86-645: 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 recording studio of the same name ). Shepperton Studios was built on the grounds of Littleton Park, which was built in the 17th century by local nobleman Thomas Wood. The old mansion still stands on
172-508: A modillioned eaves cornice and glazing-bar sash windows to the first floor. Halliford School in the centre of this area was the 18th–19th century home of Emma Hamilton , mistress of Admiral Nelson . The 21st century fully renovated hotel and restaurant (formerly the Ship ), Harrison's with river views is here beside the shorter Red Lion public house which in turn has a narrow, secluded south-facing public house picnic area overlooking
258-630: A 1949 loan from the National Film Finance Corporation and went into receivership on 1 July 1954. In January 1955, a new company, British Lion Films Ltd, was formed and Roy and John Boulting took over at Shepperton Studios. The studio was rebuilt and reopened in September 1958. The Boulting's comedies, such as I'm All Right Jack (1959), were produced there, as were dramas from other film-makers such as J. Lee Thompson 's The Guns of Navarone (1961). The studio's other projects from
344-461: A controlling interest in Sound City and Shepperton Studios. Among the films in which he was involved during this period were The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949) which was shot both at the studios and on location and has been referred to as the best British film noir . In spite of such successes, British Lion ran into financial difficulties in the 1950s when it was unable to repay
430-413: A foreword by Mel Gibson. Script Magazine described the book as an "engaging portrait of a warm-hearted (if occasionally gruff) man who can justly be considered the modern equivalent of Victor Fleming and Michael Curtiz —a highly talented, professional director of motion pictures who has thrived in the studio system and made some pretty good pictures to boot." The Directors Guild of America called
516-408: A hub at the studios. In November 2021, Netflix announced that it would extend its long-term deal with the studios. The studio's owner Pinewood Group also announced that the studios would expend approximately 1 million square feet of the new production space, with the overall studio set to comprise 17 sound stages. In February 2022, Amazon Prime Video signed a multi-million pound long-term deal with
602-561: A long boundary with the River Thames in its southernmost salient, which almost surrounds Spelthorne . Old Shepperton is almost surrounded by the extreme southern meander within this. Prehistoric glacial retreat north of this has made the north bank almost flat for a considerable distance and as such, elevation never exceeds 14 m above mean sea level (on the border of Laleham ). The river never exceeds 11.5 m, (beside Dumsey Meadow and under Chertsey Bridge ). The lowest elevation
688-597: A low of two films by 1979. Among the problems faced by Shepperton Studios during this time was the desire of new British Lion director John Bentley to sell the grounds for housing, since redeveloping the land would have nearly doubled its value. A compromise was proposed, and in 1973 the area of the studios was reduced from 60 acres (24 ha) to 20 acres (8.1 ha). The studios' 1970s credits include Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and Jimmy Perry and David Croft 's Dad's Army (both 1971), Richard Attenborough 's Young Winston (1972) and Fred Zinnemann 's The Day of
774-419: A reception hall built in 1498. Its front cladding has mathematical tiles. Listed in the same high category of listed building is the parish church, St Nicholas' – its dedication is as with the ancient riverside churches of Thames Ditton and Chiswick . Also architecturally Grade II* is restored half timbered Winches Cottage on the west side of the lane which is 17th century. The village includes
860-528: A sequel to The Goonies after Timeline , and he planned to direct the fifth and final Lethal Weapon film before his death in 2021. One of Donner's assistants in the late 1990s was comic book writer Geoff Johns . In October 2006, Donner, Johns, and artist Adam Kubert became the new creative team on Action Comics , the publisher's most time honored publication and one of DC Comics ' two main Superman titles. Together, Johns and Donner collaborated on
946-489: A small furniture-manufacturing business and his mother was a stay at home mother. He had a sister, Joan. His grandfather owned a movie theatre in Brooklyn, which had an early influence on his perception of film. After graduating from high school, Donner served in the U.S. Navy , becoming an aerial photographer. He briefly attended New York University but left to pursue a career in acting, relocating to Los Angeles and adopting
