Film Company Employees Evicted from Studio

A Strip District film studio may not be a movie-making facility for much longer.

The company that owns the 10-acre building says its tenant has stopped paying rent and owes the landlord about $2 million in back pay.

31st Street Business Park has evicted Mogul Mind Studios. The property owner says unless the studio starts paying up soon, the former warehouse could be razed or used for another purpose.

But Pittsburgh Film Office Director Dawn Keezer says the region’s film industry will continue to thrive even if the Strip District studio stops producing movies.

“We’ve done this for a long time in southwestern Pennsylvania. The Film Office has been keeping track since 1990, but we’ve been making films since 1914,” says Keezer, “and we’ve always been able to find a place where they can shoot.”

Mogul Mind has been in the space since 2008. In that time, the studio has helped produce several films, including “Unstoppable” and “Warrior,” two action movies to be released in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

Keezer says although the Mogul Mind Studio is conveniently close to downtown Pittsburgh, there are other options for indoor filming and production in the area. Keezer says several other companies have also contacted the property owner about continuing to run the Strip District building as a film studio.