Theme Parks & Themed Entertainment

Ruminations

This week, it’s “Anchors Aweigh” as Roger takes us on a cruise of a different kind. We promise its not a three-hour tour … but you might want to wear a life jacket anyway …

Published

22 years ago

August 14, 2003

Roger Colton

Now there are folks who will tell you that there is nothing better than a sea cruise. My mom is one of them (although lunch at Club 33 runs a very close second). Travel by ship from one port of call to another with all of the sights to explore along the way. So much so that last fall she and my dad enjoyed two weeks sailing the Caribbean.

But my dad started his cruise experience a few years back in a decidedly different way. As an able bodied seaman sailing in the Merchant Marine from San Francisco to various ports in the Pacific, he got a view of life at sea that is decidedly different than the rum drinks and midnight buffets.

Some of the ships he sailed aboard had gotten their starts during the Second World War as part of the nations maritime fleet.

Using new methods (to the ship building industry) of construction such as prefabrication and welding allowed for completion and outfitting for duty at an accelerated pace at shipyards across the country. A 200-ship order was called the “Liberty Fleet.” (Eventually, 2,751 of them were built.) The strategy was to build ships faster than the enemy could sink them.

These and others that came after were the lifeline that kept materials flowing to ports around the world. Carrying everything essential from toilet paper to tanks, they helped turn the tide of the war. Aptly named, there were Victory ships and Liberty ships, doing the job that had to be done. Slow but steady, they traveled together in convoys across the oceans of the world. Originally designed to have a life of five years, it was often said during the war that if a Liberty delivered its cargo once, it had paid for itself. Crossing the Atlantic or the Pacific, there was always the constant threat of attack by enemy submarine or aircraft.

In many ways, the men who sailed on these ships were the unsung heroes of the war. Most of these crews were civilians, and had no benefits, no insurance. The only military aboard was a small Navy detachment to man the two 3 inch cannons and eight 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. If they were injured or killed, that was all part of the choice they made to sail with the Merchant Marine. Yet their contribution to the final victories of that war was as important as any. If they had not sailed, men and materials would never have reached battlefields.

Only 200 were lost during the war and many of the survivors went on to new lives with upgraded systems and engines. Some went on to serve other countries such as Greece, Taiwan and Panama. Many simply went into storage to await the call to duty in another conflict. The S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien was one of the latter, and found its way to storage as part of the Mothball Fleet moored in the Suisun Bay of northern California.

It was a long way from the shipyard in Portland, Maine (where she was built in a blistering 40-day effort) where she was launched on June 19, 1943. (From her webpages: “The namesake of the SS Jeremiah O’Brien was a Scots-Irish lumberjack from Maine whose family settled in Machias in 1765. In 1775, at the age of 31, O’Brien was chosen captain of the Unity and while in charge, defeated and commandeered the British ship Margaretta, winning the first naval battle of the Revolutionary War. Outfitted with the arms from the British ship, Unity became an armed cruiser renamed Machias Liberty. O’Brien went on to capture a number of British ships but was himself later captured and sent to prison in Great Britain. He eventually escaped, going first to France and then later back to America at about the time the war was ending. During the War of 1812, when the British threatened to take Machias, O’Brien, now a colonel of advanced years, defiantly brandished his Revolutionary War sword against them. A Liberty Ship was named to honor this tough old bird.”)

About a month later she sailed from Boston bound for England, where she docked in August. After three more successful voyages, the O’Brien was part of the D-Day Normandy invasion with four sailings to the Omaha beach and another seven to Utah beachhead. (In 1994, the O’Brien steamed around the world — with a vintage crew as well — (some 20,000 plus miles) from San Francisco to England and on to Normandy as the only ship to return for the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Check out this link for tales from that voyage. San Francisco’s adopted son, Herb Caen and fellow Chronicle reporter Carl Nolte both kept us entertained with their tales from this voyage back in time. (This link has some of Carl’s stories on later trips aboard. For some photos of some of the trips, this link is to the O’Brien’s photo pages.

