Cinelease buys Quixote lighting and grip business as Quixote exits equipment
Cinelease will take over Quixote's grip and lighting equipment in a deal announced on Tuesday 15 September.
Grip is the kit that holds cameras, lights and rigs in place on a set. Lighting is exactly that. Together they are the hardware every film and television shoot hires in bulk, as reported by Variety.
The production supply assets will be renamed Cinelease Pro Supplies. The purchase also includes portable restrooms and communications gear. About 60 Quixote staff will lose their jobs as a result, mostly in Los Angeles.
Quixote is stepping back from this side of the business. It said in April it was winding down its soundstage operation. It has since laid off 70 people earlier this year and closed production services businesses in Atlanta, New Orleans and Albuquerque to focus on Los Angeles and New York.
What is left is transport. Quixote is now centred on its transportation business, which includes Star Waggons trailers. It still operates one facility in Atwater Village near Griffith Park, which remains under lease.
The sale closes a costly chapter for its owner. Hudson Pacific Properties bought Quixote Studios for $360 million in 2022, a deal that included long-term lease rights to 23 sound stages in Los Angeles and three in New Orleans, according to Deadline. Hudson Pacific has since written off its entire investment in Quixote Studios.
For Cinelease, the deal fits an expansion push. The company was founded in Hollywood in 1977 and says it holds the largest lighting rental inventory in the United States, according to Cinelease. It was acquired from Herc Rentals by private investment platform Zello in August 2025.
Chairman Louis Dargenzio has led a run of add-on purchases. That includes entry into rigging through C&C Studio Services, now Cinelease Rigging, and barricades and fencing from West Coast Fencing. Cinelease says it wants to move beyond film and television into sports and live events.
What makes this stand out is the human scale behind the hardware. A lighting and grip deal decides where crews collect their kit each morning. For viewers, nothing changes on screen. For about 60 workers, the slot has moved.
