CHICAGO – The newest movie technology could make Chicago the leader in the film and production industry.

An Asian businesswoman is banking on Chicago to become the next Hollywood.

‘I love movies’

The Cutting Edge:

You can see a scene from a seaside harbor atop a rocky cliff, or an ancient village, or an icy planet.

They’re all in Chicago on screens at CineCity Studios, quickly becoming the place to make movies.

Josephine Lee Gothong introduced the virtual production screens to the U.S. market.

“I love movies,” she said.

Gothong brought the next generation of virtual production to Lawndale, the only facility in the country for LED Global RGB Technologies. Massive high-tech screen walls in the facility provide life-like sets for film productions.

‘The New LA’

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Gothong is the ultimate influencer.

She’s Chinese and Filipino, and she grew up speaking several dialects of Chinese, Tagalog, and Spanish.

She said this technology will replace current green screens and expand the imagination of directors.

Filmmakers are already calling Chicago, the “New LA.”

The new technology means you can be in familiar Chicago, shooting scenes or on a medieval battlefield with fire. At CineCity they say you can be anywhere.

Vincent Shade, director of media and cinematic development at CineCity Studios said the technology has been used in familiar productions. 

“People saw ‘The Mandalorian’ and went crazy for this technology, because they’re like, ‘Wow, this is an epic sci fi landscape we can create,’” Shade said.

Gothong invests in local creators, like Zatori Films. The Asian American-owned independent production company can pick a team of directors, actors, and crew, all it takes to make a movie, right at CineCity.

Gothong said the virtual production screens make movie making more economical.

“They will have everything in the palm of their hands. Everything that they want to do in one day, that they could normally do in a week can be done in a short period of time,” she said.

Shade said the industry already is planning more work in Chicago.

“The future is very good for the film production industry in Chicago,” he said. “I think we are about to experience a huge boom.”