Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden

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Studio signage on parking area

Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden is an Template:Convert studio complex in Leavesden in Watford, Hertfordshire, in the East of England.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Formerly known as Leavesden Film Studios and still colloquially known as Leavesden Studios or simply Leavesden, it is a film and media complex owned by Warner Bros. The studios were all converted from an aircraft factory and airfield called Leavesden Aerodrome, a centre of British aircraft production during World War II. The nearest railway station is King's Langley which is a walking distance of Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The studios contain approximately Template:Convert of flexible space which includes stage space, one of the largest filtered and heated stage-based water tanks in Europe, production office space, workshops and support buildings, along with an extensive Template:Convert backlot which offers a 180-degree uninterrupted horizon, favourable for exterior sets. Following a £110 million refurbishment by Warner Bros., the studios are now one of the largest and most state-of-the-art filmmaking facilities in the world.<ref name="www2.threerivers.gov.uk">Template:Cite web</ref>

Though the studios are owned by Warner Bros., all of the studio facilities are available to rent for any production. Since acquiring the site, Warner Bros. has opened a public attraction named Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, which receives over 6,000 visitors a day at peak times. The site maintains a secure studio space within the same complex.

History

Leavesden Aerodrome

Template:Infobox airport Leavesden Aerodrome was an airfield created in 1940 by the de Havilland Aircraft Company and the Air Ministry in the village of Leavesden, between Watford and Abbots Langley, in Hertfordshire.

Construction began in 1940 after the outbreak of World War II. The de Havilland company, who were based in nearby Hatfield, entered into a contract with the Air Ministry to produce what would become known as the Mosquito fast bomber aircraft. Space for the large scale hangars needed to produce the huge number of aeroplanes required was not available at de Havilland's Hatfield Aerodrome, so the Ministry of Supply requisitioned this new site in Leavesden, which was an empty plot of land at the time from the Watford Corporation, and it was developed into the complex that it is today. The construction was enormously expensive so parts of the site were leased to the London Aircraft Production Group and The Second Aircraft Group. Under Handley Page, another Hertfordshire-based aeroplane manufacturer contracted to the Air Ministry, these groups produced the Handley Page Halifax heavy bomber. As a result, by the end of the war Leavesden Airfield was, by volume, the largest factory in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The two planes were both critical successes for Britain during the conflict. Due to the high priority placed on aircraft production, large numbers of workers were drafted with little experience or training in aircraft production, with over half the workforce eventually being female. As part of constructing the aircraft factory an airstrip was created, first so the planes could be tested and later to deliver the craft to their final destinations. The runway and control tower still remain to this day, even after two major renovations, in an effort to preserve the site's history. The runway is now the main road through the complexTemplate:Update inline and the tower is currently an observation lounge.

After the war, the aerodrome was purchased outright by de Havilland, who themselves had a succession of owners in the following decades, including Hawker Siddeley from 1959, but ultimately they and the site were acquired by Rolls-Royce who continued production and design of helicopter engines. Under Rolls-Royce ownership the RTM322 engine for the UK Apache, Merlin and NH90 helicopters was designed, developed and produced at Leavesden as a joint venture with Turbomeca of France. The airfield was also used by commercial small business aircraft as the field is close to both the M1 and M25 motorways. However, by the early 1990s, Britain's manufacturing industry was in decline and Rolls-Royce had sold their interests in the site and transferred all work to their Bristol facility. Unable to find a new owner, by 1994 Leavesden Aerodrome was left disused and all but abandoned.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The following units were here at some point:<ref name="ABCT">Template:Cite web</ref>

Leavesden Studios

Template:CSS image cropIn 1994, Eon Productions' James Bond film GoldenEye was to be the next film in the series. Pinewood Studios, their traditional home studio, was fully booked with other productions, not being prepared for the series' unexpected return (production had been delayed for several years due to legal issues between MGM and Eon Productions). Facing little time to find a space in which they could build the number of large scale sets required, the production discovered the unoccupied Leavesden. The wide, tall and open aircraft hangars were uniquely well suited to conversion into film stages. Eon leased the site for the duration of their shoot and went about gutting the factories, turning them into the stages, workshops and offices needed for a working film studio.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This process is shown on the 2006 DVD's special features. Members of the production crew, impressed by the enormous size of the filmmaking complex they suddenly had to themselves, jokingly called Leavesden "Cubbywood" after Eon's long serving producer Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

Leavesden Studios, as the site was rebranded by its owners, quickly became popular after filming of GoldenEye was completed. A succession of major feature films made use of the site; in 1997, the first of the Star Wars prequels, The Phantom Menace, and later Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow.

Film set of the Great Hall, Hogwarts at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, loosely inspired by The Hall of Christ Church, Oxford<ref>"Harry Potter fans boost Oxford Christ Church Cathedral" Template:Webarchive. BBC. 25 March 2012.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

By the year 2000, Heyday Films had acquired use of the site on behalf of Warner Bros. for what would be the first in a series of films, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Every one of the Harry Potter films was based at Leavesden Studios over the following ten years.

While other productions—almost exclusively other Warner Bros. productions—made partial use of the studios, the site was mostly occupied by Harry PotterTemplate:'s permanent standing sets. Indeed, some films, such as Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Sherlock Holmes actually made use of some of the Harry Potter sets since they were sufficiently appropriate for their Victorian setting and tone. During this time, however, it was noted that there were some ways in which the site's facilities might be improved. None of the stages were adequately soundproofed and the WW2 era ceilings had a tendency to leak during rainy weather.

