Shepperton Studios

Film studio, special effects studios and pre- and post-production centre

Shepperton Studios

Shepperton Studios in January 2014

Company type| Subsidiary
Industry| Film, television
Genre| Film studio
Founded| 1931; 94 years ago (1931) (as Sound Film Producing & Recording Studios)
Headquarters|

Shepperton, Surrey

England

Parent| The Pinewood Studios Group

Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused with the Californian recording studio of the same name).

## History

[edit]

### 1930s–1960s

[edit]

Shepperton Studios was built on the grounds of Littleton Park, which was built in the 17th century by local nobleman Thomas Wood. The old mansion still stands on the site.

Scottish businessman Norman Loudon purchased Littleton Park in 1931 for use by his new film company, Sound Film Producing & Recording Studios; the facility opened in 1932. The studios, which produced both short and feature films, expanded rapidly. Proximity to the Vickers-Armstrongs aircraft factory at Brooklands, which attracted German bombers, disrupted filming during the Second World War, as did the requisitioning of the studios in 1941 by the government, who first used it for sugar storage and later to create decoy aircraft and munitions for positioning in the Middle East. The Ministry of Aircraft Production also took over part of the studios for the production of Vickers Wellington bomber components early in the war.

After re-opening in 1945, the studios changed hands. When Sir Alexander Korda purchased British Lion Films, he also acquired a controlling interest in Sound City and Shepperton Studios.[1] Among the films in which he was involved during this period were The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949) which was shot both at the studios and on location and has been referred to as the best British film noir.[2]

In spite of such successes, British Lion ran into financial difficulties in the 1950s when it was unable to repay a 1949 loan from the National Film Finance Corporation and went into receivership on 1 July 1954.[3] In January 1955, a new company, British Lion Films Ltd, was formed and Roy and John Boulting took over at Shepperton Studios. The studio was rebuilt and reopened in September 1958.[4] The Boulting's comedies, such as I'm All Right Jack (1959), were produced there, as were dramas from other film-makers such as J. Lee Thompson's The Guns of Navarone (1961). The studio's other projects from the same decade include Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove (1964)[5] and the musical Oliver! (1968), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.[6]

### 1970s–present

[edit]

A street sign at Shepperton Studios

Despite the financial ups and downs of British Lion and the changing of hands, the studios remained active until the early 1970s. In 1969, the studios produced 27 films; by 1971 this number had fallen to seven. Production throughout the 1970s was erratic, reaching a low of two films by 1979. Among the problems faced by Shepperton Studios during this time was the desire of new British Lion director John Bentley to sell the grounds for housing, since redeveloping the land would have nearly doubled its value. A compromise was proposed, and in 1973 the area of the studios was reduced from 60 acres (24 ha) to 20 acres (8.1 ha).

The studios' 1970s credits include Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and Jimmy Perry and David Croft's Dad's Army (both 1971), Richard Attenborough's Young Winston (1972) and Fred Zinnemann's The Day of the Jackal (1973). Also around this time, the rock group Led Zeppelin filmed some concert scenes at Shepperton that were used in their live concert film, "The Song Remains the Same". These scenes were used to fill gaps in footage of a Madison Square Garden concert from 1973.

In 1975, the studios were again transferred to new ownership and in spite of sparse production schedules served as the filming site of some high-budget productions, including Richard Donner's The Omen (1976), Franklin Schaffner's The Boys from Brazil (1978), Ridley Scott's Alien (1979), David Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980), Attenborough's Gandhi (1982) and David Lean's A Passage to India (1984). In 1978, rock band The Who filmed live concert scenes at Shepperton for their documentary The Kids Are Alright (1979). These turned out to be the band's final live performance with drummer Keith Moon, who died later that year.

In 1984, Shepperton Studios changed hands coming under the control of brothers John and Benny Lee, who renovated the studios but soon lost control as a result of the "Black Monday" of 1987, the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike and internal issues within their company, Lee International. Bankers Warburg Pincus acquired the studios, which became busy with the filming of TV shows including Thomas & Friends and its sister series, TUGS, as well as such films as Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet (1990), Kevin Reynolds' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and Nicholas Hytner's The Madness of King George (1994). In 1995, the studios were purchased by a consortium headed by Ridley and Tony Scott, which led to an extensive renovation of the studios as well as the expansion and improvement of its grounds, and was also involved with the filming 101 Dalmatians in 1996.