Departing San Francisco for Normandy on it’s way to the 50th anniversary of
the D-Day Landings. Photo by Don Maskell from the O’Brien’s web pages.

For a short version of that long trip, this link is from the Los Gatos Weekly-Times. On the way home from Normandy, the ship visited it’s birthplace. This link is to a story that appeared in a Portland newspaper on August 7, 1994.

From the web pages, tales of other wartime voyages:

“The war was not over, but it was clear that the Allies were winning. Still, the O’Brien had a lot of sailing to do, even after the war was already over. In the next 16 months, she would go to, among other places, Chile, Peru, New Guinea, the Philippines, India, China and Australia before ending up in San Francisco. And her luck would hold up.

Going into Mindoro in the Philippines carrying a large load of explosives, the crew of the O’Brien learned that the ship that just preceded it had been hit by a kamikaze. The ship had also been carrying explosives, and when hit, simply disintegrated. Always nervous anyway because they were carrying explosives, this information renewed the crew’s tensions, tensions that were not eased until the cargo was discharged several days later.

The ship went to Calcutta, India to load U.S. Army cargo, which it then transported to Shanghai, China. The war was already over, so things were less tense aboard ship. Radio silence was a thing of the past, alerts were rare although danger still roamed in the waters because there were many mines that were still floating about. Still, things were gearing down, and the trip was relatively relaxed.

Perhaps the most unusual cargo that the O’Brien carried was on her last voyage from abroad, from Freemantle, Australia to San Francisco. Nine Australian war brides and three of their children were passengers. The nine war brides were married to Navy personnel, and were transported to the states to join their husbands. Some adjustments had to be made, and there was a no fraternization rule in effect (not strictly enforced), but the voyage turned out to be incident free. The presence of women on board the O’Brien made the voyage home quite enjoyable. Playing cards together and chatting let time pass more pleasantly. And since the women liked to sunbathe and the crew had cameras, an additional activity to pass the time was born. “

In 1978, the O’Brien was declared a National Monument and placed on the National Register as a historic object. Thanks to the vision of Admiral Thomas J. Patterson, she today forms the basis of the National Liberty Ship Memorial. And it’s not just a stuffed and mounted kind of tribute. The men and women who volunteer to keep this ship going are proud to see her alive as intended and under steam for occasional cruises. Coming up over the Labor Day Weekend, she’ll be steaming from San Francisco to Sacramento (for display) and then back again. It’s a great way to see the Bay and the Delta. The one-way fare of $175 includes a great buffet-style chuckwagon barbecue and bus transportation back to the point of origin. I enjoyed one of her Maritime Day cruises around the Bay a few years ago. This one should be just as memorable.

Now, if you’re on the East Coast, head for Baltimore to check out another one of the “Liberty Fleet” — the S.S. John Brown. From their web pages: “After the war the JOHN W. BROWN was loaned by the government to the City of New York, where she became a floating nautical high school, the only one in the United States. The ship served in that capacity from 1946 to 1982, graduating thousands of students prepared to begin careers in the merchant marine. During that time the BROWN was lovingly cared for by her students and instructors, making her reactivation by our volunteers that much easier.”

Today she sails from Baltimore on a regular basis. Their pages have a great selection of photos and reports from past cruises as well as info on the upcoming voyages.

Los Angeles is home to another of the World War II Fleet, the S.S. Lane Victory. These ships were the next step in the process begun by the “Liberty Fleet;” both bigger and faster. She also sails on occasion and takes folk back to the days of simpler transport, before the jet airplane forever changed our travel experience.

In fact, she sails this weekend from her berth in San Pedro. This link has the details for this event and another coming up in September. Only $100 for adults for an all day cruise to Avalon and back! And the restored Pacific Electric “Red Car” service also departs from the World Cruise Center across from the Lane Victory’s berth!

How about Tampa, Florida? Why not the American Victory? Here’s another of these great ships making history come alive for folks by doing what she was designed to.

A great view of the American Victory as docked near the Florida Aquarium.

