over the state.

Gov. Phil Murphy has made no secret of his desire to make NJ into a major center for film, traveling to California in 2019 to convince Hollywood Big Wigs that Jersey has what it takes to be a major player in the film industry. And convince them he did, offering major perks to come and expand the film industry here.

He also signed a law that offered major tax breaks to companies that relocate or expand in NJ, including a huge pool of tax cuts to anyone filming or building studios here. And that started the ball rolling.

Fast forward to today, with streaming companies proliferating, growing demand for streaming content and our proximity to New York City, which is jam-packed with actors and skilled union labor and you’ve got a recipe for a sparkling new hub for the film industry.

One big player is Great Point Studios, slated to open in Newark in 2024.

Great Point will be the production hub for Lionsgate, the famous film company with many Oscar-nominated films in its catalog. This facility will be huge, according to the article, and when it opens in March 2024 will include six large soundstages, space for set building, editing, crew trucks and catering services.

But that’s not where it ends for the “New Hollywood” coming together in the Garden State.

The New York Times mentions other soundstages which opened over the past year in New Jersey: One in Kearny and one in Jersey City. Bayonne will also be home to an enormous facility called 1888 studios, and West Orange will house a film studio on the site where Thomas Edison actually opened the country’s first-ever movie studio.

Netflix announced its intentions to submit a bid next month to buy a roughly 300-acre parcel at Fort Monmouth to build a studio there.

We’ve come a long way from just being the background of film and tv shows and all of this studio building goes to prove that when it comes to film, NJ is more than just a bunch of pretty locations. We’re actually a small but powerful Hollywood outpost.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

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