I worked there. Bit of info, the Simpson's attraction was closed down the day Matt Groening came to Sydney to see it. He hated it and said that's not how Simpson's was made.
I remember going to Fox Studios when I was a kid. We did the Titanic experience. I must say that it is something I will never forget. It was awesome. They deserved the awards for it.
The first power rangers film was filmed there along with a good chunk of mmpr s2 the titanic experience building showed up in return of the green ranger.
I was the longest standing employee of this extraordinary experience. Makes me so sad to see what transpired. Got my 3 yr pin, from build to bye bye. Had the privilege of working with an amazing array of characters that I'm proud to say because my friends and family to this day. Thankyou fox, as hard as it was to say goodbye, many happy days were spent there.xx
I did twelve months from beginning. Great memories of the whole experience. Feel very blessed being a part of Australia moving forward in a big way. Awesome move Rupert
And now there's a new theme park. It's called 21 century fox world in Malaysia but DISNEY BLOCK IT AND THEY WANT TO SUE MALAYSIA CAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO BUILD RIGHT NEXT TO CASINO???
Em Radford I know this makes me so upset titanic, babe and the simpsons were like my favourite things to watch as a 6 year old I’m like sitting here crying because the only way I can remember it is through photo albums, if I had a time machine I’d go back to fox studios theme park for the day and get a photo kissing Edward scissor hands
I’ve worked at Fox Studios since 1999 on the movies that are made there. I can confirm it was always set up to fail after 2 years so that Fox could repurpose the sound stages for movies. The Matrix Reloaded-Revolutions was being shot as the backload started closing to the public, and that production immediately took over the space. No coincidence it was totally planned.
@@brettjones4733 And if it flopped, Fox gets all of the sound stages without having to share them with the public, that’s roughly a 30% increase in lot size without having to pay anything extra. What gets me is that it’s supposed to be Commonwealth public land & now federation buildings on the lot are totally inaccessible to the general public for many generations to come.
There’s lots of documentary channels centered on theme parks on RU-vid but this one is criminally underrated. Such great content! Looking forward to more!
Wow, thanks for the flashback. My first job out of school while a studing at Uni was at Sega World. When that closed down I got a job at Fox Studios before it even opened. I hated it so much that a week after getting the job and about a week before it opened I just stopped turning up to work. Aside from the Titanic experience it was a pretty terrible excuse for a theme park.
I've shot a bunch of TV shows and movies in this studio, I remember accidentally walking onto the set of Alien Covenant one day and thinking to myself "strewth, we're shooting some weird shit today" and then a very mean looking fella asked me what I was doing there and escorted me out, it's still a pretty magical place in those studios!
Wow The Titanic Experience looked awesome, those are the types of attractions that Universal studio's Florida used to have but are now closing down in favour of either VR experiences or Roller Coasters, personally I would like to see a return to the good old family attractions like Jaws, Kongfrontation and the Titanic one in your video.
Thanks for the kind words! It's a shame that the park was so short-lived, the Titanic attraction deserved so many more guests than it ended up receiving! - Luke
I lived in Sydney when the theme park still existed. The Titanic Experience was extremely well done. Channel V was broadcast from there. Saw a free show by The Dandy Warhols one freezing Friday night. The movie theatre was awesome and the place was always busy. I moved from Sydney in 2005. I had some great experiences at Fox Studios.
It's interesting how popular the whole "movie studio backlot" theme was for a while there. It didn't seem to matter whether there was an actual working backlot there or not. These days even the surviving parks with that theme seem to be moving away from it: there are certainly still movie-themed attractions but less of the "behind the scenes" conceit, which only ever really worked in a couple of places.
It was an interesting era for Theme Parks for sure, and probably a cheap one too where highly themed lands could be replaced by big tan "soundstages". Most of the interest in these parks seem to fall when things like DVD Extras started showing us "behind the scenes" on films, and the allure and mystery of movie making was wiped away. - Luke
Incredible here in Mexico with the props Fox sent, they first opened a theme park too, in Rosarito (the actual Titanic film Location) but also for lack of visitors they closed it and now is also a filming studios just like there in Australia
I went there for the Titanic experience and wasn’t disappointed. It was pretty awesome. The rest of the exhibits there were good too. Glad I got to experience it.
