Kurt Sutter's new series films in Dragon Studios
With a full series of Kurt Sutter's bloody historical drama The Bastard Executioner now officially greenlit, we can confirm that the three-month shoot will take place at Dragon Studios, near Pencoed in South Wales.
The feature length pilot of Sutter's gory period piece hit the headlines as the first major international project to use Pinewood's shiny new facility in Wales, and it is now hoped that the ten-episode, big budget American series will breathe life back into the previously rather forlorn Dragon Studios just down the road, around 14 miles from Cardiff.
The late Richard Attenborough chaired the consortium which developed the Dragon Studios project - affectionately known as Valleywood - when construction began back in in August 2007.
The build took years to get underway and was fraught with difficulties, from delayed grants and lack of certain permissions, plain old bad weather and even the discovery of a protected species of dormouse all hampering the plans. Â
In 2008 PwC was called in after Dragon International Studios went into administration, a sad chapter in what had promised to become a real economic boost to the area.
However, filming has been up and running sporadically at the site since, with Ironclad, Doctor Who, Whites, Upstairs Downstairs and Merlin all utilising the considerable space. The facility comprises four large and, very importantly, high, sound stages each with their own capacious office block.
It is great news for Wales that, even with the arrival of Pinewood's high-profile Welsh outpost - hosting The Crow this summer - the big international producers are still clamouring for more space to film in the castle-strewn country. This could be a real turning point for the once sleeping Dragon Studios.
After all, how many Hollywood locations can boast a real, working portcullis like the one at the stunning Atlantic College at St Donat's Castle, where some of the pilot of The Bastard Executioner was filmed?
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On Production Intelligence you will find more crucial information on the full series of Fox 21 and FX Prods' The Bastard Executioner, including location manager, production manager, production designer and shoot dates. Â
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