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#17328561222941032-666: A village or neighbourhood. Its post town is Shepperton. Its parish is Sunbury-on-Thames . In the south of the neighbourhood, on the Shepperton side of the motorway are a general waste transfer station, further fields and Sunbury Golf Course, which has 18 holes and is bisected by the Shepperton railway line. Charlton appears in Domesday Book as Cerdentone . It was held by Roger de Rames. Its domesday assets were: 5 hides ; 1½ ploughs (with potential for 3½), meadow for 4 ploughs , cattle pasture. It rendered £1 10s 0d. However this manor
1118-449: A wide range of restaurants, several cafés, with the railway terminus at the northern end. Shepperton railway station saw high ticketed entries and exits for a settlement of its size to 422,000 (6 April 2010 – 5 April 2011), being a terminus with main commercial destinations being in the City of London , Kingston upon Thames . commercial hubs of West London and South London accessed along
1204-587: Is Littleton . 51°24′40″N 0°26′38″W / 51.411°N 0.444°W / 51.411; -0.444 Charlton is a suburban hamlet and narrow area to the north, bounded to the west by the Queen Mary Reservoir in Littleton , bounded to the east and south by Thames water treatment works from that reservoir and by the M3 motorway . As a well-developed hamlet, bounded by farms, it also referred to as
1290-680: Is 9 m in flood meadows at the confluence of the Ash with the Thames. The Ash is the border with Littleton and Sunbury-on-Thames (mostly, to the northeast, with its technical hamlet , Upper Halliford ). Dumsey Meadow SSSI is the only piece of undeveloped, unfenced water meadow by the river remaining on the River Thames below Caversham , and is home to a variety of rare plants and insects. The Swan Sanctuary moved to an old gravel extraction site by Fordbridge Road in 2005 from its former base in Egham . On
1376-468: Is a short, since 1989 bypassed, winding lane from the High Street to Church Square, flanked by Shepperton Manor and the cricket ground, with some listed walls. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner described the view looking towards the south-east of the square with its now listed buildings and river opening as "one of the most perfect village pictures that the area has to offer". It offers two pub/restaurants two hotels,
1462-448: Is a village, with the second highest concentration of development in the post town. This neighbourhood is smaller than the adjoining village, separated by the M3 motorway and some adjoining meadows and fields. The second of the borough's Green Belt SSSIs , Sheep Walk Meadows, is a key feature of Shepperton Green, bounding it, to its south. A Saxon and medieval burial ground gives its name to
1548-612: Is co-ordinated by Surrey County Council who also provide the statutory emergency fire and rescue service who have a station in Sunbury. St Peter's Hospital on the far side of Chertsey is a large NHS hospital administrated by Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust. It was opened under its existing name in 1947. The South East Coast Ambulance Service Foundation Trust provides emergency patient transport to and from this facility. Other forms of health care are provided for locally by several small clinics and surgeries. Waste management
1634-655: Is co-ordinated by the local authority via the Surrey Waste Disposal Authority and domestic waste collected by Spelthorne Borough Council . Locally produced inert waste for disposal is sent to landfill in Alfold and Shefford , and a proportion to energy from waste plants in Slough and Kent to lower landfill tax. Plans have been approved to permit gasification in Charlton in the north of the Shepperton post town as part of
1720-474: Is from a charter of 959, in which it appears as Scepertune . The name is thought to derive from the Old English scēp (sheep), hirde (herdsman) and tūn (enclosure, farm or settlement). The name is generally agreed to mean "shepherd's farm" or "shepherd's settlement". The earliest evidence of human activity in the local area is from the middle Neolithic . A henge , taking the form of a penannular ring ditch ,
1806-720: Is most successful for producing the Free Willy and X-Men film franchises. Donner also produced Tales from the Crypt and co-wrote several comic books for Superman publisher DC Comics . In 2000, Donner received the President's Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films . Richard Donald Schwartzberg was born in the Bronx , New York City, to Russian Jewish parents, Hattie (Horowitz) and Fred Schwartzberg. His father owned
