Pinewood Studios has revealed plans to go stateside in an ambitious expansion plan designed to open further doors for the British Film Industry. In conjunction with investment firm River’s Rock, Pinewood Shepperton plc – otherwise known as the Pinewood Studios Group – will construct its first United States sound stages on a 288 acre plot just south of Georgia’s state capital, Atlanta.
First used as a film studio in the 1930s, Pinewood is home to some of the classics of British cinema, including the James Bond franchise and the Carry On… series. Today, the group owns studios across the world – as well as three in the UK, they have bases in Toronto, Berlin, Malaysia and the Dominican Republic.
The Atlanta development is the second joint venture undertaken by the group this month, as a deal with a Chinese media group is also now in the pipeline. Should this move prove as successful as other foreign initiatives, this will give Pinewood access to an increasingly profitable Chinese market.
In a statement on the company website, Pinewood chief executive Ivan Dunleavy called the Pinewood Atlanta project “another step forward for the Pinewood brand internationally.”
He continued; “This new studio will target US productions.
“Georgia has excellent fiscal incentives and a great crew base.”
The state has certainly become something of a hotspot for film makers, as strong tax incentives are in place to reward production companies should they spend a significant sum on their television programme or movie. A tax credit of between 20 and 30 per cent can be claimed if the budget tops $500,000, while another 10 per cent can be garnered if a Georgia-peach logo is featured in the credits.
Since the introduction of this rewards scheme in 2008, production has rocketed. While productions filmed in the state generated only $244 million five years ago, this figure stands at more than $3 billion, or £1.9 billion, today.
Construction is expected to begin immediately on the Pinewood Atlanta studio, which will be used to produce a wide range of media including films, television, video games and music. River’s Rock Managing Partner, Jim Pace, expressed his company’s enthusiasm at their involvement in the scheme.
He said; “We are tremendously excited to be creating a world class studio in the state of Georgia and are looking forward to working with Pinewood in the many years to come.
“The Pinewood brand is so well recognized in the global film industry and together there is a great opportunity to build an excellent facility that will attract the very best producers.”
Do you think the prestige of Pinewood Studios will mean that it is an automatic success story in America, or will the studio in Georgia be overshadowed entirely by the powerful pull of more renowned production locations such as New York and, of course, Hollywood?
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