Theme Parks & Themed Entertainment

Ruminations

In today’s column, Roger Colton looks at a true San Francisco treasure who was always the one to remind us of the many pleasures and perils of living along the northern end of the San Andreas Fault…

Published

22 years ago

April 17, 2003

Roger Colton

Historical note: 5:13 a.m. April 18, 1906. Lest we forget those who perished and the City along with them. Today’s column looks at a true San Francisco treasure who was always the one to remind us of the many pleasures and perils of living along the northern end of the San Andreas Fault…

Three Dot Journalism
An appreciation by Roger Colton

This image is displayed on the Herb Caen web pages of the San Francisco Chronicle,
recreating as it appeared atop his columns for many years.

For me, as well as many other folks here in Northern California, there is the City. And it has been called that since the Gold Rush days of 1949. It’s a place you either love or hate. Usually there is no room for middle ground on the subject.

If one person could have been called the voice of San Francisco, it was and always will be Herb Caen. From humble beginnings with a first printed column on July 5, 1936, a kid from Sacramento made good.

Along the way, he bemused and amused readers six days every week for too many years. When most of his contemporaries had retired or gone to their rewards, his loyal Royal typewriter still produced columns that kept his readers coming back for more and more.

The Chronicle still maintains a page in his honor on their web site. It’s a good look back at the career as seen through his own words as well as some of his colleagues and contemporaries.

I discovered his column in June of 1976. A high school program got me on as an intern at radio station KSFO (worth telling this story as well in a future effort!) in San Francisco. Along with that came a Monday through Friday commute by train from the East Bay into the City. Somewhere during one of those rides, I picked up a discarded page from the San Francisco Chronicle and chuckled my way through the column just to the left of the full-page Macys advertisement.

Another column of note appeared on the pages of the Chronicle that same summer. It correctly lampooned all that was the City, including Herb Caen. Armistead Maupin’s “Tales of the City” brought it larger than life for the folks who actually lived it as well as those who wished they had.

Now if you’ve ever watched one of the mini-series adaptations, you get a good idea of what life was like back in Seventies San Francisco. A mention in one of Herb’s columns was worth its weight in gold. A watering hole getting a quick nod of approval or a restaurant getting the cold shoulder could make or break a business. But this man knew of whence he wrote!

He was known by a number of nicknames, but perhaps “Mister San Francisco” put it best. Touring the City either in his white Jaguar (a.k.a. the White Rat) or on foot, you never knew where he might show up next. A smart cocktail at Trader Vic’s, a quick snack at Original Joe’s, catching the latest and greatest in up and coming comedians at the Holy City Zoo, enjoying jazz in any one of the small clubs, or just passing Fifth and Mission (home of the Chronicle). But you could be sure that anything or anyone he might view on one of those sojourns would be fodder for his next magnum opus.

The link above offers a whole bunch of his columns as well as an archive of his pieces from 1995 through 1997. All too few, in my humble opinion.

Newspaper columnists come and go with somewhat amazing regularity. But he was there through it all. As he put it, “Hookers are “turned out” and newspaper people are “broken in” but otherwise there isn’t much difference, hence the term presstitute.” Yet, he managed to capture the pulse, pleasures, follies and foibles of what he loved to call “Baghdad-By-The-Bay” in a way that no one has done since.

Thankfully, his daily except Saturday efforts (well, one does need at least a day a week to rest, right?) have been printed in book form for us to enjoy once again. Some twenty books at least have his name linked to them. Even a children’s book, entitled “The Cable Car and The Dragon” told a tale of San Francisco in the Caen way.

Long before Disney coined the term “little souvenir” for it’s Cruise Line ad campaign, Herb Caen considered him self the same after a visit by his parents to the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. Born and raised in Sacramento, he got his first newspaper job there. In 1936 he started with the Chronicle writing a radio column, and that transmogrified into his daily oeuvre to the city he loved. A look back at his columns is as much a walk through the past as it is a look at a City that still knows how. He suffered gladly from “terminal nostalgia” and was definitely a carrier, infecting his readers at least once a week, usually in his Sunday pieces.

