007 Stage

Coordinates: 51°33′00″N 0°32′06″W / 51.55000°N 0.53500°W / 51.55000; -0.53500

The 007 stage at Pinewood Studios in March 2006, before the July fire and rebuilding

The Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage is one of the largest silent stages in the world. It is located at Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, and named after James Bond film producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli.

The stage was originally conceived in 1976 by production designer Ken Adam to house the set he had designed for the interior of the Liparus supertanker in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. The stage's construction cost $1.8 million ($4 million in 2016 dollars^[1]).^[2] The stage was christened the "007 Stage" on 5 December 1976 during a ceremony attended by former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson. In contrast to the volcano crater set Adam had built for You Only Live Twice in 1966, the 007 Stage was to be a permanent structure that could be rented out to other productions.

The 1976 stage measured 102 m by 41 m (334 ft by 136 ft) and was 12.5 m (40 ft 6ins) high. It had a maximum 4,220 m² (45,424 sq ft) floor space. The stage featured a tank measuring 91 m by 22.5 m by 2.7 m (297 ft by 73 ft by 8 ft 10in). According to 007stage.com, the water tank was an existing studio feature and the stage was created by constructing a building to completely enclose the tank. Technically, because it had no soundproofing, it was a "silent stage", the largest ever built.

The 007 Stage burnt to the ground on 27 June 1984^[3] towards the end of filming of Ridley Scott's Legend.^[4] It was rebuilt, and reopened in January 1985,^[5] with the new name, "Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage", in time for filming to commence on A View to a Kill (1985).

Another fire occurred on 30 July 2006.^[5] The fire occurred just after production ended on the Bond film Casino Royale while the Venetian piazza set was being dismantled. Eight fire engines took 90 minutes to bring the fire under control; a spokesman for the local fire brigade said gas canisters may have exploded inside the building. Filming had been completed on the stage several days before and it was being dismantled, so it did not delay production or release of the film.^[5] The damage to the building was extensive causing the roof of the building to collapse.^[6] On 31 July 2006, Pinewood issued a statement indicating that the stage "will need to be demolished and rebuilt" and that there had been no casualties in the incident.^[6] The fire-damaged stage was demolished on 13–14 September. Construction on the new stage began on 18 September and was completed in under 6 months.^[7] The new stage was redesigned and included 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 m²).

Filmed in the 007 stage

• The Spy Who Loved Me (1977): The Liparus supertanker
• Superman: The Movie (1978) and Superman II (1980): Arctic ice floe and exterior entrance to Fortress of Solitude^[8]
• Moonraker (1979): Cable car closeups/Special effects model work for the space battle
• Clash of the Titans (1981): Lair of the Stygian Witches and travelling matte work
• For Your Eyes Only (1981): The underwater wreck of the St. Georges
• Krull (1983): Swamp
• Octopussy (1983): Hangar explosion^[9]/Kamal Khan's palace courtyard
• Legend (1984): Forest Scene
• Arena (1985): Concert film and the video for "The Wild Boys" by Duran Duran
• Santa Claus: The Movie (1985): Santa's workshop
• A View to a Kill (1985): Zorin's silicon mine, scenes of flooding
• Aliens (1986): The Sulaco's cargo bay
• Little Shop of Horrors (1986): Skid Row set ^[10]
• Alien 3 (1992): Blast furnace
• Interview with the Vampire (1994): Theatre of the Vampires
• Mission: Impossible (1996): Channel Tunnel chase sequence
• Event Horizon (1997): Engine room
• The Fifth Element (1997): Interior of spaceship, scene of the big shootout
• Tomorrow Never Dies (1997): Interior of Elliot Carver's stealth boat; also, the HMS Devonshire underwater set
• The Avengers (1998): Sir August de Wynter's weather machine
• Still Crazy (1998): Indoor concert
• The World Is Not Enough (1999): Russian nuclear testing facility
• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001): Stage divided into two: First tomb built on one side, second tomb built on the other side^[11]
• Die Another Day (2002): Gustav Graves' Ice Palace
• Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003): Stage divided into two: Greek temple built on one side, African caves on the other side
• Alexander (2004): Babylon Palace on one side, Indian Palace on the other side
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005): The chocolate room with chocolate river^[11]
• The Da Vinci Code (2006): The Louvre gallery^[11]
• Casino Royale (2006): Venice piazza and interior of sinking hotel.
• Mamma Mia! (2008): Greek fishing village^[11]
• Quantum of Solace (2008): Sienese art gallery, cisterns and MI6 safehouse, sink hole, ECO hotel^[11]
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010): Alamut castle
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010): The frozen lake
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011): The Dark Forest^[11]
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011): the Fountain of Youth^[11]
• Prometheus (2012): Interior of derelict spaceship^[11]
• Skyfall (2012): MI6's underground headquarters, Shanghai skyscraper atrium and offices with working elevator,^[12] underground tunnels, train crash^[11]
• Last Passenger (2013): Three days of pick-up shots.^[13]
• Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2013): Water-filled New York convection chimney.^[14]
• Maleficent (2014)^[15]
• Cinderella (2015): Ballroom^[16]
• Everest (2015): Mountainous crags constructed using styrofoam and chips of soap/potato as snow, backed by huge green screens^[17]
• Spectre (2015): Palazzo Cadenza hall interior^[18], full-scale replica of Westminster Bridge, laid with real tarmac,^[19] with helicopter crash and subsequent explosion.^[20]

Contrary to some sources (including IMDb), The Living Daylights did not film on the 007 Stage except for a music video by A-ha.^[21] Anecdotal reports that parts of Batman and Mary Reilly were filmed on the 007 stage are unsubstantiated.

References

External links

• Official page on 007 Stage
• The Pinewood Studios Group
• Pinewood Studios
• 007 Stage