Pinewood Studios, home of the James Bond films, will open a production facility in Atlanta, Georgia, its first outpost in the United States.

IVER HEATH, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (PINEWOOD STUDIOS) -  British film studio Pinewood Shepperton, home of the James Bond movies, plans to build its first movie, television and music studio in the United States, part of an international expansion strategy launched in 2009.

The Cathy family owns the Atlanta-based fried chicken chain Chick-fil-A. It is believed to be their first significant media investment but no one from Chick-fil-A was immediately available for comment.

Attracting Pinewood is the latest victory for Georgia as it builds itself into a major U.S. production destination. Figures shows that 333 productions were shot in the state last year, boosting public coffers by $3.1 billion, with recent films including "Flight", "X-Men: First Class", and "Fast Five".

Pinewood already owns studios in Canada and Germany and is building facilities in Malaysia and the Dominican Republic. Earlier this month the studio signed a joint venture with Chinese media group Seven Stars, run by media entrepreneur Bruno Wu, to expand its production services into China.

"Georgia has excellent fiscal incentives and a great crew base, Pinewood CEO Ivan Dunleavy said in a statement. "With River's Rock we have a well resourced partner that is committed to building a first-class studio facility."

Under the deal, the land and studio construction costs will be funded by equity from River's Rock and a debt facility from Synovus Bank with building to begin immediately.

Pinewood will provide the sales and marketing services and own 40 percent of the joint venture that will operate under the Pinewood trademark and be called Pinewood Atlanta.

The Pinewood studio, based outside of London, has been dubbed the home ofJames Bond with most of the 23 films featuring British spy 007 shot there over the past half century, including last year's box office hit "Skyfall".