...where construction continues on "Project Phoenix," rebuilding sets and attractions lost in last year's backlot fire.
But that's not what brought me to Los Angeles' most popular movie studio today. I came to mark a different change at the theme park: the upcoming closure of the Backdraft and Special Effects Stages attractions, to make room for the park's planned Transformers ride.
This is the last season for those two attractions, so I thought I'd spend a Tuesday Park Visit to give them one last look. First, Backdraft:
Based on the 1991 Ron Howard movie, this attraction isn't grabbing anyone looking for Hollywood's latest trends and special effects. Backdraft leads visitors through three set stages, the first two offering filmed montages from the movie and its production. Neither goes into any specific detail on how Howard's crew created the fire effects, though the montages do pay deserved tribute to both the crew and the real-life firefighters who inspired the movie.
It's the third set we all came to see; a life-sized reproduction of the film's climatic scene, complete with real-life pyro effects, hot enough to make folks in the first row lean back and clutch their cameras, lest Backdraft's flames singe their newly-bought gadgets from a certain electronic shop's "going out of business" sale.
It's not that bad, really - just a bit surprising to visitors not used to having an attraction trigger their sense of touch.
I won't miss Backdraft when it's gone. The movie it's based on is not a classic - it's just ancient - and the attraction doesn't provide any fresh insight into filmmaking. Basically, all you are left with is pyro, and that's just not enough to engage me for more than one (hopefully, short-wait) visit. Give me a story that draws me into such action, instead.
After this flame out, it's a quick walk over to Special Effects Stages, where the show was starting just as we let out. (Point to Universal for good show scheduling.)
Like Backdraft, Special Effects Stages moves us through three sets, each with a filmed montage, as well as audience volunteers/draftees dragged on stage as props for the two live hosts. We're learning about the technical side of movie-making here, specifically, about green screen photography, make-up and sound effects.
On the first set, two audience volunteers act out a scene from "The Mummy," which is overlaid with CGI effects.
Before, of course, something goes terribly wrong, and the male volunteer ends of a skeletal crisp.
There's no time for mourning (indeed, the volunteers' friends shrugged when asked about their pal); we're off to the next stage for a make-up demonstration, where a host hacks through a volunteer's arm, gushing studio blood. We learn about robotic effects, too, and a child is hooked up with a remote-control suit to manipulate "Fluffy" the monster.
The boy does a fine job, every goes "awwww" and claps, and then... something goes terribly wrong and the blood-thristy monster springs from his perch to chase the beleaguered (and, presumably, tasty) host from the room.
There's no time for mourning; we're off to the next stage, where audience volunteers/conscripts are quickly put into place to serve as Foley artists demonstrating the creation of studio sound effects.
Another small boy does fine with his task, but a grown-up volunteer botches his line, earning him a banishment to side recording studio where we see the volunteer/impending victim only in profile. Sure enough, something goes terribly wrong; the monster from the previous scene emerges and consumes his dessert.
There's no time for mourning, though, as our volunteer and the host return unharmed to the stage and it's time to leave.
Universal's spent some time and money keeping Special Effects Stages fresh through the years, and it shows. The hosts handled their jobs gracefully, and with much humor and enthusiasm, and, frankly, I will miss this show when it's gone.
But not too much. One moment sticks with me. As the co-host put the audience volunteers through their tasks in the sound studio, he tossed off a remark that all real movie and TV sound effects these days are added digitally. So, does that mean the only working Foley stages anymore are in theme-park demonstrations? The movies referenced and the hosts' patter may be fresh, but the movie-making techniques explored in Special Effects Stages sometimes aren't.
Along with the Studio Tour, this should be one of the core attractions in a movie studio theme park. Here's hoping that Universal finds space for a new Special Effects Stages elsewhere in the park, one set in a computer studio that really shows us how the latest in CGI and computer sound effects makes today's movies magic.
In the meantime, though, if you make it to USH before fall, give this version of the show one last shot. And if you can't? Well, life goes on.
There's no time for mourning, you know.
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The Mummy Ride ok I'll give you that one but With Transfromers not opening till 2011 here's what I think USH needs to keep people coming back until then
1. Waterworld is great (Main reason I go)
2 Simpsons (I can Do Without)
3 The Black Lagoon Musical (My Friend Loved It When It Was Spiderman so maybe it will be good)
4 Terminator 3D (This one is mostly a 3D movie Ok but not great
5 The Tram Stuido tour (Great until 85% of it buned to the ground) they better rebuild fast with a lot of new stuff for the tram
they also need to put something where the Wild Wild West Stunt Show Was
That said is four things enough to get people to come until 2011 when Transfromers is suppose to open
I do agree that Backdraft has seen better days and warrants replacing. But even this wasn't that bad either...in it's day.
Fact is : People do like Pyros !
Technologies like CGI are heaping ever more pressure on the Theme Parks. How do you make an interesting walk through when all the guy has to do is push a key on the computer or a button on a console ? Unless you're into computers it's going to seem more like a lecture than a fun demonstration.
So I prefer the more animated stuff with liberal amounts of contrived jokes and corn thrown in for good measure.
The current Special Effects Stages works on this count. There's no reason why Universal Creative can take its talent and build a new SPS for the digital age. I'm confident in them. But will Universal devote the resources to it? I hope that it does.
The real loss is The Special Effects Stages, one of the few remaining movie-making attractions. Reminds me of when Disney's Hollywood Studios lost their Foley stage to make room for a more popular-at-the-time fad, Drew Carey. I mean, I love Drew, but what a sad attraction. Please don't make the same mistake, Universal. If you're going to do this, Transformers had better be incredible.
Once you seen it you don't care or mind if you see it again i'm 31 now I remember when I was 10 or 11 and a class mate of mine was so happy because we went to Universal and his dad had worked on King Kong and he could tell us about it.
Before King Kong burned down I remember thinking this has been here a while when will they replace it.
Then I thought ok replace it but with what and here's something else to think about some of the stuff there now Universal does not even make movie-wise or TV Show-wise Ie The Simpsons
It's only my opinion of course.No offence intended.
I'd still bring folks up front, but why not involve *everyone* in the theater, too?
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