San Francisco Bay was home to a great deal of maritime action that has dwindled somewhat in recent years. During the war, Henry J, Kaiser’s Richmond Shipyards built many ships, including one now under restoration not far from the former home of Pixar, the Red Oak Victory. Also part of the effort is the Rosie the Riveter Memorial. It’s a great way to salute the ladies who left home to take up the duties in the shipyards. This page even tells the tale of where Norman Rockwell got this inspiration from for his classic work for a Saturday Evening Post cover featuring the archetype of “Rosie.”

This classic Norman Rockwell image of “Rosie” is from
the web pages of this great group.

If you’re looking for a cruise of a different color, okay battleship gray, why not consider one of these? I think you’ll be amazed by the skills of the volunteers of all these ships. It’s their labor of love that will keep them steaming for future generations to enjoy and learn another chapter in our nations transportation history.

So there you have it, the tale of the sea, albeit at ten knots or less. Tune in next week as Roger is back with another random act of senseless journalism. In the next installment of this series, life on the prairie and a trail ride may be just around the bend.

And once again, thanks to one and all for the donations to his Amazon Honor System Paybox. Your continued support is appreciated. That and it keeps Roger looking for more excuses to write these columns…

Television & Shows

The Untold Story of Super Soap Weekend at Disney-MGM Studios: How Daytime TV Took Over the Parks

Published

1 week ago

April 24, 2025

Jim Hill

Super Soap Weekends at Disney-MGM Studios

A long time ago in a galaxy that … Well, to be honest, wasn’t all that far away. This was down in Florida after all. But if you traveled to the WDW Resort, you could then experience “Star Wars Weekends.” Which ran seasonally at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Disney World from 1997 to 2015.

Mind you, what most folks don’t remember is the annual event that effectively plowed the road for “Star Wars Weekends.” Which was “Super Soap Weekend.” That seasonal offering — which allowed ABC soap fans to get up-close with their favorite performers from “All My Children,” “General Hospital,” “One Life to Live” and “Port Charles” — debuted at that same theme park the year previous (1996).

So how did this weekend-long celebration of daytime drama (which drew tens of thousands of people to Orlando every Fall for 15 years straight) come to be?

Michael Eisner’s Daytime TV Origins and a Theme Park Vision

Super Soap Weekend was the brainchild of then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner. His career in media began with short stints at NBC and CBS, but it truly took off in 1964 when he joined ABC as the assistant to Leonard Goldberg, who was the network’s national programming director at the time.

Eisner quickly advanced through the ranks. By 1971, he had become Vice President of Daytime Programming at ABC. That meant he was on the scene when One Life to Live joined the lineup in July 1968 and when All My Children made its debut in January 1970. Even after being promoted to Senior Vice President of Prime Time Programming in 1976, Eisner stayed close to the daytime division and often recruited standout soap talent for ABC’s primetime shows.

Fast forward nearly two decades to July 31, 1995. The Walt Disney Company announced that it would acquire ABC/Cap Cities in a $19 billion deal. Although the acquisition wasn’t finalized until February 1996, Eisner was already thinking ahead. He wanted to use the stars of All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital to draw people to Disney’s theme parks.

He had seen how individual soap stars were drawing huge mall crowds across America since the late 1970s. Now he wanted to bring dozens of them together for something much bigger.

Super Soap Weekend Takes Over Disney-MGM Studios

The very first Super Soap Weekend was announced in June 1996, just a few months after the ABC deal closed. The event was scheduled for October 19 and 20 at Disney-MGM Studios and was a massive success.

The weekend featured panel discussions, autograph sessions, and photo opportunities with the stars of ABC’s daytime dramas. Thousands of fans packed the park for the chance to meet their favorite actors. Due to the overwhelming response, the event became an annual tradition and was eventually moved to Veterans Day weekend each November to better accommodate attendees.

Longtime fans like Nancy Stadler, her mom Mary, and their close friend Angela Ragno returned year after year, making the event a personal tradition and building lifelong memories.

