Dragon International Film Studios
Encyclopedia
The Dragon International Film Studios, also known as Valleywood, is a complex of film and television studios currently being constructed at Llanilid in Wales
, United Kingdom
about 14 miles (23 kilometres) from the Welsh capital, Cardiff
. The project is being developed by the consortium Dragon International Studios, chaired by Richard Attenborough
.
The studios have an estimated budget of £330m, which along with private investment, has received taxpayers' funding from the Welsh Assembly and European Union
. It aims to attract film production through the lower costs of working in Wales compared to London. It also hopes to exploit the profile of Welsh actors in Hollywood, such as Anthony Hopkins
, Catherine Zeta-Jones
, Ioan Gruffudd
and Michael Sheen
.
The completed complex will have 12 sound stage
s, and will also include a new road junction to provide access from the M4 motorway
.
The studios are also being developed in conjunction with Screen Academy Wales, an educational venture by The Film Academy at University of Glamorgan
and International Film School Wales at University of Wales, Newport
.
The project has been nicknamed "Valleywood" as an homage to Hollywood, in the manner of other Hollywood-inspired names
such as Tollywood, Dollywood
or Bollywood
.
Six years after the project was first proposed and nearly four years after planning permission was granted, construction work started on the first phase of the scheme in August 2007. In March 2008, due to a dispute with a creditor, Administrators were called in to resolve the financial situation, with liabilities of £15 million.
Filming for the first film, Ironclad
, started in October 2009, starring Paul Giamatti
focusing on the great siege of Rochester Castle when, following the signing of the Magna Carta
, King John gathered an army to reclaim his power and exert bloody revenge on those who defied him.
The television series Doctor Who
utilised the studios in September 2010 in order to film sequences within the TARDIS corridors for the fourth episode of the sixth series, The Doctor's Wife
.
In March 2011, administrators revealed that the site may have to be sold if the studios could not attract more film projects.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
about 14 miles (23 kilometres) from the Welsh capital, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. The project is being developed by the consortium Dragon International Studios, chaired by Richard Attenborough
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
.
The studios have an estimated budget of £330m, which along with private investment, has received taxpayers' funding from the Welsh Assembly and European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. It aims to attract film production through the lower costs of working in Wales compared to London. It also hopes to exploit the profile of Welsh actors in Hollywood, such as Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
, Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones, CBE, is a British actress. She began her career on stage at an early age. After starring in a number of United Kingdom and United States television films and small roles in films, she came to prominence with roles in Hollywood movies such as the 1998 action film The Mask of...
, Ioan Gruffudd
Ioan Gruffudd
Ioan Gruffudd is a Welsh actor.Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he started off in Welsh language film productions, then came to international attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in the film Titanic , and as Lt. John Beales in Black Hawk Down...
and Michael Sheen
Michael Sheen
Michael Christopher Sheen, OBE , is a Welsh stage and screen actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England and made his professional debut opposite Vanessa Redgrave in When She Danced at the Globe Theatre in 1991...
.
The completed complex will have 12 sound stage
Sound stage
In common usage, a sound stage is a soundproof, hangar-like structure, building, or room, used for the production of theatrical filmmaking and television production, usually located on a secure movie studio property.-Overview:...
s, and will also include a new road junction to provide access from the M4 motorway
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
.
The studios are also being developed in conjunction with Screen Academy Wales, an educational venture by The Film Academy at University of Glamorgan
University of Glamorgan
The University of Glamorgan is a university based in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales with campuses in Treforest, Glyntaff, Merthyr Tydfil, Tyn y Wern and Cardiff...
and International Film School Wales at University of Wales, Newport
University of Wales, Newport
The University of Wales, Newport is a university based in Newport, South Wales. The university has two campuses; Caerleon on the northern outskirts of the city and a £35 million campus on the banks of the River Usk in Newport city centre opened in 2011...
.
The project has been nicknamed "Valleywood" as an homage to Hollywood, in the manner of other Hollywood-inspired names
Hollywood-inspired names
Hollywood is such an iconic name that various other locations associated with the film industry are nicknamed with Hollywood-inspired names. Most starting with the first letter of the location and ending in the letters "-ollywood" or "-wood".-South Asia:...
such as Tollywood, Dollywood
Dollywood
Dollywood is a theme park owned by entertainer Dolly Parton and the Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation. It is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Dollywood has 3,000 people on its payroll, making it the largest employer in that community....
or Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
.
Six years after the project was first proposed and nearly four years after planning permission was granted, construction work started on the first phase of the scheme in August 2007. In March 2008, due to a dispute with a creditor, Administrators were called in to resolve the financial situation, with liabilities of £15 million.
Filming for the first film, Ironclad
Ironclad (film)
Ironclad is a 2011 action film directed by Jonathan English. Written by English and Erick Kastel, based on a screenplay by Stephen McDool, the cast includes Paul Giamatti, James Purefoy, Brian Cox, Mackenzie Crook, Jason Flemying, Derek Jacobi and Kate Mara. The film chronicles the siege of...
, started in October 2009, starring Paul Giamatti
Paul Giamatti
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
focusing on the great siege of Rochester Castle when, following the signing of the Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
, King John gathered an army to reclaim his power and exert bloody revenge on those who defied him.
The television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
utilised the studios in September 2010 in order to film sequences within the TARDIS corridors for the fourth episode of the sixth series, The Doctor's Wife
The Doctor's Wife (Doctor Who)
"The Doctor's Wife" is the fourth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was broadcast on 14 May 2011 in the United Kingdom, as well as in the United States...
.
In March 2011, administrators revealed that the site may have to be sold if the studios could not attract more film projects.
Housing development
There are proposals are for land next to the Valleywood film studio complex to be developed for 2,000 homes, a primary school, health centre, library, recreation facilities and neighbourhood shops.External links
- BBC News - "Valleywood studios worries mount" (18 March 2008)
- BBC News - "Delays hit Valleywood film start" (28 January 2006)