Random Acts and Industry Connections in LA

Sometimes, people from back east wonder about what we know about the Entertainment Industry and are we connected in anyway to things they might have seen. This came up yesterday and was the perfect opportunity to show both. Also, for my filmmaking friends out here, this location can meet almost any filmmaker's needs and is worth taking a look at.

This all started when the Hubs was sent a link via a forum he frequents. It was a short film based on the video game Portal. The first thing he realized was that it was shot in a place that has long been near and dear to us -- the massive warehouse complex at 7th and Alemeda in Downtown LA. Our Jack of All Trades on set, Randy Payne discovered it while scouting for a place for us to shoot a full blown version of the Privateers.

We think this complex has been in films as far back as the original version of The Postman Always Rings Twice. The funding fell through for us, but we kept an eye on the place. And we saw it in a lot of shows like the X-files, First Person Shooter.

Almost ten years flies by. One of the best peeps we worked with on Demon Under Glass, Lucy Doty, wanted to strike out on her own and open a soundstage for medical sets and medical consulting business. She needed a heap of space that had lots of room to grow. We weren't sure if it was still available, but we recommended the location at 7th and Alemeda. It was. She founded Central City Studios there. Early on, her being there saved Jon and my bacon as she was willing and able to rent space to our employer, Internet Archive, when it's lease at UCLA ended.

We took the opportunity of being there to use the site for our Blood Oath Web Series.

This is the warehouse alley with an extension created from a slum in Mumbai.

And this is the alley with our characters, Rik and Vincent from the Soldiers books (Lance Wesley and Matty Ferraro).

This is the background plate from the Portal shoot -- and much like the alley usually looks in daylight.

And this is a character about to fall though the portal.

This is the alley in The Transformers.

And this is the alley in Men in Black 3.

Okay, I hope it's clear that Central City Studio accommodates all comers, no matter their budget! Also, this is how random acts from a decade prior can come in handy in Los Angeles.