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#17328561222941892-531: Is on the north bank of the River Thames , between the towns of Chertsey and Sunbury-on-Thames . The village is mentioned in a document of 959 AD and in the Domesday Book . In the 19th century, resident writers and poets included Rider Haggard , Thomas Love Peacock , George Meredith , and Percy Bysshe Shelley , who were attracted by the proximity of the River Thames . The river was painted at Walton Bridge in 1754 by Canaletto and in 1805 by Turner . Shepperton Lock and nearby Sunbury Lock were built in
1978-515: The Steve McQueen western serial Wanted Dead or Alive and the Chuck Connors western The Rifleman . During his early career as a director he worked on over twenty-five television series, including Have Gun – Will Travel , The Fugitive , Combat! , Get Smart , The Man from U.N.C.L.E. , The Wild Wild West , Gilligan's Island , Kojak , and The Twilight Zone (such as
2064-514: The civil parish had a population of 6060. On 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished. In semi-fiction, George Eliot 's Scenes of Clerical Life telling the Sad Fortunes of The Rev. Amos Barton , gives a thinly veiled picture of Chilvers Coton 's church and village in the early 19th century in which she uses the name Shepperton. If anything real is to be gleaned for its use, it is perhaps a passing similarity. Shepperton Manor by John Mason Neale
2150-480: The 1810s, to facilitate river navigation. Urbanisation began in the latter part of the 19th century, with the construction in 1864 of the Shepperton Branch Line , which was sponsored by William Schaw Lindsay , the owner of Shepperton Manor. Its population rose from 1,810 residents in the early 20th century to a little short of 10,000 in 2011. Lindsay had hoped to extend the railway via Chertsey to connect to
2236-492: The 1960s, one of very few private sector estate housing experiments of the 1960s with terraced, white panelled communal landscaped front gardens by Swiss architect Edward Schoolheifer; this American Radburn style was also used by Eric Lyons Span Developments in Ham Common, Richmond , London, Blackheath , London and New Ash Green , Kent. The conservation areas of Old Shepperton and Lower Halliford are localities, as
2322-419: The 19th century, there are originally expensive gravestones of the local minor gentry in the churchyard, two of which are dedicated to their naturalised black servants , Benjamin and Cotto Blake who both died in 1781. These bear the inscription "Davo aptio, Argo fidelior, ipso Sanchone facetior". During this long period since the conquest the wealth of the local rector and his bishop was great: William Grocyn
2408-589: The Anchor Hotel and the Warren Lodge Hotel. In this little square there is also the King's Head public house. The riverside manor, late 18th century, (its predecessor, as with the church here, predates the 12th century), features a room painted and rendered to look like a tent or draped damask . Also Grade II* listed is the c. 1500 timber framed Old Rectory refronted in the early 18th century, and including
2494-498: The Jackal (1973). Also around this time, the rock group Led Zeppelin filmed some concert scenes at Shepperton that were used in their live concert film, " The Song Remains the Same ". These scenes were used to fill gaps in footage of a Madison Square Garden concert from 1973. In 1975, the studios were again transferred to new ownership and in spite of sparse production schedules served as
2580-511: The Lex Luthor scenes that appear in Superman II were filmed by Donner, although Donner refused to be credited. Rotten Tomatoes ' summary states that " Superman II meets, if not exceeds, the standard set by its predecessor." Donner continued to promote the view that his contribution was superior to the rest of the series. Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released on November 28, 2006,
2666-528: The Lower Halliford and Shepperton loop, rendering flooding far less common. The poet Thomas Love Peacock lived at Elm Bank House here from 1822 until his death in 1866. The field land and large houses on this estate were bought by Lyon Homes from landowner and developer Edward Scott in the 1950s. This estate of buildings on this street are in a conservation area for proving a successful modular development in geometric , white-painted modernism from in
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2752-457: The Old Manor House (Halliford). From the 1760s—1860s a ropery was an industry here then from the 1860s—1870s brick clay was extracted. Halliford Manor, confusingly also called The Old Manor, dates to at least the 13th century and ownership became royal, being held by Elizabeth I and the wives of Charles I and Charles II . The Bishop of Winchester , Brian Duppa (1588–1662) owned