One of the more noticeable exterior sets constructed on the Leavesden backlot (outdoors) was a row of ten houses (five per side) along a street, which was created for the Harry Potter series to represent Privet Drive.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 21 March 2010, there was a fire on one of the Hogwarts sets during filming of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 at Leavesden Studios. Not much of the set was badly damaged.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2010, as the final Harry Potter film was nearing completion, Warner Bros. announced their intention to purchase the studio as a permanent European base, the first studio to do so since Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden

Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden logo
The entrance to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter

By November 2010, Warner Bros. completed its purchase of Leavesden Studios and announced plans to invest more than £100 million into the site they had occupied for over ten years, rebranding it Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden. The studios make Warner Bros. the only Hollywood film studio with a permanent base in the United Kingdom.

Much of the redevelopment involved converting stages A to H into sound stages and equipping all the facilities with the latest fittings a production might require. The refurbished stages were conversions of the original buildings and the runway and control tower from the site's days as an aerodrome remain intact as well as all of the buildings' original structures. The full scale refurbishment and renovation of the production facilities were completed and the studios reopened to film and television work in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As part of this redevelopment Warner Bros. also created two entirely new soundstages, J & K, to house a permanent public exhibition named the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, creating 300 new jobs in the local area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Currently the whole attraction is dedicated to the making of Harry Potter and is now home to many of the series' sets, props and costumes. It was opened to the public in early 2012.

The first film to start shooting at the newly refurbished studios was Edge of Tomorrow.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Though the studios are privately owned, the shooting spaces are available to rent for any production.

On 30 June 2014, Warner Bros. announced the expansion of the studio, building three new state-of-the-art stages and adding a further Template:Convert of office space. The announcements were made after a reception celebrating the Creative Industries, hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron, and attended by WB's CEO Kevin Tsujihara and WB UK's MD Josh Berger.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Leavesden's trio of new sound-stages consist of one Template:Convert building and two Template:Convert buildings, along with Template:Convert of adjacent office space which were completed by the end of 2014. On the same day the filming of live-action The Legend of Tarzan got underway at the studio.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following the refurbishments, the studios are now one of the largest and most state-of-the-art secure filmmaking facilities in the world.<ref name="www2.threerivers.gov.uk"/>

Royal opening

Almost twenty years after the complex was converted from aerodrome to film studios—and over a year since the completion of work on the newly refurbished studios—the site was officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on 26 April 2013.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On their visit, they were accompanied by the Duke's brother Prince Harry and J. K. Rowling (who had been unable to attend the tour's grand opening the year before), amongst other guests. Several hundred beneficiaries of supported charities were given invitations to the Studio Tour on the day of the visit. The royal entourage visited both the tour and the studios, viewing the props and costumes from Christopher Nolan's Batman films, before conducting the site's inauguration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2019 fire

On 10 July 2019, a fire broke out in one of the studio's sets, and would take responders 15 hours to extinguish. A set for the HBO television series Avenue 5 was damaged in the fire.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Productions

Films that made use of the facilities include:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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2010s

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Television shows that made use of the facilities include:

The footage used for theme parks that made use of the facilities include:

The studios have also been used for various music videos and television commercials, most notably support for the video for Jamiroquai's "Deeper Underground".

Studio tour

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Potter's cottage, Godric's Hollow

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter is a public attraction in Leavesden Hertfordshire, England. It is a permanent behind-the-scenes exhibition of the Harry Potter films.

The Studio Tour, opened to the public in early 2012. The grand opening event was attended by many of the Harry Potter film series cast and crew members.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Each tour session typically lasting three and a half hours,Template:Citation needed the studio tour has the capacity to handle up to 8,000 visitors daily.<ref name="Guardian Sabbagh">Template:Cite news</ref> Despite Warner Bros. being the studio behind Harry Potter, the tour is not styled as a theme park, due to the fact that Warner Bros. sold the licence to do so to Universal Studios.<ref name="Guardian Sabbagh"/>

Though the standard tour is self-guided, various guided tours are available at an additional cost.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Creation

As early as 2001, on the heels of the success of the first film, Warner Bros. planned to build an attraction dedicated to the series in place and so began storing items from the films when they were no longer being used.Template:Citation needed

The tour's layout and overall presentation was designed by the Los Angeles-based Thinkwell Group in close collaboration with Warner Bros. and the actual filmmakers, including Production Designer Stuart Craig, Set Dresser Stephenie McMillan, Creature Designer Nick Dudman and Special Effects Supervisor John Richardson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It only includes sets, props and costumes that were actually created for or used in the production of the Harry Potter film series. Sets like the Great Hall, Dumbledore's Office, Diagon Alley, the Ministry of Magic, Gryffindor Common Room and Boys' Dormitory, Hagrid's Hut and a 1:24 scale model of Hogwarts Castle.

The 1:24 scale model of Hogwarts on display

Reception

Since opening in 2012, TripAdvisor has reported The Making of Harry Potter as the highest-rated attraction in the world every year since.Template:Citation needed

Expansions

Warner Bros. has continued to put on special features following a seasonal rotation, such as Dark Arts, Magical mischief and Hogwarts in the snow. Some installations like the Wand Choreography Interactive and the inside of the last No. 4 Privet Drive Exterior set have been so popular that they have remained after their respective features have closed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In January 2015, the attraction's first expansion was announced – a new Platform 9¾ section, where visitors are able to board the original carriages behind the Hogwarts Express steam engine used in the films. The setup includes the locomotive GWR 4900 Class 5972 Olton Hall (dressed as 5972 Hogwarts Express) and the British Rail Mark 1 train that appeared in the films, brought to life by John Richardson's special effects team. Finally a new green screen experience illustrates what working on the films is like from an actor's point of view. This section opened in late March 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The tour in Warner Bros. Studios Burbank has been renamed Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (previously it was known as the Warner Bros. Studios VIP Tour).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Warner has altered the tour, offering more facilities and options to visitors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The latest expansion opening in Summer 2023 is the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

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References

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