The 007 Stage at Pinewood was built to house massive Liparus supertanker set for ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’.
After a search across Europe, the producers failed to find a stage large enough to house the three submarines the scene required, so they decided to build a new stage and tank specifically for that film. Designed by the Academy Award-winning production designer Ken Adam, the stage enabled massive sets to be constructed under cover and away from prying eyes. For the earlier James Bond adventure ‘You Only Live Twice’ the scaffolding exterior of the set for Blofeld’s volcano base was an eyesore, and resulted in numerous complaints from nearby residents.
The construction cost $1.8million (in 1976).
Timeline
1976, December 5th – 007 Stage officially christened and opened with a dedication ceremony attended by then British Prime Minister Sir Harold Wilson. The first 007 Stage measured 102m x 41m (334 ft x 136 ft) and was 12.5m (40 ft 6 ins) high, with maximum floor area of 4220 sq.m (45,424 sq ft.). The tank measured 91m x 22.5m x 2.7m deep (297 ft x 73 ft x 8 ft 10 ins).
1984, June 27th – Fire #1 (following production on Legend)
1985, January – a rebuilt (and re-christened) Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage is reopened. A View To A Kill was the first movie to shoot on the new stage.
2006, July 30- Fire #2 (during production on Casino Royale)
2006, July 31 – Pinewood management issues a statement saying the stage will be demolished and re-built as the fire damage was so extensive.
2006, September 13-14– The stage is demolished.
2006, September 18 – Construction on the new 007 Stage begins, and is completed within 6 months.
2007, April – Enlarged 007 Stage re-opens.
The new stage was redesigned and includes a number of new features including an increased working floor space area, enclosed stairwells to the gantry, a vehicle ramp into the tank, aircraft hangar style loading doors, increased electrical power and better insulation. The new stage is 374 feet (114 m) long, 158 feet (48 m) wide and 41 to 50 feet (15 m) high (114 x 48 x 12–15 m). The stage is the ‘biggest in Europe’ around 59,000 sq ft (5,500 sq.m).
Construction & Filming for Prince of Persia on the 007 Stage:
Fire!
The stage has been destroyed by fire twice.
On 27 June 1984 just after Ridley Scott’s ‘Legend’ had finished shooting, fire broke out (worsened by gasoline canisters on the set), completely destroying the sets and the stage structure. It was rebuilt by January 1985, just in time for shooting to commence on A View to a Kill. The stage was renamed the Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage in honour of the James Bond producer’s contribution to Pinewood Studios and the British film industry as a whole.
In July 2006, just after ‘Casino Royale’ had finished shooting the Venice scenes, fire broke out again, this time allegedly caused by an oxyacetalyne torch being used to dismantle the structure supporting the Venice sets.
The newly reopened stage is now 59,000 sq feet in area.
Article at newsteelconstruction.com has some great photos of the construction
Largest in Europe?
PInewood Studios publicity claims this is the largest stage in Europe, but as this is a silent shooting stage (with no soundproofing), Cardington Shed 2 (used by Christopher Nolan on his recent projects) is considerably larger.
However, even without that exclusion, Stage 15 at Babelsberg Film Studios in Potsdam, Germany is far larger (78,954 sq.ft.) and is fully soundproofed.
