NORTH BAY - Less than two years after going public with plans to open the region's largest film studio, North Star Studios has suspended operations to restructure amid financial struggles and has informed its full-time staff of 44 — temporarily laid off since November 2023 — they are officially permanently laid off and the company benefits program has ceased.
Several of the former employees of North Star Studios claim they have not received their termination pay and some vacation pay and have had difficulties in receiving firm dates for those disbursements from executives Mitch Ouimette and Paul Walsh of North Star Studios and their associated film production company Theia Productions. The companies were focused mostly on producing low-budget short documentary films, including what one employee categorized as a disastrous and financially draining series of shoots in Iceland.
BayToday obtained copies of emails and letters sent and signed by Ouimette and Walsh covering the period from November 2023 to early February. They notified staff, among other things, that they would not be paid on time but would be paid within the week, followed by an email the next week extending that period of non-payment, then a mass email layoff, followed by a paper copy of the final termination letter. On multiple occasions, the North Star Studios staff was notified by email at the end of the day on a payday that they would not be paid for their work.
Blaming "hiccups" North Star Studios had experienced, such as a delay moving into the former Epiroc building at 125 Ferris Dr., and strikes by the Writers’ Guild and Screen Actors’ Guild, Ouimette and Walsh offered to give references to their terminated staff. "Please understand that we have not arrived at this decision lightly. Together, we've shared in a wonderful experience and we value each and every one of you. We recognize and sympathize with the impact that this will have on you."
From the Feb. 12 termination letter:
"In November 2023, to reduce the crippling financial demands on the company, we moved most staff into temporary layoff. We then undertook to restructure the organization, with greater focus on production, post-production, and distribution, and less of a focus on studio operations.
"As we near the end of this restructuring process, it has become very clear that to help ensure the growth and success of our other businesses, further changes will need to be made to our organization, We have, therefore, decided to suspend all studio operations.
"We are currently finalizing North Star Studios’ exit from the 125 Ferris Drive location. This includes moving or liquidating props, wardrobe, office equipment etc, from the facility and, in the coming weeks, ending all operations at the building, We will, of course, continue to have a presence there while we complete our exit with our property manager.
"So, what does this mean for all of you? To be candid and transparent with you, it means that the temporary layoff which began in November has now become a permanent layoff and includes the suspension of the health benefit plan as well. Unfortunately, and regrettably, this measure means that many staff former members will not be returning as we further re-focus and solidify our efforts."
The letter from Ouimette and Walsh notes the company's uncertain status "has been a challenging time for all of us. We both remain optimistic, and we continue working hard toward building a strong group of companies. Winding down North Star Studios, although a difficult decision, is a necessary one." The studio and storage spaces at the leased Ferris Drive building have been largely emptied.
Ouimette agreed to an interview on March 1, just as this piece was about to be published. In a recorded conversation he acknowledged there are wages owed to the former staff of 44 full-time employees of North Star Studios but disputes the missing vacation pay component.
"The last two paycheques that our staff received were on borrowed money. I went and borrowed $250,000 personally that I have to pay back to pay the staff," Ouimette said.
"Legally speaking, there is one week of termination pay, that's due to any employee that worked for a company for less than one year. In order to cover that one week of termination pay, I have to go borrow more money ... There is a one-week termination pay due to our staff that we have every intention of honouring."
On the vacation pay, Ouimette said his HR department maintained many of the employees had already used their allotted vacation time. No evidence to back this claim was provided.
As in the March 2023 interview, Ouimette doubled down on his assertion that North Star Studios had not received any government assistance — neither film grants nor tax breaks — from the provincially administered NOHFC. Multiple attempts to contact the NOHFC for confirmation went unreturned.
Besides the difficulties in taking over the Ferris Drive studio space and the industry strikes that halted production, Ouimette said a key contributing factor that led to the company's current state was the resistance he encountered from North Bay's inner film and business circles to set up shop in town.
Ouimette said there are plans to revive the company "somewhere that isn't North Bay." Despite the cash flow issues, Ouimette continues to live in a North Bay hotel.
"We have invested considerable amounts of money here. I'm not a wealthy person with tonnes of cash. Technically, I'm homeless because I did sell my house in order to build this business," he said.
North Star Studios made its entrance onto the local film production stage in May 2022. Ouimette, the company's president, promised film industry prosperity in North Bay for years to come. The initial construction called for five film and television stages to take up 68,000 of the 100,000 square feet available at the leased Ferris Drive location.
In March 2023, Ouimette addressed the company's viability with BayToday. He said $700,000 had already been invested in the building with more renovations to come. "This project is going to happen," he added. "You can quote me on that."
In May 2022, Ouimette was an unknown with little film industry experience who surprised even municipal economic development movers and shakers with his bold statements in announcing this private enterprise that had seemingly materialized out of thin air. "This isn't a pipe dream down the road," he said then. "We've got a full slate already planned out until the end of the year and next year is already planned out, as well." He also stated North Star Studios planned to expand its studio footprint in North Bay by adding 500,000 square feet of support space over the next five to seven years.
During that May 2022 event, North Star Studios announced it had struck a 24-month, $150-million film and television production deal with an ORWO Family production company that North Star estimated would result in $60 million in direct spending into the local economy and had the potential to eventually create up to 1,000 new full-time jobs. In March 2023, Ouimette conceded only a handful of those ORWO productions were underway and the relationship with producer and actor Jake Seal, who helped broker the deal, had been strained by Seal's need to attend to other personal and business matters.
"Everything is moving, slightly slower than I would have hoped," Ouimette admitted in March 2023 from North Star Studio's leased Commerce Court offices. Asked about any financing issues, Ouimette stated then, "This company has taken positions in some very expensive real estate in the city. You can't do that if you're broke."
In that same interview, Ouimette maintained nothing shared with the local dignitaries and the gathered media outside the Ferris Drive building that day at the end of May 2022 was untrue but he acknowledged not all of what was discussed that day would come to fruition — at least not in its originally intended way.
"It's a well-financed facility, it's a well-financed company. We're growing exponentially," Ouimette said.
