Page 31 - FILM STUDIOS CROPPED

Photo left: David Lodge, Peter Sellers and Bernard Cribbins in The Two-Way Stretch; inset top: Tony Scott with his Managing Director Denis Carrigan; inset centre: The Manor House and gardens (photo Hugh Gilbert).
studio facilities
SIMPLY
SHEPPERTON The studio run by filmmakers for the benefit other filmmakers.
F or a while during the boom and bust 1980s, Shepperton Studios appeared to be fading fast from its former glory. A sprawling facil- ity just half an hour from London, the stu- dio had been at the heart of British film-
making since 1932. In those early years pioneering directors such as George King, Ralph
Ince, W.P. Lipscombe and John
Baxter thrived, but 50 years on it
seemed like things were winding down to an ignominious last act.
Denis Carrigan, the MD of the studio and a well versed 32-year old industry veteran recalls the mood of this time only too well. In 1984 he was running Wembley Studios for Lee International, when they decided to acquire Shepperton as a going concern.
“In those days there were stages hired out permanently to other com- panies,” he sighs. “The Who owned a lease on the two small J and K stages as well as a substantial part of the old manor house. The place was like a trading estate, business wasn’t too good then and the remainder of it was owned by an advertising proper- ty company who were more interest- ed in what they could take out than what they could invest into.”
Having stood still for nearly the
best part of a decade the task of mak-
ing Shepperton Studios a viable competitor in a busy marketplace proved even greater than Lee International could manage. Although they laid the foundations for the studio’s eventual revival, the size of the task and the slump in domestic pro- duction meant that further investment and energy would have to come from somewhere else.
As it happened it came from Ridley and Tony Scott, film director brothers (responsible between them for movies like Alien, Blade Runner, Crimson Tide and Top Gun) who had forged an enviable reputation for high quality, highly com- mercial movies in Europe and Hollywood.
The pair of them are exceptional, they let us get on with managing the place, while any ideas are thrown forward and discussed. It’s a good rela- tionship that we have. And they’ve done what they said they would, which bodes well for the future.”
Doing what they said has included a gradual refurbishment of the facilities and infrastructure within the studio site, as well as major capital investment in soundstages, dubbing theatres,
edit suites, offices and equipment. “We’ve had a £12 million spend in the last three and a half to four years,” Carrigan adds.”And you can really see it. We’ve got new build- ings, new offices, as well as 20 acres of land that we purchased 18 months ago. And that’s capital investment over and above the usual upkeeping
expenditure on the place.
“The ongoing renewal of the stu-
dio is especially important because of the neglect in our recent past. We also have in place what we call an Infrastructure and Refurbishment Budget, which is our non revenue producing money. In the year to date we’ve spent about two million upgrading facilities, which is not like putting up another stage or opening another dubbing theatre. It’s our infrastructure, so it’s money that
you don’t see, but you have to do it otherwise the place will literally fall down around us.”
With the upturn in film production in the UK adding to the feeling of optimism, it is no exagger- ation to say now that Shepperton is buzzing. “And we’re not even that busy today,” Denis Carrigan beams. “We’re just winding down on a Universal
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For Carrigan, the thought of one of the UK’s pre-eminent studios being owned and run by film- makers once more was simply irresistible.
“It was very exciting,” he nods, “and, I think, good news for the British film industry. Ridley’s a very practical man, he’s got a good understanding of the business and he looks at the bigger picture.