Seen on Screen: Pinewood Studios [007_Stage]
| Title | Released | Director | IMDB |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes [Feature Film] | 1970 | Billy Wilder |  |
| A cobbled street that was constructed for this movie is still in existence in the Pinewood backlot. It is situated behind the current location of the 007-Stage. | |||
| The Spy Who Loved Me [Feature Film] | 1977 | Lewis Gilbert | |
| The 007 Stage was constructed to house the massive Liparus Tanker set. | |||
| Superman [Feature Film] | 1978 | Richard Donner | |
| 007 Stage - Fortress of Solitude and Artic exterior with lake and glaciers (tank holding 800,000 gallons of water). | |||
| Soundstage sets: - Daily Planet offices - Lex Luthor underground lair and pool A Stage - Flying Unit | |||
| Moonraker [Feature Film] | 1979 | Lewis Gilbert | |
| 007 Stage | |||
| Superman II [Feature Film] | 1980 | Richard Lester, Richard Donner | |
| 007 Stage: Fortress of Solitude interiors | |||
| Clash of the Titans [Feature Film] | 1981 | Desmond Davis | |
| 007 Stage | |||
| For Your Eyes Only [Feature Film] | 1981 | John Glen | |
| 007 Stage: St. George's Vessel - underwater wreck | |||
| Krull [Feature Film] | 1983 | Peter Yates | |
| One of the first (if not the first) to feature CGI morphing effects when the goose transforms. | |||
| Twenty-three sets were built for the film, covering ten sound stages at Pinewood Studios, including the 007 Stage (used for the swamp scenes). | |||
| Octopussy [Feature Film] | 1983 | John Glen | |
| 007 Stage: Kamal Khan's palace. Black Park was also used. | |||
| Duran Duran: Wild Boys [Music Video] | 1984 | Russell Mulcahy | |
| This ground-breaking music video was shot on the 007 Stage, and cost over $1 million at the time (1984). | |||
| Supergirl [Feature Film] | 1984 | Jeannot Szwarc | |
| The town of Midvale was built from scratch on a back lot at Pinewood Studios. Most of the film was shot on soundstages including the 007 Stage. | |||
| A View To A Kill [Feature Film] | 1985 | John Glen | |
| 007 Stage: Max Zorin's silicon mine | |||
| Arena [Feature Film] | 1985 | Russell Mulcahy | |
| This extended music video / concert performance by Duran Duran was shot on the 007 Stage. | |||
| Legend [Feature Film] | 1985 | Ridley Scott | |
| A massive fire during production (on 27th June 1984) destroyed the Legend forest sets, camera equipment and lighting rigs, as well as the 007 Stage at Pinewood. | |||
| Santa Claus [Feature Film] | 1985 | Jeannot Szwarc | |
| 007 Stage: Santa Workshop | |||
| Aliens [Feature Film] | 1986 | James Cameron | |
| 007 Stage: Sulaco space ship cargo bay | |||
| The Little Shop of Horrors [Feature Film] | 1986 | Frank Oz | |
| 007 Stage: Skid Row set A Stage: Interior Mushniks Shop | |||
| The Living Daylights [Feature Film] | 1987 | John Glen | |
| 007 Stage | |||
| Alien 3 [Feature Film] | 1992 | David Fincher | |
| 007 Stage: Blast Furnace and other interiors | |||
| Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles [Feature Film] | 1994 | Neil Jordan | |
| 007 Stage - Theatre of the Vampires | |||
| Mission: Impossible [Feature Film] | 1996 | Brian De Palma | |
| 007 Stage: Channel Tunnel chase & general interiors | |||
| Event Horizon [Feature Film] | 1997 | Paul W.S. Anderson | |
| The Engine Room was built in the 007 Stage. | |||
| The Fifth Element [Feature Film] | 1997 | Luc Besson | |
| 007 Stage - spaceship/shootout/London and Hong Kong hotels | |||
| Tomorrow Never Dies [Feature Film] | 1997 | Roger Spottiswoode | |
| 007 Stage: Elliot Carver's stealth boat and HMS Devonshire underwater wreck. | |||
| Still Crazy [Feature Film] | 1998 | Brian Gibson | |
| 007 Stage: Rock Concert | |||
| The Avengers [Feature Film] | 1998 | Jeremiah S. Chechik | |
| 007 Stage: Sir August Winter weather machine | |||
| Entrapment [Feature Film] | 1999 | Jon Amiel | |
| 007 Stage: Petronas Towers skywalk | |||
| Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat [Feature Film] | 1999 | David Mallet | |
| 007 Stage | |||
| The World is Not Enough [Feature Film] | 1999 | Michael Apted | |
| The Russian nuclear testing facility was built in the 007 Stage. | |||
| The Caviar Factory was built on the Paddock Tank at Pinewood. | |||
| Lara Croft: Tomb Raider [Feature Film] | 2001 | Simon West | |
| 007 Stage: Cambodian Temples | |||
