HARTFORD -- Governor M. Jodi Rell and Speaker of the House Jim Amann today announced that Blue Sky Studios, Inc., a leading digital animation production company and wholly owned subsidiary of Fox Filmed Entertainment, plans to move from White Plains, N.Y., to Greenwich. The move brings 300 new jobs to the state and further advances Connecticut’s reputation in the entertainment industry.

Blue Sky has received worldwide acclaim for its feature animation productions. The company plans to occupy about 105,000 square feet in the Greenwich American Center, where it will be able to locate all of its operations on a single floor. Blue Sky occupies several different floors in its current location.

The large office space combined with recently passed production tax credits and DECD incentives made Connecticut the most attractive location for the studio. Under the new program, production companies are eligible for tax credits of up to 30 percent on production expenses or costs incurred within the state.

“Bringing a company of Blue Sky’s caliber to Connecticut is not only an economic coup but triumphant proof that efforts to strengthen our position as a leading venue for film, digital and television production are paying real dividends,” said Governor Rell. “Shaping our economy for success in the 21st century and increasing the number of jobs in Connecticut have always been top goals for my Administration. I thank the Blue Sky management team for making the wise decision to invest in our great state, and I thank Speaker Amann and the Legislature for their work in establishing these new incentives for investment.”

“The decision of Blue Sky Studios to move to Connecticut is a wonderful development as we continue to build the media industry in the state,” said Speaker Amann. “The talk in the industry is that Connecticut is truly becoming ‘Hollywood East’ and we are seeing a growing interest in infrastructure investment here. With our incentives, creative talent and proximity to New York City, we have the potential to add billions of dollars to Connecticut's economy.”

According to Brian Keane, Blue Sky COO / CFO, the opportunity to re-establish the studio and crew of approximately 300 employees on one contiguous floor, combined with what is one of the most competitive tax programs in the country, made Connecticut the logical choice for Blue Sky Studios. Over the course of eight years, Blue Sky has expanded from one floor in its White Plains location to what is now three floors scattered throughout the building.

“We very much look forward to coming to Connecticut,” Keane said. “The state has taken the lead to create the necessary economic environment to make itself attractive to businesses like ours. Blue Sky expects to relocate all of its employees late in calendar 2008 after renovations have been completed.”

ABOUT BLUE SKY STUDIOS
Blue Sky Studios has earned worldwide acclaim as one of the industry’s premier digital animation facilities. In 1998, Blue Sky won an Oscar for its short film Bunny which was the first film to use an advanced ambient lighting technology known as radiosity. Blue Sky’s debut feature animation effort was Ice Age, released in 2002. Blue Sky’s Robots followed in 2005, becoming another hit. Next came Ice Age: The Meltdown, another smash hit for the company.

Next up is Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! starring Jim Carrey and Steve Carell, due for release in March.

Currently Blue Sky is in production on a third Ice Age film, due for release July 1, 2009. The film will be fully produced in digital 3D and will be the latest installment to the hit Ice Age franchise, which has grossed more than $1.2 billion around the world. Ice Age 3 will be directed by Oscar-nominated Carlos Saldanha, who directed Ice Age: The Meltdown and co-directed Ice Age. Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah and Denis Leary are back onboard to voice the characters they made famous in the first two films.

ABOUT FOX FILMED ENTERTAINMENT
One of the world’s largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, Fox Filmed Entertainment produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of FFE: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox Atomic, and Twentieth Century Fox Animation.