2838-468: The Old Manor. There is mention of Halliford in 962 and there was a settlement there by 1194. However the division into Upper and Lower Halliford does not appear until the late 13th century. Upper Halliford is a large hamlet in the parish of Sunbury, but Lower Halliford was almost certainly the main settlement of the manor. The creation of Desborough Cut diverted the main navigation of the Thames away from
2924-473: The Salkinds replaced Donner as director of Superman II with Richard Lester , who had worked with the Salkinds on The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers and as an uncredited producer on Superman . Following Donner's dismissal, Marlon Brando's scenes were removed from Superman II and much of the film was re-shot under Lester's direction. Gene Hackman refused to return for re-shoots; consequently, all
3010-574: The Saxon Junior School who use it for playing fields and has Scheduled status. A farm combined with a significant amount of fishing and gravel lakes form the outskirts and within the clustered settlement an estate of the homes was built as non-serving personally barracks for the British Army . The population of Shepperton, according to the census of 1801, was 731. This number increased gradually to 858 forty years later, increasing further to
3096-643: The Shepperton reaches (of the Thames Path ) as heading upstream from Hampton Court Palace another marked version takes Walton Bridge , the official version takes the Shepperton-Weybridge Ferry and another marked version crosses to the north bank at Chertsey Bridge . Upper Halliford has since the early 20th century been in Shepperton post town , and almost contiguous , but with its own station, residential roads, fair and shopping parade, even an Upper Halliford Village sign. Arguably in modern analysis it
3182-538: The South Western Main Line, however the village station remains a terminus. The rise in population and passing trade led to small businesses lining most of its high street by the end of the 20th century. Shepperton Film Studios is in the neighbouring village of Littleton , approximately 1 mi (2 km) to the north. The Swan Sanctuary and two SSSIs , one of which is managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust , are nearby. The first written record of Shepperton
3268-529: The annual amount rendered was £ 6. The Church Lane and Church Square area, leading to and next to the river predates by several centuries the High Street as the village nucleus . When the Thames Valley Railway built in 1864 the terminus of Shepperton railway station , 1 mile (1.6 km) north, for the 12 initial years a single train and track running to and from Strawberry Hill , the village slowly expanded into its northern fields. Its coming which
3354-518: The audience that makes the fantasy story feel real within the story's context. It was a hit worldwide, projecting Reeve to international fame. The film co-starred Margot Kidder as Lois Lane , Marlon Brando as Jor-El , and Gene Hackman as archvillain Lex Luthor . At the box office, it grossed $ 134 million domestically. Principal photography of Superman included filming of its first sequel, Superman II . Donner filmed most of Superman II with
3440-420: The band's final live performance with drummer Keith Moon , who died later that year. In 1984, Shepperton Studios changed hands coming under the control of brothers John and Benny Lee, who renovated the studios but soon lost control as a result of the " Black Monday " of 1987, the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike and internal issues within their company, Lee International . Bankers Warburg Pincus acquired
3526-418: The book "a compelling study of an ebullient, ballsy risk-taker who was a director even before he was aware of it" that "ably captures Donner's joy in doing a job he loves." Donner married film producer Lauren Shuler on November 27, 1985. The two merged their respective production companies to create Shuler-Donner Productions (now The Donners' Company ) the same year. Donner and Shuler remained together until
Shepperton Studios - Misplaced Pages Continue
3612-574: The county's Eco Park to take up to half of the county's residual waste. Shepperton's distribution network operator for electricity is UK Power Networks ; aside from renewables there are no power stations in the area. Thames Water manages Shepperton's drinking and waste water ; water supplies being sourced from the London sources including several reservoirs fed by the River Thames locally. There are water treatment works at Ashford , Hampton and sewage treatment works at Isleworth . Shepperton has
