Talon Entertainment to Perform Multi-Million-Dollar Renovation on Dallas’ South Side Studios

DALLAS (August 8, 2023) – Talon Entertainment Finance has unveiled renovation plans for South Side Studios in Dallas, TX after their recent acquisition of the property. Once reopened, the renovation will include a thorough multi-million-dollar upgrade to the existing buildings with the addition of LED wall technology, making it the preeminent soundstage facility in all of North Texas. This overhaul is led by South Side Studios head and co-founder of Talon, Steven Demmler, who is putting a huge investment into Dallas and the broader Texas entertainment industry as he predicts it to be a future hub of production.

Their extensive renovation plan includes the construction of five cutting-edge soundstages on the existing property, each ranging in size with dimensions of approximately 25,000, 20,000, 15,000, 15,000, and 8,000 square feet respectively. The studio will house a state-of-the-art post-production facility, production offices, a mill, a prop house, camera packages, and G&E packages. It will also feature two new virtual production studios including a massive 270-degree wall and ceiling setup with complete tracking and robotic camera equipment.

"Developing a large-scale soundstage is vital for any community to be truly competitive in the entertainment industry. It’s a credit to the film potential in Dallas that Talon recognized this and was willing to quickly commit to support this project," said Tony Armer, Commissioner for the Dallas Film and Creative Industries Office. "This upgrade to South Side Studios positions Dallas to be the premiere filming destination in the state of Texas.”

To further enhance this cutting-edge upgrade, South Side Studios will be eligible for an extra 2.5% incentive bump from the newly refreshed and comprehensive state incentive of $200 million put into place by Texas lawmakers this year, making it one of the most economical locations to house productions in the entire state. Dallas’ film commissioner Tony Armer was instrumental in bringing this huge investment to his city and as a result, The Talon Entertainment Finance team is also excited to be able to offer extremely economical debt from their film fund to all productions that shoot in-house in addition to the potential of discussing equity for the right projects.

South Side Studios is known for being the only large-scale Film & TV production facility & studio located in the heart of Dallas. Recently, the facilities have been used to film binge-watching favorites like the CW’s “The Chosen,” “Dallas,” and five seasons of “Queen of the South,” to name a few. South Side Studios is located in south Dallas, less than 2 miles from downtown. Portions of the studio will be open during renovations with a full opening by Cannes 2024 next May.

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Media Contacts:

Andrea Coker, Director of Communications
214.809.6073
andrea.coker@visitdallas.com

Chelsey Norris, Communications Manager
469.260.6781
Chelsey.Norris@VisitDallas.com

About the Dallas Film & Creative Industries Office
The Dallas Film & Creative Industries Office (DFCIO) serves as the city’s official film commission, music office and creative industries resource. A division of Visit Dallas, the office is responsible for marketing and promoting Dallas as a hub for creators and the creative industries, as well as attracting business and providing valuable insight regarding locations and venues; local workforce; and equipment and services for industries producing motion pictures, television, commercials, music videos, documentaries, music, gaming and other creative industries. For more information, visit https://dallascreates.org/.

About Talon Entertainment
Talon Entertainment provides bespoke equity and debt capital across the entire spectrum of the entertainment industry. From film equity and debt to LED Volumes and top-to-bottom construction of virtual production studios, Talon Entertainment Finance strives to fund your imagination.

About Steven Demmler
Talon Entertain Finance co-founder and South Side Studio Head Steven Demmler has spent more than a decade working in finance, facilitating deals in a variety of asset classes for globally distributed investors. Steven has led the investment of millions into virtual production studios, traditional production companies, in addition to film debt and equity. Before taking on South Side Studios where he will strive to bring Hollywood to Texas, Steven has been an EP, Co-executive producer, or production executive on films such as BOOKWORM starring Elijah Wood, SPIDER & JESSIE starring McKenna Grace, and MACK & RITA starring Diane Keaton.