Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused with the Californian Sound City Studios).
Troy is a 2004 epic historical action film directed by Wolfgang Petersen and written by David Benioff. Produced by units in Malta, Mexico and Britain's Shepperton Studios, the film features an ensemble cast led by Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Sean Bean, Diane Kruger, Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson, Rose Byrne, Saffron Burrows and Orlando Bloom. It is loosely based on Homer's Iliad in its narration of the entire story of the decade-long Trojan War—condensed into little more than a couple of weeks, rather than just the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon in the ninth year. Achilles leads his Myrmidons along with the rest of the Greek army invading the historical city of Troy, defended by Hector's Trojan army. The end of the film (the sack of Troy) is not taken from the Iliad, but rather from Quintus Smyrnaeus's Posthomerica, as the Iliad concludes with Hector's death and funeral.
Troy made over $497 million worldwide, making it the 60th highest-grossing film at the time of its release and Petersen's highest-grossing film. However, it received mixed reviews, with critics praising its entertainment value and the performances of Pitt and Bana while criticizing its story, which was deemed unfaithful to the Iliad. It received a nomination for Best Costume Design at the 77th Academy Awards and was the eighth highest-grossing film of 2004.
The Golden Compass is a 2007 fantasy adventure film written and directed by Chris Weitz, based on the 1995 novel Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. It stars Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, Dakota Blue Richards and Daniel Craig. In the film, Lyra joins a race of water-workers and seafarers on a trip to the far North in search of children kidnapped by the Gobblers, a group supported by the world's rulers, the Magisterium.
Development on the film was announced in February 2002, but difficulties over the screenplay and the selection of a director (including Weitz departing and returning) caused significant delays. Richards was cast as Lyra in June 2006, with Kidman and Craig joining soon thereafter. Principal photography began that September at Shepperton Studios and lasted for several months. Location filming also took place in England, Switzerland, and Norway.
Pinewood Group Limited (formerly Pinewood Group plc and Pinewood Shepperton plc) is a British multinational film studio and television studio company with headquarters in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England. The group runs Pinewood Studios and Shepperton Studios in the UK and Pinewood Toronto Studios in Canada, Pinewood Indomina Studios in the Dominican Republic, Pinewood Studio Berlin in Germany, Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios in Malaysia, and until 2020 it had a controlling stake in Pinewood Atlanta Studios in the US.
To date, over 1,500 productions have used facilities or services provided by Pinewood Group.
Oliver! is a 1968 British period musical drama film directed by Carol Reed from a screenplay by Vernon Harris, based on Lionel Bart's 1960 stage musical, itself an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1838 novel Oliver Twist. It stars Ron Moody, Oliver Reed, Harry Secombe, Shani Wallis, Jack Wild, and Mark Lester in the title role.
Filmed at Shepperton Film Studio in Surrey, the film was a Romulus production by John Woolf and was distributed worldwide by Columbia Pictures. It includes such musical numbers as "Food, Glorious Food", "Consider Yourself", "As Long as He Needs Me", "I'd Do Anything", "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two", and "Where Is Love?".