Vancouver Sun (04/Aug/1988) - Spielberg out to save British studio

Details

• article: Spielberg out to save British studio
• newspaper: Vancouver Sun (04/Aug/1988)
• keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, Blackmail (1929), Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire

Article

Spielberg out to save British studio

Movie maker Steven Spielberg, now in England filming Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, has embarked on a crusade of his own. With the help of British and American investors, he is trying to prevent Britain's legendary Elstree Studios from being razed for commercial development.

The studios were recently sold for an estimated $36 million by the ailing Cannon Group Inc. to an investment consortium led by City of London financier Peter Earl, in a deal that has left the British film industry reeling.

Earl, chief executive of Tranwood PLC, an investment banking group, declined last week to reveal his plans for the property.

Spielberg is taking no chances. He has lent public support to the Elstree SOS ("Save Our Studios") campaign, which has persuaded the Hertsmere Borough Council, Elstree's ruling authority, to impose a building-preservation order on the site.

Elstree, built in 1926, was a favored haunt of Alfred Hitchcock, and it was there that he made Blackmail, Britain's first talkie. Spielberg and George Lucas, maker of the Star Wars series and executive producer of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, have produced 11 movies between them at Elstree.