In 2001, Shepperton Studios was sold to the Pinewood Group, which also owns Pinewood Studios in the UK, as well as Pinewood Studio Berlin in Germany, Pinewood Toronto Studios in Canada, Pinewood Indomina Studios in the Dominican Republic and Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios in Malaysia.

In July 2019, Netflix announced that it would be opening a hub at the studios.[7]

In November 2021, Netflix announced that it would extend its long-term deal with the studios. The studio's owner Pinewood Group also announced that the studios would expend approximately 1 million square feet of the new production space, with the overall studio set to comprise 17 sound stages.[8]

In February 2022, Amazon Prime Video signed a multi-million pound long-term deal with the studios for exclusive use of new production facilities.[9]

## Stages and locations

[edit]

Shepperton Studios has 31 stages,[10] ranging in size from 3,000 square feet (280 m2) to 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2), five of which are equipped with interior tanks for water and underwater filming. Although often described as the home of independent film and TV production in the UK, the studios have also served as a production base for big-budget films such as Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), the filming for which used eight of the fifteen stages. The British TV series Thomas & Friends was shot on the "T Stage" from 1986 to 2008, after which the live action models originally used were replaced with computer animation.

The nearby Little House and surrounding grounds have been used as a filming location for films such as The Omen (1976) and The Young Victoria (2009). The studios also have two large backlots, which were used to create two castle compounds for the film 47 Ronin.

## See also

[edit]

* List of productions filmed at Pinewood Group facilities – for a list of productions shot or produced at Shepperton.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Shepperton Studios – History
2. ^ See for example Malcolm, Derek (16 March 2000). "Carol Reed: The Third Man". The Guardian. "The Third Man... [Carol Reed's] second collaboration with Graham Greene, is probably the best film noir ever made out of Britain."; reprinted in Derek Malcolm A Century of Films, London & New York: I.B Tauris, 2000, p.51-53, 51
3. ^ The Times, 2 June 1954, page 6: Receiver for British Lion Film Corporation – found in the Times Digital Archive (subscription required) 25 July 2014
4. ^ "Chatter: London". Variety. 10 September 1958. p. 150. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
5. ^ the casting credits after the film indicate the studio.
6. ^ "The 41st Academy Awards (1969) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
7. ^ Sweney, Mark (3 July 2019). "Netflix strikes production deal with Shepperton Studios". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
8. ^ Ritman, Alex (16 November 2021). "Netflix Extends Shepperton Deal, U.K. Studio to Double in Size". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
9. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (9 February 2022). "Amazon Prime Video Pacts With Pinewood to Take U.K. Studio Space at Shepperton". Variety. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
10. ^ "Shepperton Studios: Second Biggest Film and HETV Studio in the World". Pinewood Group. Retrieved 16 May 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Shepperton Studios
* The Pinewood Studios Group
* Official history
* Shepperton Studios Biography

* v
* t
* e

Pinewood Group

Studios|

| Current|

* Pinewood Studios
* List of productions
* 007 Stage
* Underwater Stage
* Pinewood Toronto Studios
* Shepperton Studios

|

Former|

* Iskandar Malaysia Studios
* Seren Stiwdios
* Teddington Studios
* Trilith Studios

Under construction|

* Pinewood Indomina Studios

* v
* t
* e

Borough of Spelthorne

Towns, villages and localities|

* Ashford
* Ashford Common
* Charlton
* Laleham
* Littleton
* Lower Halliford
* Lower Sunbury
* Shepperton
* Staines-upon-Thames
* Stanwell
* Stanwell Moor
* Sunbury-on-Thames
* Sunbury Common
* Upper Halliford

