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Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Studio Pursuing Rio Rancho

By James Yodice
Journal Staff Writer
      Rio Rancho is being courted once again by a movie studio.
    A major one, according to a member of the City Council, and a studio that could offer plenty of permanent, high-paying jobs.
    Newly formed Masque Entertainment Studios will make a presentation Wednesday night to the Rio Rancho City Council, and, if everything moves forward, the studio could be up and running and churning out films at the north end of Rio Rancho by next year.
    “This is very initial,” said Councilor Kathy Colley. “(On Wednesday), what we are being asked to do is let city staff move forward to work with Masque to investigate the issuance of industrial revenue bonds.”
    Masque, formed by “people within the film industry,” Colley said, is looking to occupy the HAWK missile site near U.S. 550, near the National Guard armory.
    According to a KOAT news report Monday, the investors are coming from other major studios.
    Colley is sponsoring a resolution asking the council to look at the studio's facility proposal at the HAWK site. While Colley did not know how large the parcel of land in question was, she said it would include a studio and eight sound stages.
    “It's very aggressive,” Colley when asked about Masque's timeline.
    Colley was hesitant to say much more about Masque. She said there was one name out in front of the operation, a man she declined to identify.
    “He's very well-respected and very well-known in the industry,” she said.
    Asked if his name would be familiar to most people, Colley said: “His name, no. His movies, yes. (But) I'm not at liberty to disclose a lot of the movies he's worked on.”
    Taxpayers would not be financially responsible for helping to get the studio off the ground, Colley said, adding that the IRBs would fund the project.
    Masque is the latest studio name to surface in connection with Rio Rancho, and it could be the first to open.
    Lionsgate, a leading independent film studio, has until November to begin building its proposed studio, Colley said.
    It was nearly two years ago that the council approved an incentive package to help Lionsgate — which produced the 2005 Academy Award-winning Best Picture, “Crash” — erect a $15 million studio in downtown Rio Rancho. But in return for the city's assistance, Lionsgate had to start building within two years.
    Rio Rancho Mayor Tom Swisstack did not immediately return Journal phone calls Monday.
   

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