Originally Posted By mawnck >>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.<< I hope for their sake that those restorations were in HD. Gonna be mighty hard to get Blu-Rays out of 'em if they aren't.
Originally Posted By DlandDug Another update on the clock tower. Seems the top of the courthouse had been removed and was in storage for a film shoot. The courthouse originally had a flat roof, and the pediment with the clock (there never was a "tower") was added for Back to the Future. The "original" (pre-1990) backlot had almost all flat rooflines, with uniform cornice heights. That was so matte paintings and miniatures could be more easily "added" to the sets. After the 1990 fire this was no longer necessary (digital technology could just as easily erase as add elements). So the new New York Street had a varied cornice line with completely finished cornices and detailing. Steven Spielberg (who was the major filmmaker on the lot at that time) actually consulted on these new sets. They, of course, are now all gone. It will be interesting to see how they decide to rebuild this time.
Originally Posted By Ursula From a personal point of view, the smell was pretty bad yesterday and today I am driving ash car! All in all, the fire wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Originally Posted By Indigo Btw, Picture #35 is not destruction from the fire, but rather the plane crash set from War of the Worlds.
Originally Posted By mawnck FWIW, Universal Music is now claiming that everything had been backed up or moved to another facility, so absolutely nothing whatsoever was lost, and everything that was lost was obscure stuff from the 40s and 50s. Yeah, I know. I probably would have totally believed them if they'd at least bothered to keep the lies consistent. The comments at <a href="http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/update-universal-fire-burns-music-history/" target="_blank">http://www.deadlinehollywoodda...history/</a> are worth perusing. One poster says >>The only light at this particular end of the tunnel is that most of the multi-tracks are in New Jersey as is much of the non-L.A. recorded materials as well as the MGM masters. But as for ABC/Dunhill, A&M, Chess/Checker, Dot, all the Bing Crosby 16″acetate session masters (pre-tape) - album masters, singles - maybe the Buddy Holly masters. I believe those went up in smoke.<< That list would include just about everything by Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley (RIP), Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Etta James, Pat Boone, Roy Clark, Jimmy Buffett, The Mamas and the Papas, The Carpenters, Herb Alpert, Peter Frampton, Styx, even Leonard Nimoy ...... And Universal Studios has now started talking about "films and videos", thus admitting what the newscasts had already shown - that this was more than a "video vault" as they were originally claiming.
Originally Posted By Ursula Well, you have to keep in mind that if it is a video vault, they can easily have film cans there and vice versa. Either stuff that was going in storage or in vaulted transiiton or stuff ready to be transferred. But yeah, when I was watching the news, I saw those guys hauling out film cans and I know film cans from 2" and D1 and D1, etc. (Ursula-former vault manager extraordinaire, at your service!) I am curious about this line from a previous poster about obscure 40's and 50's stuff...that is usually undiscovered gold. Ay yi yi!
Originally Posted By Rsey103 Maybe this has already been addressed, but isn't the whole point of having a "vault" is that it's supposed to be fireproof?
Originally Posted By barboy ///Lovely, what was this Cyclone ride? I have never heard of it before?/// Ya, me too. I have never heard of it either. I wonder if there is some confusion with Universal's 15 minute away neighbor Magic Mountain (by car with no traffic) since it does have a coaster named Cyclone.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer Went to USH on Monday (was already on my schedule, ended up there on Saturday (basically for the Simpsons Ride) and then Monday for short lines, but Ironically got some very interesting shots... Photos from Monday of the New York Street area... <a href="http://micechat.com/forums/blog.php?b=412" target="_blank">http://micechat.com/forums/blo...hp?b=412</a>
Originally Posted By SuzieQ Rsey103, I've been wondering the same thing. If it's a "vault", why isn't it fireproof?
