Amazon Prime Video has taken one other huge leap into the UK movie and TV trade by buying the 70-year-old studios the place Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Energy is filmed.
Financials weren’t disclosed on the deal for Bray Movie Studios, with the primary Amazon manufacturing rolling cameras there set to be the second season of the Russo Brothers’ Citadel collection in September. Amazon MGM Studios was initially listed because the Bray acquirer, earlier than being switched to Prime Video.
Amazon, which already leases manufacturing amenities on the UK’s Shepperton Studios, will make TV collection and have movies for streamer Prime Video from the positioning in Berkshire – round 26 miles away from Central London. The acquisition consists of roughly 53,600 sq. toes of sound stage house throughout 5 phases, 77,400 sq. toes of workshops, 39,400 sq. toes of workplace, 182,900 sq. toes of backlot, and 156,000 sq. toes of parking house.
Prime Video made the second season of The Rings of Energy from Bray, which is broadly thought of the costliest TV present of all time. Different tasks to have filmed lately on the studio embrace Rocketman, Dracula and The King’s Man.
“With Bray as our inventive house within the UK, we’re dedicated to deepening {our relationships} with the UK inventive group, which is wealthy with world-class storytellers and inventive expertise of every kind,” mentioned Mike Hopkins, Head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. “The acquisition of a studio with such a storied heritage not solely empowers us to provide extra movie and tv within the UK, but additionally unveils a wealth of alternatives in the area people with respect to jobs and abilities coaching in any respect ranges of the manufacturing course of.”
Bray is greater than 70 years outdated and was fashioned by Hammer Movie Productions in 1951 earlier than being offered 20 years later. It was offered as soon as once more in 2014 and restarted filming 5 years later, subsequently touchdown The Rings of Energy. Additional again, it hosted the likes of The Rocky Horror Image Present, The Mummy, The Curse of Frankenstein and Terence Fisher’s Dracula.
Bray Chair Frank Burke mentioned the studio has had “an necessary place within the historical past of British filmmaking” for the previous 70 years. “Throughout our interval of possession, I, along with my household and group have witnessed the rebirth of this iconic facility and we’re extraordinarily pleased with the half now we have been in a position to play in bringing it to renewed prominence. We are actually genuinely excited to be handing the studios over to Amazon, who we consider share our dedication to high quality and excellence and are completely suited to preserving the character of the studio whereas enhancing the first-class inventive manufacturing areas for generations of movie makers to come back.”
Bray is simply the second UK website to be owned by a U.S. studio alongside Warner Bros. Discovery’s Leaveseden. The transfer comes greater than two years after Amazon signed a multimillion pound deal with Pinewood‘s Shepperton Studios to lease amenities there for the subsequent decade, subsequently inserting it subsequent door to Netflix, which additionally has studio house on the positioning. Disney additionally leases house at Shinfield Studios.
Notably, the information comes six months after Amazon used a written submission to a parliamentary committee to warn the British authorities to not take as a right the nation’s standing as a manufacturing hub that may rival Hollywood. The streaming large had mentioned that U.S. studios may shift shoots at “brief discover” had been the UK to change into a much less aggressive location over the approaching years.
A bunfight for UK studio house has damaged out of late, profiting from the native tax credit score and wealth of expertise now that the U.S. strikes and worst Covid-19 impacts have handed. James Corden’s Fulwell 73 is opening a £450M ($578M) movie and TV studio within the north east of England, whereas different websites have sprung up in London, Scotland and Manchester. A James Cameron-backed $950M studio in Buckinghamshire was lately refused planning permission.