West Coast Events and the ABC Soap Opera Bistro

Disney even tried to recreate the event out west. Two Super Soap Weekends were held at Disneyland Resort, one in April 2002 and another in June 2003.

At Disney’s California Adventure, Eisner also introduced the ABC Soap Opera Bistro, a themed dining experience that opened in February 2001. Guests could dine inside recreated sets from shows like General Hospital and All My Children, including Kelly’s Diner and the Chandler Mansion. The Bistro closed in November 2002, but for fans, it offered a rare opportunity to step into the world of their favorite soaps.

SOAPnet, Port Charles, and the Expansion of Daytime TV at Disney

Eisner’s enthusiasm for soaps extended beyond the parks. In January 2000, he launched SOAPnet, a cable channel dedicated to prime time replays of ABC’s daytime dramas.

During his time at Disney, General Hospital also received a spin-off series titled Port Charles, which aired from June 1997 to October 2003. The show leaned into supernatural plotlines and was another example of Eisner’s commitment to evolving and expanding the soap genre.

The Final Curtain for Super Soap Weekend

In September 2005, Eisner stepped down after 21 years as head of The Walt Disney Company. Bob Iger, who had previously served as President of ABC and Chief Operating Officer of ABC/Cap Cities, took over as CEO. While Iger had deep ABC credentials, he didn’t share Eisner’s passion for daytime television.

In the fall of 2008, Disney hosted the final Super Soap Weekend at what was then still called Disney-MGM Studios. That same year, the park was rebranded as Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney began shifting away from television-focused experiences.

Within the next five years, the rest of Eisner’s soap legacy faded. One Life to Live was canceled in January 2012. SOAPnet was rebranded as Disney Junior in February 2013. Later that year, All My Children ended its 41-year run on ABC.

Only General Hospital remains on the network today, the last standing soap from the golden age of ABC Daytime.

A New Chapter for Daytime TV and Super Soap Fans

The soap genre may have faded from its former glory, but it’s not gone. On February 24, 2025, CBS premiered a brand-new daytime drama called Beyond the Gates, marking the first new soap launch in years.

Meanwhile, All My Children alum Kelly Ripa has been actively working on a revival. In September 2024, she mentioned a holiday-themed movie set in Pine Valley that would bring back many original cast members. The project was in development for Lifetime, though its current status is unclear.

And what about Super Soap? Fans like Nancy and Angela still hope Disney will bring it back. Even if it only featured the cast of General Hospital, it would be a welcome return for longtime viewers who miss that one weekend a year where the magic of Disney collided with the drama of daytime TV.

If you want to hear firsthand what it was like to be part of Super Soap Weekend, be sure to listen to our I Want That Too podcast interview with actor Colin Egglesfield. He shares behind-the-scenes memories from his days as Josh Madden on All My Children and what it meant to be part of one of the most unique fan events in Disney park history.

History

The Super Bowl & Disney: The Untold Story Behind ‘I’m Going to Disneyland!’

Published

3 months ago

February 6, 2025

Jim Hill

One of the highlights of the Super Bowl isn’t just the game itself—it’s the moment when the winning quarterback turns to the camera and exclaims, “I’m going to Disney World!” This now-iconic phrase has been a staple of post-game celebrations for decades. But where did this tradition begin? Surprisingly, it didn’t originate in a stadium but at a dinner table in 1987, in a conversation involving Michael Eisner, George Lucas, and aviation pioneers Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager.

The Unlikely Beginning of a Marketing Sensation

To understand the origins of this campaign, we have to go back to December 1986, when the Rutan Voyager became the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. Pilots Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager completed the nine-day journey on December 23, 1986, flying over 26,000 miles before landing at Edwards Air Force Base. Their historic achievement earned them national recognition, and just days later, President Ronald Reagan awarded them the Presidential Citizen Medal at the White House.

Meanwhile, Disney was gearing up for the grand opening of Star Tours at Disneyland, set for January 12, 1987. Following its usual playbook of associating major theme park attractions with real-world pioneers, Disney’s PR team invited astronauts Gordon Cooper and Deke Slayton to the launch event. But in a twist, they also invited Rutan and Yeager, who were still making headlines.

A Dinner Conversation That Changed Advertising Forever

After the Star Tours opening ceremony, a private dinner was held with Disney CEO Michael Eisner, George Lucas, and Eisner’s wife, Jane. During the meal, Eisner asked Rutan and Yeager, “You just made history. You traveled non-stop around the planet on a plane without ever refueling. How are you ever going to top that, career-wise? What are you two gonna do next?”

Without hesitation, Jeana Yeager replied, “Well, after being cramped inside that tiny plane for nine days, I’m just glad to be anywhere else. And even though you folks were nice enough to fly us here, invite us to your party… Well, as soon as we finish eating, I’m gonna go over to the Park and ride some rides. I’m going to Disneyland.”

Jane Eisner immediately recognized the power of Yeager’s statement. On the car ride home, she turned to Michael and said, “That’s a great slogan. I think you should use that to promote the theme parks.” Like many husbands, Michael initially dismissed the idea, but Jane persisted. Eventually, Eisner relented and pitched it to his team.

The Super Bowl Connection

With Super Bowl XXI just around the corner, Disney’s PR team saw an opportunity. The game was set for January 25, 1987, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena—just miles from Disney Studios. What if they convinced the winning quarterback to say, “I’m going to Disneyland” live on-air?

Disney quickly struck a deal with both quarterbacks—Phil Simms of the New York Giants and John Elway of the Denver Broncos—offering each $75,000 to deliver the line if their team won. Simms led the Giants to victory, making history as the first athlete to say, “I’m going to Disney World!” on national television.

A Marketing Triumph

That year’s Super Bowl had the second-highest viewership in television history, with 87 million people watching Simms say the famous line. The next day, Disney turned the clip into a national commercial, cementing the phrase as a marketing goldmine.

Since then, “I’m going to Disneyland” (or Disney World, depending on the commercial) has been a staple of championship celebrations, spanning the NFL, NBA, and even the Olympics. What started as a casual remark at dinner became one of the most successful advertising campaigns in history.

A Lasting Legacy

Jane Eisner’s keen instinct and Disney’s ability to act quickly on a great idea created a tradition that continues to captivate audiences. The “I’m going to Disneyland” campaign remains a testament to the power of spontaneous inspiration and smart marketing, proving that sometimes, the best ideas come from the most unexpected places.

To learn more about Disney’s ties to the world of sports, check out I Want That Too: A Disney History and Consumer Product Podcast.

Television & Shows

How the Creators of South Park Tricked A-List Celebrities to Roast Universal – “Your Studio & You”

Published

4 months ago

January 12, 2025

Jim Hill

Universal Studios has a rich and storied history, but few moments are as peculiar—and as hilariously cutting—as the creation of Your Studio & You. This 14-minute parody film, commissioned in 1995 to celebrate Universal’s new ownership under Seagram’s, brings together an all-star cast, biting humor, and the unmistakable comedic fingerprints of Matt Stone and Trey Parker.

Long before South Park debuted on Comedy Central in 1997, Stone and Parker were already carving out a reputation for their irreverent style, and Your Studio & You perfectly encapsulates their knack for turning even the most corporate project into something delightfully subversive.

Matt Stone & Trey Parker Before South Park

Stone & Parker were already known out in Hollywood as funny guys. Thanks largely to “The Spirit of Christmas,” which was this video greeting card that they’d crafted for a Fox executive – who then distributed this infamously funny thing (which had Our Lord Jesus Christ & Santa Claus literally duking it out for the holiday affections of Cartman, Kenny, Stan & Kyle) to friends & family.

This was the early 1990s. No internet. Each copy of “The Spirit of Christmas” was made on VHS tape and then mailed. Went viral the old-fashioned way. It’s rumored that George Clooney made over 300 copies of “The Spirit of Christmas” and passed these VHS taps along to friends and family.