Among many accomplishments, he’s credited with coining the term “Beatnik”, in his column on April 2, 1958. Here’s an excerpt with the reference:

“. . . Look magazine, preparing a picture spread on S.F.’s Beat Generation (oh, no, not AGAIN!), hosted a party in a No. Beach house for 50 Beatniks, and by the time word got around the sour grapevine, over 250 bearded cats and kits were on hand, slopping up Mike Cowles’ free booze. They’re only Beat, y’know, when it comes to work . . . “

In April of 1996, he was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize, only the fifth time such had been done for newspaper and magazine writers. As the Chronicle proudly reported, “In conferring the rare honor, the Pulitzer board said the prize recognizes Caen’s extraordinary and continuing contribution as a voice and a conscience of his city.”

Some of my favorites from the era of his later efforts included the saga of the March 1983 visit of Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, Ron and Nancy Reagan (and their entourage of lackeys, lookers-on and security minions) to Trader Vics on Cosmo Alley in San Francisco. He correctly reported on what Their Royal Majesties enjoyed in the way of a cocktail — Tanqueray gin martinis over ice. (His competition at the Examiner or “Brand X” as frequently referred to, erroneously had reported they consumed something as pedestrian as margaritas. Really!) On more somber occasions he recalled the lives and legends of favorite sons and daughters of the City. Everyone from “Trader” Vic Bergeron to pal Benny Goodman (from his radio column days) to madame Sally Stanford to social column pariah Lucius Beebe to radio bad boy Don Sherwood all got the Caen treatment upon his or her demise. But it was his Sunday efforts that more than often ventured into the City of the past, present and future or an element of all three. Everything from cable cars to sewers to the Port to the fashionable and not so all could be and were fodder for that little space, slightly to the left of Macy’s.

One particular column I have saved is all about a weekend at the Lake. It was and always will mean Tahoe, not any other one. It has been the place, winter or summer, to truly get away from the City. Favored by generations for different reasons, it was the place for my family to enjoy a more laid back and less complicated time. While our accommodations may have been somewhat plebian as compare to those enjoyed by the money crowd, we knew how to have a good time none the less. That one column hit the nail right on the head for me. The trek up I-80 or back in the day, US 40, was and is always something to be looked forward to on a Friday night, and then dreaded for the ride home on a Sunday afternoon. A dip in the 60 degree sky-blue water or a ride at speed on your boat of choice (ah, Garwood’s… another column — wooden motorized boats!) from one scenic bay to another, finishing the day at a long savored night spot for a fine meal and appropriate beverages.

His columns just caught the flavor of the topic that folks enjoyed. The people who came after him try, but don’t seem to be able to capture the knack of his style and polish. He wrote columns right up to the end of a battle with cancer. His last column was on January 10, 1997, and he passed away a short time later on Saturday, February 1, 1997.

Since then, things have changed. The Chronicle’s long time owners sold it to the competition (the Hearst family who owned the “Brand X” — whose papers I once delivered — and who sold that paper to another family, only to watch it deteriorate into oblivion. No longer does the City have separate morning and afternoon papers!) and then divested their local NBC television affiliate (only to have NBC pull their affiliation and change it to a network owned station in San Jose!). I don’t doubt that the circulation of the Chronicle dropped as well, after his passing. If I pick up the paper, it’s a rare day indeed, and I was once a daily subscriber.

Now, I’m sentimental about the City for my own reasons. Family history and all that not withstanding, my appreciation for the place simply wouldn’t be what it is had it not been for those columns. It’s a love of cable cars, streetcars (another Caen term — “The Roar of the Four” referred to the four streetcar tracks on Market Street), ferryboats, good food and smart cocktails, local sports teams, entertainers and entertainment’s, amusements and bemusements, neighborhoods and districts, downtown and the avenues…

I don’t get into the City as much as I did in years gone by when my mothers parents lived just outside of Seacliff (where the radio adventures of “One Man’s Family” took place or where Robin Williams now calls home). But without too much difficulty, I’m easily taken back to summer afternoons with the blanket of fog rolling into to the soundtrack of distant foghorns from the Bay.

You’ve probably noted my use of these three little guys…

Hi, my name is Roger, and along with many other things, I am addicted to three-dot journalism.

It’s all his fault!

So that’s this weeks tale. Hope you enjoyed another glimpse into the City and the man who was it’s voice for almost 60 years. The next time we get on Jim for his tardiness on a piece, just remember the Herculean efforts of Herb Caen, and realize just how hard it is to get a column out every day, let alone once in a while!

Next week? Ah, now that would be telling? Something from those promised topics, no doubt…

So? Like what you’ve been reading here in Roger’s columns? Well, here is one way to show your support! You can use his Amazon PayBox to keep him plugging along on more tales.

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: