May 2023 10 covery will settle for evening “drinks.” Meanwhile, Lionsgate will host “private screenings.” Going back to the indies, Marquez would like to encourage all participants to obtain a $75 registration badge from her. It comes with a list of buyers, plus a discount to those interested in attending the Content LA conference (held concurrently at the same hotel). They can pay a $199 fee (instead of the regular $500). The indies’ L.A. Screenings registration is not mandatory, “but that little amount would help me to provide the services that participants would like to receive,” said Marquez. Pictured at left, one of the Century Plaza’s floors at the L.A. Screenings 2022. Fox Studios Get An Upgrade Did you ever wonder what happened to the legendary Fox Studios after Disney acquired 21th Century Fox in 2019 for $71.3 billion? The studio lot is now set for a $1.5 billion expansion. The rumor that it was going to be sold as real estate for a large development complex fortunately did not materialize. The Fox lot, in the Century City part of Los Angeles, is still under the control of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp., and is now going to be upgraded with the addition of office towers, soundstages, and other facilities. The upgrade would add nine soundstages to the existing 15, as well as a 20-story building. The 53-acre (214,450 sq. meters) studio lot is located at the corner of Pico Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars. When Murdoch sold the 21st Century Fox assets to Disney, the deal included the 20th Century Fox film and TV studios, but did not include the studio property, Fox Television stations, and Fox Entertainment. However, Disney rented the Fox studios to produce its own shows. FilmLA, the city and county film permit office, indicated that existing soundstages in the Los Angeles area have been fully rented and that demand for new soundstages has escalated, with a waiting list as long as five film productions, and in order to meet demand, supply would need to double in Los Angeles in the next few years. Between suites and tables, the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel in the Century City section of Los Angeles will be housing over 70 exhibition companies for the upcoming L.A. Screenings. This is according to Isabella Marquez, the organizer of the independent portion of the L.A. Screenings, which will run May 17 to 19 (with set-up on Tuesday, May 16). The studios will pick up the activities starting on May 20, except for MGM, which will host a one-hour presentation on May 19. The above number compares to 59 exhibitors at the Century Plaza in 2022, and 84 in the pre-pandemic year 2019. This year, on the evening of Saturday May 20, many participants will return to the Century Plaza for the traditional Telefilms screenings and cocktail. That same night, NBCUniversal will also be running a Fast X film screening event in Hollywood. Fox will be back at the Screenings after a three-year absence with a Sunday “presentation and party” on its lot. The Hollywood studios will continue their schedule until May 25, ending with the Sony Pictures TV screenings. Another party will be thrown by Sony, while Paramount, MGM, and Warner Bros. DisL.A. Screenings Inches Back to Full Exhibition World (Continued from Page 6)
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