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By Air Hollywood May 5, 2001 LOS ANGELES, CA – Located in the San Fernando Valley, Air Hollywood has opened its doors as the first studio entirely dedicated to aviation-themed production services. The brainchild of producer and entrepreneur, Talaat Captan, Air Hollywood’s highly specialized offering is a risk in a niche market. “I was producing a movie called Ground Control at LAX that starred Kiefer Sutherland. During the filming, I lost time and money in dealing with the red tape. I thought to myself, there has to be an easier way,” said Captan. That ‘easier way’ is a state-of-the-art 30,000 sq. ft. studio with adjacent production office space. Air Hollywood’s proprietary soundstage contains such unique props as a modern 200-foot […]

By Nicole Sperling October 19, 2001 Los Angeles based Ray-Art Studios has expanded its production facilities in a joint venture with Air Hollywood, an aviation-themed set based in San Fernando. Founded in January by producer Talaat Captan, Air Hollywood will operate as Ray-Art’s third lot, to be managed by Ray-Art co-chairman Bob Papazian and Jim Hirsch. The 28,000 square-foot facility includes an airport terminal with make-believe security, gate, ticket and concourse areas, wide-bodied and narrow-bodied jets and helicopters. With filming in airports and on planes nearly impossible since the Sept. 11 attacks, Air Hollywood is seen as an important asset for filmmakers in the near future. “ We built Air Hollywood to meet the needs of filmmakers to shoot airport […]

By Laurie Pike June 1, 2002 Original Story Imagine a different sort of L.A. Let’s say the weather wasn’t perfect. Pretend the light wasn’t all that magical. Picture a town without a film industry paving an infrastructure of unparalleled shooting accessibility. L.A. would still be a photographer’s paradise for its jaw-dropping variety of exotic locations in close proximity to each other. We’re not talking the obvious sunset beaches of Herb Ritts’s Armani campaigns and the desolate freeways of Alexei Hay’s Gucci ads. We’re talking Star Trek-like moonscapes, Italianate mansions and snowcapped mountains all within a few hours from each other. It goes without saying that you can find Western ranches, modernist houses and palm trees galore out here. But who […]

By Air Hollywood June 17, 2002 LOS ANGELES, CA – Amid fears of flying and security concerns at airports worldwide, filmmakers choose Air Hollywood to reach their destinations. What began sluggishly as the world’s largest dedicated aviation-themed studio, has suddenly emerged as the talk of the town as Hollywood productions flock to the airline that hails itself ‘the safest in the world.’ “I would be lying if business was not below expectations but since the tragic events of September 11th, there has been a dramatic increase in production shoots at our studio. Billings have peaked at $10,000 a day and estimated profits are expected to reach half a million dollars for the first year,“ said Talaat Captan, President of Air […]

December 2002 Talaat Captan is hardly a household name but he is making his way through the Hollywood scene. At one time he wanted to be a flight attendant. He still fondly remembers his interview for the position of “steward” with Pan American World Airways in New York in the seventies. He still vividly remembers the exhilaration of the moment when he was invited in the training class in Miami, FL. He also remembers clearly the disappointment when he was told that his starting salary would $11,000/year – hardly enough for a young flamboyant man to live on. He politely declined and in due course made his small fortune as a Hollywood film producer. But he never lost his weakness […]

By Gemma Cacho April 10, 2003 Did you know the City of San Fernando has its own airport which has served such famous celebrities as Catherine Zeta-Jones, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Ben Affleck, and Vin Diesel just to name a few. This business, which has been operating for a little over a year, has served as the premier filming set for airplane and airport related scenes but is actually not a functioning airport. The Air Hollywood filming sets were the conception of Talaat Captan, a film producer who has produced 12 films, including the film Ground Control. “I wanted to make a movie about airplanes in an airport and I had such a hard time trying to film at an […]

By Air Hollywood April 11, 2003 LOS ANGELES – MGM will use Air Hollywood’s aviation-themed studio for its production of ‘Soul Plane,’ the urban comedy headlined by rappers Snoop Dogg and Method Man. An estimated 90% of the film will take place aboard Air Hollywood’s airplane mock-ups and airport standing sets. The company’s ability to attract “Soul Plane” marks a significant boost in Air Hollywood’s brand recognition among the major Hollywood studios. “This is a major account because so much of the filming will be taking place on our lot. MGM’s decision to use Air Hollywood terminals, wide-body airplane mock-up and associated props underscores the authenticity of our assets as a destination of choice for aviation-related productions,” said Captan, President […]

December 2003 Cinecitta Studios in Rome, Italy, and Air Hollywood in Los Angeles are partnering to become Europe’s largest aviation-themed facility. Air Hollywood is the well-known provider of aviation standing sets and prop rentals to the motion-picture industry. Cinecitta, in its effort to attract more national and international productions to its historic studio site in Rome, is investing in a series of permanents sets such as Ancient Rome, New York streets, Dutch village, Tuscan village, submarine, and others, including aviation-themed sets. The new Aviation sets will include: airport terminal concourse (including check-in, security, customs), state-of-the-art airplane mock-ups (wide-body 777/747, narrow-body 727/737/DC-9), and executive business jet (glass cockpit and analog cockpit). Services to be provided will include prop rentals, set design, […]

By Air Hollywood July 25, 2003 LOS ANGELES, CA – Air Hollywood, a San Fernando based aviation-themed production services firm, has acquired the assets of chief rival, Airline Film and Television Promotions (AFTP) which had been in business for over thirty years. Although AFTP is located just a stone’s throw away, the strategic acquisition allows Air Hollywood to consolidate itself and become the premier provider of aviation-specific film production services. The deal was viewed as an opportunity to acquire the sole competitor assets available in Los Angeles as well as expand its product offering to create new revenue streams. “This is a niche market and still being created by those who are proactive and willing to make strategic acquisitions when […]

By Carl DiOrio September 4, 2003 Original Story HOLLYWOOD — Facilities and props company Air Hollywood has acquired rival Airline Film and Television Promotions for a seven-figure sum. Air Hollywood will consolidate assets of both companies to become “the largest provider of airport and airline sets and aviation-themed props,” officials said. The transaction was brokered by Coldwell Banker of Beverly Hills and AFTP prexy Alf Jacobsen. MGM’s Snoop Dogg laffer “Soul Plane” is currently filming at Air Hollywood in San Fernando. With the AFTP acquisition, Air Hollywood boasts four soundstages with a total 60,000 square feet. Some rare stock and archive film footage was also acquired in the transaction. “The stock film library is an unmined treasure,” Air Hollywood founder […]