Friday, November 9, 2007

Tarnished by past, Babelsberg looks to brighter future

The Wachowski Brothers are busy finishing up the final touches to Speed Racer after shooting the movie in front of green screens at Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam. This legendary studio flourished during the early part of the 20th Century thanks to a vibrant film production and stars like Marlene Dietrich.

It didn't take long to rocket Dietrich to international stardom, and she soon left for Hollywood. But the Potsdam studio she left behind soon lost its glitter. When Adolf Hitler came on the scene, Babelsberg devolved into his personal propaganda machine. Under communist East Germany, the studio had flashes of brilliance, but when the Berlin Wall fell and the studio came under private ownership, the losses mounted.

But in less than a year, Studio Babelsberg has made a comeback worthy of its star-studded past. With new management - and generous government subsidies that cover up to 20 percent of a filmmaker's costs - the studio is confidently looking ahead as it celebrates its 95th anniversary.

By the end of December, the studio will have hosted 11 films, including two big-budget Hollywood films shot simultaneously: Tom Cruise's Valkyrie, the World War II biopic of Count Claus von Stauffenberg's 1944 attempt to assassinate Hitler, and the Wachowski brothers' star-packed flick Speed Racer. (...continue article)

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