MGM-British Studios Meanwhile, Amalgamated Studios Ltd constructed a large studio on the north side of Elstree Way between 1935 and 1937. A January 1937 deal for eight films to be made for the American studio Columbia Pictures soon collapsed. The company was unable to meet the cost of building work, and sold the facility to the Rank Organisation, which was not interested in using the studios itself, but wanted to stop John Maxwell's rival British International Pictures (BIP) from being able to compete more effectively with its own new Pinewood Studios. During the war, the studios were leased from Rank by the
Somerville Open Studios artists. An executive committee is formed each year to organize the event, usually under the direction of one or more coordinators. This committee is assisted by approximately fifty dedicated volunteers and over one hundred on-site helpers during the event itself. Somerville Open Studios Somerville Open Studios (informally: "SOS") is an annual event where the artists of Somerville, Massachusetts open their workspaces to the public. It is also the name of the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization which oversees the event. Somerville Open Studios is the largest Open Studio event in New England, and the third largest in America. Somerville Open Studios was