CLA Studios Open

Reuters reports that producer Dino De Laurentiis has opened CLA Studios, a huge new film studio in Ouarzazate, in the south of Morocco. The piece glosses over the fact that DeLaurentiis’ partner in the project is Moroccan producer Said Alj (the A in CLA) but I suppose that’s not surprising. Among the movies that will be made at CLA is Baz Luhrman’s Alexander, with Leonardo diCaprio as the Macedonian leader.

You’ve probably seen Ouarzazate, even if you’ve never been there. It was the backdrop of many epic movies (Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia, etc. ) It really is one of my favorite cities in Morocco. It’s also hotter than hell, so go there in winter. It’s gorgeous.