U.K.’s Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden Buys Post-Production House

LONDON – Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the Hollywood major’s studio just outside of London, has acquired U.K. sound mixing and post-production facility De Lane Lea.

The acquisition means the studio can now offer full post-production services to in-house film and TV productions and external clients in addition its production facilities and on-site production rentals at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, “mirroring the offer presented to filmmakers at Warner Bros.’ headquarters in Burbank, California.”

Part of the film and TV production community of London’s Soho district for 65 years, De Lane Lea will be renamed Warner Bros. De Lane Lea in the coming weeks. It houses three re-recording stages, two Additional Dialog Recording (ADR) stages, 40 picture editing suites, one TV mixing stage, a transfer bay for the digital delivery, conversion and ingestion of picture and sound, a 37 seat screening room and a client lounge.

De Lane Lea has served as the post-production home of such recent movies as Skyfall, Frankenweenie, Prometheus and Dark Shadows.

Warner Bros.’ association with the facility stretches as far back as 40 years with its post-production work on John Boorman’s 1972 picture, Deliverance.

The upcoming Warner Bros. movie Gravity, directed by Alfonso Cuaron and starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, is currently in post-production at De Lane Lea.

No financial details were disclosed.

The acquisition was announced Wednesday by Josh Berger, president and managing director, Warner Bros. UK, Ireland and Spain, Dan Dark, senior vp and managing director, Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden and Kim Waugh, senior vp, post-production services, Warner Bros. Studio Facilities.

Berger said: “Just five months on from the opening of Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, this latest acquisition is further evidence of our commitment to the U.K. film industry and the world-leading Greater London media cluster. Through its many years of operating, De Lane Lea has earned a power-house reputation for servicing tent-pole movies for us and other studios and, as we look to invest in the facility in the coming months and years, this standing can only grow even further.”

Dark noted the “central London means that we will be able to provide a convenient one-stop shop for all kinds of production needs, both in-house and external clients.”

Added Waugh: “By owning and operating our own post-production facility in the U.K., we’re increasing the flexibility and scheduling of our own post-production requirements, as well as those of other studios.”

Formerly the production home of all eight Harry Potter films, Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden is spread across a secure 200-acre site and houses a collection of some of the largest sound stages in the U.K. spanning over a quarter of a million square feet, including one of the largest heated underwater filming tanks in Europe.

In addition, the site provides a clear horizon 100 acre back-lot, one of the most extensive in Europe, which can be adapted for any production need.

All You Need is Kill, the Doug Liman directed sci-fi thriller starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, is currently shooting at the studios.