| Elstree Studios | |
|---|---|
 Elstree Studios as viewed from the south-west, May 2010 | |
 Interactive map of Elstree Studios | |
| Former names |
|
| Alternative names | Elstree Film and TV Studios |
| General information | |
| Type | Film and television studios |
| Location | Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, WD6 1JG[1], United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°39′29″N0°16′09″W / 51.6581°N 0.2691°W /51.6581; -0.2691 |
| Current tenants | Elstree Film Studios Limited |
| Construction started | 1925 (1925) |
| Owner |
|
| Website | |
| www | |
Elstree Studios on Shenley Road,Borehamwood, Hertfordshire is a British film and television production centre operated byElstree Film Studios Limited. One of several facilities historically referred to asElstree Studios, the Shenley Road studios originally opened in 1925.
The studio complex has passed through many owners during its lifetime, and is now owned byHertsmere Borough Council. Known as the studios used for filmingAlfred Hitchcock'sBlackmail (1929)—the first Britishtalkie,Star Wars (1977),The Shining (1980) andIndiana Jones, its largest stage is known as the George Lucas Soundstage 2[2] (15,770 sq ft), with the studios used both for film and television productions.
With theBBC Elstree Centre nearby, a number of the stages are leased toBBC Studioworks, and are used for recording television productions such asStrictly Come Dancing.
British National Pictures Ltd purchased 40 acres (16 ha) of land on the south side of Shenley Road and began construction of two large film stages in 1925. After discord among the partners, which by this time includedHerbert Wilcox, their solicitorJohn Maxwell invested and was able to gain control of the company.[3] The first film produced there wasMadame Pompadour (1927).
By 1927, Maxwell controlled all the stock, and the company was renamedBritish International Pictures (BIP) and the second stage was ready for production in 1928. Maxwell placedAlfred Hitchcock under contract in a 3-year, 12-picture deal, and after several silents, he was responsible forBlackmail (1929), the first Britishtalkie released, which was produced at the studios. At the end of thesilent-film era, six new sound stages were built; three of these were sold to theBritish & Dominions Film Corporation with BIP retaining the remaining stages.Elstree Calling (1930), made by BIP, was reputedly Britain's first musical film.[4][5]
BIP becameAssociated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) in 1933,[6] although the BIP name continued to be used for some purposes until 31 March 1937.[7] Maxwell died in 1940 and duringWorld War II, the studios were used by theWar Office for storage.[8]
In 1946,Warner Brothers acquired a substantial interest in ABPC, appointed a new board and decided to rebuild the stages. This was completed in 1948 and work began onMan on the Run followed byThe Hasty Heart starringRichard Todd andRonald Reagan.
The Shenley Road studios were frequently used in the 1960s for productions on film for ABPC's television arm,ABC Weekend TV. Later episodes ofThe Avengers were among these (which were credited to "ABC Television Films Ltd, Associated British Elstree Studios"). Several similar productions byITC forATV were also filmed there, includingThe Saint,The Baron,Department S andThe Champions. All of these series made extensive use of a townscape standing set constructed at the rear of the studio site, originally for the 1961Cliff Richard filmThe Young Ones.
In 1969,Electric and Musical Industries (EMI) finally gained control of ABPC and the studios were renamedEMI-Elstree Studios.[9]
In 1969,Bryan Forbes was appointed head of production of the film studio (seeEMI Films).Dennis Barker, in his obituary of Forbes forThe Guardian, states that "This amounted virtually to an attempt to revive the ailing British film industry by instituting a traditional studio system with a whole slate of films in play."[10] Under Forbes's leadership, the studio producedThe Railway Children (1970),The Tales of Beatrix Potter (1971) andThe Go-Between (1971), all successful films.[11][12][13] His tenure though, was short-lived and marked by financial problems, brought about by deliberately withheld funding and failed projects. Forbes resigned in 1971.[14][15] In his autobiographyA Divided Life he states that "They were years of high hopes, of excitement, often of fulfilment and contrary to what various pundits said after the event, the programme proved a commercial success, returning according to the latest [1992] figures a profit in excess of £16,000,000 on a capital outlay of £4,000,000."[16] During the period 1970–73, EMI had a short-lived production and distribution deal with the AmericanMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio, after the closure of theirMGM-British Studios in Elstree. During this period the facilities were known as theEMI-MGM Elstree Studios.[9]
In 1974, Andrew Mitchell took over from Ian Scott as managing director of the studios, but was almost immediately told to close the facility and lay off all the staff. Due to the sterling efforts of Mitchell and the help of John Reed, who was on the board of EMI, and Alan Sapper, the head of the ACTT Union, Mitchell turned the studios into afour-wall facility, which effectively meant reducing the staff to administration, with the exception of the dubbing facility and having freelance crew being brought in by each production company. This was inevitable, due to the changing nature of cinematic styles that relied increasingly on location shooting and the reduced financial involvement of EMI in its own film productions, thus rendering a permanent production staff employed full-time at the facility redundant.
