When investors and/or consumers think of a theme park company, a name like Six Flags Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:SIX) or the quintessential The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) comes to mind. And well they should. Disney is easily the world's most popular amusement park purveyor, while many thrill-seekers say a Six Flags park is the place to go for the most intense thrill ride experience. Rarely - as in never - does a little independent film company sneak into the conversation regarding the world's top amusement parks. That may be about to change, however, if Independent Film Development Corporation (OTCMKTS:IFLM).
Odds are you've never heard of Independent Film Development Corporation, aka IndyFilmCorp. It's a relatively small distributor of (no surprise here) independent films, though it's got its hand in the television business too. Some of its films and programs you may even be familiar with. For instance, it owns the rights to the Three Stooges franchise, and it was the company behind the celebrity profile show 'Autograph".
It's not its television and film work that's apt to put it on the map and on par with The Walt Disney Company, however. It's the theme park - and eventually, theme parks - that Independent Film Development Corporation is planning that will not only make Six Flags Entertainment or Cedar Fair, L.P. (NYSE:FUN) take notice, but could force even the venerable Disney to turn its head.
How's that? After all, The Walt Disney Company is second to none when it comes to delighting guests by immersing them in a story (often a Disney-movie themed one) via one of its parks' rides. The answer is, as immersing and experiential as most Disney theme park attractions are, IndyFilmCorp's planned attractions are going to deliver the intensity and maturity that modern thrill-seekers demand... the kinds of scares and shivers that Disney has almost made a point of avoiding, not wanting to alienate children and families.
Newsflash: Even young children, perhaps desensitized by modern video games and a plethora of fear-driven television and movies, want and even crave more serious and more immersive amusement park experiences. IndyFilmCorp is simply aiming to deliver those experiences.
See, the theme park business model is an ever-changing one. What's hot or not is often a reflection of the culture and social norms at any given time. When Disneyland opened in 1955, westerns (TV as well as movies) were all the rage, and the FrontierLand area of the Disney Park was a favorite of all the themed areas. As time went on though, FrontierLand (at both parks) has become less of a destination and more of a route to get to other areas of the park. Roller Coasters were the hot button in the 80's and 90's, as amusement parks like Cedar Point (Cedar Fair), Kings Island, and the Six Flags franchise all battled for bragging rights by owning the biggest, baddest, tallest, and wildest coaster on the planet. Once computers and video-technologies saw huge leaps on the late 90's and early 2000's, it become clear to consumers as well as park owners that, visually speaking, there didn't have to be any kind of visual limitations to a ride experience. That's when 3D experiences like the Transformers ride at Universal Studios on Orlando, Florida started to become more common... and incredible.
The latest cultural/social trend is evident on the small screen as well as the big screen.... ghosts and goblins, and all things if the ilk. The Twilight movies series as well as the Harry Potter franchise were huge hits that may or may not have "gone over" a couple of decades ago. Television shows like "Ancient Aliens", "The Walking Dead", or "Ghost Hunters" wouldn't have been able to garner they same following they have now had they been aired in the 70's. People love these programs and movies now, however. It's one of the few genres that actually inspires people to disconnect from their smartphones for a while, and that's where Independent Film Development Corporation is going to stake its claim.
Though still in the planning stages, IndyFilmCorp has drawn the basic idea for its first theme park, in New York state. The attractions on the table are a log-flue ride that takes riders through the River Styx, an Area 51 UFO crash site, and a zombie-shooter ride, just to name a few.
Intense? Yes, but that's the point. It's what theme park-goers want.
And better still, who better to put together a visually-stimulating ride than a film company? IFLM has already been in discussions with Hollywood's top set-designers and special effects people to hash out how the park's rides and attractions could be the most convincing and immersive they could be.
It would be years before the first IndyFilmCorp amusement park would be complete. Veteran investors know how this works though. The market rewards the company by budding IFLM up in stages, as certain milestones are met. The concept itself is more than compelling enough to build a story around the stock. Traders for something fun to do may want to take a closer look at how IndyFilmCorp is capitalizing on the latest evolution of consumer demands.
For more on Independent Film Development Corporation, visit the corporate website here.
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