WHERE HAVE ALL THE FEATURES GONE?

With all the worry about all the movie productions running away from California, we thought we’d find out where the movie makers are running. We searched out some of the newer studios around the country and Canada, which has been in heated pursuit of runaway dollars.

Among studios opened recently, planned or under construction:

Pacific Northwest Studios, Seattle: opened last year, a warehouse conversion with three sound stages. First client: Steven Spielberg, who rented the whole building for four months for “Harry and the Hendersons.” President/owner Joe Hickson says at least eight films will be shot there this summer, including two suspensers from Trans World Entertainment--”Seven Hours to Judgement” and “Hard Cover.” Studio investor: Pacific Northwest Bell.

Metropolitan Chicago Studios: Also opened in April, 1986, the 10.4-acre facility has hosted two features--Paramount’s “The Untouchables” and MGM’s “Poltergeist III: We’re Back,” currently in production. Has one sound stage, plans another in next 18 months. Owner: Metropolitan Chicago, an office equipment rental company, investing $4.7 million-plus.

Carolina Atlantic Studios, High Point, N.C.: 14-acre studio scheduled to open in August with four sound stages plus connected motel and commissary. Cost: $10 million, from local investors.

Disney/MGM Studios and Studio Tour, Orlando, Fla.: 134 acres, due for completion next summer with four sound stages. MGM’s licensing its movies for the public tour, not financing.

Universal Studios Florida, Orlando: Property’s cleared toward a mid-1988 opening, with public attractions in ’89. Four hundred acres that will include 100,000-plus square feet of studio. A joint venture of MCA and Cineplex Odeon.

Naples (Fla.) International Studios: Construction could start by October. Proposed: three stages.

Magder Entertainment of America, Yanceyville, N.C.: Not yet under construction, funded by Canadian banks, it will cover 275 acres, with 80,000 square feet of shooting space. Claims to have commitments from independent film companies.

Gomillion Studios South, Pickens, S.C.: Ted Gomillion, owner of Gomillion Sound in Los Angeles, is building a $15-million, 360-acre facility with five sound stages. A joint venture between Gomillion and U.S. Coal S.A., the Belgian subsidiary of U.S. Coal.

Coastal Studios, Walterboro, S.C.: Division of Kino Features Corp., NYC, opened last fall. A converted warehouse with five sound stages, one an old freezer room used for special effects. Cost to convert: $1.6 million, financed mostly by Kino Features, with assist from real estate development company. Claim to fame: longest space for tracking shots--302 feet.

FERCO Inc., North Bergen, N.J.: Film Equipment Rental Co. is opening a branch office in an old steel plant at an as-yet-undetermined date. Plans to convert the open-span building into a studio and is negotiating with film companies for long-term rentals. Purchase price: $1.2 million, with help of the N.J. Economic Authority. At least $500,000 more to be spent.

Cinetel Productions Studios, Knoxville and Nashville, Tenn.: opened in February, 1986, used mostly for TV production. Will shoot first feature in August, a horror film for the home video market. The $4.5-million studio has two sound stages and its own post-production facility.

Houston Studios, Houston: opened last summer, with one sound stage and plans for two more. Cost: $5 million, for new buildings and renovated furniture warehouse. Owner: local developer H. Milton Howe.

Hawaii is in the “very beginning of the planning stages” for a $10-million, 60-acre studio, says Georgette Deemer, manager of the film industry branch of the state’s Department of Planning and Economic Development. Projected: two sound stages. Has $3 million, waiting for Gov. John Waihee to sign a bill authorizing $7 million more.

CANADA

North Shore Studios, North Vancouver, B.C.: When completed, it will be the $22-million home of Steven Cannell’s Cannell Films of Canada, housing seven sound stages with accompanying production and post-production offices. Cannell, waiting for local construction permits, bought the land on the site of an old distillery.

British Columbia Film Centre, Burnaby: one of world’s largest effects stages (40,000 square feet), built on site of the Dominion Bridge Co., which provided structural steel for the Golden Gate Bridge. The $5-million conversion was financed by banks, pension funds and real estate developers.

Allarcom Studio, Edmonton: scheduled to open Dec. 1. One sound stage, carpentry workshops, dressing rooms, etc. Owned by Allarcom Ltd., an entertainment company, picking up most of the $7-million cost, Canadian government chipping in $1.1 million.

Cinevillage, Toronto: one stage available, two more planned at four-acre, $5 million facility. Opened Oct. 1, owned by Atlantis Films and PS Production Services, a film-equipment rental company.

Panavision Canada, Montreal: Five-acre complex just opening. Projected cost: $18-$20 million.