3698-473: The culmination of years of experience. He's got his technical stuff down, his vision down. No matter what you say about Dick, it underrates him. He really loves what he's doing, loves working with actors, and he allows you freedom to explore all kinds of areas. "All right, kid," he'll say, and slap you on the back and let you try something, because even he doesn't know sometimes. He's just an extremely charming, talented, great fuckin' guy. I love him. Donner became
3784-586: The end of the 19th century. Between 1891 and 1901 its population rose by 511 to 1,810. The population also rose substantially between 1931 and 1951, to 6,060 people. Data for 1801–1951 is available at Britain Through Time. The 2001 and 2011 Censuses give detailed information about the Town ward and Shepperton Green . The settlement had 9,753 residents, living in 4,301 households. Of those, 83.6% of residents described their health as 'good', for this overall figure, above
3870-551: The episodes " Nightmare at 20,000 Feet " starring William Shatner , The Jeopardy Room starring Martin Landau and " From Agnes—With Love " starring Wally Cox ), as well as the serial Danger Island from the children's program The Banana Splits . In the 1990s, Donner served as executive producer of the HBO anthology horror series Tales from the Crypt , based on the EC Comics series of
3956-710: The establishment of poor law unions and Sanitary Districts and was completed with the founding, in 1889, of the Middlesex County Council and Staines Rural District from 1896. In 1930 on the rural district's abolition, Shepperton became part of the Sunbury-on-Thames Urban District until its dissolution into a reduced and reconfigured county of Surrey in 1965. Three districts of the historic county thus did not become part of Greater London : Staines Urban District also joined Surrey and Potters Bar Urban District joined Hertfordshire . In 1951
4042-600: The executive producer for the 2000 Marvel Comics film X-Men , then also an executive producer for the 2009 X-Men prequel, X-Men Origins: Wolverine . In addition, Donner's wife has produced all of the films in the X-Men film series under their Donners' Company brand. On October 16, 2008, Donner and Lauren Shuler Donner received stars in a double ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their achievements in motion pictures, located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard. Donner
4128-399: The expectation he would complete the sequel after the release of Superman . Despite the first film's success, Donner was fired from Superman II . Throughout the filming of both Superman films, Donner had a difficult relationship with executive producers Alexander Salkind and Ilya Salkind and producer Pierre Spengler . The Salkinds refused Donner's demand that Spengler be fired; instead,
4214-471: The film 47 Ronin . Many films have used Shepperton Studios, including (in chronological order): Source: 51°24′24.80″N 0°27′54.65″W / 51.4068889°N 0.4651806°W / 51.4068889; -0.4651806 Shepperton Shepperton is a village in the Spelthorne district, in north Surrey , England, around 15 mi (24 km) south west of central London. The settlement
4300-492: The filming for which used eight of the fifteen stages. The British TV series Thomas & Friends was shot on the "T Stage" from 1984 to 2008, after which the live action models originally used were replaced with computer animation . The nearby Little House and surrounding grounds have been used as a filming location for films such as The Omen (1976) and The Young Victoria (2009). The studios also have two large backlots, which were used to create two castle compounds for
4386-516: The filming site of some high-budget productions, including Richard Donner 's The Omen (1976), Franklin Schaffner 's The Boys from Brazil (1978), Ridley Scott 's Alien (1979), David Lynch 's The Elephant Man (1980), Attenborough's Gandhi (1982) and David Lean's A Passage to India (1984). In 1978, rock band The Who filmed live concert scenes at Shepperton for their documentary The Kids Are Alright (1979). These turned out to be
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#17328561222944472-495: The landmark superhero film Superman in 1978, which provided an inspiration for the fantasy film genre to eventually gain artistic respectability and commercial dominance. Donner later went on to direct films in the 1980s such as The Goonies and Scrooged , while reinvigorating the buddy cop film genre with the Lethal Weapon series . Donner and his wife, Lauren , owned a production company, The Donners' Company , which
4558-431: The late Roman period. Evidence of late-Iron Age and Saxon settlements was found at Shepperton Green in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Shepperton is recorded in Domesday Book of 1086 as Scepertone . It had a population of 25 households and was held by Westminster Abbey ; (excluding any woodland, marsh and heath) it had eight hides , pasture for seven carucates and one weir (worth 6 s 8d per year). In total,
