Film Companies Lease Nearly 90,000 SF

LOS ANGELES-New Line Cinema, the studio behind “Lord of the Rings” and other hit films, has signed a lease for 66,000 sf of office space at the Pacific Theatres building in one of two film company leases negotiated by Studley. In the other, Overture Films has inked a 22,642-sf sublease in Beverly Hills.

New Line has been in the Pacific Theatres building at 16 N. Robertson Blvd. for about 10 years and, “It was imperative to their business that they maintain this ideal Los Angeles address,” according to Mark Sullivan, EVP and Southern California regional manager for Studley. Sullivan, assisted by senior managing director L. Craig Lemle in Studley’s New York office, represented New Line.

New Line, a Time Warner subsidiary with operations on both coasts, had occupied the ground floor, floors two through six, and most of floor seven in the building. Under the new, 10-year restructured deal, New Line will expand its occupancy by nearly 8,000 sf, allowing it to occupy the balance of the seventh floor and expand to the ninth floor.

The deal also includes a substantial allowance for renovation of New Line’s existing premises, as well as plans to upgrade the main building lobby and other common areas of the project. Terms of the lease were not disclosed, but industry sources peg its value at $30 million.

The nine-story Pacific Theatres building measures 80,000 sf of office space, plus about 10,000 sf of ground-floor retail space, with a separate four-story, 50,000-sf building next door. The address is located directly across from celebrity-hangout, power-lunch spot the Ivy, and is close to Hollywood eatery Chaya Brasserie, major studios and talent agencies.

In the $3.8-million Overture Films lease, Overture was represented by Studley’s Paul Stockwell, senior managing director, and Will Adams, corporate managing director. Overture, a newly formed movie-production subsidiary of Starz Media, signed for four and a half years at the Beverly Mercedes Place, 9242 Beverly Blvd., which will serve as the film company’s headquarters.

Stockwell comments that, “This assignment was a challenge in the Beverly Hills market, where vacancy rates for high-quality buildings are at less than 5%.” He describes Overture’s offices as “excellent built-out sublease space.”

Adams points out that the rental rate is “significantly below the rental rates for comparable direct space in the area,” and he adds that the deal enabled Overture Films to move in very quickly. Overture is subleasing the space from Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann, a talent agency that was recently absorbed by International Creative Management and moved into ICM’s new offices in Century City.

ICM was represented by Eric Olofson of Cushman & Wakefield. The building is owned by Tishman Speyer Properties.