Stranded at the Drive-In: The Sad Decline of Village Roadshow
PLUS Springsteen biopic trailer; REMEMBER BELSEN director Frank Shields; Scandi Film Fest preview; we review 28 DAYS LATER and THE UNHOLY TRINITY; and, relive that weepy Julia Stiles moment.
The sale of Village Roadshow Pictures’ feature film library to Alcon Media Group this week is the latest kick to the guts of the once-mighty Australian entertainment giant. Such legacy pics as THE MATRIX and it’s sequels, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, the OCEANS series, WONKA, Guy Ritchie’s SHERLOCK HOLMES films and JOKER are among the 108 titles acquired by AMG.
Specifically, the deal includes intellectual properties, distribution and cash flow rights and royalties to the movies that Village Roadshow co-produced and co-financed with Warner Bros since 1997. Alcon won the bidding with an offer just shy of US$418 million (which, in the current ‘content-is-king’ landscape, sounds like a fire-sale bargain).
From its start as a suburban drive-in operator in 1954 under founder Roscoe ‘Roc’ Kirby, VR backed its knowledge of the local sector to the commercial hilt. It expanded into ‘hardtop’ cinema exhibition, then film distribution in the 1960s and film production in the 1970s. It invested in the multiplex boom of the early 1980s; was rolling in cash thanks to its early embrace of home video; and, was the local distribution rights holder for all Warner Bros. product (hits like LETHAL WEAPON, BATMAN, BEETLEJUICE, THE COLOR PURPLE, THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK, THE FUGITIVE, ACE VENTURA and UNFORGIVEN).
In recent times, the showbusiness gods took a dislike to the little Aussie battler. Village Roadshow flinched when Warners decided to release the fourth MATRIX film, RESURRECTIONS, day-and-date on their streaming platform Max, denying the partner revenue to which it felt entitled. The subsequent court case, brought by VR against Warners, went on and on, ultimately ending in the Hollywood studio’s favour and costing VR…well, a lot. Warners pulled their decades-long distribution partnership, leaving Village Roadshow with a bare slate and sending execs scrambling to strike deals with the likes of FilmNation and Lionsgate.
There were other setbacks. The group’s studio operations on the Queensland Gold Coast felt the pinch when overseas production incentives dried-up; the international exhibition arm, which oversaw cinema sites in 20 countries, was gradually shuttered. The production division’s plan to forge ahead with their own content stalled; since 2018, the company has had 99 feature films in development, yet has only made six. And in March of this year, Village Roadshow filed for bankruptcy protection, leading to the departure of CEO Steve Mosko and opening the door for AMG to swoop.
I have a fondness for Village Roadshow, having joined their home video merchandising division straight out of high school in 1986 (pictured, above; you’re welcome), then working alongside industry great Anne Yorke as publicity co-ordinator until 1990. It was a company that ran on passion and love for film; no matter how big it dreamed, it still hummed with the dedication of a family-owned operation. To witness their death-by-1000-cuts decline leaves me with a heavy heart.”
Simon Foster, Editor: SCREEN-SPACE
20th CENTURY STUDIOS DROP TRAILER FOR SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE
The Bear star Jeremy Allen White transforms into music icon Bruce Springsteen in the first official trailer for SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE.
Helmed by Scott Cooper, who directed Jeff Bridges to a Best Actor Oscar for CRAZY HEART, the musical biopic references a page from Warren Zanes’ book about the making of Springsteen’s deeply personal 1982 album Nebraska.
Co-starring Jeremy Strong, Odessa Young, Paul Michael Glaser and Marc Maron, the film will release in U.S. theatres on October 24.
PREVIEW: 2025 HURTIGRUTEN SCANDINAVIAN FILM FESTIVAL
The 2025 Hurtigruten Scandinavian Film Festival will present new cinema from the Nordic region to Australian audiences, unveiling a diverse and thought–provoking selection from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland (including Iina Kuustonen in Paula Korva’s SUDDEN OUTBURSTS OF EMOTION; pictured, below)
The 2025 Hurtigruten Scandinavian Film Festival will take place from July to August at Palace Cinema venues across Australia. (READ our full preview here)
The SCREEN-SPACE Interview: FRANK SHIELDS, Director: REMEMBER BELSEN
In April, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp allowed for a moment of profound global reflection. The Australian documentary REMEMBER BELSEN looks at the horrors of the holocaust through the eyes of the survivors and the artists who recorded those first glimpses inside, as one British officer calls it in the film, “a fine hell”.
This moving film is directed the veteran Australian filmmaker FRANK SHIELDS (THE BREAKER, 1974; HOSTAGE, 1983; THE SURFER, 1987), who sat with SCREEN-SPACE's Simon Foster to chat about the origins of his film, the correlation between art, history and dealing with tragedy, and how his film ideas have come to him simply by choosing a different path to travel.
The Randwick Ritz in Sydney will hold a Special Event screening of REMEMBER BELSEN on June 25, 2025. TICKETS HERE.