4644-490: The mayor with a large ceremony and some press, after Sunbury had held a similar competition. The board itself includes a grassland to represent the pastures and provides local information. Four infant/junior/primary schools, a senior comprehensive school and senior private school are in the village. See List of schools in Surrey Home Office policing in Shepperton is provided by Surrey Police . Public transport
4730-429: The most southerly moonrise . The ditch appeared to have been refilled and re-excavated in the late Neolithic. Two burials were discovered at the site - a torso, probably male, and an almost complete skeleton of a female. Radiocarbon dating showed that the woman had lived in the late 3rd millennium BCE and analysis of the isotope composition of her teeth suggested that she had grown up in an area where lead-zinc ore
4816-482: The neighbourhood of Lower Halliford, formerly a near but separate hamlet, which historian Susan Reynolds places at the eastern end of a reduced, river bend-consumed half of the early medieval village, east of the Old Shepperton Conservation Area due to erosion . This area is typified by a small number of detached classical three-storey 18th century riverside houses high on the riverside road on
4902-494: The opposite bank are in downstream order are Chertsey Bridge and Chertsey Meads , the Hamm Court area of Addlestone , three islands, (the first two of which have multiple properties) ( Lock , Hamhaugh and D'Oyly Carte , one large man-made island, ( Desborough ), and the riverside parts of Walton on Thames , the upstream part of which is also open land, Cowey Sale Park. The towpath is the official route of three passing through
4988-529: The outside of the river bend; the bend being flanked by riverside meadows with small boat moorings , low rise chalet-style houses to the south west, the Las Palmas Estate , named after the land once being that of the Spanish Ambassador; further west by the wooded Shepperton Cricket Club and by the village Green, Bishop Duppas Park to the east, formerly Lower Halliford Common and in a small part owned by
5074-457: The regional average. Of these people 47.3% described their health as very good, below the regional average. 20.4% of 16- to 74-year-olds had no work qualifications, below the English average of 22.5%. In 2011 the area had only 114 people who were in the category "never worked/long-term unemployed". The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that
5160-417: The relatively narrow, non-tidal river Thames. It is for this reason a bridge and ferry was recorded here from 1274 to 1410. The tern is applicable also to the mostly riverside homes and public park almost surrounded by the River Thames , south of the road from Kingston to Chertsey including next to Walton Bridge by Walton on Thames . The main park is Bishop Duppas Park and almost surrounds completely
5246-518: The requisitioning of the studios in 1941 by the government, who first used it for sugar storage and later to create decoy aircraft and munitions for positioning in the Middle East. The Ministry of Aircraft Production also took over part of the studios for the production of Vickers Wellington bomber components early in the war. After re-opening in 1945, the studios changed hands. When Sir Alexander Korda purchased British Lion Films , he also acquired
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#17328561222945332-419: The route; this is supplemented by secondary school usage, with a substantial state school and private school. The Village Hall in the High Street has a large depiction of the economic life and of the history of the village. In October 2011, a group of children from St Nicholas C of E Primary School won a competition to create the history board, which was then edited by a graphic designer and officially opened by
5418-482: The same date as the DVD release of the summer film Superman Returns . This version of the film features the re-insertion of Marlon Brando's scenes as Jor-El and relies on a minimum of footage shot by Richard Lester. Donner directed mixed commercial flops ( Inside Moves , Radio Flyer ) and successes ( The Goonies , the Lethal Weapon series , Scrooged , and Conspiracy Theory ). Donner's next blockbuster film
5504-475: The same decade include Stanley Kubrick 's Dr Strangelove (1964) and the musical Oliver! (1968), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture . Despite the financial ups and downs of British Lion and the changing of hands, the studios remained active until the early 1970s. In 1969, the studios produced 27 films; by 1971 this number had fallen to seven. Production throughout the 1970s was erratic, reaching