Key parks|

* Ashford Park Rec. Ground
* Beechwood Rec. Ground
* Bishop Duppas Park
* Knowle Green
* Laleham Park
* Spelthorne Sports Ground
* Long Lane Rec. Ground
* Shortwood Common
* Staines Moor
* (Staines) Lammas
* Staines Park
* Sunbury Park
* Town Lane Rec. Ground
* Walled Garden, Sunbury

Large listed buildings|

| Churches|

* All Saints', Laleham
* St Hilda's, Ashford
* St Mary's, Staines
* St Matthew's, Ashford
* St Mary's, Stanwell
* St Mary Magdalene's, Littleton
* St Nicholas', Shepperton

|

Other|

* Halliford School
* Laleham Abbey
* Littleton Manor
* The Old Manor House, Shepperton
* Shepperton Manor
* St Paul's College
* St James Senior Boys School
* Sunbury Court

Education|

* The Bishop Wand Church of England School
* Halliford School
* Matthew Arnold School
* St James Senior Boys School
* St. Paul's College, Sunbury-on-Thames
* Spelthorne College
* Sunbury Manor School
* Thamesmead School

Railway stations|

* Ashford
* Kempton Park
* Shepperton
* Staines
* Sunbury
* Upper Halliford

Buildings and structures|

* Kempton Park Racecourse
* Kempton Park Reservoirs
* Kempton Park Steam Engines
* King George VI Reservoir
* Queen Mary Reservoir
* Shepperton Studios
* Staines Reservoirs
* Wraysbury Reservoir
* Thames Water Ring Main
* M3 motorway and Thames Crossing
* Staines Bridge
* Chertsey Bridge
* Walton Bridge

Sport|

| Football|

* Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C.
* Spelthorne Sports F.C.
* Staines & Lammas (Middlesex) F.C.
* Staines Town F.C.

|

Rugby|

* London Irish RFC
* London Irish Amateur Rugby Football Club
* Staines Rugby Football Club

Other|

* Staines Boat Club
* Sunbury Cricket Club
* West Surrey Racing

Destroyed landmarks|

* Ashford Manor
* Astleham Church
* Stanwell Place
* Kempton Manor
* Sunbury Manor

* v
* t
* e

Cinema of the United Kingdom

Films by year|

* Pre-1920
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Production companies
and studios|

| Active|

* Aardman Animations
* BBC Film
* Big Talk Studios
* British Lion Films
* DNA Films
* DNEG
* Ealing Studios
* Elstree Studios
* Eon Productions
* Film4 Productions
* Framestore
* Goldcrest Films
* Hammer Film Productions
* HandMade Films
* Heyday Films
* The Imaginarium
* London Films
* Longcross Studios
* Mister Smith Entertainment
* Number 9 Films
* Passion Pictures
* Pinewood Group
* Pinewood Studios
* Shepperton Studios
* Recorded Picture Company
* Scott Free Productions
* Shinfield Studios
* Syncopy Inc.
* S4C
* Thin Man Films
* Vertigo Films
* Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden
* Warp Films
* Wimbledon Studios
* Working Title Films

|

Former|

* Amicus Productions
* Associated British Picture Corporation
* Astra Films
* British and Dominions
* British Instructional Films
* British National Films Company
* Butcher's Film Service
* Clapham Studios
* Clarendon Film Company
* Craven Park Studios
* Bryanston Films
* The Danzigers
* Denham Film Studios
* Eagle-Lion Films
* Eros Films
* Esher Studios
* G. B. Samuelson Productions
* Gainsborough Pictures
* Gate Studios
* General Film Distributors
* Halas and Batchelor
* Hemdale Film Corporation
* Hepworth Pictures
* Holmfirth Studios
* Ideal Film Company
* Jellyfish Pictures
* Kensington Studios
* London Film Company
* Mancunian Films
* MGM-British Studios
* Merton Park Studios
* The Rank Organisation
* Rock Studios
* Southall Studios
* Stoll Pictures
* Surbiton Studios
* Tempean Films
* Tigon British Film Productions
* Warwick Films
* Woodfall Film Productions
* Woolf & Freedman Film Service

Genres and
movements|

* British New Wave
* Horror films of Britain
* Documentary Film Movement
* Ealing comedies
* Free Cinema
* Kitchen sink realism
* Gainsborough melodramas

