DB7

James Bond and Harry Potter film studios to expand

Dan Milmo
Wednesday August 17, 2005
The Guardian


Pinewood Shepperton is to undergo a big upgrade of its film studio facilities after Sexy Beast that shot the James Bond and Harry Potter franchises received the final approval for a 10-year expansion plan.
Shepperton, also home to Batman Begins, has been granted permission to expand its complex in Middlesex.

Pinewood, its sister studio in Buckinghamshire, will also embark on a revamp after receiving local council permission recently.

The 10-year programme will include upgrading existing facilities with state-of-the-art equipment while building new sound stages, production workshops and post-production facilities.

Pinewood Shepperton is pushing on with the growth strategy amid an uncertain funding environment for the British film industry.
The company issued two profit warnings this year after doubts over the future of government tax policy for film-makers - a significant funding mechanism for British producers - forced at least one Hollywood production to postpone shooting.

Some of that uncertainty lifted this month after the government published proposals for a system that will replace the existing code with a tax credit. Film projects will have to pass a "cultural test" to determine whether they are "British" enough to qualify for tax relief.

Ivan Dunleavy, chief executive of Pinewood Shepperton, said the planning permission approval would help to ensure that both studios remained market-leading facilities.

"Shepperton has a long history of hosting acclaimed media productions but has recently been constrained by the age and scale of some of the original facilities," he said.

The film company recently opened an underwater filming stage at Pinewood and has been on the acquisition trail, buying Teddington Studios for £2.7m in April.

Projects shooting at the studios this year include the sequel to Basic Instinct, Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Shakespeare's As You Like It and the latest series of ITV drama Foyle's War.

smudge

Full details of the 'master plans' - including detailed PDF plans - are available on the website http://www.pinewoodshepperton.com/

Onward and upward ! (Let's hope [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clapping.gif[/img] )

SMUDGE

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yankfilmbuff

I always thought that, for an American, I was pretty knowledgeable of the British film industry, which I love, but I never realized that Pinewood and Shepperton were connected. Is this something recent or did i just miss it?

smudge

It's relatively recent (3-4 years now - I forget !)

Pinewood was acquired by a consortium headed up by Michael Grade (Nephew of Lord [Lew] Grade of Elstree, the late ITC supremo.) Shepperton had been bought previously by the Scott brothers (Sir Ridley & Tony)

IIRC not long after the Pinewood buyout Grade approached the Scotts and the idea of a merged set of studios was born. Pinewood-Shepperton then listed on the Stock Exchange and their most recent acquisition has been the old Thames TV Studios, which you may know better as the home of Benny Hill [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]

Pinewood's upgrade (no pun intended) continues ; they have created new CGI studios on part of the old lot and have recently completed a specialist underwater stage.

Of course, they also lost Warner's THE WATCHMEN due to the Chancellor's review of the tax breaks, but that is sorting itself out now, with a consultation on new tax breaks for 'culturally British' films, as discussed on a different thread in this forum.

SMUDGE

[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/devil.gif[/img]

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...