FILM REVIEWS
28 YEARS LATER (Dir: Danny Boyle; starring Alfie Williams, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Jodie Comer and Emma Laird) Danny Boyle gets to indulge, really indulge, his florid film language and disregard for logic in this disappointingly un-scary bore. Alex Garland’s episodic, sputtering narrative pits a teen warrior-wannabe (Alfie Williams, not always convincing) against the screeching, naked infected, a troubled dad (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and ill mom (Jodie Comer, underserved). Despite an occasionally creepy first act and diversions like Edvin Ryding’s Swedish soldier and Ralph Fiennes’ Latin-spouting medic, little here warrants another round (or, as it turns out, two rounds) of undead anarchy. Boyle and Garland want you to believe this is deeper than it is but just because socio-political bullet-points abound, doesn’t mean they’ve made a good zombie film. Too cynical? Just ask Warners and George Miller how their legacy franchise beat-up, Furiosa, played out. ⭐️⭐️
JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE (Dir: Laura Piani; starring Camille Rutherford, Pablo Pauly, Charlie Anson and Annabelle Lengronne) A sweetly sardonic lead turn by Camille Rutherford is just one of the many cumulative components that ensures writer/director Laura Piani’s contemporary take on Austen glows from within. Surrounded by romantic literature as a bookseller, Agathe can’t make the leap from dreamer to doer, despite her best friend Félix (Pablo Pauly) offering increasingly hands-on support. She accepts a spot at a Jane Austen residence, where her fictional spin on romance goes nowhere but her real-world experience grows with every moment she spends in the company of Oliver (Charlie Anson, because Hugh Grant is too old). There are beats here that feel familiar - the whole narrative is an Austen riff, after all - but Piani and her star bring a warm loveliness and occasionally outrageous sensibility to the romance genre. ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
THE UNHOLY TRINITY (Dir: Richard Gray; starring Pierce Brosnan, Samuel L. Jackson, Brandon Lessard, Veronica Ferres, David Arquette, Ethan Peck, Q'orianka Kilcher, Gianni Capaldi and Katrina Bowden) Melbourne-bred, Montana-based filmmaker Richard Gray continues his love affair with the western genre. Steeped in such classic American frontier themes as vengeance, greed and betrayal, fellow Victorian Lee Zachariah’s script provides a sturdy framework and compelling character roster, with Brosnan’s worldly Sheriff Dove and Jackson’s ruthless opportunist St. Christopher best of the ensemble. Costner’s pricey under-performer HORIZON aside, traditional westerns have been denied studio-level budgets; until the genre is rediscovered by the mainstream, Gray’s mid-tier oaters (the ok MURDER AT YELLOWSTONE CITY; his ill-fated production RUST) will satisfy fans seeking wild west scenery and six-shooter melodrama. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
HEADLINE MAKERS
NUREMBERG EYED AS SONY PICTURES CLASSIC OSCAR HOPEFUL: SPE’s prestige arm has acquired rights to James Vanderbilt’s thriller, starring Rami Malek, Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon, and is prepping a November 7 U.S., ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials (READ: Variety)
FILMFEST MUNCHEN BOASTS 164 FILMS IN 2025 ROSTER: Gillian Anderson will be presented with the CineMerit Award for her outstanding contributions to the art of film at a gala evening at the Deutsches Theater, following the German Premiere of her latest feature, THE SALT PATH. (READ: Cineuropa)
2025 FRONTIERES CO-PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCED: Director Mia’Kate Russell’s demonic possession pic THE HALFWAY HOUSE is flying the flag for Aussie pics at Canada’s largest genre market gathering (READ: Screen)
HONG KONG EXHIBITION SECTOR IN CRISIS: Cinema giant Golden Harvest has closed five multi-screen megaplexes since April 2024. Is there any new directions that may offer hope for the Chinese sector’s screen business? (READ: SCMP)
CRISIS/OPPORTUNITY IN INDEPENDENT DISTRIBUTION: June 25th 11am PT / 2pm ET | 8 Above’s June webinar profiles four innovative U.S. indie distributors: Elizabeth Woodward (Willa), Munir Atalla (Watermelon Pictures), Elizabeth Purchell (Muscle Distribution), and Theodore Schaefer & James Belfer (Cartuna x Dweck) (REGISTER: 8 Above)
LATEST TRAILERS
What's coming soon to the multiplex, the arthouse, the festival circuit.
KANGAROO ISLAND (Dir: Timothy David; starring Rebecca Breeds, Erik Thomson, Adelaide Clemens and Joel Jackson) After a promising start to her Hollywood career, a young actress reluctantly accepts a plane ticket from her estranged father to return home to Kangaroo Island. Years of unresolved tension start to resurface when secrets emerge about her family history.
ON FALLING (Dir: Laura Carreira; starring Joana Santos, Inês Vaz, Piotr Sikora, Neil Leiper and Itxaso Moreno) A Portuguese migrant working as a warehouse picker in Edinburgh, lives a life trapped between the confines of a vast distribution centre and the solitude of her own bedroom. She seeks out every opportunity to resist the alienation and isolation that threaten her sense of self.
OMNISCIENT READER: THE PROPHET (Dir: Byung-woo Kim; starring Ahn Hyo-seop, Kim Jisoo, Chae Soo-bin, Im Jin-ah and Lee Min-ho) Kim Dokja, the sole reader of a web novel called Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World, finds himself living in the world of the novel after its ending. With his unique knowledge of the story, he attempts to change the narrative and survive in the apocalyptic setting.
WHY WE LOVE MOVIES
Losing Jerusalem - WORLD WAR Z (2013) A moment of celebration alerts the gathering undead hordes to the protected masses behind the Israeli enclaves’ giant walls.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I hate it when you lie. I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry. I hate it when you’re not around, and the fact that you didn’t call. But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.” - Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles), 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (1999)
And if SCREEN-SPACE isn’t enough Simon for you…:
LISTEN to me co-host the weekly film and TV podcast SCREEN WATCHING with Dan Barrett, of Always Be Watching notoriety;
WATCH/LISTEN Dan and I reflect on the films of 1987 in our fun retro-podcast, BEST MOVIE YEAR (available to watch on our YouTube channel)
FOLLOW my curatorial efforts as Festival Director of the SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL.