Big Apple vs Hollywood

New York may have been destroyed by asteroids, aliens and a bloody great lizard in recent film history, but at last it is to receive some good fortune following a proposal to build a $150 million, 15-acre film and television studio in the Brooklyn area of the city. This would mean that the former Brooklyn Navy Yard would become one of the largest film-making establishments outside of Hollywood. Although many films are shot in New York, most are then transferred to the opposite coast for post-production. The studio, which is being part-financed by Miramax, would employ between two and three thousand people. The film industry is one of New York's fastest-growing job markets, employing more than 78,000 people. The plan was uncovered by Mayor Rudolph Guiliani, who was joined at the press conference by fellow New Yorker Robert De Niro. The Oscar-winning actor said that the project was "personally very exciting".