tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post5361347765986832599..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: How'd you like to go to work here everyday?By Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19770836233128587522009-04-29T22:12:00.000-07:002009-04-29T22:12:00.000-07:00Actual Star Wars geek here, D. McEwan.
Yes, it's...Actual Star Wars geek here, D. McEwan. <br /><br />Yes, it's true, Rick Baker <I>did</I> work on the cantina scene, although I've always heard Lucas was less than pleased with his efforts and several of the creatures that got CG'd over in the '97 Special Edition were Baker's(I could be wrong on that). <br /><br />I would guess that any set material that may have been sitting around the Fox lot was used for pick-ups done after primary shooting was completed. Lucas is known to have been tinkering and editing the movie right up until the day of its release. Legend has it some of the prints arrived at their theaters still wet...jasonhttp://www.jasonbennion.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-23692971687316964282009-04-24T05:41:00.000-07:002009-04-24T05:41:00.000-07:00Speaking of studios, there's now a Yahoo! group ca...Speaking of studios, there's now a Yahoo! group called "StudioBacklots," dedicated to studios past and present. Their archive has several hundred photos of film and TV studios -- including some aerial shots (I found eight taken from the 1923 "Blue Book Of The Screen." . Quite interesting. It's at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StudioBacklots/VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67263509773735554722009-04-22T23:25:00.000-07:002009-04-22T23:25:00.000-07:00"thery"???
I swear I pressed the "O" key when I t..."thery"???<br /><br />I swear I pressed the "O" key when I typed "theory," but I guess not hard enough. I gotta proof-read my comments.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56662006786860148512009-04-22T23:12:00.000-07:002009-04-22T23:12:00.000-07:00"Mr. Peel said...
Re: STAR WARS. Weren't the bulk..."Mr. Peel said... <br />Re: STAR WARS. Weren't the bulk of the creatures in the cantina sequence part of a reshoot that was done in L.A. after the fact with the masks designed by Rick Baker? Could that have been part of what Ken saw?"<br /><br />Interesting thery. It sounds perfectly plausable to me. I never heard of Rick Baker, who at the time should have been reeling with shame for his performance as King Kong in the ghastly DeLaurentis version of KK the year before, having been involved in STAR WARS, but I'm no expert on SW. What we need is an actual SW geek who does know this stuff, but they seem unlikely readers of this blog.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33798893416160455532009-04-22T19:24:00.000-07:002009-04-22T19:24:00.000-07:00Re: STAR WARS. Weren't the bulk of the creatures i...Re: STAR WARS. Weren't the bulk of the creatures in the cantina sequence part of a reshoot that was done in L.A. after the fact with the masks designed by Rick Baker? Could that have been part of what Ken saw? Could some of it have been used for, so help me, the Holiday Special? Just putting the possibility out there. <br /><br />Paramount's my favorite too, but nothing wrong with Fox.Mr. Peel aka Peter Avellinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10553482286909862975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75491514481302552652009-04-22T15:43:00.000-07:002009-04-22T15:43:00.000-07:00Doug, it's said the world is divided into two camp...Doug, it's said the world is divided into two camps: Those who like the Stooges and those who don't. I know the Stooge haters exist, I just don't understand what kind of genetic abnormality prevents them from enjoying those great funny men. But I accept it and hold no animosity for those unable to watch the boys do their stuff. Chacun a son gout.Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-5954639518879613892009-04-22T11:41:00.000-07:002009-04-22T11:41:00.000-07:00CBS Radford, though fairly small, was a lot I spen...<I>CBS Radford, though fairly small, was a lot I spent numerous days on, and was the home of so many MTM shows, (MARY TYLER MOORE, both Newhart shows, both WKRP shows), but I discovered that's where they also filmed much of GUNSMOKE and THE WILD WILD WEST (the TV show, not the Will Smith movie), not to mention GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, MY THREE SONS, ST. ELSEWHERE, THIRTYSOMETHING, SEINFELD, ROSEANNE and a bunch of others...</I>"That '70s Show" used the same soundstage as "MTM" and "Seinfeld," but the lot's history goes all the way back to the days of Mack Sennett, as I wrote in an entry at my blog some time ago (shameless plug):<br /><br />http://community.livejournal.com/carole_and_co/46765.html <br /><br /><I>My tounge was solidly across my molars on the comment about Fox's picking a bad location -- of course all the studios were original built out on the edges of town in the teens through the early 1940s, and it's unlikely there were crack dealers wearing straw hats and bowties outside the Paramount gates circa 1922 (hookers dressed up doing the Charleston and sounding like Helen Kane? That's another story, and probably one that never made it onto one of those Paramount on Parade one-reelers).</I>If you've ever read about ill-fated early Paramount star Wallace Reid, who died as an addict at the height of his fame, you know the drug dealers of 1922 didn't need to stand outside the studio gates.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-51162216917616306722009-04-22T01:19:00.000-07:002009-04-22T01:19:00.000-07:00"Anonymous said...
