Originally Posted By dshyates As far as tape vaults go, I would imagine that these are the original edited masters. Even your dumbest producers make what is called a "Protect Master" which is stored in separate place. From that a they make the Duplication masters. nothing on video has only one copy. Most producers have 3 masters in hand before they leave the post house. I would imagine that everything they have on 2" or 1" reels has been archived to a digital format since analog tape deteriorate over time. At the post house I worked at in Denver has one of the last 2" machines left in the country. We did a ton of transfering old Gene Autry movies to Digital Betacam.
Originally Posted By alexbook KPCC-FM is reporting that the tapes would be replaceable, but that they were being removed as a safety measure, as they're flammable and toxic. They're also warning people downwind to reduce outside activity, as the stuff that's already burned may include some potentially hazardous materials. Anybody else struck by how many Universal movies, TV shows, and rides have been mentioned by name in the news reports? "The Wisteria Lane set, where Universal's popular TV show 'Desperate Housewives' is filmed, was untouched by the fire." "The tape library consisted of back-ups, so there's no danger that such classic Universal films as <insert half a dozen titles here> being lost."
Originally Posted By knightnfrees << Including the last remaining original set of back to the future clock tower.>> "Save the clock tower!"
Originally Posted By brotherdave It's very sad to see pieces of movie and theme park history destroyed like this. However, it could have been a lot worse. Thankfully no one was seriously injured or killed from the fire. However, a certain 'large ape' is sadly reported DOA. Was this the last animatronic King Kong still in operation? Or does USJapan have one, too?
Originally Posted By seanyoda Nikke Finke reports that according to a source, Universal Music rents space in the video vault and inside were 1000's of original Decca, MCA, ABC recording masters from the last century. <a href="http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/update-universal-fire-burns-music-history/" target="_blank">http://www.deadlinehollywoodda...history/</a>
Originally Posted By dshyates I hadn't heard about that. Audio masters are different than Video masters. These were probably the original tracking sessions. Now without the unmixed masters it is quite a tragedy.
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>Apparently 3 street sets have burned, including New York Street and the set of The Sting.<< Bear in mind that these sets were previously leveled in the fire of 1990. There are no "original" backlot sets of New York Street or Brownstone Street (where The Sting was hot) left from before that time. The most historic sets on the Uni Hollywood lot are Five Points (used since silent western days, and used as literally thousands of "small towns," and the Court of Miracles (used in virtually every Universal monster movie). I have yet to hear of the fate of these two areas. The courthouse and courthouse square were the town used in To Kill a Mockingbird. Two sides of the square were lost in 1990; it appears the rest disappeared today. Very sad. But all of these were intended to be ephemeral. The films and TV shows will live on.
Originally Posted By DlandDug Ran across a web site that says the original Court of Miracles burned down in 1967. There have been seven major fires over the years on the Uni Backlot. Here's an article about them: <a href="http://www.thestudiotour.com/ush/backlot/fires.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.thestudiotour.com/u...es.shtml</a> The 2008 fire is covered here-- but as an "in progress" story.
Originally Posted By DlandDug Here's the "big" AP story, with 365 photos of the damage: <a href="http://news.aol.com/story/_a/fire-at-universal-studios-devours-sets/20080601095209990001" target="_blank">http://news.aol.com/story/_a/f...09990001</a>
Originally Posted By DlandDug There are actually 144 photos of the fire in the gallery. Augh. Photos 37, 57, 68 clearly show the gutted "King Kong" attraction, as well as the degree of destruction on New York Street. That's Six points in the foreground of photo #37-- it appears to have escaped. Photo 71 is depressing. I'm pretty sure that's New York Street with brownstone Street behind. Both appear to be leveled. Interesting that in photos 96 and 97 the devastation in the foreground is the plane crash set from War of the Worlds. The big blue screen between that and the column of smoke is the backdrop for Universal's "studio sea." It was memorably seen as the edge of Truman's world in The Truman Show. In 110 you can see the back of the Bates house from Psycho, at center. Photo 134 may have been shot early in the blaze. The soundstage labeled 747 (on the right) houses a full airplane interior. The diagonal facade that adjoins it appears to have survived. Ironically, it was built for the Robert Redford film "Legal Eagles," in which it was a New York art gallery that burns down. No photos of Courthouse Square. The stories now say that the courthouse and clock tower were damaged, but not that it was destroyed. The Court of Miracles and Spartacus Square (seen as Genovia in Princess Diaries II) also appear to have been out of the path of the fire.
Originally Posted By oc_dean What makes me nervous (as I live in the area) .. is there have been FAR too many fires in the general area in the last year - ALONE! Just a couple weeks ago .. a fire started just under Griffith Observatory. A burned out area from THE LAST major fire that happened several months ago that consumed MANY acres on the east side of the Hollywood Hills. And just a couple short months before that devastasting fire .. was one just above Barham Blvd on the north side of the Hollywood Hills which was pretty big. Two of those fires were due to smokers! How much do you want to bet this fire at Universal was due to a careless smoker?
Originally Posted By DlandDug I just saw an aerial view this morning. The courthouse is still standing. So pleas to save the clocktower have again been heeded! There was also clear footage of what happened to the King Kong attraction. The roof caught fire and collapsed. The interior is completely gutted. The big concern today is local water pressure. It seems the firefighters were unable to dump as much water as they expected. After the 1990 fire a new system was installed to "deluge" sets in the event of a fire. Not only did that fail, the firefighters were forced to pump water from the set lagoons and ponds to keep the fire from spreading further.
Originally Posted By mawnck Well, #1, what I saw them carting away from that "tape vault" were film canisters. At first I thought that they were 2" videotapes, but they were definitely film. But #2... >>Nikke Finke reports that according to a source, Universal Music rents space in the video vault and inside were 1000's of original Decca, MCA, ABC recording masters from the last century.<< Universal Music also owns Motown, Chess, A&M, Mercury, Island, Def Jam, RSO, Casablanca, Verve, Polydor, Capricorn, Philips, Coral, Vocalion, UNI, Dunhill, Duke ....... I assume not ALL their masters would have been in there - it's probably mostly west coast stuff - but ... ouch. Just the A&M masters alone, which are almost certainly destroyed if the report is true -- unbelievable. This would be a historic loss, and the only good I can see coming of it is that it might wake up other companies to the importance of getting ALL their stuff stored securely and backed up. Several small labels have had their master tapes destroyed through various stupid means (the 70s label Private Stock, for instance, now has to use vinyl as their "masters" after a storage facility dumpstered their entire tape library), but Universal Music owns a substantial percentage of the hit recordings in music history. Obviously the most popular stuff is available in copies, but you can never get true audiophile results without the first-generation masters. I hope this report is exaggerated.
Originally Posted By dshyates Yep, those canisters the firemen were bucket brigading were film canisters. Not 1" or 2" video tape. But they also said it contained film reels of TV shows like "I Love Lucy" and "The Munsters". And they were archived and restored for the DVD releases.
Originally Posted By Elderp After like 160 the pictures are all paparazzi shots of the Simpsons opening.
Originally Posted By Elderp and just to save you time the last picture is of Jessica Biel attending the premiere of "Chuck and Larry."
Originally Posted By DlandDug Yes, ElderP. That was from the writer's strike. That's why I noted there were actually 144 photos of the fire...
