Light Iron–a Hollywood-based postproduction house specializing in on-site dailies, digital intermediate, archival, and data services for projects originated on file-based motion cameras–has expanded into the New York market, acquiring all post facilities and resources of OFFHOLLYWOOD, located in the Soho district of Manhattan. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Light Iron CEO Michael Cioni noted that OFFHOLLYWOOD’s reputation in NY is akin to that of Light Iron’s in Los Angeles, namely a leading player in “emerging technologies and expert workflows that are changing everything about motion pictures.” He credited OFFHOLLYWOOD’s founders Mark Pederson and Aldey Sanchez with building a company that fully understands and embraces file-based workflow across production and post. Cioni related, “As Light Iron absorbs OFFHOLLYWOOD’s postproduction operations, we will push capabilities even further by bringing new talent and new technologies that the New York television, feature, and fashion markets haven’t yet experienced.”
Light Iron NY is open for business immediately, featuring a DI grading theater, DI grading suites, a digital lab, and archive center. Cioni is relocating to New York to oversee the new operations.
OFFHOLLYWOOD will continue as a production service company, expanding its camera rental and support operations on a different floor of the same building. In addition, OFFHOLLYWOOD will be the New York region’s exclusive provider of Light Iron’s award-winning OUTPOST Mobile Systems.
“We have reached a new era in production, where no camera package is complete without a tested post workflow,” said OFFHOLLYWOOD’s CEO Pederson. “With this transaction, OFFHOLLYWOOD has access to both Light Iron’s Mobile Systems and their expert team, so we can equip our clients with the most advanced technologies and resources available anywhere.”
Light Iron and OFFHOLLYWOOD have intersected numerous times, as the principals of both companies were among the earliest adopters of file-based workflows when many in the post industry were highly critical of tapeless acquisition. Most recently, both companies supported the feature Texas Chainsaw 3D, which led the weekend box office upon its release on January 4. OFFHOLLYWOOD provided cameras and stereoscopic 3D acquisition equipment and support, while Light Iron provided on-set data management, digital intermediate, and digital cinema mastering.
Even though Light Iron is only three years old, high profile projects (recent credits include Hitchcock, Flight, the TV series Veep, and commercial campaigns for Mattel and Skechers) have contributed to strong and rapid growth. The company just opened a second Hollywood facility in September 2012 that is dedicated to its popular on-set OUTPOST services. Expanding to New York was an inevitable next step for Light Iron.
Cioni noted, “I personally look forward to relocating to New York and bringing with me Light Iron’s unique blend of creativity and technology. Our mission is to enhance the creative process for the television, feature, and fashion markets by continuing to be the leading architect of modern production and postproduction strategies.”
As the director of Saturday Night Live‘s Film Unit, client Rhys Thomas–who gained inclusion into SHOOT‘s 2012 New Director Showcase and is on the spot/branded content roster of Skunk–is looking forward to Light Iron’s move to his city. “I’ve traveled to Light Iron LA to pick their brain and experienced the talent they have to offer. Having the resources and ideas of Light Iron at home is going to be very exciting for the New York market.”
“Mickey 17” Tops Weekend Box Office, But Profitability Is A Long Way Off
"Parasite" filmmaker Bong Joon Ho's original science fiction film "Mickey 17" opened in first place on the North American box office charts. According to studio estimates Sunday, the Robert Pattinson-led film earned $19.1 million in its first weekend in theaters, which was enough to dethrone "Captain America: Brave New World" after a three-week reign.
Overseas, "Mickey 17" has already made $34.2 million, bringing its worldwide total to $53.3 million. But profitability for the film is a long way off: It cost a reported $118 million to produce, which does not account for millions spent on marketing and promotion.
A week following the Oscars, where "Anora" filmmaker Sean Baker made an impassioned speech about the importance of the theatrical experience – for filmmakers to keep making movies for the big screens, for distributors to focus on theatrical releases and for audiences to keep going – "Mickey 17" is perhaps the perfect representation of this moment in the business, or at least an interesting case study. It's an original film from an Oscar-winning director led by a big star that was afforded a blockbuster budget and given a robust theatrical release by Warner Bros., one of the few major studios remaining. But despite all of that, and reviews that were mostly positive (79% on RottenTomatoes), audiences did not treat it as an event movie, and it may ultimately struggle to break even.
Originally set for release in March 2024, Bong Joon Ho's follow-up to the Oscar-winning "Parasite" faced several delays, which he has attributed to extenuating circumstances around the Hollywood strikes. Based on the novel "Mickey7" by Edward Ashton, Pattinson plays an expendable employee who dies on missions and is re-printed time and time again. Steven... Read More