Oh, my! Columbus movie and theater potential fast gaining momentum

There just may be something to this effort to make Columbus a film and theater industry darling after all.

There certainly has been no shortage of momentum in the past year. It was just last December that Columbus State University was chosen as one of three sites to become part of the Georgia Film Academy, with classes starting this past spring to train students in the finer points of working on a film production set.

That first class is scheduled to graduate Nov. 14 on the main stage of the Springer Opera House, which has become a partner in the venture which also includes the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia. Nearly 50 students are in that first class.

Then in August, a company founded by Richard Lanni, an executive producer and film writer, occupied office space in downtown Columbus with plans to turn Fun Academy Movie Studios into a major animated film company. That includes making its first one — “Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero” should make its debut in April 2018 — and working with other animated filmmakers to develop, market and distribute their own projects.

(Movie industry’s bright lights beginning to shine on Columbus area and CSU)

(Fun Academy aims to make Columbus an animated film production magnet)

Lanni and his staff believe that Columbus, with its overall amenities, infrastructure and connections with the local Georgia Film Academy partners — CSU, the Springer and the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau — could turn the community into a hub for animated movies. That would include drawing other film-oriented companies and technical talent to the area, with a few hundred jobs part of the juicy potential.

This week, another step in that direction was made with Fun Academy Motion Pictures announcing a partnership with Mikros Image to help produce “Sgt. Stubby,” a true-story animated film about a World War I soldier developing a bond with stray pooch that through its canine heroism is promoted to a U.S. Army “sergeant.”

While Mikros might not be familiar to the average moviegoer, its parent company is well known. That would be Technicolor, a Paris-based media and entertainment outfit with 100-year-old roots that lie in the process that made the vivid colors in a number of movie classics decades ago pop out on the big screen. Those productions included “The Wizard of Oz,” “Gone With the Wind,” “The Adventures of Robin Hood” and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

Mikros Image, which was purchased by Technicolor last year, already has studios in Montreal, London and the Belgium cities of Brussels and Liège, with its employees having a hand in more than 400 film projects each year. In 2015, Mikros worked with Paramount Studios to release “The Little Prince,” which has racked up nearly $100 million at the box office worldwide and eventually was acquired by online streaming company Netflix.

The Fun Academy has acknowledged it has high hopes Technicolor and Mikros eventually could have a presence in Columbus as well. Julien Meesters, Mikros’ chief creative officer, said in a statement this week that the two entities are “cut from the same cloth.”

“We both believe in story-driven films and innovative production methods,” Meesters said. “The ‘Sgt. Stubby’ project is a great, creative endeavor with a genuine international appeal. Many thanks to Nicolas Trout — Mikros Animation’s executive producer — who identified the project and brought Fun Academy and Mikros together in an ideal creative collaborative setting.”

It sounds like a friendship that will only grow stronger as the two work together in the coming months and years. Mikros staff already is doing work on “Sgt. Stubby” in Paris and Montreal, with one only wondering if some of that one day could be shifted to Columbus and its low-cost business and living environment. Consulting on the Fun Academy picture is Dan St. Pierre, a director known for his work on “Aladdin,” “The Lion King” and “Tarzan.”

As for the Springer Opera House, it also is heavily in the middle of the action, with artistic director Paul Pierce saying the Georgia Repertory Theatre — launched earlier this year as a partnership between the Springer and CSU — has kicked off a $10 million capital campaign to fund what has been billed as “America’s professional teaching theater.”

The Georgia Repertory’s mission includes creating economic impact in the areas of film development and tourism, offering theater services to local schools, enhancing artistic “production values,” and setting up theater- and film-related residencies for students at CSU and the Springer Theatre Academy. Donations amounting to $100,000 have been collected for the effort’s first year.

Already, Hollywood and Broadway actor Brian Reddy is participating in an educational residency, with a symposium scheduled for noon Friday at CSU’s Riverside Theatre. Aside from a question-and-answer session, Reddy is expected to speak about his career, including how he got into acting, connecting with the right agent representative, and his work with a number of major stars. Those include Scarlett Johanssen, Kevin Spacey, George Clooney, Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton, Pierce Brosnan, Tea’ Leoni and Jerry Seinfeld.

Pierce said the Georgia Repertory Theatre has scheduled veteran movie and stage actor Hal Holbrook, who has performed at the Springer Opera House through the years, for a residency in February.

“I have begun to establish relationships with other successful industry professionals who will rotate into Columbus for these GRT educational events,” Pierce said.

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 1:08 PM with the headline "Oh, my! Columbus movie and theater potential fast gaining momentum."