5590-507: The same name . He directed three episodes during its run ("Dig That Cat... He's Real Gone", "The Ventriloquist's Dummy", "Showdown"), and also produced three feature film spinoffs; Demon Knight , Bordello of Blood , and Ritual . Donner's first feature film was X-15 (1961), which starred David McLean , Charles Bronson , and Mary Tyler Moore . Seven years passed before he directed his next, Salt and Pepper (1968), with Sammy Davis Jr. , and Peter Lawford . His breakthrough film
5676-543: The site. Scottish businessman Norman Loudon purchased Littleton Park in 1931 for use by his new film company, Sound Film Producing & Recording Studios; the facility opened in 1932. The studios, which produced both short and feature films, expanded rapidly. Proximity to the Vickers-Armstrongs aircraft factory at Brooklands , which attracted German bombers, disrupted filming during the Second World War , as did
5762-467: The stage name "Richard Donner". Initially, Donner wanted to develop a career as an actor. He gained a bit part in a television program directed by Martin Ritt , who encouraged Donner to become a director instead. Ritt hired Donner as his assistant. Later, Donner was on the staff of Desilu , where he directed commercials. He made the transition into television dramas in the late 1950s, directing some episodes of
5848-504: The stories Last Son and Escape from Bizarro World , both of which have been released in collected book form. Donner and Johns also co-wrote a story for Action Comics #1000 , released in April 2018. In 2010, Donner's authorized biography titled You're the Director... You Figure It Out: The Life and Films of Richard Donner by James Christie was published by BearManor Media. The book features
5934-744: The studios as well as the expansion and improvement of its grounds. In 2001, Shepperton Studios was sold to the Pinewood Group , which also owns Pinewood Studios in the UK, as well as Pinewood Studio Berlin in Germany, Pinewood Toronto Studios in Canada, Pinewood Indomina Studios in the Dominican Republic and Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios in Malaysia. In July 2019, Netflix announced that it would be opening
6020-549: The studios for exclusive use of new production facilities. Shepperton Studios has 31 stages, ranging in size from 3,000 square feet (280 m) to 30,000 square feet (2,800 m), five of which are equipped with interior tanks for water and underwater filming. Although often described as the home of independent film and TV production in the UK, the studios have also served as a production base for big-budget films such as Captain America: The First Avenger (2011),
6106-548: The studios, which became busy with the filming of TV shows including Thomas & Friends and its sister series, TUGS , as well as such films as Franco Zeffirelli 's Hamlet (1990), Kevin Reynolds ' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and Nicholas Hytner 's The Madness of King George (1994). In 1995, the studios were purchased by a consortium headed by Ridley and Tony Scott , which led to an extensive renovation of
6192-468: The village centre. Across the River Ash, Surrey , which is no more than a stream most of the year, adjoining, to its north is Littleton . Taken together with Littleton, three farms operate on the edges of this conjoined residential area, providing a buffer to the north and west. Shepperton's central SSSI is on the south side of the motorway Sheep Lake Walk and meadows , managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust . To
6278-453: The waterside meadows adjoining to the south and was also an important landowner in Croydon 's history, see Duppas Hill . Wealthy writers built or expanded homes here in the 19th century, primarily as summer residences, such as Rider Haggard , Thomas Love Peacock , George Meredith and Percy Bysshe Shelley . The Old Manor became yet another rebuilt Georgian house. The house which features
6364-521: The west are large lakes (one sifted and worked for gravel). This means that Shepperton Green with Littleton is buffered to all sides, except for its eastern side with its road bridge to Shepperton proper, classified as Shepperton Town ward and county council electoral division. This area is currently grouped with Laleham for all local elections. Shepperton has a traditional high street, shorter than that at nearby Ashford with two medium-size supermarkets, village hall, library, shops, optician, hairdressers,
6450-431: The world. Donner began his career in 1957 as a television director. In the 1960s, he directed episodes of the series The Rifleman , The Man from U.N.C.L.E. , The Fugitive , The Twilight Zone , The Banana Splits , and many others. Donner made his film debut with the low-budget aviation drama X-15 in 1961, but had his critical and commercial breakthrough with the horror film The Omen in 1976. He directed
