VAS Entertainment Australia/NZ is the leader and largest distributor of action sports films, with over 2,000 titles from the industry’s best, across surf, snow, skate, bike, moto and wake.

It is our goal to be the leading boutique distribution company for film and television in Australia/NZ. It is our daily objective to realise the full commercial and market potential of each project for film makers, brand owners and retailers equally. With our ongoing pursuit of excellence, we want to be admired locally and respected internationally. We will maintain a fun and creative work environment for our staff and business partners alike.

14 1 June 2009

EXPERIENCED TRIO BEHIND DISTRIBUTION BUSINESSLawrence, Cook and Rowe set up Video Actions Sports Australia by Rachael Bolton

Inside Television

With their o�ces o�cially opening on Monday May 25, two of the executive producers behind the controversial docu-mentary Bra Boys, Michael Lawrence and Nicolas Cook, and established �lm and TV producer Glenys Rowe, have spent the past six months hammering out a deal to represent alternative sports programming distribution company Video Action Sports (VAS) in Australasia.“We started negotiating the contract with VAS about September last year,” explained Lawrence, the new CEO of Sydney-based VAS Australia & New Zealand. “It took about two trips to America – because it’s just a nightmare trying to deal with lawyers and accountants on conference calls and by email,” he laughed. “We jumped on the plane the last time and �nalised the contracts in March.“We have a long-standing relationship with the guys that own VAS because we did a global deal with them on Bra Boys,” he continued. “We got to know each other over two years, building a distribution plan, so we know them pretty well.” That said, as VAS Australia executive director, Rowe was quick to clarify that their operation is absolutely its own company. “We have the licence and distribution rights for all their back-catalogue and future �lm catalogue for the next 10 years,” added Lawrence, by way of explanation.Among the titles in that catalogue are MTV’s new show with Johnny Knoxville, Nitro Circus, a new Kelly Slater and Andy Irons sur�ng movie entitled Fly In The Champagne and the upcoming Billabong release Still Filthy. “We represent all of Billabong’s �lms exclusively,” Lawrence revealed. “As well as their back-catalogue. Billabong only makes one major �lm every two years, and we’re launching Still Filthy on their behalf in October.”“In the short term – and where we’re going to be focusing our attention imme-diately – is getting all of those �lms into the �ve major retail sectors,” Rowe piped in. “We intend to treat each �lm with the reverence that �lm-makers would want us to and choose the best platform to launch it on accordingly. Not all of them are cinema �lms, and some are.“For example Fly In The Champagne will go straight to DVD because the audience sector for it are big DVD buyers. Plus, you get Kelly Slater and Andy Irons together in one movie and every surfer will want a copy!“Film-making is a really hard gig,” she

emphasised. “There has been a real stranglehold across the industry in rela-tion to Australian work,” Rowe contin-ued. “The distribution for it is quite tricky and Australian �lm-makers have tradition-ally been suitcase producers: able to make one �lm at a time and having to re-invent the wheel every time. In coming together as a group we hope to change that.”Despite an obvious focus on the distribu-tion arm of their new business, Lawrence explained that Rowe’s principal involve-ment in the operation will be as a producer and executive producer on their own inde-pendent projects as well. Keeping tight-lipped as to the speci�cs, Rowe did reveal they have been working on a new 13 x 60 drama series due for imminent release. “We plan to be around for a very long time,” promised Lawrence. “And we plan to posi-tively and profoundly make inroads to the local �lm and television industry. Hence you need to be building on the rocks, not on the sand, as Glenys says.”“The work that we produce, we will also distribute. In some instances, we will even four-wall venues in order to do that. There is quite a long, glamourous history of four-walling surf movies around the country,” she added, as Lawrence recalled inde-pendent viewings set up at the Opera House, among other venues.

BRA BOYS“We’ve been really surprised overall with what a positive experience we’ve had internation-ally with the �lm,” said Lawrence. “The press book for Bra Boys over-seas is simply incredible – it’s twice as thick as our Austra-lian press book. It did really well in some cinemas, but in other parts of America, I guess it didn’t translate so well because Americans are really into their own stories. In saying that, they’ve

shipped a lot of DVDs, so it de�nitely reso-nated, and you can buy Bra Boys in Wal-Mart. I mean, that’s a pretty big thing.”“We come from quite varied backgrounds,” considered Rowe, the only name among them with origins in the �lm and TV indus-try. Both Lawrence and the company’s new COO, Cook, originally came to Bra Boys from business backgrounds. “The truth is,” Rowe continued, “that with Bra Boys, it was precisely because both Mick and Nick were not of the industry that it worked. They had a new perspective, a new way of looking at it. It is the biggest grossing non-Imax Australian documentary ever.“Bra Boys got picked up by Russell Crowe’s company and turned into a $20 million feature �lm – that has not happened with Australian documentaries before. Michael and Nick had never set foot inside Screen Australia, they didn’t know what the Australian Film Commission was, they took it on as a business proposition, this work of art, this very handsomely put together documentary. It was precisely the viewing of how things could have been done through new eyes that they could create something completely new – and it worked.”

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We have 10 new films every month across different categories.

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VAS Australia/NZ is a privately owned company and was started by three best friends and their faVourite film ProduCer, looking to make a difference to the Film and TV industry.

We work closely with oVer 2,000 retailers across Australia and New Zealand.

WE hAVE sPeCialized sales managers IN EAch cAtEgory Who ArE pASSIoNAtE About thEIr SportS:

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Vas is the international leader in aCtion sPorts films and Content management.

Simon Bruncke (National Sales: SURF & SKATE)

Robbie McNaughton (National Sales Agent: BIKE)

Josh Stephenson (National Sales Agent: BIKE)

Stuart Gundry (National Sales Agent: MOTO)

Peter Ropaty (General Manager: NZ AGENCY)

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