Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Zachary Levi feels “compelled by God” to build a “better Hollywood”.
The Chuck actor – who left his home state of California to move to Texas – has told how he grew disillusioned with the “broken” entertainment industry and so hopes his new $100 million film and lifestyle campus Wyldwood Studios, which he is building on his 75-acre property in Bastrop County, can bring together a new “community” for artists.
He told Fox News Digital: “I grew up in California. I love California. It is a failed state. It is literally and figuratively on fire.
“Ever since I started working in Hollywood and I saw how broken it all was, I felt very compelled by God to go build a better Hollywood — like a new United Artists kind of studio — where it’s owned and operated by the artists, where we can cut out all the middlemen, where we all can do really well, build a community.
“And then not just a place to work. People can live there, and kids can go to school there. And we have an organic farm, and, like, all of the things that I think everybody really wants these days.
“We look at the regular world around us, and we see it burning. And we’re like, ‘Can we do this better?’ I feel like we can do this better.
“So, that all culminated in nine years ago, me finding 75 acres outside of Austin, Texas, to buy, to develop, to turn into this magical kind of idea. That’s why I left.”
The 45-year-old star insisted following his “calling” to help contribute to a “better world” has been worth the sacrifices he made when he left California.
He said: “I left behind a lot of community and family and perfect weather in Southern California, but when you weigh it all out — and you must — you have to come to these points in your life, and you go, ‘Is all of that really worth the thing that I know I’m supposed to go build in the future to make a better world?’ And, to me, that calling on my life was more important.
“Fortunately, Austin’s awesome. It’s great, you know? It can get kinda hot in the summer and kinda cold in the wintertime, but I can deal with it.
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing.”
Wyldwood – which will feature production offices, housing and wellness spaces – is expected to open its first two soundstages in 2027.
