Deluxe: In Living Color

On the digital side, Drabinsky says: “Digital asset management — including the ability to store, access and retrieve assets — is going to be a big business in the future, and we are looking at that in a serious way right now. Dealing with digital cinematography and that workflow is also something that we are looking at.”

Way back in the distant past, before the Hollywood sign came into being, just after filmmakers started making their historic exodus from the East Coast to Los Angeles, William Fox spotted a 13-acre lot south of Sunset Boulevard, spreading across both sides of Western Avenue.

It was there that he established a new home for his film laboratory, and it is there that it has remained since its 1919 creation.

Today, it is no longer part of Fox. But the renamed Deluxe Entertainment Services Group is still very much part of Hollywood history — and its present, as Deluxe has expanded into a global operation and leading provider of film and digital services in production, postproduction, distribution and archiving.

On Monday, Deluxe will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a modern new building and extension to the original Hollywood complex, which will house three screening theaters as well as additional film and administrative services.

The location where the lab came into being now holds some of the latest technical advancements, including a robotic arm that handles film in part of the lab process that was once manual. The new building will be named in memory of Burton “Bud” Stone, the former president of Deluxe who died last year.

“Bud has always been and continues to be a major part of the culture,” says Cyril Drabinsky, Deluxe’s president and CEO, noting that the American Society of Cinematographers dedicated its 2009 Heritage Award to him.

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