Hanks eyes new Belfast studio

The Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission has announced ambitious plans to turn a Belfast leisure centre into a £10m (E14.9m) film studio … and already such major Hollywood stars as Tom Hanks have expressed interest.

Maysfield Centre beside Central Station, has been closed for around a year but the plans for its conversion are in line with the NIFTC's success in attracting more and more major films to the area.

Hanks Playtone company wants to use Maysfield while shooting City of Embers in the Titanic Quarter in January.