007’s Stage

Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England, is the home to one of the largest silent stages in the world.  Created to support the making of James Bond films after the success of a temporary stage was built at the studio in 1966, this permanent stage has priority for Bond films but it is rented out for other film making between Bond films.  A unique feature of this stage is its large floor space and accompanying huge water tank.  Currently this stage is named after Albert R. Broccoli who produced many James Bond films until his death so it is known as the “Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage”.

In 1976, the first 007 Stage was completed by building an enclosed stage around an existing 5,528 cubic meter water tank.   The enclosure was 52,275 cubic meters.  A fire in June 1984 completely burnt the stage to the ground.  After seven months of work, it was resurrected in time to support the filming of A View to Kill.  This second version of the stage remained in service for nearly two decades until it collapsed from a fire due to gas canisters exploding days after the completion of the filming for Casino Royal during July 2006.  Extensive damage required the stage to be completely demolished.  This was not the end for the stage but a new beginning as it was rebuilt.  New improvements included increased floor space at 5,500 square metres, enclosed stairwells, a vehicle ramp directly into the tank and aircraft hanger’s doors to the floor area.  The 2007 version of the stage is currently the largest stage in Europe.

The 007 stage was constructed to allow production designer Ken Adam to break new ground for the filming of A Spy Who Loved Me.  Ken needed a large stage with the capacity to allow rapid change and adaption to support water scenes.  He designed a huge stage with the heavy crane lift capability around a large water tank at Pinewood Studios.  This set allowed the creation of a super tanker interior which had the capacity to hold a three submarine bay to create a real bigger than life Bond scene.  The usefulness of this stage resulted in its continuous use for a portion of nearly every Bond film since its creation.

How do you know if you have seen the 007 stage on film?  That is the advantage of this stage, you really do not know if you have seen it.  Perhaps the only clue is that fact that it is used to create bigger than life scenes.  In the recent Bond films with Daniel Craig as Bond, the 007 stage showed up as the realistic Venetian villa which crumbled into the Venetian Grand Canal in Casino Royale.  Next, in Quantum of Solace, the interior of Perla De Las Dunas Hotel which was the setting of Bond’s violent clash with Green was the 007 stage again.  This violent clash required 50 real explosive charges to be set off within the stage.   Most recently in the movie Skyfall , the 007 Stage was used to make a London underground train crash into a service chamber.  Two 15 ton full-size London underground carriages were hung within the stage and brought up to speed before dipping down into the set to create a thrilling one chance stunt to be performed flawlessly.  Most recently, Disney has discovered the magic of the stage making scenes bigger than life and used the stage extensively in the films Maleficent and Cinderella.  The next time you see a larger than life scene in a film you may have to thank the Bond films for creating the one of a kind, 007 Stage which brought the audience amazing action scenes.