Photo credits: Sergio Clavijo
From past to present: Mels Studio Panavision
21.04.08
Montreal filmmaker, cinematographer, philanthropist, and entrepreneur, Mel Hoppenheim dreamed of developing a film production complex in his hometown that could rival Hollywood studios.
In 1988, he bought the Expo Théâtre pavilion, which was built twenty years earlier in the Cité du Havre, a district of the Ville-Marie Borough. It had marked the main gateway to Expo 67 but had been abandoned since then. Because the Expo-Théâtre specialized in shows and projections, it had a 2,000-seat auditorium. Once the sale was completed, he called Desmarais, Pilon, Cousineau, Yaghjian Architects to do the renovation of the project. Roger and Brian Rogers, who had been involved in the organization of Expo 67, transformed the building and its surrounding complex into the most modern production studio in the Canadian film and television industry.
Mels Studios Panavision continued to expand with GKC Architects, which allowed it to host the largest local and international productions: from commercials for Saint-Hubert to mega-productions like X-Men.
NEUF is happy to have contributed to realizing the dream of this visionary man, and to making Montreal a world-renowned film and television production hub in the process.
In 1988, he bought the Expo Théâtre pavilion, which was built twenty years earlier in the Cité du Havre, a district of the Ville-Marie Borough. It had marked the main gateway to Expo 67 but had been abandoned since then. Because the Expo-Théâtre specialized in shows and projections, it had a 2,000-seat auditorium. Once the sale was completed, he called Desmarais, Pilon, Cousineau, Yaghjian Architects to do the renovation of the project. Roger and Brian Rogers, who had been involved in the organization of Expo 67, transformed the building and its surrounding complex into the most modern production studio in the Canadian film and television industry.
Mels Studios Panavision continued to expand with GKC Architects, which allowed it to host the largest local and international productions: from commercials for Saint-Hubert to mega-productions like X-Men.
NEUF is happy to have contributed to realizing the dream of this visionary man, and to making Montreal a world-renowned film and television production hub in the process.
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