Films shot at the facility over the next few years included theAgatha Christiemystery filmMurder on the Orient Express (1974), directed bySidney Lumet;Ken Russell'sValentino (1977;Stanley Kubrick'sThe Shining (1980);Fred Zinnemann's drama filmJulia (1977); and most significantly for the studio's immediate survival, through a deal brokered by Andrew Mitchell,George Lucas withStar Wars (1977). This led to subsequent Lucas productions such as theStar Wars sequels andIndiana Jones franchise being made at Elstree, and also brought in directorsSteven Spielberg andJim Henson. This was the golden era of the construction picture, which essentially required large studio facilities to fulfill the filmmakers' vision, beforecomputer-generated imagery technology and Elstree became synonymous with this kind of picture due to the success of theStar Wars andIndiana Jones films.
In 1979,Thorn Electrical Industries merged with EMI after EMI's debacle with its invention of theCT Scanner, and the studios were renamedThorn-EMI Elstree Studios.[9]
The studios were put up for sale in 1985. A management team beat off all other prospective buyers with the help ofAlan Bond but the team had difficulty raising their share of the purchase price and Bond took over. Soon afterwards he sold the studios to theHerron-Cannon Group in 1986. In 1987,Weintraub Entertainment Group attempted to buy the studios, but the deal collapsed.[17] In June 1988, Cannon sold the studios to a consortium of property developers formed by merchant bank Tranwood Earl.[18] Following industry concerns over the plans of the property developers, the leisure and property companyBrent Walker plc formed a joint venture with Tranwood Earl two months later and acquired the site from the consortium for £32.5 million.[19][20] A month later, Brent Walker bought out Tranwood Earl, proposing to retain seven of the ten soundstages and post-production units.[21][22] Much of thebacklot was sold off and demolished, with aTesco supermarket being built on the land.
A "Save Our Studios" campaign was launched in 1988 by managing director, Andrew Mitchell, local Town Councillor and studio historian Paul Welsh, with the support of many film actors and the general public.Hertsmere Borough Council stepped in and bought the remaining facilities in February 1996 and appointed a management company,Elstree Film & Television Studios Ltd., to run the studios in 2000. The purchase ended an eight-year struggle that was due to have culminated inHigh Court action. Brent Walker's offer to sell the site to the council, for an undisclosed sum (but no more than its worth as a film studio), represented a victory for the local authority in upholding the planning agreements that protected the studios.
The studios are now most commonly known for being the home ofWho Wants to Be a Millionaire? and theBig Brother house (previously atThree Mills Studios inBow,East London). TheBig Brother house was actually built on top of the studios' old underwater stage where scenes inThe Dam Busters (1955) andMoby-Dick (1956) were filmed. Elstree Film & Television Studios Ltd's lease expired at the end of March 2007.[citation needed]
It was announced in 2012 that the studios would be the temporary home ofBBC Studios and Post Production during the redevelopment ofTelevision Centre.[23] Shows such asStrictly Come Dancing andPointless were based on the site from spring 2013. The original plan was for the BBC to move back to refurbished Television Centre studios in 2015, however due to delays in the broader redevelopment of the old Television Centre site in July 2014, the lease was extended until 2017.[24]
Elstree Studios are now operated byElstree Film Studios Ltd, a company controlled by Hertsmere Borough Council. Feature film production continues alongside television production, commercials and pop promos; recent productions include44 Inch Chest,Bright Star,1408,Son of Rambow,Amazing Grace,The Other Boleyn Girl,Notes on a Scandal,Breaking and Entering,Flyboys,Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones andStar Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith,Dancing on Ice andAre You Smarter Than A 10 Year Old? for Sky television among many others.
On 25 November 2019 it was announced that Elstree Studios would continue with their partnership withBBC Studioworks to provide television studio facilities. The arrangement will see the use of stages by the BBC continue until at least March 2024.[25]
In December 2023, owners Hertsmere Borough Council were granted permission to demolish Sound Stages 7, 8 and 9, by their planning committee. Planning consents to replace the unsafe structures due to thereinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, defects that had been found in the roof are expected, once demolition is completed in August 2024.[26][27]
