Long Beach Studios deal with Boeing to be signed Monday, chairman says

LONG BEACH - A much-hyped movie studio is in, a studio executive said Friday, and a Tesla Motors assembly plant may be out at the former Boeing 717 manufacturing site.

Long Beach Studios Chairman Jack O'Halloran said he expects to sign a deal with Boeing on Monday to develop a $375 million movie studio at the 77-acre site, which ceased production in 2006.

"The film studio's definitely happening, it's going to happen," O'Halloran said by phone.

The project, announced a year ago, encountered financial problems and fell out of escrow in March.

Further casting doubt on the project's future was an announcement by electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors in August that the Boeing site and the Downey Studios property were finalists for a new assembly plant.

O'Halloran said the Long Beach project will be the hub of a chain of five movie studios that will be built around the country.

"Which means all the people, the jobs, the training, everything will come out of Long Beach," said O'Halloran, a former boxer and actor who is best known for playing Non, a villain in the movie "Superman2." "It's an amazing deal, it's better than we thought it was going to be and it's phenomenal for Long Beach."

O'Halloran wouldn't give further details, noting that the deal isn't signed yet. City officials have said the movie studio is expected to create 2,500 to 3,000 jobs.

Given that fact, Mayor Bob Foster was guarded in his response Friday.

"I want to see a deal that's inked," Foster said.

John Morris, owner of Smooth's Sports Grille, said Friday that when O'Halloran was eating at the restaurant Thursday the movie studio executive showed Morris a letter of commitment from O'Halloran's investors.

If all goes as O'Halloran plans, when the movie studio is completed it would contain "40 soundstages ranging in size from 12,000 to 200,000 square feet, and over 300,000 square feet of full-service rental office space," according to the Long Beach Studios Web site, www.longbeachstudiosllc.com. The site also says the studio site would have a 5-star hotel spa.

What this all means for Tesla - and Downey, which has been aggressively courting the company - isn't clear.

Foster said that Tesla and Boeing met about a week ago, so some negotiations for the 717 site may still be in the works. The mayor said the movie studio or Tesla could be a boon for Long Beach.

"I just want to make sure that we get a business in there that is very productive and beneficial to the city," Foster said.

Representatives from Boeing and Tesla didn't return phone calls seeking comment Friday evening.

Reached by phone Friday night, Downey Mayor Mario Guerra said his city is in negotiations with Tesla but wouldn't say how close they are to a deal.

Tesla is looking for a production site for its new Model S, a four-door all-electric family sedan. CEO Elon Musk has said the car plant could create 1,000 to 1,200 jobs.

The Bay Area company based in San Carlos is known for its Tesla Roadster, a two-door all-electric sports car. Musk said that when Tesla begins production on the next-generation sports car in 2013, the work likely will take place at the new plant as well.

(Press Telegram)