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Bond rivals Tom Hiddleston and Idris Elba today joined forces to announce a £130 million home for British film on the South Bank.

The landmark British Film Institute building, on the site of a car park between the London Eye and the Royal Festival Hall, will house a gallery and a research and education centre as well as three cinema screens with a combined capacity of 1,100.

The actors, who are both rumoured to be in the running to take over from Daniel Craig as James Bond, joined screen stars including Dame Helen Mirren, Ralph Fiennes, Romola Garai, Sir John Hurt, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Walliams and directors Stephen Frears and Mel Brooks to hail the new International Centre for Film, TV and the Moving Image.

BFI Ambassador Hiddleston, 35, said: “British film — the tradition which has created and produced so much extraordinary talent both in front of and behind the camera, all of whom have gone on to make films which will endure long after most of us are gone — needs a national home and the BFI is the organisation to build it.

“It is so important for us to show a new generation that a career in the creative arts, in film, is possible and valuable. It’s important for us to show a new generation that the British film industry can provide huge opportunities for fulfilment and growth. It can help build a sense of community and cultural identity. Film-making is an art, a craft, and it’s also a real job.”

Elba, 43, said: “Britain is a great centre of creativity and film is at its heart. If we want to see this continue to flourish, then we have to encourage young people from all backgrounds to think about it as a career, which we aren’t going to do if we don’t shout about it.

“It’s time we had a proper national home worthy of this 21st-century art form, and I’m excited for all of the brilliant opportunities this will bring.”

Dame Helen, 70, said: “The proposal for a new centre is a very exciting one and will bring young people and their energies and understanding of the modern world into this amazing form of culture and of self-expression — cinema.”

Fiennes, 53, said: “The proposal for a high profile and distinctive home for the BFI in the heart of London is very exciting. A building that would not only utilise the most cutting-edge digital technology but would also provide access to the extraordinary BFI film archive.”

The centre, due to open in 2022, will be in addition to the BFI’s current 1957 South Bank building, a five-minute walk away. The development will include an expansion of the Jubilee Gardens, creating more than an acre-and-a-half of additional green space.

Amanda Nevill, BFI head, said the scheme got the go-ahead after an anonymous benefactor came forward with an £87 million donation. The remaining funds now need to be raised — and the search is on for a world-renowned architect to create a building befitting the location.

She said: “Britain is one of the most exciting and creative places in the world right now and London is at the heart of it. But we have been way behind other cities such as New York, Paris and Los Angeles in creating a proper national home.

“The new building will be for people living around the corner and for people flying in from LA. It will be an international centre for film, celebrating our Ken Loaches and a resource for the young student at school in Lambeth who wants to pursue a career in film.”

Sir John Hurt, 76, said: “The BFI has spent the last 65 years under Waterloo Bridge – in that time cinema and television has developed into the great modern art form. It’s time we had a building that reflects the scale of our achievements and our ambition for the future but more importantly gives everybody the opportunity to fully experience the world of film in all its glory.”

Comedy icon Mel Brooks, 89, added: “Britain deserves a home for film that reflects its stature internationally – a place that’s on a par with your other great institutions like The British Museum, National Gallery, National Theatre – a home that shows the world how important British film is and where years from now the next Powell and Pressburger may be discovered and supported.

“The BFI belongs alongside London's iconic beacons of wonder and discovery; this new Centre will open up the magic of moving image to inspire our filmmakers and film lovers of the future.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “These plans for a new state-of-the-art building offer a fantastic opportunity for the capital’s moving image artists. As well as strengthening London’s position as a global leader for the creative industries, the centre will create a new generation of TV and film lovers and give Londoners of all ages the chance to experience film and its amazing heritage in the UK.”

@RashidRazaqES

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