| Die Another Day [Feature Film] | 2002 | Lee Tamahori | |
| The massive Ice Palace interior set was built on the 007 Stage [March 2002] | |||
| Moon Compound (pre-title) was shot on the Pinewood backlot (January 2002) | |||
| Interiors (including the Q Workshop [Jan 2002] and Gene Therapy Lab [Feb 2002]) were shot at Pinewood | |||
| Alexander [Feature Film] | 2004 | Oliver Stone | |
| 007 Stage: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Indian Palace. Extensive shooting on the backlot. | |||
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory [Feature Film] | 2005 | Tim Burton | |
| 007 Stage: Chocolate River Room | |||
| Casino Royale [Feature Film] | 2006 | Martin Campbell | |
| 007 Stage - Venetian Piazza D Stage - Miami airport miniatures Paddock Tank - Venetian Sinking house exteriors Ugandan rebel camp scenes were shot in adjacent Black Park. | |||
| The Da Vinci Code [Feature Film] | 2006 | Ron Howard | |
| 007 Stage: The Louvre Gallery interior | |||
| Mamma Mia [Feature Film] | 2008 | Phyllida Lloyd | |
| The first film to be shot on the new 007 Stage following the fire after Casino Royale (2006) wrapped. The whole Greek villa and surrounding village was built on the 59,000 sq ft stage, surrounded by a bluescreen which was replaced by sky / sea views in post-production. | |||
| Quantum of Solace [Feature Film] | 2008 | Marc Forster | |
| 007 Stage | |||
| Ford: Kinetic Design [Commercial] | 2009 | Nick Lewin | |
| 007 Stage | |||
| Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time [Feature Film] | 2010 | Mike Newell | |
| 007 Stage | |||
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 [Feature Film] | 2011 | David Yates | |
| Dark Forest and Battlements sets were built on the vast 007 Stage. | |||
| Hogwarts Entrance Staircase set and Kings Cross set was built on D Stage. | |||
| Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides [Feature Film] | 2011 | Rob Marshall | |
| UK base for the production. B Stage: Captains Quarters set. E Stage: Captains Daughters pub. H Stage: Exterior of the longboat at Whitecap Bay. R Stage: LPS, the interior of St James' Palace. 007 Stage: The cave for the Fountain of Youth. North Lot: London dockyard street. | |||
| Prometheus [Feature Film] | 2012 | Ridley Scott | |
| 007 Stage, C Stage, L Stage, M Stage, R Stage, S Stage, TV One Stage, North Lot | |||
| Skyfall [Feature Film] | 2012 | Sam Mendes | |
| A section of the London Underground (explosion scene) was recreated on the 007 Stage. The construction of the underground Mi6 HQ on the 007 Stage took 9 weeks and 250 crew. The lake approach to the Golden Dragon Casino was filmed on the Pinewood Paddock Tank. Also used A Stage, B Stage, C Stage, D Stage, F Stage, G Stage, L Stage, S Stage, Underwater Tank. | |||
| Jack Ryan [Feature Film] | 2013 | Kenneth Branagh | |
| 007 Stage: New York Subway System flood. The Richard Attenborough Stage was also used. | |||
| 007 Stage: New York Subway System flood | |||
| Jack Ryan [Feature Film] | 2013 | Kenneth Branagh | |
| 007 Stage: New York Subway System flood. The Richard Attenborough Stage was also used. | |||
| 007 Stage: New York Subway System flood | |||
| Maleficent [Feature Film] | 2014 | Robert Stromberg | |
| The movie was shot entirely at Pinewood Studios using various locations including A Stage, B Stage, M Stage, N/P stage, Paddock Lot, North lot, 007 Stage and Black Park. | |||
| Cinderella [Feature Film] | 2015 | Kenneth Branagh | |
| C Stage, E Stage, F Stage, M Stage, 007 Stage, backlot (Castle Exteriors). Adjacent Black Park was also used for forest sequences. | |||
| Everest [Feature Film] | 2015 | Baltasar Kormakur | |
| 007 Stage - mountainous crags constructed using styrofoam and chips of soap/potato as snow, backed by huge green screens. | |||
| Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny [Feature Film] | 2023 | James Mangold | |
| 007 Stage (filming in August 2021) | |||
Specifications (after re-opening in 2007)
- Length: 374 ft (114.00 m)
- Width: 158 ft (48.16 m)
- Height: 41 ft (12.50 m)
- Area: 59,000 sq ft (5,481 sq m)
- Tank Specifications
- Length: 300 ft (91.44 m)
- Width: 72 ft (21.95 m)
- Depth: 8 ft (2.50 m)
- Other: Floor Area: 21,600 ft (2015 m)
Link to the Official 007 Stage website
See also The Richard Attenborough Stage