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Greystones Media Campus plan. EI Architects.
Who’s Sora Now?
Hackman Capital vaguely 'renewing its focus' on Greystones Media Campus
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Greystones Media Campus plan. EI Architects.
e’ve been knocking on Hackman Capital Partners’ door for almost a year now, and even with their Irish press agent, Hanley PR, on the case, 
we haven’t been able to get one word from the LA-based investors on the much-delayed Greystones Media Campus.
And it’s not like Hackman Capital don’t have the money. They boasted in October 2022 of having raised $1.6b of investment money for the production market, and Greystones Media Campus was part of that boast, its planned 14 stages about to make it Ireland’s biggest TV and film studio. The build would employ 450 people, and the studios would contribute to the creation of 1,500 jobs.
First announced back in July 2020, this two-phased development is a joint venture for Hackman Capital with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), Ireland’s sovereign development fund, and Capwell, a Sisk family investment vehicle.
This week though, they finally broke their silence on the delay, stating that the company was ‘renewing its focus’ on the project, pointing to the recent actors and writers strikes in LA having put all film production plans on hold.
Including, no doubt, our little corner. Local TD Jennifer Whitmore brought up the delay on the Greystones Media Campus in the Dáil this week, and she was told that an update in writing from the Minister Of Finance would be forthcoming.
2 comments
As somebody who has worked in television and film production for over 30 years and considers themselves up on the latest tech advances in media and particularly what is happening with generative Artificial Intelligence, I am absolutely sure that this next generation of AI driven production and post-production is already here inner industry and is working away ferociously in the background to minimise labour/production costs, deliver more generic and globally consumable media that in turn will produce higher subscription rates and advertising revenue. We can actually now not only put words in the mouths of politicians and ‘influencers’ artificially, but we can bring back the dead. We can easily reproduce Orson Welles image on screen or re record dialogue using Richard Burtons voice. I think that this is simply creativity regenerating and refining. I teach at various colleges and I advise students to learn everything they can about genAI and master it. Learn how to write the best prompts, learn how to refine the output and ride that beast because if not, they will get trampled underfoot. Do not doubt that it will replace our creatives and others in the work force, because unless we learn how to use it, it will. It is naive to think otherwise. We tend not to realise exactly how much of our media consumption, be it advertissments, social media posts, political speeches, animated film etc etc is actually produced by genAI. The recently passed US bill to try and control it is simply a finger in the dyke. I doubt very much that less well intentioned actors will be so eager to prevent its flood into our homes and onto our devices. I picture North Korean despots rubbing their chubby hands together in glee at the thought of how they can infiltrate and corrupt the evil West with cleverly planted thoughts and imagery . They will soon move away from flooding Western markets with cheap fentanyl and imitation Hermes handbags. I do wonder how this latest layer on society is going to pan out beyond Netflix and Instagram. Not well for many of us I fear. Now.. back to the children in need.
Great article GG re “mysterious” Greystones Media Park. – a mirage or for real? Taxpayer owned land backed by IDA/WCC/Irish Strategic Investment Fund/Sisk Family/Hackman Capital. Such promise for our town 1,000 plus sustainable jobs, €300 million investment. Money in the bank for it. High demand for studio space in Wicklow. Can this become a real local election issue please rather than which hopeful councillor can find more potholes than their counterparts and have their photos published looking into them!!