Organisations|

* British Academy of Film and Television Arts
* British Board of Film Classification
* British Film Institute
* BFI National Archive
* BFI Southbank
* British Society of Cinematographers
* Children's Film Foundation
* Cinema Exhibitors' Association
* Moving Image Archive
* National Film and Television School
* National Science and Media Museum
* Northern Ireland Screen
* UK Film Council

People|

* Actors
* Directors

Other|

* Box office
* British Academy Film Awards
* British Independent Film Awards
* Carry On
* Censorship
* Cinematograph Films Act 1927
* Eady Levy
* Harry Potter
* History of British film certificates
* UK Video Charts
* James Bond
* BFI London Film Festival
* Look at Life
* London in film
* National Theatre Live
* Telecinema

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Academy Award for Best Sound

1929–1950|

* Douglas Shearer (1929/30)
* Paramount Publix Studio Sound Department (1930/31)
* Paramount Publix Studio Sound Department (1931/32)
* Franklin Hansen (1932/33)
* John P. Livadary (1934)
* Douglas Shearer (1935)
* Douglas Shearer (1936)
* Thomas T. Moulton (1937)
* Thomas T. Moulton (1938)
* Bernard B. Brown (1939)
* Douglas Shearer (1940)
* Jack Whitney (1941)
* Nathan Levinson (1942)
* Stephen Dunn (1943)
* Edmund H. Hansen (1944)
* Stephen Dunn (1945)
* John P. Livadary (1946)
* Gordon E. Sawyer (1947)
* Thomas T. Moulton (1948)
* Thomas T. Moulton (1949)
* Thomas T. Moulton (1950)

1951–1975|

* Douglas Shearer (1951)
* London Films Sound Department (1952)
* John P. Livadary (1953)
* Leslie I. Carey (1954)
* Fred Hynes (1955)
* Carlton W. Faulkner (1956)
* George Groves (1957)
* Fred Hynes (1958)
* Franklin Milton (1959)
* Fred Hynes and Gordon E. Sawyer (1960)
* Gordon E. Sawyer and Fred Hynes (1961)
* John Cox (1962)
* Franklin Milton (1963)
* George Groves (1964)
* James Corcoran and Fred Hynes (1965)
* Franklin Milton (1966)
* Samuel Goldwyn Studio (1967)
* Shepperton Studios (1968)
* Jack Solomon and Murray Spivack (1969)
* Douglas Williams and Don Bassman (1970)
* Gordon McCallum and David Hildyard (1971)
* Robert Knudson and David Hildyard (1972)
* Robert Knudson and Christopher Newman (1973)
* Ronald Pierce and Melvin Metcalfe Sr. (1974)
* Robert Hoyt, Roger Heman Jr., Earl Madery, and John Carter (1975)

1976–2000|

* Arthur Piantadosi, Les Fresholtz, Dick Alexander, and Jim Webb (1976)
* Don MacDougall, Ray West, Bob Minkler, and Derek Ball (1977)
* Richard Portman, William McCaughey, Aaron Rochin, and Darin Knight (1978)
* Walter Murch, Mark Berger, Richard Beggs, and Nat Boxer (1979)
* Bill Varney, Steve Maslow, Gregg Landaker, and Peter Sutton (1980)
* Bill Varney, Steve Maslow, Gregg Landaker, and Roy Charman (1981)
* Robert Knudson, Robert Glass, Don Digirolamo, and Gene Cantamessa (1982)
* Mark Berger, Tom Scott, Randy Thom, and David MacMillan (1983)
* Mark Berger, Tom Scott, Todd Boekelheide, and Christopher Newman (1984)
* Chris Jenkins, Gary Alexander, Larry Stensvold, and Peter Handford (1985)
* John Wilkinson, Richard Rogers, Charles Grenzbach, and Simon Kaye (1986)
* Bill Rowe and Ivan Sharrock (1987)
* Les Fresholtz, Dick Alexander, Vern Poore, and Willie D. Burton (1988)
* Donald O. Mitchell, Gregg Rudloff, Elliot Tyson, and Russell Williams II (1989)
* Jeffrey Perkins, Bill W. Benton, Gregory H. Watkins, and Russell Williams II (1990)
* Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson, Gary Summers, and Lee Orloff (1991)
* Chris Jenkins, Doug Hemphill, Mark Smith, and Simon Kaye (1992)
* Gary Rydstrom, Gary Summers, Shawn Murphy, and Ron Judkins (1993)
* Gregg Landaker, Steve Maslow, Bob Beemer, and David MacMillan (1994)
* Rick Dior, Steve Pederson, Scott Millan, and David MacMillan (1995)
* Walter Murch, Mark Berger, David Parker, and Christopher Newman (1996)
* Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson, Gary Summers, and Mark Ulano (1997)
* Gary Rydstrom, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, and Ron Judkins (1998)
* John T. Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, David E. Campbell, and David Lee (1999)
* Bob Beemer, Scott Millan, and Ken Weston (2000)

