BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - "We have two projects booked for next year already," boasts Buffalo Niagara Film Commissioner Tim Clark, when asked if Buffalo can support not one, but two movie studios.
The first film and TV studio was announced in June. Great Point Capital announcing plans for a production complex at Niagara Street and West Ferry.
This week, Buffalo native Matt Fleckenstein, founder of Buffalo Studios, announced plans for sound and stage studios on a 27-acre parcel on South Park Avenue.
"There is a screaming, screaming need for content right now," said Clark. He says the shelves are bare at Netflix, HBO, Amazon and other places. "There was a content need before Covid hit, now it's just accelerated."
Buffalo has something else going for it. "There are very few productions feeling 100% comfortable going back to New York City right now because of the density issue there." Clark says Buffalo has a lot to offer. "There's crew here, there's a city here and it's a good place to move around."
It's been Clark's experience that anyone who has come here, wants to come back here. "Architecturally, we blow everything away." Back in 2011, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Buffalo one of the most significant cities Architecturally. And Clark said there's something about the people. "We're nice to one another, we respect one another. We're often the underdog but always overcome adversity. People come here and fall in love with the people."
Clark says he's getting calls from HBO, Amazon, Apple & Hulu asking when can they move in. He says it's actually a little disappointing that it's going to take two years to get the newest studio up and running. But he guarantees that it will be full by the time they put the last piece of asphalt in the parking lot.
In a word, Clark says the future is bright for the film scene in Buffalo. "We've been surprisingly busy during Covid, but honestly good things are just around the corner, in making Buffalo a film destination."
