An update in the Norwich Bulletin out of Connecticut says that Utopia Studios may go ahead with their proposed Connecticut investment and another for the DR that was reported in DR1 daily news yesterday. Company chief executive Joseph Gentile had met with President-elect Leonel Fernandez to discuss building a movie studio and resort complex in the Dominican Republic. This would complement the company?s proposed headquarters in the US Northeast.
Gentile, who is at present in the Dominican Republic, said the Dominican investment is part of three major projects the company is projecting for the next couple of years. He told reporter Adam Bowles that the Dominican project would be smaller than the Connecticut one. The Norwich Bulletin explains that it would feature production facilities that Gentile hopes would rival Telemundo, which is positioning itself as the fastest-growing US Spanish-language television network. The reasoning behind this is that ?the Spanish market is the largest emerging market, along with Asia,? said Gentile to Bowles.
As proposed, the DR complex would include an upscale tourist resort, including a hotel and casino. This resort would cater to VIP guests in a Beverly Hills-like setting. The location in the DR has not been disclosed.
In Connecticut, Utopia Studios is proposing to build its headquarters and a US$900-million entertainment complex at the Norwich Hospital site. A third project would entail the construction of music studios and a satellite office in New York City to handle distribution of the family movies made in the Northeast and the Dominican Republic.
Gentile told Bowles he made the connection with President-elect Fernandez through friends at the United Nations.
As reported in the Connecticut newspaper, Gentile told government officials in the Dominican Republic that his project would benefit the nation. “The people are poor but the standard of living for the rich in this country is unequal to anything I’ve ever seen, to tell you the truth.?
President-elect Fernandez did not endorse Utopia’s proposal, but said he would welcome all international investors to the Dominican Republic’s movie industry, as originally reported in Hoy newspaper.
See http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/stories/20040702/localnews/761744.html