Broadcast News

Bookmark and Share
01/06/2009

Pinewood Expansion To 'Rival Hollywood'

A highly imaginative proposal to vastly expand a major UK film facility and create hundreds of jobs at the same time is about to roll.
Pinewood Studios is submitting its final planning application for a 100-acre, £200m expansion that will have permanent film lots - including a row of New York brownstone apartments, a Parisian square and a Venice canal, so film-makers no longer have to fly abroad in search of locations.
The company is proposing to incorporate up to 1,400 flats into the scheme, so people working on films can live on set. It forecasts this could create 1,600 jobs.
Project Pinewood is also working with the National Film and Television School to set up an on-site academy that would train set designers and costume makers.
Yesterday's Sunday Times reported that Ivan Dunleavy, Chief Executive of Pinewood Shepperton wants to 'put British film interests first'.
"Film-makers have the pick of going anywhere in the world," he said.
"It is a very desirable industry from a profile point of view and from an economic point of view. We need to keep Britain ahead in terms of its creative skills and creative infrastructure."
Pinewood, which has a market value of £70m, intends to take on a development partner for the project and would need to issue new debt or equity to finance it. It has a joint venture with Aviva Investors to develop the Shepperton Studios.
However, it has had to adapt its expansion after opposition from residents in neighbouring Buckinghamshire villages during two years of planning.
A lake designed to look like Lake Como has been dropped after fears that it would disrupt local wildlife. A medieval castle has also been scrapped.
Dozens of well-known films have been shot there, including the Carry On series and Superman.
(BMcC/KMcA)
Solidmate Ltd Memory Card Hire London

Top Related Stories
Click here for the latest broadcast news stories.

06/06/2023
Escape Studios Unveils Immersive Online Presence
Escape Studios has unveiled a modernised and immersive online presence – thanks to its partnership with multi-award-winning creative design agency, Th
11/05/2023
Amazon Studios Teams Up With ARRI
Amazon Studios and ARRI have collaborated on an exclusive, in-depth video featurette about 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,' analysing the
10/05/2023
ReadySet Studios Delivers Extensive VP For Music Video
ReadySet Studios has delivered extensive virtual production (VP) and in-camera VFX (ICVFX) services for Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper’s Burning Daylight m
10/03/2023
Broadcast Beat Studios To Produce Four-Day International Telecast
Broadcast Beat Studios (booth# C8835) and Broadcast Beat, in association with NAB, will produce the 2023 edition of NAB Show LIVE from NAB Show® in La
10/03/2023
Qvest Equips Herold Studios With Future-Proof Sound Facilities
Qvest has equipped leading international postproduction house Herold Studios with new, future-proof sound facilities. The upgraded facilities include
06/09/2023
Absen Shines At Silvertown Studios
Silvertown Studios is a film studio specialising in Virtual Production (VP). Founded during the pandemic, the original company London Audio Visual und
25/08/2023
ITV Studios Becomes An Associate Member Of The TV Access Project
ITV Studios has become an Associate Member of the TV Access Project (TAP), as part of its wider commitment to make the TV industry more accessible for
13/03/2024
Prism Sound's Educational Event To Return To Rockfield Studios
Prism Sound's hugely popular 8 Hours At Rockfield music production educational event will be returning to the historic Rockfield Studios in Wales on J
13/03/2024
BCB Music Studios Installs PMC6-2 Monitors
With over 40 years' experience in audio – and with a client list that reads like a Who's Who of the Turkish music scene – musician, composer, lyricist
03/08/2023
CVP Furthers Strategic Expansion In Europe
CVP has furthered its strategic expansion in Europe, setting a new benchmark for customer service and support in the creative industries. Responding t
26/07/2023
LiveU's IP-Video EcoSystem Drives Viewership Expansion For ELF
LiveU IP-video EcoSystem solutions are enabling a full cloud production for European League of Football (ELF) coverage, streaming up to six live games
19/04/2023
EVS Launches Neuron View
EVS has launched Neuron View, a flexible, low-latency and power-efficient multiviewer, specifically designed to support the needs of live production t
15/09/2023
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Offers Compete Playout-To-Delivery Feature Set
Harmonic has announced that its industry-leading XOS Advanced Media Processor now offers a complete playout-to-delivery feature set, simplifying video
22/02/2023
Martin Audio Reorganises Its Distribution Set-Up In Mexico
Martin Audio has reorganised its distribution set-up in Mexico, appointing NTX Distribution specifically to handle the installation sector. Equally, s
25/03/2024
Shepperton Studios Expansion In Surrey Now Open
The expansion at Shepperton Studios in Surrey is now open and Amazon MGM Studios and Netflix are in occupation. The state-of-the-art development will