By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The Bahamas Film Studios' owner yesterday indicated he had abandoned the project and his hopes of ever obtaining a new lease from the Government, having dashed hopes that its 'water tank' could be used for a Robinson Crusoe feature film by saying it needed a $1.5 million investment upgrade. Nashville-based investment banker Ross Fuller shared with Tribune Business an exchange of correspondence yesterday between himself and Bahamas Film Commissioner, Craig Woods, with the latter asking whether the Bahamas Film Studios could accommodate a new film he was seeking to attract to shoot in the Bahamas. "I just received information from Dolphin Entertainment, which expressed interest in the use of the Open Water Tank to shoot scenes for a feature film, Robinson Crusoe. Before I pass on your contacts to the production coordinator, is the facility available for business," Mr Woods asked. In a terse reply, Mr Fuller shot back: "The tank currently needs about $1.5 million in repairs before it could be used. The Government never saw fit to complete our new lease. "I am unable to effect the improvements or use of the tank because of the Government. Furthermore, should the Government attempt to provide the tank for anyone's use, I will intervene with a major lawsuit. "As I stated some time back in the papers, the Government has acted in a manner that virtually assures that there will be no further production of motion pictures in Grand Bahama." Mr Fuller's purpose in releasing yesterday's e-mail exchange appears to have been to put pressure on the Government to resolve the Bahamas Film Studios' lease situation, using the 'peg' of potentially losing out on the Robinson Crusoe production and the economic impact that will flow from that. Mr Woods yesterday confirmed that the Bahamas, partly as a result of the Bahamas Film Studios' saga, had lost out on the opportunity to host Pirates of the Caribbean IV, which will now be filmed in Hawaii instead. Disney had been eyeing the Bahamas Film Studios as a location for its Pirates of the Caribbean IV movie, but Mr Fuller had previously told Tribune Business he was unwilling to commit the necessary funds to upgrade and maintain the facility until a new Heads of Agreement was secured. This meant that Disney was unlikely to return. Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham felt the Christie administration had allowed the Bahamas Film Studios to lease too much Crown Land, having obtained 3,500 acres at the former US Air Force Missile Base site in Grand Bahama. The Government had looked to restrict that to 120 acres, covering the water tank and existing buildings, and these talks with Mr Fuller had been going on for more than a year. However, it appears that both he and the Government are now engaged in something of a 'Mexican stand-off' over the lease, renewed Heads of Agreement and the Bahamas Film Studios' fate. John Delaney, the attorney general, said yesterday he knew nothing about any work his department had done on a new Bahamas Film Studios' lease from a legal perspective. David Davis, permanent secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, and Joy Jibrilu, director of investments, were said to have left office for the day when Tribune Business called yesterday afternoon. In e-mailed replies to Tribune Business's questions, Mr Fuller said: "I don't expect a new lease ... I go on with other investment banking (mostly in Bermuda and Cayman) together with my film financing." He argued that the saga showed developers "never, never invest in the Bahamas", and alleged: "Hollywood is already laughing at the Bahamas." Mr Fuller claimed the failure to agree a new lease had prevented him from selling the Bahamas Film Studios to new purchasers, and said "about a dozen" movie/TV productions had been lost as a result.