Theme Parks & Themed Entertainment

Ruminations

In today’s column, Roger Colton turns the dial and looks back at some classic radio.

Published

22 years ago

May 1, 2003

Roger Colton

One of my all time favorite lines:

“You know, you have the perfect face for radio!”

Somewhere along the way, I’m guessing we all have listened to or looked at someone on radio or television, and said, “Hey! I could do that!”

Considering the number of people who try and make a living by being a part of the Fourth estate, you would probably be right in thinking that too many of us try to bring such a dream to life. Let’s face it. For everyone who thinks they should be knocking ’em dead in a major market such as LA or NYC, more folks are just getting by in places like Peoria or Stockton. More demos have probably ended up in landfills, thanks to heartless programming directors, than have ever provided employment for their benefactors. But, that’s the breaks, right?

Turn back the clock to the Bicentennial summer. June of 1976 to be precise. My junior year in high school is coming to a close and I’m looking for something to keep me busy for the months before the senior year starts. A guidance counselor suggests an occupational intern program. I don’t recall seeing a railroad listed among the various choices, but there was a summer intern program at a radio station in San Francisco.

So what made it interesting enough to choose something in San Francisco rather than something local? Well, I had a passing interest in radio at the time. I had helped out with our high school version of radio, the morning announcements during that last year. And it didn’t hurt that this particular station was one I actually listened to from time to time. And it had a history, too. Back in the 30’s and 40’s, it had been one of the local stations that offered live broadcasts of all kinds of music and other programs for it’s listeners. Here’s a link to those days.

Back then I was somewhat stunted in my musical choices. I had only discovered the Beatles and the Beach Boys, and occasionally listened to Top 40 on another San Francisco AM station. FM was largely unexplored territory, but that would change. While I had my driver’s license, the Ford station wagon I was driving had only an AM radio. Good for news, sports, top 40 and easy listening. Country was out there, but small. Jazz and big band were something of interest to me, and this particular station used to play songs from those from time to time. So, why not?

I was off to meet with the folks at the station to see what it was all about. The commute from Walnut Creek to San Francisco was no big deal, as I had been riding the train off and on since it opened a year or so earlier. The City represented more of a pleasure than a challenge. I wish I had taken more advantage of it than I did.

The radio station was KSFO, 560 on the AM dial. It had a long history in the City and was once the top station in this market. That summer it was still popular, but it’s decline and fall was inevitable.

The station was located in the basement (well, close enough, if not actually) of the Fairmont Hotel, at the corner of California and Powell, where the cable car lines crossed, on Nob Hill. So after a train ride from the East Bay, it was a quick ride (at all of nine miles per hour) up California Street on a cable car from outside the Hyatt Regency (Ever seen Mel Brooks “High Anxiety”? That’s the Hyatt.) to the Fairmont. A short walk and I introduced myself to the receptionist who called Bruce Hunter, (the head engineer for the station) who would be my mentor during those months.

We met and he showed me around the station and explained the various departments to me. A nicer bunch of folks you could not find, and I would get to know many of them during those next three months.

The on-air personalities of that time were:

Jim Lange of “Dating Game” fame (working the morning drive-time)

Gene Nelson (from nine to noon)

Buddy Hatton (from noon to three)

Rick Cimino (doing the evening drive until seven)

John Gilliland (doing old-time radio until midnight)

Russ “The Moose” Syracuse also known as the Prince of Darkness (he worked the graveyard shift)

The station also had a great news staff, and was the flagship of the Giants radio network. Back then, KSFO was part of Golden West Broadcasting, and was owned by former singing cowboy legend, Gene Autry. Gene also owned the Anaheim Angels baseball team as well. In Los Angeles, the sister station to KSFO was KMPC and it’s own legend in Gary Owens.

My time at the station was Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 p.m. so I got a chance to work with most of the staff on and off the air. Among the engineering crew were some other talented folks, who had worked in other areas of the country before coming to KSFO. Gary Mora had come from South Lake Tahoe where he had gotten noticed by doing interviews with the talent who came to work the South Shore casinos.

This was pretty typical at that time. San Francisco was and is a major market for the media. To get a job at a radio station there meant that you had been popular somewhere else and shown a programming director that you had what it took and would be right for that station in this market. While the crew on then was fairly well established they all had come up through the ranks across the country to get where they were.

While I had a good time learning how a radio station worked, and what jobs did what, it was pretty obvious to me that these folks were not going to open the door for me there. Nothing wrong with that. They had all done what had to be done to get where they were, and they were good at it. (A few years later, I heard from a group of television folks the same thing in a more direct way. As they put it, while they were glad we had the interest in television, they were not going to step aside to give us a chance. It’s nothing personal, but they would protect what they had. You would too if you were in their positions.)

