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Village Roadshow Limited

Type	Public (ASX: VRL)
Founded	Croydon, Victoria, Australia (1954)
Founder(s)	Roc Kirby
Headquarters	Melbourne, Australia (headquarters)
Key people	Robert G. Kirby, CEO
Industry	Media, Entertainment
Products	Cinemas, Radio, Themeparks, Film Distribution, Film Studio
Revenue	$1,453 million AUD (2005, [1])
Website	www.village.com.au

Village Roadshow Limited ASX: VRL is an Australian media company with interests in cinema, theme parks, film production and distribution. The company is a publicly listed entity on the Australian Securities Exchange. It is majority owned by Village Roadshow Corporation, run by John and Robert Kirby and Graham Burke.

[edit] History

Village Roadshow commenced operations in 1954, when founder Roc Kirby began running one of Australia's first drive-in cinemas in the Melbourne suburb of Croydon. The drive-in was adjacent to a shopping strip called "Croydon Village"; hence the company adopted the "Village" name. The company later expanded into traditional cinemas in major areas, though it still operates the Coburg Drive-In in Coburg.

In the 1960s the company started its film distribution business (once a 50-50 joint venture with Greater Union) and moved into film production in the 1970s.

In the 1980s, Village Roadshow was one of the leading forces in creating state of the art multiplex cinema complexes. Innovations brought in during this period included using stadium-style seating, sophisticated sound systems and the latest in projection technologies. The cinemas of that era were the forerunners to the multiplexes of today.

In 1989, Village Roadshow took over De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, which brought on a change of name: Village Roadshow Limited. This allowed the company to raise more capital to fund further expansion.

In the 1990s, the company diversified into complementary media and entertainment businesses. This included the purchase and development of theme parks, the purchase and integration of the Triple M and Today radio networks to create Austereo Group Limited, the creation of Village Roadshow Pictures, and the commencement of a co-production deal with Warner Bros..

In 2003, the company incurred massive losses due to several box office flops.^{[citation needed]} In 2004, a move by Village Roadshow Corporation to acquire more stock was halted by German company Boswell Filmgesellschaft, who argued that Village had misinformed shareholders about their voting rights because holders of ordinary shares who also held preference stock were excluded from voting on the buyback.

In 2008, Village Roadshow and Concord Music Group, co-owned by television producer Norman Lear, said they completed a merger forming a new company to exploit their film and music assets. Investors in the new company include Lambert Entertainment and private equity firms Tailwind Capital Partners and Clarity Partners.^[1]

[edit] Divisions

[edit] Village Cinemas

[edit] Austereo Radio

[edit] Village Roadshow Pictures

VRP co-produces feature films, primarily with Warner Bros.. Major successes include The Matrix trilogy, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Ocean's Eleven.

From 1 July 2007 Village Roadshow Pictures Group merged with Concord Music Group to create Village Roadshow Entertainment Group [2]. VRPG and Concord Music continue to operate separately under VREG where Village Roadshow holds a 39.9% interest with Crescent Entertainment (48%) and Tailwind Capital (12.1%).

[edit] Warner Roadshow Studios

Production, editing and filming facilities located on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Films such as Pitch Black, The Condemned, Scooby-Doo, Peter Pan (2003) and House of Wax (2005) were filmed at the studio.

[edit] Warner Village Theme Parks

Originally a joint venture with Time Warner, VRP owns and operates Movie World, Sea World, Wet'n'Wild waterpark, Australian Outback Spectacular & Paradise Country - all located in the Gold Coast, Australia.

[edit] Wet 'n' Wild Phoenix (formerly Waterworld Safari Theme Park)

In 2009, Village acquired Florida-based Harvest Family Entertainment^[2], which then acquired Waterworld Safari theme park in Glendale, Arizona^[3]. Waterworld, formerly owned by Golfland Entertainment, is now under renovations.^[4] An opening date has been announced as mid-June 2009^[5].

Admission

• Ages 12–59, $34.99 plus tax.
• Ages 3–11, $26.99 plus tax.
• Ages 60-plus, $26.99 plus tax.
• Ages 2 and younger, free
• Parking: $5
• Early bird season passes, $59.99 plus tax.
• After park opening season passes are $69.99 per person or $64.99 when you buy four or more passes.
• Information: www.phoenixwetnwild.com or call 623-201-2000

Hours and operating schedule

• It opens mid-June through Nov. 1. It opens at 10 a.m. and closing time will vary throughout the season.

Location

• 4243 W. Pinnacle Peak Road, at the Adobe Dam Recreational area on the border of Phoenix and Glendale

Water rides

• Maximum Velocity, a dueling H20 coaster, allows guests to race in tubes down two side-by-side slide tracks. The gravity-defying water coasters blast riders uphill on jetted water and over 830 feet drops and curves.
• Desert Palms Playground is an interactive ride with nine slides and more.
• Monsoon Bay is a wave pool ride with 4-foot high swells in tube or body surf for an ocean experience. The bay also features a Dive 'n' Movie events throughout the summer.
• Phoenix Flyers allows you to create an experience with a choice of three slides and drops down a four-story tower.
• Desert Racers takes guests headfirst on a racing mat into an enclosed tube, and then loops downhill. This 240-foot raceway launches riders from 42 feet high and down the slides at speeds of more than 20 feet-per-second.
• Tornado starts at 38 feet high in the air through a 160-foot tunnel before plummeting into a large body of water.
• Cactus Cooleris a place to relax on a tube as it floats through water.
• Serpentine Complex is two coiling slides and one super bowl. The drops and twists of the more than 320-foot slides aren't for the faint of heart.
• Raging River is a family raft that winds over 600 feet of the river canyon walls, around sharp turns and over steep drops.
• Mammoth Falls features waterfall drops of 57 feet before the raft goes vertical, shoots up a wall, then falls back before arriving at the calm waters below.
• Soak'em Sprayground is an interactive children's playground filled with water activities.

Source: Wet 'n' Wild Phoenix

[edit] Roadshow Entertainment

A distributor of VHS and DVD titles to the home market. Roadshow has distributed home video releases throughout Australia since 1982. Premiere Home Entertainment and Applause Home Video were both originally divisions of Village Roadshow.

[edit] Reel Corporation

A division of Roadshow which distributes smaller titles to Cinemas and on DVD.

[edit] Intencity

A family entertainment centre chain.

[edit] Golden Village

A major cinema chain in Singapore, jointly owned with Golden Harvest.

[edit] Sydney Attractions Group

Manages the Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Tower observation deck and Sydney Tower Skywalk attraction, Sydney Wildlife World, and Oceanworld Manly.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Village Roadshow corporate site