A Movie Studio Grows in Brooklyn

Filmmakers are flocking to Brooklyn's Steiner Studios for NYC authenticity, competitive pricing, and state-of-the-art facilities

by Stacy Perman

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If it weren't for the painted backdrops of Midtown and downtown Manhattan, a visitor could almost mistake the sleek, modern apartment and the richly appointed law offices for the real thing. The authentic-looking sets, tucked inside Stages Two and Four at Steiner Studios, are being used to film the new F/X legal drama Damages, staring Glenn Close and Ted Danson.

Next door, on Stage Three, the largest soundstage east of Hollywood, set dressers and construction workers are hard at work preparing to film a series of Macy's (FD) commercials. In a corner of the cavernous, 27,000-square-foot stage is a replica of a brass doorman station from Manhattan's famous Dakota building. It is a leftover prop from the upcoming Chapter 27, a movie about the murder of John Lennon. Over on Stage Five, craftsmen are putting together a raised set for the new Tina Fey and Amy Poehler comedy, Baby Mama. And on the edge of the studio, workers are dismantling the hangar where the new HBO series Flight of the Conchords just wrapped.

Movies as Manufacturing

Built from the ground up, at a cost of $128 million, at the old Brooklyn Navy Yard, the five-stage, 15-acre Steiner Studios opened for business in November, 2004. The first film to go into production there was the Mel Brooks musical comedy The Producers. Since then dozens of feature films, television programs, TV commercials, music videos, and photo shoots have been shot on the site, a former U.S. Navy shipyard that serviced war efforts starting in 1800—it was here the USS Arizona (sunk in Pearl Harbor in 1941) was built.

By creating a movie studio with expansive soundstages and state-of-the art technology, and offering competitive prices, Steiner has lured numerous productions to Brooklyn, boosting the $5 billion-a-year New York film industry. Standing on the studios' rooftop terrace, with views of industrial cranes at the perimeter of the old Navy Yard, and behind them the Manhattan skyline and the Williamsburg Bridge, Doug Steiner, the studios' chairman, says "We see this as American manufacturing for the 21st Century."

Celluloid Skyline

Together with New York City's movie incentive program Made in NY, which offers productions 15% tax credits as well as discounted rates and help on a slew of services from police protection to marketing, Steiner is credited with significantly boosting the area's film business. Since Steiner Studios launched it has brought $680 million worth of film production to New York City, projects that before Steiner appeared on the scene might very well have gone to facilities in Los Angeles, or, increasingly, Canada, Europe, and Australia. "That's a lot of business for New York," says Dan Doctoroff, the deputy mayor of economic development for New York City.

Indeed, according to the Mayor's Office of Film, Theater, and Broadcasting, the number of filming days in New York City has increased measurably since Steiner opened, from 23,321 days in 2004 to 34,718 days in 2006. And Steiner's success has also extended to existing New York-based production studios. Silver Cup Studios in nearby Long Island City, New York (where Sex and the City was filmed), recently announced an expansion of its production facilities to keep up with the increased demand for filming.

"Steiner is truly a phenomenal studio, one of the best stages I've worked with in L.A. or New York," says Todd A. Kessler, a former writer and producer on The Sopranos, who is now the co-creator and executive producer on the upcoming Manhattan-based series Damages. He says one of the biggest advantages of filming his New York-based show at Steiner is authenticity. "Firstly, making any film that is set in New York City in New York City is appropriate," he says. "And we don't have to fake New York, and dodge palm trees."