Pinewood Studios to Open U.S. facility

Pinewood Studios plans a U.S. production facility near Atlanta, according to THE ASSOCIATED PRESS VIA HITFIX.

Pinewood is known to James Bond fans as the primary production home for James Bond films, with various exceptions such as Licence to Kill and GoldenEye.

Here’s an excerpt of the AP story:

The large-scale film complex will be called Pinewood Atlanta, and Pinewood will manage the facility under an agreement with a group of private investors. Plans call for the studio to be developed on 288 acres south of Atlanta in Fayette County and initially include at least five soundstages as well as production offices.

According to AP, Pinewood Atlanta is a joint venture between Pinewood Shepperton PLC and River’s Rock LLC, “an independently managed trust of the Cathy family” which is “known for establishing the Chick-fil-A fast-food restaurant empire based in Atlanta. The chain last year generated both criticism and support when company president Dan Cathy made comments against same-sex marriage. The company later said it would stop funding anti-gay marriage groups.”

Construction is underway and the first production work will begin in January, Andrew Smith, a Pinewood executive, told AP.