This Sunday (21st November 2004) Bondstars.com held a special event to promote a new edition of Richard Kiels autobiography.
Pinewood Studios
What made the event even more special was the fact that it was held at the home of James Bond. . . Pinewood Studios, England.
The event started at 2pm with a small reception and a video showcasing Pinewood Studios and it’s facilities. The excellent video continued to showcase some of the main locations used around Pinewood in the James Bond films.
Shortly after the presentation the studio tour commenced. Possibly a once in a life time oppertunity for most of us in the group.
This article is quite long due to the number of photographs, each image has some commentary so feel free to read about the photos that interest you.
The Studio Tour
Pinewood Studios Gatehouse
The tour started with a walk through the main Pinewood building (shown later), this is the home of a lot of production company’s offices.
Photograph Room – Pinewood Studios
The photograph corridor features stills from many of the films that have been filmed at Pinewood Studios over the years. The inset shows Pierce Brosnan from the James Bond films as well as Tom Cruise from Mission Impossible.
The Awards Cabinet – Pinewood Studios
Some of the many awards that have been won my films which were made at Pinewood Studios are on display in an elaborate wooden cabinet. Adjacent to these the life of Albert R. Broccoli is celebrated with a memorial plaque (inset).
Covered Way – Pinewood Studios
Covered Way at Pinewood Studios is part of the exterior complex; it connects a number of the sound stages together so that they can be used in bad weather. It is also home to the famous car chase sequence from Goldfinger. The sequence was filmed around this square from various angles so that the area looked like a factory complex.
007 Stage – Pinewood Studios
The next stop was the imposing 007 Stage, we were lucky enough to be allowed on the stage much to many peoples surprise! It really is huge and extremely prominent on the Pinewood skyline. The most recent production to use the facility was the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, unfortunately the stage wasn’t in use.
007 Stage Pinewood – Exterior
007 Stage Pinewood – Interior
As you can see, in reality it looks like any other soundstage! Note that it is situated on Broccoli Road.
Unfortunately the back lot had been turned into a town and due to the top secret nature of the film we were not allowed to take any photographs in the area. From what we saw though the set was extremely impressive.
The sets of Goldfinger – Pinewood Studios
The photograph shows a montage of the main Goldfinger locations. The first photograph is looking up Goldfinger Avenue towards the green door. The second is looking down Goldfinger Avenue, the small building on the right is the location where Sean Connery crashed the DB5 (although the building wasn’t there at the time of filming). The third photograph is apparently where the mirror was situated.
The sets of Goldfinger – Pinewood Studios
The two locations in the above photographs are again from Goldfinger. Unfortunately they could be anywhere, but you will have to take my word for it! The first is the location where Sean Connery used the ejector seat. The second is just across the road and is where the gatehouse was situated.
Paddock Tank – Pinewood Studios
The huge Paddock Tank was the next stop; the background was solid blue, either to be painted or to be used as a blue screen for filming. For scale there is a person standing to the left of the yellow area (part of the gate).
Renards Layer – Pinewood Studios
As the tour drew to a close we entered the Pinewood gardens. The first stop was a small cave, or the Pinewood grotto. You might ask what this has to do with James Bond? Well add a few burning coals and Robert Carlyle and you have Renards Layer from The World Is Not Enough. The magic of film!
Ornate Bridge – Pinewood Studios
Throughout the gardens are memorable locations as seen in From Russia With Love, the bridge above, and the main Pinewood house below are the two most prominent SPECTRE island features.
The Gardens – Pinewood Studios
Although this could be any hedge anywhere, it is apparently the hedge where ‘James Bond’ is killed!
The House – Pinewood Studios
Finally the great house, now the administration offices. The house was featured in From Russia With Love, the large spot lights were placed on the houses balconies.
Making it Big in the Movies
Richard Kiel at Pinewood Studios
Not to leave out the man himself, Richard Kiel. The afternoon ended with a questions and answers session with the actor. He had some extremely interesting things to say, but you will have to read his autobiography for the interesting stories. . .
You can pre-order the new hardback edition of Richard Kiel’s autobiography ‘Making it Big in the Movies: The Autobiography of Richard “Jaws” Kiel’ from Amazon:
Hardback from Amazon.co.uk (UK)
Hardback from Amazon.com (USA)
Original Paperback
Paperback from Amazon.co.uk (UK)
Paperback from Amazon.com (USA)
Finally I would like to say a big thank you to Andy and Gareth for organising an interesting afternoon, also thank you to everyone else who helped.
Don’t forget to visit Bondstars.com for your James Bond autographs.
