Ryan Reynolds investing in production studio in GTA
Posted March 28, 2023 11:15 am.
Last Updated March 28, 2023 2:04 pm.
Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds is prepared to invest in Ontario’s film and television industry.
In Monday’s legislature, Neil Lumsden, Ontario’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, mentioned that a “massive production studio is being built” with Reynolds behind the sizeable $1.5 billion investment in Markham, Ont.
“It’s being done by a gentleman who grew up in Canada and is a film industry star: Ryan Reynolds, [and] his company is building this. There are more than just a few people who have confidence in Ontario and what we’re doing,” Lumsden said.
Reynolds told Variety, who first reported on the story, that the opportunity to invest was “both mind-boggling and humbling.”
“Maximum Effort has grown in ways and directions that we’ve never imagined,” Reynolds said in a statement to Variety.
“To be launching a fund and building a 1.2 million-square-foot studio facility in Ontario is both mind-boggling and humbling. Regardless, I’m excited to expand our storytelling capabilities in new directions and to bring more production work to Ontario.”
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Construction is expected to begin shortly, but it’s unclear when the production facility will be completed and operational. CityNews has reached out to Reynolds’ representatives and Maximum Effort, a film production company and digital marketing agency founded by Reynolds, for comment.
This isn’t the first reported investment Reynolds has been connected to recently. In February, Reynolds reportedly partnered with a real estate development group from the Toronto area in a bid to buy the Ottawa Senators.
Reynolds teamed up with The Remington Group, based in Vaughan, to form a group poised to bid on the Senators and build a new downtown arena. Reynolds — who co-owns Welsh soccer club Wrexham, which plays in England’s fifth tier — publicly expressed interest in buying the Senators in the fall, though he acknowledged that he would need partners to do so. He has since been seen at a Senators game, where the crowd greeted him warmly.
The Canadian actor has maintained a partnership with Toronto’s SickKids, for which he dons an “ugly/not ugly holiday sweater” around Christmas to match donations to the children’s hospital.
With files from Sportsnet Staff
