007 Stage Explained

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The Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage is one of the largest sound 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.^[1] During filming, Adam told American Cinematographer that other filmmakers were interested in using the new "007 Stage". During a ceremony attended by former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, Roger Moore and other The Spy Who Loved Me actors, and many actors who had worked at Pinewood including Hayley Mills and Kenneth More, Broccoli's wife Dana christened the stage by breaking a champagne bottle on one of the submarines in the film^[2] on 5 December 1976. 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 102mby41mm (335feetby135feetm) and was 12.5m (41feet) high. It had a maximum 4220m2 floor space. The stage featured a water tank measuring 91by. 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 six 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 374feetby158feetft (byft) and 41feet–50feetft (–ft) high. The stage is the biggest in Europe at around 59000square feet.

An explosion shot in the sound stage on 4 June 2019 caused extensive damage to the external wall of the stage.^[8]

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^[9]
• Moonraker (1979): Cable car closeups/Special effects model work for the space battle
• Superman II (1980): giant model of Metropolis streets and buildings^[10]
• Clash of the Titans (1981): Lair of the Stygian Witches and travelling matte work
• Dragonslayer (1981): exterior of dragon's lair; set built above tank so dragon could burst through the ground^[11]
• For Your Eyes Only (1981): The underwater wreck of the St. Georges
• Krull (1983): Swamp
• Octopussy (1983): Hangar explosion^[12] /Monsoon Palace courtyard and helipad for a JetRanger helicopter; helipad later removed from the "giant set" and rebuilt outside for landing and takeoff scenes of the Aérospatiale SA 360 Dauphin helicopter.^[13]
• Superman III (1983): Supercomputer cave^[14]
• Legend (1984): Forest scene
• Arena (1985): Concert film and the video for "The Wild Boys" by Duran Duran
• (1985): Santa's workshop
• A View to a Kill (1985): Zorin's silicon mine, scenes of flooding
• Little Shop of Horrors (1986): Skid Row set ^[15]
• The Living Daylights (1987): music video by A-Ha
• The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988): The South Seas ^[16]
• Batman (1989): The Batcave^[17]
• Alien 3 (1992): Blast furnace
• Interview with the Vampire (1994): Theatre of the Vampires
• Mary Reilly (1996)^[18]
• Mission: Impossible (1996): Full-size TGV model filmed against green screen for Channel Tunnel chase sequence
• Event Horizon (1997): "Second Containment area" and passageway with globe and rotating spikes
• 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
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: Pharaoh scenes with big Sphinx head ^[19]
• The World Is Not Enough (1999): Russian nuclear testing facility
• (2001): Stage divided into two: First tomb built on one side, second tomb built on the other side^[20]
• 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
• The Da Vinci Code (2006): The Louvre gallery
• Casino Royale (2006): Venice piazza and interior of sinking hotel.
• Mamma Mia! (2008): Greek fishing village
• Quantum of Solace (2008): Sienese art gallery; cisterns and MI6 safehouse; sink hole; hotel elevator; three levels of walkways and staircases for ECO hotel
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010): Alamut castle
• (2011): the Fountain of Youth
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011): The Dark Forest
• Intel Ultrabook: Egypt Commercial (2012):^[21] New York street and Egyptian street ^[22]
• Prometheus (2012): Pyramid entrance, tunnels, and ampule chamber with giant statue head; set was so big that the 007 Stage had an annex added to its north side to accommodate 150 foot sloping incline towards entrance;^[23] ampule chamber later revamped to become pilot chamber with "jockey chair"^[24]
• Skyfall (2012): MI6's underground headquarters; Shanghai skyscraper atrium and offices with working elevator;^[25] underground platform; tunnels; and train crash
• Last Passenger (2013): Three days of pick-up shots.
• (2013): Water-filled "Wall Street vent facility."^[26]
• Maleficent (2014)^[27]
• Cinderella (2015): Ballroom;^[28] Cinderella's attic
• Everest (2015): Mountainous crags constructed using styrofoam and chips of soap/potato as snow, backed by huge green screens^[29]
• Spectre (2015): M's office and corridor; Palazzo Cadenza hall interior;^[30] full-scale replica of Westminster Bridge, laid with real tarmac,^[31] for full-scale helicopter crash and subsequent scenes.^[32]
• Assassin's Creed (2016): United Nations set;^[33] Abstergo complex including patient's room, hallway, recreation area, corridor and security room with exposed walls that make it look like it is built within an old Spanish church^[34]
• Emmerdale (2016), scenes of Aaron Dingle and Robert Sugden's car submerged in water.
• (2017): Canto Bight casino^[35]
• (2018): Corellian spaceport;^[36] Mimban trenches.^[37]
• No Time to Die (2021): Mock-up of research laboratory Porton Down.^[38] Controlled explosion resulted in partial damage to stage and injury of crew member outside stage^[39]

Contrary to some sources (including IMDb), The Living Daylights did not film on the 007 Stage except for a music video by A-ha.^[40] Reports that parts of Supergirl were filmed on the 007 stage are not true.^[41] The Sulaco cargo bay set for Aliens was built on D Stage,^[42] and the frozen lake in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 was filmed on A Stage^[43]

