Fox Studios Australia

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Fox Studios Australia
Movie studio
Industry Film
Founded May 1998; 19 years ago (1998-05)
Headquarters Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (Map)
Owner Fox Entertainment Group
Parent 21st Century Fox
Website www.foxstudiosaustralia.com

Fox Studios Australia is a movie studio and theme park in Sydney, occupying the site of the former Sydney Showground at Moore Park. The studio is owned by 21st Century Fox and was opened in May 1998. It is one of the three film studios in Australia, the others being Village Roadshow Studios and Docklands Studios Melbourne.

Occupying a 32-acre-site, and 15 minutes from the Sydney CBD, the movie studio features eight sound stages, several production offices, workshops and around 60 independent entertainment industry businesses.

The studio has been involved in the production of a number of blockbusters, including The Matrix, Moulin Rouge!, Mission: Impossible 2, Star Wars Episodes II and III, and Superman Returns.

Site history[edit]

Prior to 1998, the Studio's site was host to Sydney's Royal Easter Show – the largest event held in Australia, and the sixth largest in the world. In 1881, the New South Wales Government provided land for the Royal Agricultural Society at Moore Park where the show was held for 116 years. From 1902 to 1919, the site expanded to the south and from 1920 to 1937, the Moore Park Showground expanded to the north. In 1998, the Show moved to a new showground and the former Sydney Showground at Moore Park became the home to Fox Studios Australia.

Features[edit]

The area includes southern hemisphere's largest sound stage[citation needed]. The history of the site provides an eclectic mix of new and old buildings, and landscapes.

Located twenty minutes by foot from the Sydney city centre, the 132,000 square metre (32 acre) site includes eight stages, production offices and heavy industrial workshops, and a community of over 60 independent businesses[citation needed]. These businesses provide services such as equipment hire, travel and freight, casting, postproduction, and explosives/pyrotechnic factory, adjoining residential properties. Fox Lighting is Australia's leading supplier for major motion film lighting[citation needed].

Fox Studios Australia houses post-production specialists in film editing, sound re-recording and sound. Walking distance away is Trackdown's 100 seat orchestral recording soundstage based at the neighbouring Entertainment Quarter.

Fox Studios Australia also has several facilities; including shops, cinemas, cafes, restaurants, parks, major sporting facilities and entertainment venues. Fox Studios Australia catering facilities opened in the area in 1998[citation needed].

Backlot Theme Park[edit]

Fox Studios Backlot is a theme park such as a Backlot Theme Park with Warner Bros. Movie World Australia that was purportedly based on Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Florida, and Disney's Hollywood Studios with Warner Bros. Movie World Australia. The $261 million park opened on 7 November 1999. An adjacent precinct provides restaurants and cafes, a retail complex, parklands, entertainment venues, and sporting facilities. The adjacent precinct was previously known as simply 'Fox Studios Entertainment Precinct'.

Ownership[edit]

Fox Studios Australia is owned by the media conglomerate 21st Century Fox, under the terms of a 99-year lease from the New South Wales State Government.

The decision by the Carr Government in 1995 to allow News Corporation, 21st Century Fox' predecessor, to take over the site was controversial and attracted criticism from sections of the media such as The Sydney Morning Herald and independent MP Clover Moore. It was alleged that a secret deal took place between the NSW Government and the largest shareholder and Chairman/CEO of News Corporation, Mr Rupert Murdoch involving the donation of $25 million in taxpayers money for the new site[1][2]

Productions[edit]

The studio has been involved in a number of movies and television shows including:

Tour[edit]

This tour for one concert at Fox Studios Australia

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Dick, Tim (20 September 2004), "Moore readies for new Fox Studios fight", The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney 
  2. ^ Milliken, Robert (26 October 1995), "Sydney enraged by Murdoch's film studio deal", The Independent, London 

External links[edit]

Coordinates: 33°53′31″S 151°13′43″E / 33.89202°S 151.22851°E / -33.89202; 151.22851