Anita Verma-Lallian, founder of Camelback Productions, doesn’t see the future of film production in Los Angeles. Instead, in her vision, it is on a complex one hour’s drive west of Phoenix, complete with backlots, a Universal Studios-inspired theme park — and a data center.
\n\nSuch is the AI-powered future Verma-Lallian hopes to achieve with a sprawling 1,400-acre complex off the I-10 interstate in Arizona, the state she calls home and where she believes more productions should be based. The compound will also include a suite of hotels and resorts, a collection of stores, residential space, and an AI and tech center — all powered by the data center in what the company says is the largest film and entertainment complex in the U.S.
\n\nThe project has estimated price tag of between $6 billion and $12 billion, with funding derived in phases from a mix of private equity investors, construction loans and investment from Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors approved the zoning of 1,000 acres of the project Wednesday, and Verma-Lallian hopes to break ground on the project within the next year and roll it out in phases over the next decade.
\n\nThe “passion project,”…
Original source: https://variety.com/