I remember going there as a kid and watched them filming Channel V, just near the entrance. "Jabba" was filming and would smoke darts between songs and ad breaks, and would keep the lit cigarette on the concrete floor while filming
So glad I got to experience this. My uncle took me and my brothers and it was an unforgettable experience. Still have photos of this day and the titanic experience.
Man sydney was such a wonderous place for a kid back then. Fox backlot, Imax, Segaworld, the aquarium, Techno City, Luna Park, Wonderland. Channel V had jabba doing live shows out of the sanity at moore park. Social Media was a mistake.
So true!... I got out of Sydney 10 years ago and thank god I did! Every time I return on a business trip or to visit friends, I can’t believe just how it has changed for the worse! I can’t wait to get back home, virtually within minutes of arriving lol
For sure, I waited years for the promised theme park to open, lived 20kms away and have never heard of the Titanic experience. I do remember going there and seeing a prop display thing with no cool stuff and thinking it was a pretty dud theme park. I would have been right onto the Titanic ride, I really like that style ride and used to travel to Gold Coast to go on the Batman ride. Did they ever actually advertise in Sydney, it doesn't sound like it. In fact I think I am still annoyed they moved the Easter Show, it had so much more character there.
FOX tried again to open another park under the name 20th Century Fox World Malaysia in Genting, Malaysia but it got cancelled last minute when Disney bought over 21st Century Fox.
Big Buck's to but there’s a potential for Fox World Dubai to proceed because Dubai Parks & Resorts is looking for a brand/studio to open the 5th theme park. The park in Malaysia totally got scraped last minute after Disney found out the new upcoming Fox World theme park is located next to a casino. A little bit disappointed bcs the park is already half way completed and was on scheduled to open in 2019 🤧
Good News.... sorta...! The Malaysian theme park is *not* completely cancelled. When Disney and FOX lost the lawsuit against the property owner. FOX has started another approved lawsuit the the same company due to the theme park being at too much for a finish state to demolish. So for now, it is unknown if the theme park will close or open. I hope FOX wins the lawsuit.
Amir Afiq Very interested to see what becomes of this almost-completed Malaysian park... Sounds like either Disney / Fox will work out a deal with Genting, or an actual theme park company will swoop in and remove all IP references and it will become some sort of "generic Hollywood" park.
So did I! It was incredibly expensive to go and my family were not well off, we got gifted some money from my auntie to go, so it makes it a very special memory!
I visited this park a couple of times. Once about 6 months after it opened, and again just before it closed. The writing was already on the wall the first time I visited. So I documented it extensively on video. The most interesting thing there was probably the history of Australian television with many re-created sets from a variety of old/contemporary shows. You could also watch them shooting Farscape too, back when that was in production there. Might have to dig out the camera tapes. Edit: There was also a James Bond ride that is not mentioned in this video
It's such a shame that this park didn't even open with a chance at success. I only saw one mention of the James Bond ride in all my research and interviews about the park and apparently it was owned by a separate private company who leased a spot of land for it right outside the gates to the backlot. If you ever get the chance to digitise that footage we would love to see it! - Luke
I was in the show and worked in the backlot doing street theatre as well. If anyone has any footage of the lights camera chaos shows you should def upload that
the James Bond ride was a film, and not part of the theme park. You had to pay an extra ticket to get in. I didn't do it because I thought it was a massive rip off, after the $40 ticket.
Incredible how a park make a ride based on a tragedy, you know, one that kill 1500. The line between representing a how a movie was made and a real terrible event is almost invisible.