Things didn’t move as fast as they do today. “The Spirit of Christmas” still became a sensation out West.

Zucker Brothers

Matt & Trey also had other supporters in the entertainment industry. Among them David Zucker, who was one of the members of ZAZ (i.e., Zucker Abrahams Zucker), the talented trio that made “Airplane!” in 1980, “Top Secret!” in 1984 and the three “Naked Gun” movies.

The original “Naked Gun” in 1988
“Naked Gun 2 & 1/2 : The Smell of Fear” in 1991
and “Naked Gun 33 & a 1/3: The Final Insult” in 1994

All five of these parody films had been made for Paramount Pictures. But in the Late Winter / Early Spring of 1995, Universal had persuaded the Zucker Brothers to come over and set up shop in a bungalow on their lower lot. With the hope that – at some point further on down the line – David & his brother Jerry would start making funny films for Universal.

Zucker Brothers featured in "Your Studio and You"

And it’s during this same window of time (We’re now talking April of 1995) that news breaks that Seagrams (Yep, the adult beverage company. Who – at the time – was making an absolute fortune on the sales of wine coolers) was about to buy a majority stake in MCAUniversal. We’re talking control of 80% of that company’s stock. Which would effectively make Seagrams the new owners of Universal Studios.

Edgar Bronfman

And Edgar Bronfman – the owner of Seagrams – knew that Universal had had a tough time with its previous owners – which had been the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. of Japan. Matsushita had bought MCA back in November of 1990 for $7.5 billion but had never really understood the entertainment industry.

This is why – after repeatedly butting heads with Lew Wasserman & Sidney Sheinberg (i.e., the heads of Universal Studios & the Universal theme park respectively) when it came to creative control of this company – Matsushita decided to wash it hands of the entire enterprise. Agreeing to sell their holdings in MCA to Seagrams for $5.7 billion (effectively taking a nearly $2 billion loss on this investment).

And Bronfman … He knew that some bad feeling had developed between Hollywood’s creative community and the Japanese owners of Universal. The thinking was that executives at Matsushita Electric had just not gotten what it took to make movies & TV shows.

And Edgar? Right from the get-go, he wanted to show that Seagrams was NOT going to be Matsushita Electric Redux. Bronfman was looking for a way to send a clear message to Hollywood’s creative community that Universal’s new owners got it. That they were willing to work with Hollywood to make the best possible movies & TV shows at Universal.

And how did Edgar decide to get this message across? By making a funny movie.

Zucker Commissions Trey Parker for “Your Studio & You”

Mind you, Bronfman himself didn’t make this film. The owner of Seagrams reached out to David Zucker. Who – after initially agreeing to produce this introduction-to-Universal film – then farmed out the production of the actual project to Trey Parker. Who – just two days before shooting was supposed to star on the Universal Lot – persuaded Matt Stone to come help him on this project.

Which brings us to “Your Studio and You.” Which is a parody of an educational film from the 1950s, right down to being shot in black & white and featuring a very generic soundtrack.

Now what’s amazing about watching “Your Studio and You” today is that this 14-minute-long film features some of the biggest names working in Hollywood back in the mid-1990s. We’re talking about people like recent Golden Globe winner Demi Moore, Sylvester Stallone, Michael J. Fox and Angela Lansbury. Not to mention two of the most powerful men in all of Hollywood, Steven Spielberg & Jeffrey Katzenberg.

And what’s especially interesting about watch “Your Studio and You” is that – as you watch these performers go through their paces in this motion pictures (which – most of the time – involves doing some innocuous task while holding a Seagram’s wine cooler) – you often get the feeling that this star is not in on the gag.

So how did Matt & Trey get away with this? Simple. There was never actually a script for “Your Studio and You.”

Filming “Your Studio & You” at Universal Studios Hollywood

Mind you, David Zucker would always insist that there was. Especially when he’d phone up celebrities on the Universal Lot and say “Hey, I’m sending over a couple of college kids later today. They’re working with me on a new parody film. It’s something that we’re doing for the new owners of Universal. I need just a half hour of your time. We’re shooting something special for the party we’ll be holding when the Seagrams people first arrive at the Studio. Absolutely. You’ll definitely get an invite to that party. So can I count on you to help these kids out? Beautiful. They’ll be over there later this morning.”

