The large James Bond stage at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire has been destroyed by fire.

At least eight fire engines tackled the blaze at the set, where filming for the new movie Casino Royale had finished.

 

Eyewitness Jen McVean, who owns a firm at the studios in Iver Heath, said the stage had been "completely on fire".

 

The stage had been transformed into a replica Venice where the film, with a reported budget of £39m ($72m), is partly based.

 

The roof covering the stage caved in through fire damage and firefighters used special equipment to reach it.

 

Still alight

 

Brian Dugdale, the firefighter in charge of controlling the blaze, said: "Luckily the stage was just being disassembled after a shoot and there weren't any of the hazards that you would normally associate with filming - there weren't any pyrotechnics or anything like that.

 

"There were a number of welding kits on the stage that were being used by some engineers and one of the elements of the welding kit is an acetylene cylinder and that is still alight and so we're dealing with that.

 

"It will probably take us 24 hours to resolve that problem."

 

A spokeswoman for the Buckinghamshire Fire Brigade said it had been alerted at 1118 BST on Sunday.

 

A spokesman for Pinewood Shepperton said: "We do not know the extent of the damage to the 007 stage, although it is believed to be significant.

 

"Filming was not taking place. A production had completed filming and its film sets were in the process of being removed."

 

Submarine tank

 

Pinewood - which began life in 1935 - has a long association with the Bond films, starting with the first movie Dr No in 1962.

 

It merged with Shepperton Studios in 2001 and attracts a range of films of varying budgets.

 

Together with Ealing, the three studios have formed the backbone of the British film industry for 70 years.

 

It took more than a year for a replacement stage to be rebuilt at Pinewood following a fire in 1984.

 

It reopened in January 1985 as the Albert Broccoli 007 Stage, in honour of the producer of many Bond movies.

 

The original stage was first created in the late 1970s during the filming of The Spy Who Loved Me and was created when the script called for filming of two submarines inside an oil tanker.

 

The stage was built complete with an enormous water tank.

 

Other Bond scenes filmed around the studio include a car chase in Goldfinger's factory, and Spectre island in From Russia With Love.

 

Pinewood was hit again in 1997, when a fire broke out in the roof of a sound building where The Avengers was being filmed.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk

Bond film stage 'will be rebuilt'

 

 

The James Bond stage destroyed by fire at the weekend "will need to be demolished and rebuilt", according to a statement from Pinewood Studios.

The cause of the blaze at Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, which left the celebrated stage completely gutted, has yet to be confirmed.

 

However, Pinewood said the rest of its studios would be fully operational "by the end of today".

 

The stage was housing sets built for Casino Royale, the next Bond movie.

 

No filming was taking place at the time and there were no casualties.

 

"The production had completed shooting and was in the process of removing its film sets," said Pinewood.

 

Explosions

 

It said the studio had "well established procedures" to deal with fires which had proved effective.

 

"The Board has not been able to assess the full effects of this incident," the statement continued.

 

"However, its preliminary view is that this is unlikely to have any material impact on the financial performance of the company for the full year."

 

Buckinghamshire Fire Brigade were alerted at 1118 BST on Sunday. At least eight fire engines tackled the blaze, the smoke from which was visible from up to 10 miles away.

 

The roof covering the stage caved in through fire damage and firefighters required special equipment to reach it.

 

Witnesses heard two explosions, later attributed to welding kits including acetylene cylinders.

 

Smoke inhalation

 

It is the second time the stage, originally built for the 1977 Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, has been destroyed by fire.

 

The building was previously rebuilt following a fire in 1984 that left six people needing treatment for burns, smoke inhalation and shock.

 

Since its reopening, when it was christened the Albert R Broccoli 007 Stage after the long-time producer of the series, it has been used in five James Bond films.

 

Other films to have used its facilities include Mission: Impossible, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Tomb Raider movies.

 

The building also housed the Fortress of Solitude set used in the first two Superman films and the replica of the Louvre gallery seen in The Da Vinci Code.

 

Measuring 102m (334ft) long, 41m (136ft) wide and 12.5m (40.5ft) high, it was one of the world's largest "silent" stages - so named because it lacked the acoustic insulation required for sound recording.

 

According to specifications taken from Pinewood's website, the building was not equipped with sprinklers.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk

:rolleyes: live and let fry

:rolleyes: live and let fry

 

"Fry Another Day"??

 

"The Fry Who Loved Me"??

 

:rolleyes:

Fry are you trying to take the piss? :P

Fry are you trying to take the piss? :P

 

Because you're Busy Bee BURNS??:rolleyes:

lol :rolleyes:

Anyway, it sounds like they might need to bring George Blazenby back from the dead!!:rolleyes:

And before anyone asks, it wasn't Dr. Evil, who was seen in the area hours before the fire started.

And before anyone asks' date=' it wasn't Dr. Evil, who was seen in the area hours before the fire started.[/quote']

 

No - it's far more likely to have been Blo(torch)feld!!:P