Late, really late, one night I ..."Anonymous said...<br />Late, really late, one night I was copying scripts, delivering scripts around the lot and one of the night guards invited me to check out one of the gigantic sound stages where hook was beind produced."<br /><br />Was the stench on the HOOK set horrible beyond belief?<br /><br />Because that movie stank to high heaven. I don't just want my money back. I want the two-plus hours it soiled in my life back.<br /><br />Cheers.Tallulah Moreheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416330735326405496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26843020027470519502009-04-21T21:55:00.000-07:002009-04-21T21:55:00.000-07:00Zelda was never in LA when Scott was working. Sorr...Zelda was never in LA when Scott was working. Sorry. <br /><br />Paramount is the best lot, with the most history, but FOX is very cool. Pity about the research library.Kate Coehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07053201400454163801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8758190015981703802009-04-21T20:31:00.000-07:002009-04-21T20:31:00.000-07:00On the lot of the studio that produced The Snows o...On the lot of the studio that produced <B>The Snows of Kilimanjaro</B> there is the dried and frozen carcass of a horax. No one has explained what the Star Wars creature was seeking in that lassitude from a Fox, so far from the ice planet Hoth. Possibly a 3-picture deal? But that was a long time ago in another century, on an avenue of stars, now far, far away.A. Buck Shorthttp://roger-burke.dailykos.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64745570295726152982009-04-21T19:44:00.000-07:002009-04-21T19:44:00.000-07:00Thanks for the memories. They WERE "Star Wars" set...Thanks for the memories. They WERE "Star Wars" sets. I was on the lot in that era when 20th still had a record company and that stupid outer space movie was yet to be released.<br /><br />Back then the food in the commissary was actually good. And best of all, the dinnerware all had the old searchlight logo.Randyhttp://www.tvrandywest.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16238447110264041612009-04-21T19:36:00.000-07:002009-04-21T19:36:00.000-07:00Worked on a Miller/Boyett show on the former Lorim...Worked on a Miller/Boyett show on the former Lorimar, now Sony lot in Culver City. This was around 1991. In the "Gable Building" to be exact.<br /><br />So one day all the women run to one end of the production offices screaming, oooing and Ahhhing. Turns out Kevin Coster drove up in an old Camaro to do some post work.<br /><br />One day Barbra Streisand walks by also heading toward a post production office.<br /><br />A while later Spielberg and crew took over several of the large sound stages to work on Hook. Late, really late, one night I was copying scripts, delivering scripts around the lot and one of the night guards invited me to check out one of the gigantic sound stages where hook was beind produced. We walked around for a while just checkin the place out.<br /><br />Awesome times being on that lot!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-86569603977326222122009-04-21T18:49:00.000-07:002009-04-21T18:49:00.000-07:00D --
My tounge was solidly across my molars on th...D --<br /><br />My tounge was solidly across my molars on the comment about Fox's picking a bad location -- of course all the studios were original built out on the edges of town in the teens through the early 1940s, and it's unlikely there were crack dealers wearing straw hats and bowties outside the Paramount gates circa 1922 (hookers dressed up doing the Charleston and sounding like Helen Kane? That's another story, and probably one that never made it onto one of those Paramount on Parade one-reelers).<br /><br />Paramount was/is just lucky that their section of town is not one that is hot on the real estate market and that Charlie Bludhorn was smart enough to buy out Lucy and merge the RKO and Paramount lots in 1967. Being in what turned out to be a better neighborhood was actually worse for Fox's back lot (though if someone like Kirk Kerkorian is hell-bent on selling off a back lot even in a not-so-hot area like Culver City because he only needed the studio's name for his casinos, there's not much you can do to save the place).Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14998914053392990342009-04-21T18:03:00.000-07:002009-04-21T18:03:00.000-07:00Cap'n Bob,
"Knuckledragger":
