Worldwide Studio Operations
March 13, 2024
Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden Acquires Leading UK Post-Production House, De Lane Lea
(November 7, 2012 – London, England and Burbank, CA) – Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden (WBSL) has acquired leading UK sound mixing and post-production facility De Lane Lea, it was announced today by Josh Berger CBE, President and Managing Director, Warner Bros. UK, Ireland and Spain; Dan Dark, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden; and Kim Waugh, Senior Vice President, Post-Production Services, Warner Bros. Studio Facilities.
In addition to its state-of-the-art production facilities and on-site production rentals offering at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, De Lane Lea will allow WBSL to provide a full production service to in-house film and TV productions and external clients, mirroring the offer presented to filmmakers at Warner Bros.’ headquarters in Burbank, California.
A stalwart of the Soho film and TV production community for 65 years, De Lane Lea,
which will be renamed Warner Bros. De Lane Lea in the coming weeks, houses three re-recording stages; two ADR stages; 40 picture editing suites; one TV mixing stage; a transfer bay for the digital delivery, conversion and ingestion of picture and sound; a 37 seat screening room; and a client lounge, all in Soho, the preferred central London location for creative professionals.
De Lane Lea has served as the post-production home of recent movies such as “Skyfall,” “Frankenweenie,” “Prometheus” and “Dark Shadows.” Warner Bros.’ association with the facility stretches as far back as 40 years with its post-production work on John Boorman’s 1972 picture, “Deliverance.” The upcoming Warner Bros. movie “Gravity,” directed by Alfonso Cuaron and starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, is currently being post-produced at De Lane Lea.
Josh Berger CBE, President and Managing Director, Warner Bros. UK, Ireland and Spain said: “Just five months on from the opening of Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, this latest acquisition is further evidence of our commitment to the UK film industry and the world-leading Greater London media cluster. Through its many years of operating, De Lane Lea has earned a power-house reputation for servicing tent-pole movies for us and other studios and, as we look to invest in the facility in the coming months and years, this standing can only grow even further.”
Dan Dark, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, commented, “The exciting combination of our state-of-the-art facilities at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Hertfordshire and those at Warner Bros. De Lane Lea in central London means that we will be able to provide a convenient one-stop shop for all kinds of production needs, both in-house and external clients.”
Kim Waugh, Senior Vice President, Post-Production Services, Warner Bros. Studio Facilities, added, “By owning and operating our own post-production facility in the UK, we’re increasing the flexibility and scheduling of our own post-production requirements, as well as those of other studios. De Lane Lea has long been the leader in the UK post-production market and we’re confident that its fine traditions and preferred location status will continue to prosper under our new ownership.”
Based just outside Watford, Hertfordshire, Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden is the only film studio in the country to be owned and operated by a major Hollywood studio. It is available to all kinds of productions, not just Warner Bros., from commercials to music videos, TV shows to feature films.
Formerly the production home of all eight “Harry Potter” films, Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden is spread across a secure 200-acre site and houses a collection of some of the largest sound stages in the UK spanning over a quarter of a million square feet, including one of the largest heated underwater filming tanks in Europe. In addition, the site provides an unrivalled, clear horizon 100 acre back-lot, one of the most extensive in Europe, which can be adapted for any production need.
“All You Need is Kill,” an epic sci-fi thriller directed by Doug Liman and starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, is currently shooting at the studios.
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