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Cinelease, the film equipment rental house, announced Tuesday that it is acquiring grip and lighting equipment from Quixote, which continues to shrink its footprint amid a production slump.
Quixote announced in April
that it was winding down its soundstage business, and is now getting out of the ancillary equipment business as well. The latest news means about 60 Quixote employees will be laid off, mostly in Los Angeles.
Cinelease, meanwhile, is looking to expand into sports and live events, as it grows beyond its base of servicing film and TV productions. The company is also buying up Quixote’s production supply assets, which will now go by the name Cinelease Pro Supplies, and has also purchased its portable restrooms and communications gear.
“We see a significant opportunity to build Cinelease into a leading entertainment infrastructure platform,” said Louis Dargenzio, the company’s chairman, in a statement. “Our strategy is simple: invest in great people and complementary capabilities that make our customers’ jobs easier. Film and television will remain our foundation as we expand across live events, sports and large-scale projects. We will continue to invest in the capabilities that allow us to serve all of these markets at a greater scale.”
Hudson Pacific Properties bought Quixote Studios for $360 million in 2022 — at the absolute peak of domestic film and TV production — and has since had to write off the entire investment. The company laid off 70 people earlier this year and got out of the soundstage business. It continues to operate one facility in Atwater Village, near Griffith Park, which remains under lease.
Quixote also closed production services businesses in Atlanta, New Orleans, and Albuquerque, as it focused on its remaining services businesses in L.A. and New York. As the restructuring continues, Quixote is now focused on its transportation business, which includes Star Waggons trailers.
Cinelease has also recently gotten into the rigging business with C&C Studio Services, now known as Cinelease Rigging; and has acquired barricades and fencing from West Coast Fencing.
In the statement, Dargenzio said the firm will continue to partner with Quixote.
“Quixote will continue to be a market leader in transportation, including its iconic Star Waggons brand,” he said. “We have tremendous respect for the people behind this business and what they’ve built.”
