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How many films has Pinewood Studios made

01:00 Mon 25th Jun 2001 |

The studios say they have made the best part of 1,000 films as well as many TV programmes. For many cinema-goers, it is most famous for making the British classics - Bond, Doctor and Carry On films, all of which carry the distinctive credits ' Made at Pinewood Studios, London, England'.

Q.� They also make international films too

A.� Given the studios' location, some people are surprised to find worldwide blockbusters such as all four Superman movies, Aliens and Alien 3, Batman,, Mission: Impossible and The Phantom Menace have been filmed there.

Q.� Who founded the studios

A.� A Sheffield building tycoon called Charles Boot, son of the famous chemist, bought one of the finest houses in the south of England for �35,000 in 1935. Heatherden Hall, which has 39 bedrooms and 1580acre grounds, was then converted into Pinewood.

Boot joined forces with the movie mogul J Arthur Rank to build a studio to rival anything found in Los Angeles. In the 65 years since, the�studio has been synonymous with high quality productions. One interesting piece of Pinewood's history is the number of films in which the studio itself has appeared, not just in vast sets such as the 007 stage with its 48,000 sq ft indoor water tank with takes weeks to fill, but the actual house and grounds. The Titanic's boiler-room in A Night to Remember was Pinewood's power house and when thugs chased Bond around the ground's of Goldfinger's Swiss pad, they were speeding between sets at stages A and E in Pinewood's grounds.

Q.� Who owns Pinewood now

A.� It was bought last year by former Channel 4 chief executive, Michael Grade, and Ivan Dunleavy, who paid Rank �62 million for the studios. A Celebration of Pinewood Stdios is showing at London's Barbican until July 1.

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By Katharine MacColl

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