Fire Wrecks James Bond Film Stage
Britain's Biggest Sound Stage Completely Destroyed
The large James Bond stage at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire has been destroyed by fire. At least eight fire engines tackled the blaze at the set, where filming for the new movie Casino Royale has finished. Eyewitness Jen McVean, who owns a firm at the studios in Iver Heath, said the stage was "completely on fire".
The large sound stage had been transformed into a replica Venice where the film, with a reported budget of £39m ($72m), is partly based. Mrs McVean, 27, said earlier the stage looked completely on fire. "Nothing is salvageable and there are many, many fire engines there," she added.
Mrs McVean saw the black smoke billowing above the studios from her garden which is around a mile away. She went to the studios to make sure her special effects firm was not affected. The roof covering the stage appeared to have caved in due to fire damage and firefighters used special equipment to reach it. Plumes of black smoke covered the studio
A spokeswoman for the Buckinghamshire Fire Brigade said they were alerted at 11.18am on Sunday. "We were called to a fire at the 007 stage at Pinewood Studios," he said.
The BBC's Barnie Choudhury said film crew members told him filming had finished and the set was being de-rigged.
Pinewood has a long association with the Bond films, beginning with the first movie Dr No. Pinewood, which merged with Shepperton Studios in 2001, attracts a range of films of varying budgets. Together with Ealing, the three studios have formed the backbone of the British film industry for 70 years.
It took more than a year for a sound stage to be rebuilt following a fire at the studios in 1984.
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