John Kalafatis' new production studio in Greece already fascinating Hollywood
by Ana Walia | Tue, 05 Oct 2021 20:12:01 GMT
Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, and the cast will start shooting for 'The Expendables 4' in Greece. Image Source: JoBlo

Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, will soon be home to actors Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham as they film the fourth edition of the 'Expendables' franchise. John Kalafatis, the CEO, and co-founder of York Studios and a Greek-American made the announcement at a conference called "Hollywood in Greece" in New York. 

The meeting was organized by the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce and ICC Hellas in partnership with the Greek National Center of Audiovisual Media and Communication, and John highlighted his ambitions to construct state-of-the-art sound stages and film studios on the outskirts of Thessaloniki.

The huge project, which is a joint effort between Millennium Media and Nu Boyana Studios, Bulgaria, was first revealed in 2019. Although the set is still being built, it has managed to lure Hollywood's A-listers to fly to Greece to film. 

Antonio Banderas and Kate Bosworth were among the world-famous actors who filmed in Thessaloniki in July for the star-studded thriller film "The Enforcer." The film is now under post-production and will be released in 2022.

As a habit of challenging himself, John Kalafatis, a successful construction entrepreneur, entered the industry in 2012 as a side business and launched York Studios with campuses in Queens and the Bronx. “We are going toward generating high-quality films,” Kalafatis stated. 

Soon after, he noticed that production companies, which encouraged him to consider taking a more active role in the film industry, were hiring his studios. John immediately got into co-producing and was one of the co-producers on ‘The Outpost,' a successful Afghanistan war film released in 2019. He is now working as a co-producer on Joe McClean's indie thriller "Viral," which stars Blair Underwood.

“While New York City is in strong demand for productions for all the right reasons, and York Studios is in place to suit these professional needs, Greece is a challenging undertaking right now with enormous potential,” John said of his next studio construction. 

Without the backing of the Greek government, particularly EKOME and its CEO Panos Kouanis, who is the driving force behind these financial incentives, I would not be able to develop and invest in Greece, particularly Northern Greece,” Kalafatis confessed.

The CEO of York Studios is certain that the team will be able to create a masterpiece with Millennium Media and Yariv Lerner, CEO of Nu Boyana Films in Sofia, Bulgaria. “I think this not only because of my Greek-American ancestry, but also because of the respective infrastructure, the quality of the people, the places, and the attractiveness to Hollywood,” Kalafatis stated.

Digital reproduction of the new film studios under construction in Thessaloniki. Image Source: Facebook/GreekReporter image

Some of the world's top producers, who love to shoot in Greece, have voiced their delight for the new studios, and a few of them have also enumerated the advantages of shooting there. The perks of shooting in Greece, according to Tanweer Group President Joseph Samaan, are sunshine, settings, climate, infinite monuments, and pleasant, accepting locals.

"Greece's offering to foreign producers extends much beyond the hefty cash rebate incentive of 40% on qualified costs that they used in the production of the Greek film Eftihia,” he added.

Alexander Potter, producer of the recently shot in Greece picture "Man of God," starring Mickey Rourke, said that Greece's cash rebate mechanism is one of the most reliable in terms of bank ability.

Megan Fox, Andy Garcia, Tony Jaa, and 50 Cent are among the latest cast members joining Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham in Greece to begin filming for their film. Scott Waugh, a stuntman-turned-director whose previous credits include Act of Valor and Need For Speed, will direct the new picture. Stallone looks to be taking a backseat on the creative front in this chapter, appearing solely as an actor and having no involvement in the production or scripting, as he did in the previous three films.

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