"It's boosted it so well that we've brought in over $100 million in economic impact each year over the last three years. We said if we were building an industry, infrastructure would come, the companies would come, and that's happening. Because of the film tax credit, because of the work that's being done, because of the film work that is happening, these guys need to be here," said Keezer.
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald called Pittsburgh the Hollywood of the East. He said it's been an exciting time with the industry bringing stars like Tom Cruise and Christian Bale to Pittsburgh, but he said that's not the best part of what's happening.
"What it really means to us is jobs, the fact that $300 million has come into our economy over the last four years because of the movie industry, the fact that we're converting an old steel mill, going from steelmaking to movie making," said Fitzgerald.
When complete, 31st Street Studios will be the largest sound stage outside of Los Angeles. The 300,000 square foot facility includes 10 stages and the capacity to host any size production."
