When I was young, we used to go for trips by car with my maternal grandfather. Whenever we would ask where we were going, he would reply that the car knows where it is going.
So it is with today’s column…
All over the map will describe it best. And this column is the return of cranky pants… So here we go!
Well, no big shock, but it seems that every Disney fanboy Internet site had a spy at the recent Disneyland “Cast Blast” event. And they all had the same thing to say, “No one was telling us anything we didn’t already know!”
Boy! Now, there is one heck of a surprise. When you’re joked about in the opening remarks, what did you expect?
Might as well bring back the dead carp floating in the Rivers of America after all the garbage folks have been spouting about Disneyland due to be closed for the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie premier event. Never mind the fact that Disney has now added special event tickets for the average *** to attend. I sure there will be a special section with a distorted view for Internet columnists, somewhere in the Timon parking lot, no doubt, somewhere under the manure pile for the X Games .
And could that carp be Nemo floating upside down? Time will tell, but I still know more folks from E’ville who aren’t having the fish. Think happy thoughts…
Things aren’t all beer and skittles over at the Dreamland. One recent project in the works pitched it’s first act to El Jeffe who actually liked most of what he saw, and had a few points to address afterwards. Don’t know the why’s and where for’s, but most of the crew bailed on the project after that event and the few who were left have since “gone on to explore other opportunities” elsewhere, now that the project has been shelved or just shoved off into development oblivion.
I’m still trying to decide if I should break down and buy the “Roger Rabbit” DVD. As the CAV laser disc of the film and the disc of the shorts already take up shelf space, is there really a need to buy this product just for the extras?
Rumors also have the War Years Disney DVD coming soon. There’s an allegation it may have “Victory Through Airpower” as the main feature, but I’m hoping for a whole lot more including a look at some of the shorts Disney did for the various service branches, and maybe even some of the squadron art the Studio folks produced. Let’s be proud of that work for a change.
Maybe we’ll even see “Song of the South” do a DVD thing sometime this millennium…
For those Captain Nemo fans, there’s another film on the horizon called “The League of Distinguished Gentlemen”. Some one who worked on the project for more than a few months enjoyed getting his check, but said that production was well above and beyond the usual movie making foolishness. Ah, the foolishness… Don’t set your hopes too high for this one.
Lately, when it comes to the movies, I follow a simple rule. Don’t expect anything. That way you won’t be disappointed when you don’t get anything.
Case in point: Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers. Give me the scissors. I can cut a whole bunch of extra gunk from that film and it still is too long and does not convey the real sense of threat as told in the book. Save the romance for the Star Wars franchise or the next “Titanic” rip-off. Badly written and produced teen angst we get enough of already.
DizBiz recent piece on the cemetery on Gower reminded me that they used to have a studio tour next door at Paramount. Not all the fluff you find at Universal’s tour and if you’re lucky you may actually see a production at work.
A few years back we did this and got to go onto a set for the film “Ghost”. It was a full set of an office building complete with ceiling and four walls (break away for letting the camera in). If you remember the movie, there is a scene where the camera goes in through a door into the busy office. We got to see the set just after it had been completely dressed, and it looked just like any office building downtown after everyone had gone home for the day. Very weird when we actually saw the movie to recall having been there…
Let’s see, other things seen… The bar from “Cheers” back when the show was still in production. Much smaller than it looks on television. We were there when they were filming the episode in which Carla’s ex-hockey star husband died after getting run over by the zamboni during an ice show. Got to watch the cast do some run through’s. Funny stuff…
For the Trekkers, we were there during the production of Next Gen. and Voyager. Saw only one set from the outside, and that was the Enterprise D cargo deck through an open door. Did see various cast members, Patrick Stewart comes to mind, going from the set to their trailers outside.
Here’s the link for more info on what was offered:
http://www.studioaudiences.com/moviestudios/paramount.asp
Sadly, the tour was another victim of the post 9/11 hysteria. It was suspended and has not been offered since.
Warner Brothers also offers a studio tour, but I can’t tell you about it, cause I’ve never been. Looks like a good time though… Here’s the link for that tour:
http://www.studioaudiences.com/moviestudios/warnerbrothers.asp
Speaking of 9/11 and studios, I got a real kick out of this story. Somewhere along the way, the FBI identified a “credible threat” against one Hollywood studio. So the word got out and all of the studios decided to take steps.
At Disney’s Burbank lot, these steps included getting out the props and costumes. The studio’s replica police car, motorcycle and fire truck (all not real, okay?) were placed strategically and staffed by the biggest guys maintenance could provide in appropriate costumes (former President Ronald Reagan once referred to military uniforms as costumes) for their roles at the two main gates. The motorcycle was driven around the lot “on patrol” by another costumed player. All in the name of creating an atmosphere of security.
