Michele StuevenAfter countless concerts at the historic Wiltern Theater and decades of driving past the green art deco monolith at the corner of Wilshire and Western known as the Pellissier Building, I’ve always wondered what lived inside. It’s been a source of fascination for Angelenos since 1931, especially for Jijo Reed.
A local kid from the San Fernando Valley, Jijo knocked around for a while in the LA rockabilly punk scene. Obsessed with anything retro, he helped run the Dream Boats car rental service on Melrose in the 80’s that boasted a big selection of classic cars and 50’s convertibles, which he crisscrossed the country to find.
Jijo’s Hollywood roots run deep. His grandfather was Alan Reed, who played the blackmailing private investigator in The Postman Always Rings Twice, the fantastic bad actor Sally Tomato in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and probably most notably – the voice of Fred Flintstone. His father Alan Reed Jr. appeared in several episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies as a beatnik.
In 2012, Jijo got a small office on the ninth floor of the green monolith near his cheap apartment in Koreatown. He started producing and editing movie trailers and buying new equipment with every job. One job led to another.
Reception area (Courtesy Sugar Studios LA)
He took the trailer house model, translated it into features, and created Sugar Studios LA, which does post-production on independent films and now takes up three floors, including the penthouse of the Pellissier Building, offering everything from dailies and editorial to color, mix, special effects and the latest and greatest Dolby Atmos sound all in one beautifully designed space that illustrates Jijo’s love for everything retro.
“We have about 25 films going simultaneously right now with more on the way with many on Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and film festivals and all over the world,” Jijo tells LA Weekly while putting the finishing touches on I Was A Teenage Sex Pistol, a documentary based on founding member Glen Matlock’s book which will premiere at The Santa Barbara Film Festival that kicks off on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
There are no less than four edit bays on one floor of the 12,000 square-foot space, three kitchens, conference rooms, pool tables, two screening rooms, and the penthouse with a balcony and wrap-around views that stretch from the South Bay to the Hollywood sign. The space that houses the plush 20 reclining seat theater was built from the ground up, and made to look original with hand-painted moldings, Venetian plaster, faux columns, and art deco sconces.
Penthouse Theater (Courtesy Sugar Studios LA)
The view from his office of the Hollywood sign brings back memories of his grandfather.
“He was so loved and respected as an actor and a radio personality and of course the voice of Fred Flintstone,” says the Emmy-winning producer. “ He’d come to our birthday parties in a big Fred Flintstone costume they made for the Hollywood parade in the 60’s and 70’s and do the voice. We would all be pulling on him and hitting him with plastic baseball bats and he’d take his head off in frustration.”
Jijo’s latest feature includes Crescent City, starring Alec Baldwin and Terrence Howard, Village Roadshow’s Cinnamon, Mending The Line with Brian Cox from Succession, Machine Gun Kelly’s Life in Pink 2022 documentary, and Back on the Strip with Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish.
“For years I’d drive by this beautiful building on my way to El Cholo,” he says. “It only makes sense that I would end up here.”
Penthouse poolroom (Courtesy Sugar Studios LA)
Courtesy Sugar Studios
Machine Gun Kelly left, with Jijo Reed in the penthouse