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The City of Surrey is poised to hit the limelight after reeling in the producers of major films like Star Trek and Mission Impossible to create a film and television studio in Newton.

Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner said California-based Skydance Media is converting the former Pacific Newspaper printing press building in Kennedy Heights to a five-stage sound studio that can accommodate a production staff of up to 400 people. The studio is slated to produce programming for Netflix this fall on a show about a city of the future, called Altered Carbon.

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“I’m really excited about it. We’ve tried for a long time to get a studio here and I’m pleased with the calibre we got,” Hepner said.

Calling her city “the premier metropolitan centre south of the Fraser,” Hepner told attendees at her second annual state of the city address Thursday that Surrey is poised to become a centre for smart technology, innovation, and economic growth. Besides the film studio, the city has announced it will move ahead with a new clean technology global innovation zone at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Cloverdale and a “child safety village,” with child-sized buildings in Newton to educate youngsters on road safety, avoiding drugs and gangs and “making good life choices.”