Wang suggests decentralizing film approvals.
LONDON – U.K. studio facilities operator Pinewood Shepperton, best known as the British studio home of the James Bond franchise, on Thursday signed a consultancy services agreement with the Dalian Wanda Group in China.
The pact, announced at a signing ceremony in the British capital hosted by U.K. deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, will see Pinewood Shepperton advise on the design and construction of a new film and television studio complex.
Opening in 2016, the film studio will form part of the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis, located west of Qingdao in China’s Shandong province.
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The film studio will cover a 200-hectare area and comprise soundstages, workshops, a post-production area and themed backlots. Once completed, it will be one of China’s largest film and TV studio facilities, the partners said.
The Dalian Wanda Group is a Chinese conglomerate with activities in commercial property, luxury hotels, department stores, cinemas and tourism.
Said Clegg, “I am very pleased that this deal means British experts will be advising on the design and construction of one of China’s largest film and TV studio facilities. The agreement is great news for the British film industry, as well as a welcome boost to the wider economy.”
Pinewood CEO Ivan Dunleavy said: “We’re delighted to be working with Wanda on the design of the visionary Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis project, which we hope will be another successful step in our growing relationship with the Chinese film industry.”
Wang Jianlin, chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group, said, “Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis will be the most advanced movie studio with the largest investment of the world. Wanda has invited the best companies and talents of the world to develop this project. I believe that with its opening in 2016, it will become one of the major centers of the movie industry in the world.”