External links

• Official page on 007 Stage

Notes and References

1. Book: Frayling, Christopher . 2005 . Ken Adam and the Art of Production Design . . London/New York City . 978-0-571-22057-1 . 179 . registration .
2. May 1977 . Behind the Scenes of The Spy Who Loved Me — Plus Pinewood's 007 Stage - The American Society of Cinematographers . American Cinematographer . 2021-09-06.
3. Web site: PINEWOOD STUDIO FIRE . ITN Source . 5 August 2012 . https://archive.today/20130126140843/http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist/ITN/1984/06/27/AS270684007/?setlng=true&save=Save&v=0&a=1 . 26 January 2013.
4. Interview with Ridley Scott, Starlog No. 101, December 1985.
5. News: Fire wrecks James Bond film stage. BBC News. 30 July 2006. 5 August 2012.
6. News: Bond film stage 'will be rebuilt'. BBC News. 31 July 2006. 31 July 2006.
7. News: 007 Stage construction completed. Pinewood Studios. 10 April 2007. 30 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110930160508/http://www.007stage.com/. dead.
8. News: 'Explosion' on Bond set injures one. BBC News. 5 June 2019.
9. "The Making of Superman the Movie" by David Michael Petrou. Scenes inside the Fortress of Solitude were filmed on the H stage at Shepperton Studios
10. Web site: SUPERMAN II (1980) - Set of Four Building Construction Blueprints. iCollector.com Online Auctions.
11. [Cinefex]
12. Interview with John Richardson Cinefex 33, Feb 1988
13. Web site: The James Bond 007 Dossier | On the set of Octopussy. 4 February 2013 .
14. Watching Skies: Star Wars, Spielberg and Us by Mark O'Connell
15. Web site: Little Shop of Horrors. Brian Muir Vader Sculptor.
16. Web site: Blog September 2019.
17. "Pinewood: The Story of an Iconic Studio" by Bob McCabe; Cinefex 41, p.11 "the bat cave... was built on the largest stage at Pinewood;" one source says the Batcave was built on D stage at Pinewood, a stage a third of the size of 007 Stage
18. News: My Kingdom for a Sound Stage. Linda. Lee. The New York Times. 20 January 1997.
19. Web site: Donny's 'Dreamcoat' hits the video shelves. 31 March 2000. DeseretNews.com.
20. http://www.pinewoodgroup.com/our-studios/uk/pinewood-studios/stages/007-stage-pw "007 Stage (PW) Pinewood Studios | United Kingdom studio sound stage"
21. Web site: Intel Ultrabook: Egypt. 26 October 2012. www.imdb.com.
22. Web site: JOHN EBDEN » Intel – Egypt / Rattling Stick / Dir Danny Kleinman. 31 May 2016. 22 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160822160145/http://johnebden.com/project/intel-egypt-rattling-stick-dir-danny-kleinman/. dead.
23. Prometheus: The Art of the Film by Mark Salisbury
24. Web site: Prometheus: rebuilding hallowed vfx space. 13 June 2012.
25. Bond By Design: The Art of the James Bond Films
26. http://www.pinewoodgroup.com/our-studios/uk/pinewood-studios/credits?view=/production/jack-ryan "Credits | Pinewood - Film studio facilities & services"
27. http://www.pinewoodgroup.com/our-studios/uk/pinewood-studios/credits?view=/production/maleficent "Credits | Pinewood - Film studio facilities & services"
28. Web site: 'Cinderella': Behind the Magic With Oscar-Winning Production Designer Dante Ferretti. The Hollywood Reporter. 17 March 2015.
29. Web site: the studiotour.com - Everest (2015). www.thestudiotour.com.
30. Web site: Spectre Film Locations. movie-locations.com. dead. 21 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20161128090846/http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/s/Spectre.html#.Vnhh4vmLTIU. 28 November 2016.
31. News: Dean . Jonathan . Daniel Craig: Bond's got 'serious f***ing problems' . New Zealand Herald . 17 October 2015.
32. Blood, Sweat, and Bond: Behind the Scenes of Spectre
33. Web site: MFR's Set Diary: 'ASSASSIN'S CREED'- Entry #1 . 8 June 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160522140922/http://www.latino-review.com/news/mfrs-set-diary-assassins-creed-entry-1 . 22 May 2016 . dead .
34. Web site: 'Assassin's Creed': 35 Things to Know about the Ambitious Video Game Adaptation. Adam. Chitwood. Collider. 12 May 2016.
35. Web site: Star Wars: Episode VIII's Fear & Loathing in Space Vegas!. 23 March 2016.
36. The Art of Solo: A Star Wars Story by Phil Szostak and James Clyne
37. Web site: Bradford Young ASC / Solo: A Star Wars Story. 12 June 2018.
38. Web site: James Bond 25 set EXPLOSION sees more DELAYS amid Government Health & Safety investigation. George. Simpson. 6 June 2019. Express.co.uk.
39. News: Explosion on Bond 25 set injures crew member. The Guardian . 5 June 2019. www.theguardian.com.
40. "The Making of the Living Daylights" by Charles Helfenstein
41. Web site: Interview with SUPERGIRL Producer Ilya Salkind – Supergirl: Maid of Might.
42. [Cinefex]
43. Web site: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Callsheet 209 . Warner Bros. . July 7, 2022.