Someon...Cap'n Bob,<br /><br />"Knuckledragger":<br />Someone over the age of 11 who insists The 3 Stooges are funny. They are not worthy to touch the hem of Stan Laurel's frock coat. <br /><br />The only one of them with any real comic potential was Curly. Shemp was a solid supporting comic player in such films as BUCK PRIVATES, THE BANK DICK, and THE INVISIBLE WOMAN. (In THE INVISIBLE WOMAN, you have Shemp Howard acting with John Barrymore. There is something DEEPLY wrong with that.) He is unwatchable in the Stooges' stuff. I enjoyed Joe Besser when he was sparring with Lou Costello as "Stinky" ("I'll harm you!"), I even read his autobiography, but not in the Stooges. Moe was every school bully I ever loathed. Who could love that horrible, vicious character? And what was Larry Fine doing there at all? What did he contribute? And why would I want to watch a bunch of grown men hitting each other? (My same reason for loathing boxing.)<br /><br />(Okay, the name "Shemp" is a funny word. A friend of mine sometimes performs, tongue-in-cheek, the horrible old Elvis Presley song about a dog, OLD SHEP. But when he sings it as OLD SHEMP, it becomes hilarious.)<br /><br />I'm prepared. I had this debate with a close friend for 27 years, until I won by default when my friend died. He knew better than to leave his sizable Stooges collection to me. The irony was that I had seen the stooges perform live onstage, had seen in person Larry and Moe tape a talk show appearance with Lohman & Barkley (Mickey Rooney was also on the show. Moe and Larry, as I'm sure you know, were soft-spoken offscreen. Rooney was, as usual, so loud, obnoxious, and egotistical that I found myself wishing Moe would slip into character long enough to club Rooney with a crowbar.), and I ran into Curly Joe DeRita in a hotel lobby once. My Stooges fanatic friend never set eyes on them in 3-D in his whole life.<br /><br />That they shot some film delivering ice up those same steps as L&H did in their lone Oscar-winning film only shows their lack of originality. "Let's do a lousy rip-off of Laurel & Hardy's Oscar-winning masterpiece."<br /><br />When I want to watch grown men poke each other, I'll watch gay porn. (Good idea. I have some here. Bye.)D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78745122774266164492009-04-21T16:54:00.000-07:002009-04-21T16:54:00.000-07:00In one of the William Goldman books -I think it wa...In one of the William Goldman books -I think it was the sequel to Adventures in the Screen Trade- Goldman worried that Butch Cassidy couldn't be made today. He pointed to the exchange Ken quoted as an example of the weaknesses in his screenplay. He said a real bank robber type wouldn't say something so witty, ...small price to pay for beauty.<br /><br />As Paul Newman delivered it, small price to pay for beauty was great.Max Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07706524941272103444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-17556535274464192302009-04-21T16:35:00.000-07:002009-04-21T16:35:00.000-07:00The stairway used for Laurel & Hardy as piano ...The stairway used for Laurel & Hardy as piano movers was indeed the one used by the Three Stooges to deliver ice. No matter what Doug says, they're icons of American slapstick humor. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.<br /><br />WV: liesses. What people say when they insist the Stooges ain't funny.Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63308974869203262712009-04-21T15:18:00.000-07:002009-04-21T15:18:00.000-07:00"John Hudgens said...
the only US shooting for th..."John Hudgens said... <br />the only US shooting for the original (STAR WARS)was location stuff out in Death Valley (the same canyon was reused for Raiders)."<br /><br />Actually that canyon, from both STAR WARS and RAIDERS (And you're right that it's the exact same canyon), is in Tunesia, VERY far away from Death Valley.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-42795326968476061082009-04-21T15:14:00.000-07:002009-04-21T15:14:00.000-07:00"Mate Famber said...
Ken,
You pissed off the 'Sta..."Mate Famber said... <br />Ken,<br />You pissed off the 'Star Wars' geeks."<br /><br />Who is pissed off, and who are you calling a STAR WARS geek?<br /><br />I'm just trying to figure out what the sets Ken saw were doing 6000 miles away from where the movie was shot. I'm not doubting him, just puzzled by it. That STAR WARS was shot in England is a well-known fact. You don't have to be a geek to know it. Just a film buff.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54392997116060812102009-04-21T14:45:00.001-07:002009-04-21T14:45:00.001-07:00Ken,
You pissed off the "Star Wars" geeks.
