Amazon MGM Studios To Open Production Base At Pinewood Toronto

Amazon MGM Studios is to open a production hub at Pinewood Toronto Studios in Canada.

The streaming production giant unveiled an agreement with the studio for exclusive use of production facilities in downtown Toronto at a ribbon-cutting event today. Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow attended the ceremony.

The multi-year agreement includes use of five new state-of-the-art sound stages, accompanying workshops and office accommodation, totalling approximately 160,000 square feet. Financial terms weren’t forthcoming.

To date, Amazon MGM Studios, as well as MGM Television and MGM+ Studios have shot the likes of The Boys, Gen V, Reacher, and The Handmaid’s Tale in Ontario; Fargo and Billy The Kid in Alberta; The Man in the High Castle and Upload in British Columbia; Tales from the Loop in Manitoba; and parts of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and The Voyeurs in Quebec.  

“Pinewood Group is an industry-leader and with the Toronto region’s best-in-class crews, this agreement offers us immense opportunity for the continued expansion of film and series projects in Toronto, Ontario, and Canada,” said Dan Scharf, Vice President of Global Business Operations, Amazon MGM Studios. “We are thrilled our productions will continue to have a home in Toronto for many years to come.”

“This landmark agreement further strengthens our relationship with Amazon MGM Studios and demonstrates our joint commitment to the City of Toronto.” said Paul Golding, Chairman, Pinewood Group. “We are very much looking forward to working together and welcoming many incredible productions to the Pinewood Toronto Studio lot.”

The news comes a week after Amazon undertook a plan to cut “several hundred” staff at its Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios divisions following a business review. Employees in the U.S. and South East Asia have since been impacted, with other offices potentially facing cuts.

There’s been no indication of cuts in Canada to date, but sources in the country say global streaming services have been waiting to see the result upcoming streaming legislation before moving projects beyond the development stage.

“Toronto’s film, television and digital media production industry is among the best in the world and this long-term commitment and multimillion-dollar investment by Amazon MGM Studios represents a huge vote of confidence in our local workforce and the strength of our screen industry,” said Councillor Paula Fletcher (Toronto-Danforth) and Chair of Toronto’s Film, Television and Digital Media Advisory Board. “It also reinforces the Port Lands as a longstanding major production hub and the city as a centre of excellence for film and television production.”

Amazon MGM Studios has a similar arrangement in place at Pinewood’s Shepperton Studios. in the UK