PINEWOOD STUDIOS IS DAMAGED BY FIRE
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[ August 1st 2006 ]

A massive fire has swept through Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire destroying a large stage used to film James Bond, Lara Croft Tomb Raider and segments from many of Hollywood's top blockbusters.

According to the BBC, at least eight fire engines tackled the blaze at the set, where filming for the new movie Casino Royale had finished. The stage had been transformed into a replica Venice where the film, with a reported budget of £39m ($72m), is partly based.

The original stage was first created in the late 1970s during the filming of The Spy Who Loved Me and was created when the script called for filming of two submarines inside an oil tanker. The stage was built complete with an enormous water tank.