Great video! I live in New Zealand and was lucky enough to visit the studio park in the short time that it was open. Being a huge Titanic fan I just had to go to visit the Titanic Experience. It was absolutely stunning. It would be great if it could be rebuilt in one of the Titanic museums around the world (eg Orlando.) I visited the park on a week day and I was struck by the lack of visitors (There seemed to be more staff than guests.) and I was surprised by the high cost of entry considering the lack of attractions on the site. As you say in the video, it was no surprise that it closed. Sadly, I visited the week after they started painting the Star Wars Phantom Menace sets so the studios public viewing walkway was curtained off. Doh!
It's such a shame the park made so many mistakes that lead to its ultimate downfall and the loss of the amazing Titanic Attraction. With some more foresight and attractions, I could honestly see the park still being opened today. - Luke
wonderland was down the road, was it? must be a fake aussie accent because wonderland was literally the opposite side of sydney and over an hr drive on a good day or half a days travel away on public transport. also unless ur a kenyan power walker the location was unreachable on foot and a $20 taxi ride from sydney cbd
opposite side of sydney? well considering most people live in western sydney it was actually in the exact right place. it was just opposite to you. if you put it anywhere in sydney it will still be far away for a lot of people. stupidist comment ive ever read
I went there . Living in Brisbane I had Dream/Movie/Sea world just down the road. They had nothing like that like that Titanic attraction . I was about 30 years old and could not believe the design and engineering that thing. Cool AF.
Great video. It covered this really well and your analysis was spot on what was said when it was opened then closed. Never went to the theme park as it was too expensive. I do have fond memories though of my early 20s with my friends at the Entertainment Quarter.
I was so excited when it first opened and was one of the first to visit. It was a huge disappointment and I expected them to add more rides/expand, but they never did. I ended up back there as an extra when they made Shang-Chi. Brought back a lot of memories.
Apart from the Titanic attraction the place had nothing to offer. It was a folly by 20th CF & done on the cheap compared to Disney. You could go in at 9am & be done by 10:30am & be poorer for the privilege. It took me 3 days to go around Disneyland properly, admittedly the crowds had a part in that. But it was mega, not just part of a clause in a contract.
Nice short doco... Exactly how I remember. Never thought much of most of the backlot. However, the Titanic experience was awesome.... It was the most interactive experience ever... It is a shame that that no longer exists.
I experienced the “Titanic experience” at a young age, around 10 or 11 years old. Only a few years later, myself and my mother revisited the “park” a number of times to be apart of the audience for Channel V, which at the time was hosted by Osher Günsberg (previously known as Andrew G). Interesting times…
I was 13 when I went to Fox Studios. I went once when it was just opened and again when it became almost a ghost town. I still have the tag from a Fox Studios hip bag and my original entry ticket (also two 2000 Sydney Olympic Games tickets) in a photo book but it's currently sealed in a box in a locked up storage box in a warehouse :( I also had a sneaky picture of the shirts from Romeo + Juliet in the museum part. My Dad may have more pictures though. He took pics of days out with me a lot as a kid, I'm a child of divorce and Dad had visitation weekends :(
@@TheRealFry2024 Yeah I saw an article pop up on my phone on that only a few months ago when the announcement for the filming of the new Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes movie was happening at the Sydney studio. It was only a matter of time that another name change was imminent once Disney bought out Fox! They also changed the company name from 20th Century Fox Television to just '20th Television'.
@@lmaree200886 Lazy Disney rebranding. Disney stole 20th Television from the original 20th Television which did syndication after they shutdown that division. same with ABC Signature. They also made 20th Century Fox World into Genting Skyworlds and Fox Star Studios into Star Studios. I could go on but there is like a lot of rebranding. Disney did it to avoid confusion with FOX Corporation.
I went on the Titanic ride and it was absolutely excellent, but the rest of the park was indeed underwhelming. It’s a bit of a shame that all of those beautiful old Easter show buildings are now inaccessible to the public.
I have so many photos of me as a kid at fox studios. It was wonderful. I had been back there recently for a filming of the voice. And its devastating to see just how corporate it has become. I just watched a video on universal studios, they now have the same simpsons lot with the characters. So many memories
I visited Fox Studios in Sydney way back 2001. Never thought that it would be my first and last visit. I tried the Titanic experience ride and chose the third class passenger which was really fun and exciting. I still have my Fox Studios cap good thing I kept it for souvenir.
