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August 25, 2021

Jaigantic Studios team pitches arts community on New Haven plans

Photo | Liese Klein Actor Michael Jai White, front, speaks to the crowd Tuesday night in Shelton at an event by Jaigantic Studios.
By Liese Klein

With big-screen Hollywood flair, the team behind the proposed Jaigantic Studios movie complex in New Haven introduced themselves to the state’s arts community on Tuesday night. 

“We’re hoping to invigorate Connecticut’s community of creatives for our creators district,” Jaigantic Studios Chief Impact Officer Jackie Buster said. 

About a hundred people attended the gala party thrown by Jaigantic at the company’s home base and studio in Shelton. The event was held on one of their soundstages, already in use by Netflix and other content producers.

Some Hollywood touches: There was a step-and-repeat emblazoned with the Jaigantic logo, uniformed security checking bags and lots of glam and stiletto heels. 

Jackie Buster

“This particular event is to let folks within the creative realms of the state — whether they come from performing arts, or whether they come from digital media, animation — it’s to let them know who we are and what the opportunities are with Jaigantic Studios,” Buster said. 

The event also launched the company’s pre-apprenticeship program, which trains young people for jobs in content production with the aim of preparing them for well-paid union jobs. 

Behind the scenes, Jaigantic is moving forward with its plans for a massive studio complex on River Street in New Haven’s Fair Haven neighborhood. Dubbed the Creators District, the complex would feature 25 soundstages and an array of production facilities in 50,000 square feet in the now desolate area. 

“We’re very close to getting our land disposition agreement,” Buster said, adding that she expects a deal within a month or so. Jaigantic hopes to break ground at 46-56 River St. and 112 Chapel St. in the spring with the studio complex opening for business nine months later. 

Once the developers determine what lies beneath the industrial property, a site plan will be completed and submitted to the city. 

“We don’t know what’s under the ground, what the ground will support,” Buster said. 

The potential of the Creators District project was on display in a video screened for the gala crowd featuring young people and uplifting music with the chorus of “rise up.”

The Jaigantic team also spoke of the potential of virtual production using giant, 360-degree LED screens. Improved technology allows for any location to be simulated realistically on any soundstage in the world. 

Michael Jai White and Donovan DeBoer of Jaigantic Studios.

“It’s a game-changer in a lot of ways,”  Jaigantic CEO Donovan DeBoer said. “It’s like having a holodeck,” he added, referring to the virtual environments featured on “Star Trek.”

For Barbara Alexander of Arts in CT Corporation, a nonprofit based in Milford, Jaigantic's event was a hopeful sign for the state’s arts community. Her group connects artists with work in the schools and other employers. 

“We need it,” Alexander said of Jaigantic’s plans to train new arts professionals and create jobs. “We’re really excited about it.”

For actor Michael Jai White, who was raised in Bridgeport, the plans represent his hope to make a lasting impact on his home state and the entertainment industry. The actor also announced that he would soon be making a sequel to his action comedy “Black Dynamite” in the state. 

“That’s a dream — leave everything better than when you got there,” White said. I want to say how proud I am for coming back home and bringing you a new venture with Jaigantic.”

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