Post
by Ben » June 21st, 2012, 1:59 pm
When Elstree Film Studios - where Spielberg and Lucas had made (deep breath) Star Wars, Empire, Raiders, Jedi, Temple Of Doom, Young Sherlock, Roger Rabbit, Willow, Labyrinth, Empire Of The Sun, Last Crusade and probably one or two more that I can't think of - was in the doldrums and threatened with being closed down, they each signed letters of support to a local SOS: Save Our Studios campaign that residents petitioned for...but they never looked at providing the funds (small change to them) that would have saved the place instantly.
This was the place that so many of their most successful films had been based and shot at, but they never blinked once at putting their own money in. Elstree could have become Amblin Europe, or LucasFilm London, or something like that, or as a joint venture it would have halved their investments even more. But they just signed a letter of support and left it to the locals to save the place (which we did and, when it reopened, Private Ryan and the Star Wars prequels spent some time here). We even named a stage after Lucas.
In the meantime, the Scott brothers joined up to merge Pinewood and Shepperton, and Warners have developed the Leavesden site around 15 minutes from Elstree into a world class studio. It's a shame Lucas/Spielberg didn't see ahead then: even though it may have meant a bit of their own cash upfront, they'd be coining it in now since Phantom Menace could have been at Elstree and the whole Harry Potter phenomenon might have been shot here instead of up the road!
Money, basically, drives the movie industry, but the trick is to balance art and commerce. I think Lucas sold out years ago (Ewok toys in Jedi was the beginning) but Spielberg still knows how to make a great film...even if they are Oscar bait and/or intended blockbusters.