Great video, I had no idea this was ever even a thing. It's sad how many parks we've had close or never built here. It makes me wonder if that's why Disney keeps holding off on committing to Australia because they see a chain of failures.
I was a performer in “Lights Camera Chaos” playing Leonardo Di Kangaroo.... surely people have video of this somewhere but it’s impossible to find any footage.
In all of my research for the video I could find almost nothing about that show, no footage, no pictures nothing. You might be able to finally answer this question for me Brett, what was the show? Were you guys in full fur costumes, face characters, what did you do? - Luke
ReviewTyme the stage show was called “Lights Camera Chaos” produced by Bazmark Productions.. Baz Lurhman.. the show is based on a director creating a musical called “Space - The Musical”... a kangaroo going into space. The director is called “Eric Von Roo”.. Lead role is “Leonardo Di Kangaroo”.. I played Leonardo.. other cast members were “Carmen Cockatoo”, a Koloa named “Baby Jane”, 3 Emu Showgirls “Joyce... I cant remember the other 2 showgirl names right at this point, I’d have to listen to the soundtrack again. Then there were also the film crew, Camera Man, Clapper, Boom as well as the host and the surprise guest audience member who was actually a cast member “Kylie Biggins”. I also played the role of Clapper (the clapper board). The Emu Showgirls were cast members on Stilts. Eric, Leonardo, Carmen and Baby Jane were all suit characters.. the film crew and host were human characters as well as Kylie Biggins. The show was approx. 25 mins long. The Emu Showgirls were played by male cast members as well as female. Towards the end of the Backlot when profit was down and the company was looking to cut costs, 3 Showgirls became 2 Showgirls only, so we lost one character there, as well as Baby Jane being scrapped, so they had to make adjustments to the script and soundtrack... only minor thou. The show was performed 3 times a day during peak times (school holidays), and off peak was twice a day. I know one of my fellow cast members secretly filmed one of the shows... the producers were strict on “no filming policy” by audiences, as all shows are. So I know one of the cast members have the show but I don’t know who and where they are. Also back in those days we didn’t have access to the technology we have today, with all mobile phones having cameras to film nowadays. I still remember most of the choreography of the show... I still listen to it from time to time and get up and do the choreography. I absolutely loved the show and they were the best days of my life. I scratched up 293 shows, would’ve made it to over 300 had I not been hit by a car and ended up in hospital with a head injury 2 weeks before we closed down. That was the hardest part, not getting to do a final show and being told of the closure on the news whilst resting at home. Then after that, being notified by my stage manager on the phone that the park would be closing and we were all to loose our favourite job. The last known whereabouts of the Leonardo Di Kangaroo suit character costume was when I was at Luna Park one day and I was shocked to see someone wearing MY costume.. Leonardo was walking around Luna Park. I’m assuming the person inside that Suit character had no idea where the suit come from and the history of that costume.
The high cost of a ticket probably was a good indicator that they never intended it to draw big crowds. They just wanted the land. If you look at the size of movie studios in Hollywood that area is about right for a studio.
One thing you didn't mention is that the Bent Street public area had a number of billboards commemorating key Australian films (The Story of the Kelly Gang, The Sentimental Bloke, For the Term of his Natural Life, Dad and Dave, Jedda, Mad Max, Crocodile Dundee). I remember one placed above Channel V headquarters, and a couple at the car park. These were in place until at least 2010, but they are gone now.
I lived in Sydney at the time, and had no idea this was here. I thought it was just the professional studios, and had didn't know there was a theme park there at all. I certainly don't recall any advertising for the theme park.
To clarify, The Simpsons was not a ride. It was a motion capture showcase; they chose a member of the public (I was lucky enough to do it when I visited) and they'd give you a type of harness to wear. The 'Australian kid' character on the screen behind you, would move based on your own movement. Homer would then walk in and challenge you to a dance-off. I have the video on NTSC Video8, but I've been unable to digitise it. The other interesting part was that they showed an alternative 'Bart vs Australia' episode, in which Homer blows Australia up.
Doomed from the beginning. I worked on this project, rebuilding the "Babe Backlot" that it featured back then (since I wired the original). Still stands in history as the biggest and most complex outdoor film set ever built in Australia, a record unlikely ever to be broken in today's computer animated reality. Actually, "Hollywood came to Sydney" (and in fact the Showgrounds site) long before Fox put their finger in the pie, with big budget features like "The Power Rangers Movie" in 1994, "Dark city" and the aforementioned "Babe, Pig in the City" being shot there in the following years, plus many other features and commercials. Your video is a good homage to a forgotten era.
Oh wow that must have been a pretty cool experience helping with the construction of a Theme Park, especially as a movie guy! It must have been weird though working on something knowing that it likely had no chance of suceeding. Thanks for sharing your story of the project with us! - Luke
In 2012 a revived Young Talent Time was produced here in one of the studio spaces. The producers certainly could've done far better than to choose this place. There is another element to the failure of this place that has been overlooked, and that is the STIGMA of Rupert "Sleaze King" Murdoch's involvement in owning all or even part of the Fox enterprises.
@@phurphy Basically if you've noticed its called 'Entertainment quarter', so the part opened to the public is separate from the fox lot itself,. The part with all the studios and sound stages are owned by fox (or Disney now ) so their not connected. recently the public part was bought by some guy for $70 million, i think he might put apartments or something. i know all this cause i actually work at the cinema there... hope this helped
A little annoyed I didn’t get here now, as I was working at the Sydney 2000 olympics and was in the area at the time. It seems like a missed opportunity and makes me wonder what else I should be exploring in my hometown of melbourne, before well it dissapears.
Carribean Gardens & Market is dead too... Thanks to Covid-19. Had a classic Jungle Cruise ride that was great. You also missed Luna Park having two rollercoasters, Big Dipper then Metropolis as well as Scenic Railway, instead of just the one.
The day I went to this as a school excursion I was terrified due to the high number of actors looking for audience members to accost. I spent it hiding behind friend's and generally trying to duck out of sight. Unfortunately some actors took that as a challenge instead of a clear signal to leave well enough alone...
Thanks Ruben, it's an exciting milestone to hit for sure. Thanks for being here with us for ages and for all your viewership and support! We both appreciate it greatly! - Luke
I didnt know this existed either, but then I left Sydney in the 80s. I have been to Warner Bros Movie World on the Gold Coast and with the exception of the 'hot rod car chase' stunt show, I cant imagine why anyone would go twice. Given Dreamworld's woes, I have to wonder what the future is for Australia's theme parks. Seaworld isnt bad, but there are an increasing number of people who dont believe we should be training dolphins and seals to make human dribblers laugh ;)
I live 20kms away, Love movie theme parks and was in my late teens early 20's when this opened and still didn't know it existed. I was even excited when we heard it was going to be a theme park and dissappointed the promised theme park never happened. Either this was a massive failure in marketing or it was deliberate.
Used now as a VFX studio, same with the old Photon studio on the gold coast, they all use the ex sets of theme parks and movies, I think the one on the gold coast was the used for the last live action movie Gregory Peck ever starred in, if I'm not mistaken.
This was really interesting but is there any chance you might one day film what's left of the abandoned park? I'd love to see what's left of it from the inside 👍
Have you ever watched The Voice Australia, Chris & Julia's Sunday Night Takeaway, Shark Tank and many more tv shows, there's your view inside Fox Studios today, it's still a working studio making movies and tv every day, they just shut the theme park area and expanded the movie studios by re-purposing some of the theme park buildings into Fox studio production..
@@ReviewTyme A few years ago my work hired a space there to conduct some market research, so I got to spend an entire weekend there - you bet I "wandered off" so I could have a look around! For the most part a lot of the shopfronts and theming remain in tact. It was very cool. But also sad it didnt stay as a park. I was lucky enough to go at the time too.
