Cinelease Buys Two Quixote Divisions As It Scales Up Hollywood Studio Services

As it bulks up under new ownership, the Louis Dargenzio-run production services supplier Cinelease has acquired the Grip & Lighting and Pro Supplies division assets from services firm Quixote.

Quixote, part of the real estate giant Hudson Pacific (which leases Sunset Studios to Netflix), has been in a monthslong effort to reduce its footprint, cut its soundstage leases and hone its fleet business. An estimated 60 staffers at Quixote who worked on the Grip & Lighting and Pro Supplies units will be cut, a source tells The Hollywood Reporter.

In a memo to its clients, the studio supplier stated, “Going forward, Quixote will be focused on our market-leading Fleet business. Our Los Angeles and New York Fleet operations will continue to serve clients with the trailers, Star Waggons, motorhomes, trucks, vans and other transportation solutions the industry relies on for productions and events.”

The sale of the assets signals that Dargenzio, who started his career as a Teamster then had led Zio Studio Services during and through its sale to Quixote owner Hudson Pacific in 2021 for $222 million, is in expansion mode at a time when film and TV production in Los Angeles County is in flux.

While film and TV shoot days have been in decline for the past several years, there’s been recent optimism that an enhanced tax incentive from California and renewed focus from local officials to cut red tape will staunch production flight, to a degree. Quixote had been caught in the headwinds of that content spending pullback from studios and it has now reduced its footprint to just one soundstage in Southern California, leasing Griffith Park Studios, which has an ongoing tenant.

Dargenzio’s Burbank-based firm Zello had purchased Cinelease, founded in 1977, from the equipment rental firm Herc Rentals last August. The company has since bolted on rigging firm C&C Studio Services as well as barricade firm West Coast Fencing to build out its own services unit. The Quixote assets will be rebranded as Cinelease Pro Supplies.

“We see a significant opportunity to build Cinelease into a leading entertainment infrastructure platform,” stated Cinelease’s Dargenzio. “Our strategy is simple: invest in great people and complementary capabilities that make our customers’ jobs easier. Film and television will remain our foundation as we expand across live events, sports and large-scale projects. We will continue to invest in the capabilities that allow us to serve all of these markets at a greater scale.”

Mark Lamberton, who led Cinelease prior to its sale to Dargenzio last year and now serves as president of the firm, added: “Cinelease has spent nearly 50 years earning the trust of the people who bring productions and live events to life. The acquisition of these assets builds on that foundation, expanding what we can deliver for our customers and making it easier for them to access more of the equipment, services and infrastructure they need through one integrated platform.”