6536-400: The year's biggest hits. Donner directed six films starring Mel Gibson in total, creating a Lethal Weapon franchise with three sequels; the last of these was Lethal Weapon 4 , released in 1998. In an interview in 2000, Gibson described his impressions of Donner: Uncle Dick. He's a great guy, just terrific. Extremely professional. He's an old veteran and has an understanding of film that is
6622-417: Was The Omen (1976). A supernatural horror made in the wake of the success of The Exorcist , the film stars Gregory Peck , David Warner , and Lee Remick . It was the fifth-highest-grossing film of 1976. In 1978, Donner directed Superman: The Movie , starring Christopher Reeve in the title role. Donner approached the film with the concept of creating verisimilitude , an intuitive feeling evoked in
6708-429: Was apartments was 22.6%. Richard Donner Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg ; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American film director and producer. Described as "one of Hollywood's most reliable makers of action blockbusters", Donner directed some of the most financially-successful films of the 1970s and 1980s. His 50-year career crossed genres and influenced trends among filmmakers across
6794-413: Was contemporaneously written in 1844 fifteen years after he had spent six years living in the village. Old parts of Shepperton are said to be haunted by the ghost of a headless monk. Battlecrease Hall (formerly home to Walter Hayes , Ford Motor Company executive and a founder of the company's Formula One programme) is alleged by its owners and certain visitors to have poltergeists . Leading to this
6880-460: Was discovered in the late 1980s, close to the River Ash, to the north of Shepperton Green. The structure was around 23 m (75 ft) in diameter and is thought to have been constructed c. 3500 BCE . The main entrance to the henge was aligned with the position of the sun at sunrise on the summer solstice and lumps of red ochre had been placed inside the ditch to mark the position of
6966-608: Was found, possibly Derbyshire , the Mendips or the North Pennines . A reconstruction of the face of the woman from the skull was created at the University of Manchester in 2004. Finds from the Iron Age include an inhumation of a woman in her 40s, found on Chertsey Road, and iron swords, discovered at Shepperton Ranges. Pewter plates, from the latter site, are thought to date from
7052-407: Was in the parish of Sunbury and unlike the three adjoining manors, Shepperton, Halliford and Sunbury did not reach down to the river public meadowlands, used for grazing of animals. 51°23′53″N 0°27′32″W / 51.398°N 0.459°W / 51.398; -0.459 Shepperton Green is that part of the village which continues immediately west of the M3 motorway, north-west of
7138-463: Was largely due to contributions and permission of W. S. Lindsay the owner of Shepperton's manor. The River Thames was important for transport from the late 13th century and carried barley, wheat, peas and root vegetables to London's markets; later timber, building materials such as bricks, sand and lime, and gunpowder , see the Wey Navigation . While the village was wholly agricultural until
7224-529: Was rector 1504–1513 and was an Oxford classical academic who corresponded regularly with Erasmus and Lewis Atterbury (1707–31) expended much of the large parish revenues on having the large tower rebuilt. A large net income of rents and tithes of £499 per year was paid to the rectory belonging to S. H. Russell in 1848; this compares to £600 of poor relief, including for supporting its workhouse, paid out in 1829. A change to secular council-administered rather than church-administered public services followed
7310-399: Was the action comedy Lethal Weapon , written by Shane Black . It starred Mel Gibson as a widowed narcotics detective with a suicidal bent "who breaks every rule for the sheer joy of it". It co-starred Danny Glover as a calm homicide detective with a loving family and consideration for retirement. The film's action sequences were considered "truly spectacular" and made the film one of
7396-530: Was the first choice to direct the "unofficial" James Bond film Never Say Never Again , but turned it down after he decided he disliked Lorenzo Semple Jr. 's script. He would have served as director of Jurassic Park had Columbia/TriStar won the bidding war for the screen rights against other studios. Donner was also considered as director for The Lost Boys , The Last Boy Scout , Memoirs of an Invisible Man , Dave , Forever Young , and The Sandlot . In 2001, Donner claimed he planned to direct
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