Over the next few months, I got to help select songs for airplay by going through the record library on occasion. I spent my fair share of hours rewriting news wire stories to see if I could make them sound more interesting. One or two may even have made it on the air, if my memory serves correctly. I even helped produce the news by recording stories from field reporters on tape carts and then playing them back on the air.

There were four events that summer of particular note. The first was perhaps the most exciting. Seems that the station was doing a remote broadcast on a coming weekend, and they needed to rent some equipment from a supplier in the area south of Market Street. Back then, it was an industrial area, not the trendy office lofts it is today.

So over the lunch hour, they needed someone to go down and get this load of equipment. They asked me if I could drive, and indeed I could. However, driving in the City can be intimidating if you’ve never done it before. Not for me that day! I just drove like everyone else, and was back in less than an hour with the goods. Boy, did I feel good that afternoon! Talk about meeting the challenge!

The second event came over the Fourth of July holiday. One of the news reporters had flown out to board an aircraft carrier as it came through the Golden Gate and docked along the San Francisco waterfront. I was asked to meet him dockside and then take him back to the Alameda Naval Air Station where his car was. Again the station was pretty bold trusting a teenager to drive one of their cars (you can bet that wouldn’t happen today!) through the City and over the Bay Bridge. A highlight of that was to catch the San Francisco Belt Railway moving railway equipment for a display along the waterfront for the weekend. One of the state’s oldest steam locomotives was being moved by barge from Richmond and then towed by the State Belt for display. It was quite a surprise to find it travelling the rails under the Embarcadero freeway that afternoon.

The third event was a Police Athletic League softball fundraising game between a team from KSFO and a local restaurant. Both sides had their own favorites, sports stars, and politicians. My participation was to wear a large pink elephant costume and to try to shake up the players both on and off the field. (Yes, another fursuit experience!) I wasn’t alone as the son of one of the station’s on-air talents was doing his part in another costume. We did our job admirably, if not humorously, as the game was played in the auditorium at the Cow Palace (home of the Grand National Rodeos). My fondest memory is looking for something cold to drink after almost an hour in that costume, only to find nothing but cold beer. Only one, but boy did it go down good!

The last event was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a San Francisco Giants game from the broadcast booth at Candlestick Park. I’d been a Giants fan years before, but had switched allegiances to the Oakland A’s now that I lived on the other side of the Bay. Still, that would not detract from the fine time. It was a real treat, again driving a station car down from the Sutter Stockton Garage to the game complete with special Press parking pass. That afternoon, I enjoyed the play-by-play of Lon Simmons (a true gentleman in the world of sports announcing!) and Al Michaels (who left the station after that season to go onto a great career with ABC sports (including calling the memorable US and Russia hockey upset at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics). Rich Smalley was their engineer. Another man whose name escapes me was the color announcer for the game. I can’t recall the score or who won, but it was memorable none the less.

That summer came to an end, and I went back to school. The station gave me more than enough records that they had no interest in using. I shared them that fall with others as giveaways for the morning announcements.

While I enjoyed my internship, I guess I had my eyes opened when it came to radio. We never really talked what kind of money folks in the different roles were making. But it had become obvious that I wouldn’t be starting a career there soon.

I kept in touch with the folks at the station off and on for a year or two. Eventually, KSFO was sold to another company, and the format changed to oldies from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Today, it’s owned by Capital Cities and is an all talk radio station (a bit too far to the left for me) — part of the Disney media empire.

Here’s another link back to more of the history of KSFO as I knew and loved it.

Roger actually did give further thought to a career in broadcasting during the junior college years with a bunch of classes in the communications arena. Later on, he managed to do some community access video productions, do some magazine items (photo’s and an op ed piece), before settling here with these weekly pages. Truth be told, “WKRP” is a lot closer to reality than anyone in radio wanted to admit — then or now!

Coming along this summer: More on Nevada off the beaten path, just who is “Rat Fink” and why you should be interested in him, a surprisingly affordable one-day private car trip, tales from the convention world, and what ever else he can dredge up to amuse you.

But, it would be darn nice of you, if you could show your support and click on the link for his Amazon Honor System Paybox and throw a few million Turkish lira (1 dollar equals 1,595,100 lira) his way to keep him plugging along at the keyboard. To quote Homer Simpson, “Oooooh, how convenient.”

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: