Studio giant boost to British films

SMALL-BUDGET film-makers will soon roll cameras alongside producers of blockbuster movies after studios giant Pinewood Shepperton revealed plans to invest millions of pounds in British films.
By The Newsroom
Published 8th Mar 2011, 08:34 BST

Pinewood, which is home to the James Bond and Harry Potter franchises, said it will invest up to a 20 per cent stake in films with production budgets of around £2m and intends to buy in to about four films each year.

The chosen films will have access to available space at its studios in Buckinghamshire and Surrey.

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The group hopes the selected Brit flicks will echo the success of Oscar-winner The King’s Speech, which cost £9 million to make and has grossed more than 245m US dollars (£150m) since its release.

Chief executive Ivan Dunleavy said: “Although our financial commitment to each film will be relatively small, we can, in addition, offer British films access to the world-class facilities and production expertise at Pinewood and Shepperton Studios which would normally be beyond their budget.”

The announcement comes as the 75-year-old studios, also home to television shows such as Dancing On Ice and Dragons’ Den, posted a 31 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £5.8m in the year to December 31 and an eight per cent increase in revenues to £43.4m.

Related topics:SurreyBuckinghamshire