PINEWOOD BEGINS STAGE CONSTRUCTION

[ 22 September 2006 ]

Reconstruction work to replace a huge stage that was all but destroyed by fire in July has begun, Pinewood Shepperton has announced. Planning permission has been approved and the stage will be completed in early 2007, Pinewood executives said in a statement.

Europe's largest sound stage has catered for many of Hollywood's top motion picture blockbusters, including Lara Croft Tomb Raider and Ian Fleming's 007 James Bond saga. At least eight fire engines tackled the blaze at the set where filming for the new movie Casino Royale had finished.

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