As British as Bovril, Burberry and tea with the Queen, James Bond will soon have a UK home to call his own – no, not that sad apartment with the telly and one chair in Skyfall – and you’ll be able to pop in for a visit. Pinewood Studios, home of the franchise since it launched with Dr No back in 1962, has announced plans for a movie-inspired attraction.
Pinewood’s $570 million, 32,500-square-metre expansion plan, Screen Hub UK, will be a ‘global growth hub’ for British film based on a plot adjacent to its current 77-acre complex. The plans are in an early stage of development but will include a visitor attraction, new production facilities, and a training and skills hub.
According to BBC News, that could involve tours of actual working sets. Which, bearing in mind the Star Wars movies also call Pinewood home, would be awesome. No wonder the studio, which is based just outside London in Buckinghamshire, is predicting that the facility will bring in $160 for the tourist industry each year and create 3,500 jobs.
‘We have been looking at a visitor experience for some time and feel that now is the right moment to bring it forward,’ says Pinewood chairman Paul Golding. ‘The project will strengthen UK film and bring much needed jobs and spending.’
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