The Walt Disney Company bought “Fox” in the now-considered-infamously-expensive deal that brought them a lot of IP, both used and ignored, but did NOT buy their real estate—the huge studio located just west of Beverly Hills that had been home to 20th Century Fox for decades. Now, with the lease they took on that lot expiring, Disney has announce no plan to renew the deal, which was costing them an estimated $50 million a year.
Once about 2.5 times bigger than it is today (until the huge flop Cleopatra literally put a lock on the gates for over a year before the majority of their land was sold to Alcoa Aluminum to develop the now-thriving condo, apartment, and shopping/dining tract known as “Century City”) the remaining space includes many soundstages, offices, and backlot streets. Most of these were made for the turn-of-the-century NY settings of Hello Dolly and have been repurposed many times since.
The New York set at Fox Studios – YouTube, Scott Records
This is the lot where famous mogul Darryl F. Zanuck held court, where Shirley Temple, Marilyn Monroe, and Mel Brooks movies were made. it’s where epic films like Towering Inferno and the other Irwin Allen disaster flicks shot their interiors. This is the place where TV properties such as the original Combat!, Lost In Space, Land of the Giants, The Time Tunnel, Peyton Place, and even the classic 1966 Batman series were shot. Batman even used Rancho Park across Pico from the studios to double as “Gotham Central Park” many times.
Located between Pico Blvd. and Olympic now, but stretching to Santa Monica Blvd to the north once upon a time, the much-larger lot held everything from Western towns to Arabian streets to European villages to submarine docks and special effects tanks and more. But, again, it shrunk when Century City took over. Originally stretching 99 acres, the land was bought by William Fox a bit over 100 years ago before his company merged with 20th Century productions.
The fact that sound stages are in demand in L.A. even in the semi-depressed post-lockdown/strikes movie and TV biz means that the owners will probably have no trouble renting them to various productions. But whether or not they will be under one management or “sublet” to several remains to be seen. Fox has already begun permit processes to expand facilities on the property valued at about $1.5 Billion, so their commitment to the location is clear.
Studio 8 at Fox Studios in West LA – YouTube, Scott Records
Considering the value of the real estate, if the owners decided to remove the studios and just sell or lease it as residential/condo/highrise land there’s no doubt net-net they’ll profit even without Disney’s pullout. That’ll make the deal more about Disney’s having to cut back expenses due to various famous flops than any knock on the studio’s value itself. The non-Disney Fox entities that still reside on the lot such as Fox Sports, Fox Network offices, and The Simpsons production offices have made no announcements about leaving.
A fixture on L.A.’s west side for as long as most can remember, the fact that Disney had many execs and offices there made for a happier, shorter commute for those employees compared to the longer trek to the Burbank HQ. But they will now be consolidated at the Disney and ABC properties in the valley.
Bob Iger via CNBC Television YouTube
As someone who grew up blocks from the studio and who did a lot of work there over the years, I’m happy that, so far at least, it will continue to produce entertainment. But I’m still amazed at how much of what Disney paid for a lot that never, ever seems to get attention or use by the Mouse.
What do you think about Disney abandoning the historic Fox Studios? Sound off in the comments below and let us know!
