Monster maker Rick Baker’s former studio to be converted into a storage facility

By Mike Vanderbilt | January 12, 2016 | 10:30pm

Aux Features Film

This just in from the exciting world of storage: The former Glendale, California studio of creature creator and monster maker Rick Baker is being converted into a 70,000-square foot self-storage facility, closing a chapter that began when Baker announced his retirement from the film industry last spring. (He acquired the building in 1995.) “The business is crazy right now, “ Baker told radio station KPCC in May. “ I like to do things right and they [film studios] wanted cheap and fast.” Last year, the special effects pioneer also held an auction where fans were able to bid on pieces he worked on, from Gremlins 2: The New Batch and An American Werewolf In London to Coming To America and Planet Of The Apes.

But while horror fans may be saddened by the move, at least someone—besides members of the increasingly popular hoarding lifestyle, of course—is excited about the facility’s future: “The demographics in the area are great and [the studio] is near a lot of the entertainment industry,” broker Steven Grossman excitedly tells industry rag Spare Foot Storage Beat. And while Baker certainly created some memorable monsters at the facility, none of it will be more frightening than the moldy junk that will pile up there in the future. Or the rent, for that matter.