And then Matt & Trey would show up and say “… Dang, Miss Lansbury. We’re sorry. We must have left our copy of the ‘Your Studio and You’ script back in our office. Which is clear on the other side of the Lot. So – rather than waste your time – why don’t we do this instead? Follow us over to the Psycho House. Where we’re then going to get footage of you painting the front porch on Mother Bates’ house while you say ‘Gosh, with all of the wonderful improvements going on around here, everyone is going to want to work at Universal.’ Oh, and can we also get you to wear this button on the front of your blazer which reads ‘Universal is A-OK’ ? “

And over & over again, the biggest names who were working for Universal at that time took part in the production of “Your Studio & You” because A) David Zucker vouched for Matt Stone & Trey Parker and B) this was something that was being made for the new owners of Universal. And it’s just natural to want to get in good with the new boss.

Steven Spielberg, Jeffery Katzenberg, and Jaws

But no one at Universal anticipated that “Your Studio & You” would wind up being as sharp edged as the finished product turned out to be. I mean, it’s one thing to bite the hand that feeds you. But “Your Studio & You” ? It doesn’t just bite the hand. It takes the hand off at the wrist.

It’s a brutally funny film. With one of the meanest moments reserved for Steven Spielberg, who plays a driver on the Universal Studio Tour who’s trying to persuade a tram full of bored tourists (one of whom is played by Jeffery Katzenberg) that the “Shark Attack” scene down by Jaws Lagoon is actually exciting.

Spielberg actually says lines like “ … Whoa, whoa. What is going on here? Ladies and gentlemen, this never happens. Look out! It’s a shark! Whoa, that is one big scary shark.”

Mind you, as footage of this mechanical shark repeatedly coming up out of the water is shown, “Your Studio & You” ‘s off-screen narrator (who is voiced by Trey Parker says):

“But what about tomorrow? If we don’t keep in step with the times, things that were once neat and thrilling can become old and stupid.”

“Your Studio & You” Reception

This film was supposed to be shown only once at the welcoming party for Seagrams executive on the Universal Lot. And I’m told that – when Edgar Bronfman saw the finished product at that party – he reportedly turned to David Zucker and said “ … That’s a little more mean-spirited that I think it needed to be.”

And with that, “Your Studio & You” was supposed to go back into the Universal vault, never to be seen again. But when “South Park” debuted on Comedy Central in August of 1997 and then became a sensation for its biting humor, there was suddenly a lot of interest in what else Matt & Trey had done. Which is why copies of “The Spirit of Christmas” began to circulate. And – over time – copies of “Your Studio & You” began to bubble up.

Which – as Stone & Parker have repeatedly pointed out – was just not supposed to happen. Largely because none of the celebrities who appeared in “Your Studio & You” had never signed releases for Universal’s legal department. Because – again – this was for a movie that was only going to be shown once at a private function on the Universal Lot.

Matt mentioned (as part of a career retrospective at the Paley Center in LA back in 2000) that “ … they wouldn’t even let us keep a copy of the finished film.”

It’s a funny but brutal movie. And worth taking a look at today especially if you’re a theme park history buff because it shows Universal Studios Hollywood’s “Jurassic Park: The Ride” still under construction on the Lower Lot. That attraction would finally open to the public in June of 1996.

“Your Studio & You” became a lot easier to see after Seagrams sold off its share of Universal to Vivendi in 2000. Copies began propagating online after that. Though Universal Legal will periodically make an effort to get the latest copy of “Your Studio & You” taken off the Internet because – again – none of the performers who appear on camera ever signed the proper releases and/or were paid for their efforts.

That said, if you’re up for a mean-spirited laugh, “Your Studio & You” is well worth 14 minutes of your time. That said, once you watch this thing, be warned: