Outhouse Production Films set the scene for what’s to come by hosting a meet and greet at its new office inside the Perla Building in Tamaqua Tuesday evening.

“We wanted to do this to say, ‘We are here. We have plans. We are committed to this’,” explained Robert Morgalo, the Berks County actor and filmmaker behind plans to build a $30 million film studio complex in the borough.

The event, if you will, served as an “Act 1” for the venture, and included a star-studded cast. Along with Morgalo, an award winning actor, producer, director and screen writer, there was Suzanne Yu, an executive movie producer for the soon-to-be released “The Comeback Trail” with Academy Award winners Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones. Yu also plays the lead role in OPF’s “The Companion.”

Also on hand was Federico Castelluccio, an actor best known for his role as Furio Giunta on “The Sopranos” and stars in OPF’s “The Mick & the Trick” and other movies.

Investors, videographers, screenplay writers and other movie business movers and shakers rounded out attendance and met with community members for a behind-the-scenes look at what OPF has in store.

“We are here to start making things happen,” Morgalo said.

He and several OPF partners visited Tamaqua earlier this year to scope out locations for “Children of a Fatherless Child,” a personal and faith-based story written by Morgalo.

While they were at it, they looked for office space and eventually landed a perfect spot inside the Perla Building. Tall windows offer views to West Broad Street, and a door welcomes visitors with logos for OPF and Tamaqua Film Studios.

“This is not just us. This is a community,” Morgalo explained. “I want to create Tamaqua Film Studios ambassadors. We can get the logos, put them on shirts, so when we start doing our stuff and film makers come over, they know it’s not just a film studio - the whole community is involved in supporting this.”

Inside the office, OPF movie posters and awards grace the walls and sit atop shelves. The most recent win was brought home this year from the Tombstone Film Festival, while another, a Filmfestival Houston 2021 Platinum Remi Award is Morgalo’s most prized.

“Another director, Steven Spielberg, once won that award,” he smiled.

“There will be a lot of preproduction that will happens here, and down the line, a lot of postproduction,” explained Ozz Gomez, one of Morgalo’s business partners. “Basically, all aspects (of production).”

OPF is in conversation to shoot at least two other films in the Tamaqua area by year’s end, Morgalo said. And there are talks underway with both national and international production companies - but they’re in the initial stages and details can’t be divulged just yet, Morgalo said.

One film getting the go-ahead is “Bet on Jake,” which tells the true story of a bookie in the Pennsylvania Coal Region during the 1970s. Ed Wallace, of Frackville, penned the story and contacted Morgalo after learning of his movie studio plans.

“You gotta take that first step, you gotta take that risk,” said Wallace, who attended the event.

He sent the script to Morgalo, who called the story “amazing.”

“I thought it was just perfect for us to commit to do that,” he said, adding that Tamaqua will be the perfect backdrop when the story finds its way to film.

That’s the charm about the borough, Castelluccio said.

“The first time I came here, I took a ride around and saw the different buildings and streets,” he said. “It seems like it is a set waiting to be filmed.

“I think it’s one of those towns that you can get a lot out of, you know?,” he said. “The production value will be a lot higher when you see these authentic streets and buildings.”

While movie discussions are ongoing, so too is the search for about 50 acres of land for the complex.

In addition to the studios, Morgalo envisions a hotel, catering facility and day care center.

OPF is working with real estate developers and investors from Arctrust to bring the vision to life.

“They’re the ones who are funding the whole development. We’re setting up this partnership together to build this endeavor,” Morgalo explained.

Once created, it would create hundreds of jobs and provide the local economy with a massive boost.

Morgalo expects to hire locally, saying he’s met many talented and creative individuals in the borough.