Talk about art imitating life…
Last time I flew down from the Bay Area, it was Michele’s turn to get the “high security” screening. On the whole, I’m still convinced that all the TSA really does is keep folks employed while not really increasing security. Maybe some travelers feel more secure, but frankly I’m not convinced things are better or worse than they ever were before. We watched a woman board our flight carrying a pair of aluminum knitting needles right out in the open. Now I’m no expert, but in the right hands, one has to believe that those could pose a “credible threat”. So I’m still wondering why you can bring them on board.
The TSA has a web page listing all the things you can and can not bring on a flight. Swords are right out…
I’m still chuckling about the airline industry as a whole. Thanks to some bonehead decisions well before 9/11, they had problems. For example, United picked up a bunch of Pam Am’s overseas routes; ones that had been costly and had a habit or three of being notoriously empty. So… Surprise! Flights that don’t fill become product liabilities that don’t add to revenues. Duhhhh…
So when folks like us don’t fly after 9/11, things go from bad to worse and who do they cry to for help? Why folks like you and me in the form of the Federal government, who of course says, “Sure!” Yet, when it comes to Amtrak, a Federal program created to get the railroads out of the passenger business (talk about subsidy!) by the Nixon administration, that will never be profitable but yet serves a good number of folks, Congress tries to play hardball and hold passengers hostage. Somehow the logic of not fully funding a Federal operation that meets passenger needs, but bailing out the airlines that fly with empty seats does? Not in this corner…
A cranky Roger (with a mouthful of breakfast) as the chef on a private car trip.
Back to movie sets for a quick tale. Up in the Mother Lode Gold Country, there is a railroad that you’ve all seen in the movies and on television. The Sierra Railroad was and is a Hollywood favorite with equipment dating back to the turn of the 20th Century. Throw in a countryside that can look like almost anywhere in the West and it was used for everything from silent films up to “Back to the Future III”.
You’ve seen this place and don’t remember it. “Petticoat Junction” had the classic opening with the train and the girls in the water tank. That’s the Sierra’s steam locomotive #3 and their Jamestown water tank. Jamestown is where the railroad had it’s shop facilities complete with a turntable, shop and roundhouse. Today’s it’s part of the California State Park System as the Railtown State Historic Park (also part of the California Railway Museum in Sacramento). The roundhouse and shops also appeared in films and television including “Wild, Wild West”, “Lassie” and “Little House On the Prairie”. Some of my favorite movies shot on the Sierra include “My Little Chickadee” with W.C. Fields and Mae West, the Marx Brothers “Go West”, “Bound For Glory” with David Carradine and “Back to the Future III”.
The Sierra #3 was most prominently seen in the last film as par of the time traveling science experiment. As the railroad’s oldest locomotive, it’s finally getting some well-deserved and needed repairs to keep it operating for another century. If you would like to help out, the CSRM is accepting donations to complete this project.
The town of Hill Valley as seen in BTTF III was constructed on a ranch adjacent to the railroad. What you saw on screen was pretty much what was built out in the wilds of Tuolumne County. Many of the buildings had interiors such as the saloon, the barn and the school teachers house. When the movie finished shooting, the town was left pretty much intact. So, during a visit to friends in the area (before the film came out), I found myself off to explore the town. It was off the beaten path, but if you knew where to turn in off Highway 120, it was an easy drive. Recall that first view of the town in the film at the train station, and you have an idea of what I saw when arriving that afternoon. The owners of the ranch had hired a caretaker to keep an eye on things. He didn’t mind folks touring the set, and even escorted us about the place. AT the time, he said that the owners had hopes of developing it into a movie ranch to be used for other productions. The only building to be torn down was the Courthouse as it was only a false front of a structure being built, and wasn’t all that sturdy to begin with. If a big wind came up, they thought it might just blow over all on it’s own.
One other set nearby was the old Delgado mine. This was where Marty and the Doc spent the night with the Delorean by the campfire. This was just a stroke of luck for the BTTF company as this was an old set left over from a “Little House” episode years before. It was easily seen from the highway for a long time.
Sadly, Mother Nature did in the town and the mine sets. A quick moving wildfire crossed the ridge behind the town one afternoon and destroyed the whole thing. Today it’s only a memory.
Anyway, that’s enough for this time.
Stay tuned kids. It’s going to be an interesting summer in more ways than we can yet imagine…
Next week: We’ll set the “Wayback” machine to the summer of 1976 and a look at my brief radio career at what once was a major player in the San Francisco market.
And if you’re enjoying these columns as much as I enjoy sharing them with you, why not show that support by clicking on the Amazon Honor System Paybox link here? As a friend once said about another electronic device, “Go ahead! It doesn’t hurt a bit!”