Hidden behind Movie World on the Gold Coast is a low-rise office block painted in a shade of cream that gives a whiff of the 1990s. Inside the boardroom sit Robert and Clark Kirby, father and son, the third and fourth generations of a family who built the most successful entertainment company Australia has ever seen.

Village Roadshow dominated the box office and the TV ratings for decades. Its hits included The Wiggles, Skippy, Mad Max, Bananas in Pyjamas, Brides of Christ, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert and Muriel’s Wedding. The company ran film studios, drives-ins, cinemas and theme parks. It produced VHS tapes, board games and CDs, and was early to bankroll FM radio. With cinemas and video distribution across Asia, Europe and the United States, Village snaked around the globe. It co-produced Hollywood blockbusters like The Matrix and bought theme parks from Hawaii to Hainan.