Fox Studios Australia

Fox Studios Australia is a film and television studio in Sydney currently part of The Walt Disney Company since 2019, occupying the site of the former Sydney Showground at Moore Park. The studio opened in May 1998 by 20th Century Fox, and is now owned by The Walt Disney Studios. It is one of the three film studios in Australia, the others being Village Roadshow Studios and Docklands Studios Melbourne.

Fox Studios Australia
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryFilm
Founded1 May 1998 (1998-05-01)
Headquarters
Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales
,
Australia (🌍 )
Parent20th Century Studios
(Walt Disney Studios)
Websitewww.foxstudiosaustralia.com

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

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

The area includes southern hemisphere's largest sound stage. 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. 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.

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.

Backlot Theme Park

Fox Studios Backlot was purportedly based on Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Florida, and Disney's Hollywood Studios. 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'. The backlot closed down in 2001 and the entrance remains at Fox Studios Australia.

Ownership

Fox Studios Australia is owned by the media conglomerate The Walt Disney Company, 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, predecessor of 21st Century Fox, 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, Rupert Murdoch, involving the donation of $25 million in taxpayers' money for the new site.[1][2]

On 20 March 2019, The Walt Disney Company completed its acquisition of 21st Century Fox, and now owns the studio, as well as 20th Century Studios and other studios.[3]

Productions

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

Films

Television

See also

References
  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
  3. Frater, Patrick (19 February 2019). "New Fox Appoints Wayne Borg to Los Angeles Studio Role". Variety. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  4. Maddox, Garry (30 November 2013). "Mad Max Fury Road: Big muddy smash caps epic shoot". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.

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