Longcross South Studios has been named the UK’s only winner at this year’s Global Production Awards, taking the Location of the Year (Site/Man-Made) prize at a ceremony in Cannes last night.
The award recognises the studio’s two large-scale, purpose-built underwater stages—a £4.4m ($6m) project delivered in just a matter of months—constructed to host Paramount Pictures’ Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning. The stages enabled the production to shoot complex underwater sequences practically on set, rather than relying on visual effects; a capability judges described as “a new benchmark for what a production site can offer.”
Competing against international nominees across a field of 14 competitive categories, Longcross was the sole UK location to take home an award at the fourth annual ceremony, held at the Mademoiselle Gray Plage Barrière in Cannes.
“The speed of delivery, technical ambition and ability to execute complex underwater sequences practically, rather than relying on VFX, is a major differentiator. A clear example of problem-solving at the highest level, supporting a tentpole production while advancing industry capability. Both the innovation and execution set a new benchmark for what a production site can offer.” – Global Production Awards judge
A second judge highlighted the depth of production thinking behind the facility, pointing to the substantial “filmmaking advice and design thinking embedded into a development designed to help creatives produce their biggest ideas more easily.”
‘This was a Mission made Possible. Working in partnership with the MI Team/Paramount, we created a world-class subterranean world. A huge amount of credit must be shared with Serious Stages for the build and, of course, Tom Cruise himself – for it was his vision we helped bring to life. We were and continue to be honoured that the team chose Longcross as the location to create this spectacle,’ said Debbie Priestnall, Commercial Director at Longcross South Studios
Jon Creamer
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