2001–present|

* Michael Minkler, Chris Munro, and Myron Nettinga (2001)
* David Lee, Michael Minkler, and Dominick Tavella (2002)
* Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek (2003)
* Scott Millan, Greg Orloff, Bob Beemer, and Steve Cantamessa (2004)
* Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, and Hammond Peek (2005)
* Bob Beemer, Willie D. Burton, and Michael Minkler (2006)
* Kirk Francis, Scott Millan, and David Parker (2007)
* Resul Pookutty, Richard Pryke, and Ian Tapp (2008)
* Paul N. J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett (2009)
* Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo, and Ed Novick (2010)
* Tom Fleischman and John Midgley (2011)
* Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, and Simon Hayes (2012)
* Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, and Chris Munro (2013)
* Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins, and Thomas Curley (2014)
* Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff, and Ben Osmo (2015)
* Kevin O'Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie, and Peter Grace (2016)
* Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo, and Mark Weingarten (2017)
* Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin, and John Casali (2018)
* Mark Taylor and Stuart Wilson (2019)
* Jaime Baksht, Nicolas Becker, Phillip Bladh, Carlos Cortés Navarrete, and Michelle Couttolenc (2020)
* Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill, and Ron Bartlett (2021)
* Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon, and Mark Taylor (2022)
* Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn (2023)
* Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett, and Doug Hemphill (2024)

* v
* t
* e

BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award

1979–2000|

* Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys Coop, Roy Field, Derek Meddings, Zoran Perisic, & Wally Veevers (1979)
* The Children’s Film Foundation (1980)
* Kevin Brownlow (1981)
* David Puttnam (1982)
* Arthur Wooster (1983)
* Colin Young (1984)
* Alan Parker & Alan Marshall (1985)
* Sydney Samuelson (1986)
* The Film Production Executives (1987)
* Monty Python (1988)
* Charles Crichton (1989)
* Lewis Gilbert (1990)
* Jeremy Thomas (1991)
* Derek Jarman (1992)
* Kenneth Branagh (1993)
* Ken Loach (1994)
* Ridley Scott & Tony Scott (1995)
* Mike Leigh (1996)
* Film4 Productions (1997)
* Michael Roberts (1998)
* Michael Kuhn (1999)
* Joyce Herlihy (2000)

2001–present|

* Mary Selway (2001)
* Vic Armstrong (2002)
* Michael Stevenson & David Tomblin (2003)
* Working Title Films (2004)
* Angela Allen (2005)
* Robert Finch & Billy Merrell (2006)
* Nick Daubney (2007)
* Barry Wilkinson (2008)
* Pinewood Studios & Shepperton Studios (2009)
* Joe Dunton (2010)
* The Harry Potter film series (2011)
* John Hurt (2012)
* Tessa Ross (2013)
* Peter Greenaway (2014)
* BBC Films (2015)
* Angels Costumes (2016)
* Curzon (2017)
* National Film and Television School (2018)
* Stephen Woolley & Elizabeth Karlsen (2019)
* Andy Serkis (2020)
* ~~Noel Clarke~~ (2021)
* June Givanni (2024)
* MediCinema (2025)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States

Other|

* IdRef

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