METROPOLITAN CHICAGO STUDIOS, the 22,000 sq. ft. of stage space and offices at 2500 W. Roosevelt Road, has officially closed. With industrial growth burgeoning to the west, owner Charles Mack plans to build as many as 450 houses on his eight acres of land. Demolition starts June 21.
Metropolitan started as a stage by accident, not design. Mack’s original business was used furniture stored in his immense warehouse. In 1985, when “The Untouchables” movie was looking for space, Mack cleared out a clear-span area and the studio was born. Since then, about one feature a year filmed there.
The stage was largely used as an alternative or secondary choice for producers when Chicago Studio City was booked. “Barber Shop II,” by the way, has settled into Studio City, despite the fact that several buyers are negotiating to buy the West Side complex, considered to be the biggest and finest between coasts. But none of the prospective buyers, unfortunately, will continue to use it as a movie facility.
THERE’S GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS for the Museum of Broadcast Communications. Good news: Gov. Blagojevich authorized the release of $1.9 million in state funding for the purchase of the Museum’s new home. Bad news: Founder/president Bruce DuMont needs $12 million to convert the four- story parking garage at Kinzie and State into a 50,000-sq. ft. museum and archive. It’s scheduled to open next year. Its current Cultural Center lease expires at the end of 2003.
“I’M LOVING IT” is McDonald’s new tag introduced Wednesday during the company’s worldwide marketing conference in Chicago. It replaces the “Smile” tag and breaks this fall as part of a two-year, integrated global marketing campaign.
Creator was Germany’s Haye & Partners, part of Omnicom’s DDB Worldwide chain. Locally, DDB Chicago has the bulk of McDonald’s business. The tagline competition was held among 14 McDonald’s agencies in 10 countries as McDonald’s said it wanted to exploit the creativity and talent among all its agencies.
