THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 9, 1994 TAG: 9408090370
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Atlantic Studios Corp., a portion of a group that brought a short-lived slice of Hollywood to Suffolk, is at it again.
Four years after the demise of Atlantic Film Studios, this newly named corporation and a small group of investors are preparing to sign papers this week to buy the studio back.
Ethan E. Marten, one of four Marten brothers associated with the project, said Monday that the agreement is a lease with an option to buy. Just how much the Marten group is willing to pay for the Suffolk studio is being kept quiet. A real estate company marketed the 2.1-acre property for $1.57 million.
Carl Akers, vice president of finance for the new company, said the firm plans to begin selling stock in the next three to five years, hopefully to local investors. He said the firm could hire up to 1,000 local employees, depending on the film schedule.
And if the firm succeeds in bringing a video distribution company from New York City, that number could go up.
``We think it has a lot to offer,'' said Ethan Marten, ``and we see great things that can happen there.''
If the deal goes through, the Martens and their investor group could bring movie making back to Suffolk, a city without even a movie theater. Most of all, it would restore Virginia's only sound stage.
The 27,500-square-foot building housing the 10,000-square-foot sound stage has sat dormant for about four years. After opening in 1988, the studio peaked with the filming of Charlie Sheen in ``Navy SEALs'' and a rehearsal of the rock group The Spin Doctors.
Richard Marten, vice president of operations for Atlantic Studios Corp., and his father were forced to declare bankruptcy in 1991 after the collapse of their plans to build a luxury community around the 10,000-square-foot sound stage, located off of Route 10 near the Nansemond River in Suffolk.
Ethan Martin said Monday that Atlantic Film Studios never went bankrupt but ``dissolved'' when land prices plummeted in the late 1980s and investors lost money.
Despite the studio's demise, the Marten brothers have kept on going. Atlantic Studios Corp. is preparing to release a UFO docu-drama called ``Beyond This Earth,'' part of a 20 film series called ``Mysterious Realities.''
The firm also has 17 films they want to produce, Ethan Marten said. ILLUSTRATION: File photo
Richard Marten, left, and father Albert had to call it quits on the
studio in 1991. But Richard and his three brothers kept going in the
years since. This week, a group of investors will sign lease
papers.
by CNB