HOUSTON - The Astrodome is a Houston landmark that may become a movie studio if the county agrees to a new proposal presented by a group of private investors.
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Houston's Astrodome could become a Hollywood-style movie studio
September 9, 2009
When the Astrodome opened in 1965, it was dubbed the eighth wonder of the world.
Now it is the focus of a documentary that provides a definitive look at the history of the dome. But the backers of the film would like to see the Astrodome as not only the subject of the movie, but also the place where movies are made.
"We have all this dirt, all this floor space and no columns. It is 140,000 square feet where we can build anything -- any galaxy and any town set that's imaginable. Then it's taken down and somebody else puts up another setting. There's nothing to compare with the size," said Cynthia Neely, Vice President of Astrodome Studios.
This is not the first time the dome has had encounters with Hollywood.
The Astrodome was featured in Irwin Allens' 1978 disaster movie about killer bees called "The Swarm." It was also used in the making of "Friday Night Lights."?
The building that has inspired so many visions has inspired Neely and others to envision a Hollywood-style movie studio that would be unlike any other.?It would be called Astrodome Studios, and it would be completely self-contained and privately funded. Neely says the studio could help generate millions of dollars for the state's economy.
"The production budget for the average film is about $53 million. They generally spend and leave behind about a third of that amount in the community. So one film could result in $17 million for the community," said Neely.
The studio says it's willing to pay to bring the dome up to code, and could be up and running within a couple of months.
It would also lease the dome from the county.
But the deal has not been approved.
The county says it's one of several options being weighed, but that it's not ruling anything out.?
