WALES APPROVES
£300M MOVIE COMPLEX
Copyright 2002 www.tombraiderchronicles.com
[ December 7th 2002 ]
Plans
for a new £300 million movie complex backed by
Lord Richard Attenborough have been rubber stamped
following approval by Rhondda Cynon Taff County
Borough Council's development control committee.
Dragon International will develop a 350-acre former
open cast mine site in Llanilid complete with
media centre, screen academy and theme park, according
to Sky News. The complex, to be called Dragon
International Studios, will also sport the latest
facilities for making feature films, television
productions and commercials with full editing
and post-production facilities.
Lord
Attenborough, a founding father of Channel Four
Television, said: "Our intention is to build the
most modern, cost effective and welcoming studios
in the world, designed by practitioners for practitioners.
In Wales we have the space, the funds and the
technology - but most importantly the will - to
create a wonderful work and leisure environment
for future generations."
The Welsh
government had originally blocked the development
because of the need for a new junction on the
M4 highway between England and Wales, but officials
argued that the problem could be overcome. "The
Llanilid film studio is a unique development and
I am very pleased we have been able to find a
way forward which paves the way for this major
investment to become a reality," said First Minister
Rhodri Morgan.
Scenes
for Paramount Pictures Tomb Raider sequel The
Cradle of Life recently filmed at six locations
in and around North Wales. More than 150 cast
and production crew members shot at Pen-y-Pass,
near Snowdonia, and at a disused slate quarry
near Carmel. The North Wales Film Commission said
economic benefits were brought to the region as
a result of Angelina Jolie's sharp-shooting videogame
character.
|