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Disney lease boost for Pinewood deal
MOVIE MAGIC: Still from Disney/Pixars animation blockbuster Toy Story 3
WHOEVER said the Pinewood deal was a Mickey Mouse idea?
It’s been reported that the Walt Disney company is negotiating a multimillion-pound deal to lease part of the Pinewood Studios in a move which is being hailed as a ‘major victory’ for the British film industry.
The Manx government is acquiring a stake of 9.89 per cent in Pinewood from Peel Holdings at a cost of £12,230,000 taken from investment reserves.
Management of the £25 million Media Development Fund will also be transferred to Pinewood as soon as Financial Services Authority compliance is obtained.
It’s a deal which continues to court controversy with critics suggesting it is not suitable use of government reserves.
Now it has emerged that entertainment and amusement park group Disney – which owns America’s ABC TV network and one of Hollywood’s largest production centres – has drawn up an agreement to lease offices and sound stages at the Buckinghamshire studios in an investment thought to be worth about £5 million,
Disney has used sets at Pinewood for Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Angelina Jolie was recently there to for Maleficent, the company’s remake of Sleeping Beauty.
Under the new agreement, Disney will have the sole use of several of the complex’s 17 sound stages.
A spokesman said: ‘Walt Disney Studios is looking to enter into a long-term lease arrangement with Pinewood Studios.’
Tynwald voted in June to approve in principle the purchase of a stake of up to 19.9 per cent, which was to be at a cost of £24 million.
A revised deal was announced earlier this month with Treasury Minister Eddie Teare MHK saying that robust negotiations with major shareholder Peel Holdings had secured the same benefits for less exposure.
First collaboration with Pinewood was the period drama Belle, starring Gugu Mbatha Raw, which saw Castletown harbour transformed into 18th century Bristol docks for the filming.
Pinewood has been facing increased competition with Warner Brothers having opened a £100 million studio in nearby Leavesden, Herts.
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Weather for Isle of Man
Sunday 19 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 15 C
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Temperature: 8 C to 14 C
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