Originally Posted By Darkbeer >>Basically the heart of the tram tour is gone. Including the last remaining original set of back to the future clock tower.<< OK, I rode the tram tour on Monday, and it ran 40 minutes, SLIGHTLY shorter than the average time of 45 minutes. Many times the Tram Tour has avoided New York Street due to filming, so it is not a MAJOR (aka Heart) loss of the tour. (But it is a loss). OK, started the tour, went thru the Sound Stages (Front Lot), the Production area, including the Bungalows. Then drove by the New York Street area for a few seconds, but then off to the Fast and the Furious Car Stunt show, the Mexico area, including the Famous Flash Flood Scene, Six Points Texas, Little Europe (where many Disney Movies have been filmed) Earthquake was done due to mechanical issues, Jaws and Cabot Cove, Wisteria Lane (where a new house is being built), The Grinch sets, the Bates Motel and Psycho House, the War of the Worlds set, the Mummy "tunnel", and a few other minor things, including seeing deer out and about along the tram route. If you look at my photos at the link above, the Courthouse was basically saved. And the "tower" is a removable item, and was not attached due to wanting the set to look "different", so it is just fine.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer >>TVGuide is reporting that the "Ghost Whisperer" sets were destroyed.<< Two of the eight areas where Ghost Whisperer were damaged and currently not available. Even though filiming for the new season is scheduled to start in a couple of weeks, there is no expectation of major problems. (Yes, some scripts might need some adjustments.)
Originally Posted By Elderp Looks like the final verdict is it was an accident caused by some workers applying shingles with a blow torch. <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24938578/" target="_blank">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24938578/</a>
Originally Posted By Darkbeer FYI, the "Psyclone" coaster (a copy of the Coney Island coaster) has been removed from Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Originally Posted By DlandDug When the area is cleared, it is remarkable to see what an illusion the backlot is. I am sure many of you are aware that Bob Gurr (Imagineer and Disney Legend) designed King Kong for Universal. He will be at Walt's Barn in Griffith Park on June 15 if anyone would like to see him. With clear photos now available, it appears that the area burned is almost exactly the same as in 1990, except that then they were able to save the King Kong attraction. Two sides of Courthouse Square burned, and the side of the courthouse itself was singed. The only building left on New York Street was the facade built for Legal Eagles.
Originally Posted By Ursula Answering the fireproof vault question: No, not all vaults are fireproof. The term "vault" evolved into just a storage area. The vault where I was the manager was neither fire proof or theft-proof. I imagine most think of film or tape vaults to mean an ominous room with no light and a large bank-vault-like dial on the door? No, they are usually have a key-card entry with regular doors and lots of light so you can see what you are looking for. It is more like a warehouse. However, some deep storage vaults are true vaults with fire-proofing and major security, and most film vaults are very secure.
Originally Posted By mawnck A new (well, relative to the previous posts) article in the LA Times about the vault losses: <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-universal4-2008jun04,0,5996006.story" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/busines...06.story</a> Most of the archive film print library was in there and is lost. Lots of art houses, including the Egyptian in LA, are having to cancel screenings because the prints they rented burned up. The negatives were fortunately elsewhere. And once again, the real story is buried in the middle of the article: >>The fire also claimed about 5% of Universal Music Group's recordings, primarily big band and jazz recordings on the Decca label, and video copies of Universal movies and television shows. Universal Music Group is no longer part of the NBC conglomerate but rents storage space from the studio.<< 5% of UMG's recordings? That's hundreds of thousands of tracks. And "big band and jazz" on Decca would include Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby (yep, White Christmas was on Decca), The Ink Spots, Louis Jordan, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Mills Brothers, The Andrews Sisters, The Dorseys, Judy Garland, Louis Prima, Bob Hope, Fred Astaire, Guy Lombardo, Leroy Anderson, Gordon Jenkins, ................. Throw in Decca's folk, ethnic, classical, and country and western from the same period, and the picture gets even uglier. Decca had one of the most valuable and well-preserved pre-50s catalogs, thanks to their practice of archiving all their recording sessions on 16" transcription discs, all of which were apparently stored in that warehouse (and BTW were extremely flammable). Now they'll have to use 78s in private collections, which (given that Decca was a budget label with low-grade pressings) will mean a drastic loss in fidelity. And of course, all the unreleased stuff is gone forever. There's also some question as to whether the UMG catalog even HAD 5% jazz and big band in it. Most of the labels they now own either weren't around back then or didn't deal in that stuff. Some of the smoke being blown here isn't from the fire.