Nice ...Ken,<br /><br />You pissed off the "Star Wars" geeks. <br />Nice knowin ya.Mate Famberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14377697603459454661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61955050998403846092009-04-21T14:45:00.000-07:002009-04-21T14:45:00.000-07:00Oh, and speaking of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL,...Oh, and speaking of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, the famous opening scenes with the flying saucer in the park were also shot on what later became Century City.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88227796507928239892009-04-21T14:41:00.000-07:002009-04-21T14:41:00.000-07:00"jbryant said...
D. - Didn't the Three S..."jbryant said... <br />D. - Didn't the Three Stooges make a trip up those stairs, too, with a block of ice?"<br /><br />How would I know? I haven't voluntarlily sat through a 3 Stooges film since puberty. They are not worthy of following in the footsteps (ripping off?) the magnificent Laurel & Hardy. Hacks vs Genius.<br /><br />"John said... <br />Location, location, location -- in this case, Fox's lot was in too good a place not to attract the real estate wolves. If they had been smart, they would have located in a crappy area like Paramount"<br /><br />John, it wasn't a crappy area back when the studio was founded, nor was 20th in a "good place" when it was founded.<br /><br />"KEN LEVINE said... <br />They were STAR WARS sets. Randomly lying around. Because I saw them before I saw the movie and after I had seen STAR WARS I said to my partner, 'Hey, those are from that space movie'."<br /><br />So the question arises: what were they doing there? The movie was not shot in California, nor even in America. Now it's a full-fledged mystery. <br /><br />"Tom Quigley said... <br />Perhaps since George Lucas was already tentatively planning at least two sequels, he might have had some of the sets sent back to Fox from England in anticipation that they'd be used again..."<br /><br />So they could be sent BACK to England again? That makes no sense at all? Besides, the interiors of the Millenium Falcon were pretty much the only re-used sets.<br /><br />Maybe some were reproduced in California at the studio for some quick post-production reshoots. <br /><br />Once on the Universal tour I saw the 5 story interior set built for THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN. The guide said: "This was Robert Wise's first science fiction movie."<br /><br />I stuck up my hand and asked: "What about THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL?"<br /><br />Guide: "What is THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL?"<br /><br />Me: "One of the greatest science ficiton classic films of all-time, directed by Robert Wise in 1951."<br /><br />Guide: "I've never heard of it."<br /><br />Me: "Then you aren't qualified to guide this tour. When you just spew out ignorant, made-up, non-facts, like calling THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN Robert Wise's first science fiction film, you're providing anti-information. You're making us less informed, not more. Why should we listen to you if you don't even know the classic films, let alone know what you're talking about?"<br /><br />The guide and I were at odds the rest of the tour. I realize they can't just hire knowledgable film buffs for tour guides, but they ought to have at least provided them with ACCURATE information to dispense.<br /><br />WV: brefr: a briefer form of "briefer."D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-72958843703799864862009-04-21T14:03:00.000-07:002009-04-21T14:03:00.000-07:00"Of the many movie lots I was fortunate to work at..."Of the many movie lots I was fortunate to work at, 20th was probably my favorite."<br /><br />Hey--wait a minute. You vote for Fox over Paramount? Paramount with its iconic Bronson gate and the old writers' building from SUNSET BLVD? The big blue sky? A real back lot? Where CITIZEN KANE and <br />I LOVE LUCY were shot? THE GODFATHER; Hope and Crosby; Martin and Lewis; Cheech and Chong???<br /><br />We deserve a tour of your home for the greatest part of your career.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44265720053335909552009-04-21T13:54:00.000-07:002009-04-21T13:54:00.000-07:00When I worked there in the 80s, the Fox lot was a ...When I worked there in the 80s, the Fox lot was a special transitional place with footholds in the future and the past.<br /><br />The studio "hospital" (like the nurse's office in junior high) was Shirley Temple's old dressing room building. The old barn where they kept Tom Mix and others' horses was the ad-pub warehouse<br /><br />But my two favorites were Dolly Street and the map of the lot the studio published. My office was behind the New York Library set with the two lions, Faithful and Prudence, flanking the stairs. But DOLLY had been shot about 15 years earlier and an ivy vine had grown up inside one of the hollow statues and come out its mouth, making it look as though the lion was sticking its tongue out at who knows what.<br /><br />The other was the building attached to the main music scoring stage. On the map in my employee's handbook it was identified as the <br />"organ blower room." The new maps no longer combine scoring and organ blower.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26462536026285648412009-04-21T13:25:00.000-07:002009-04-21T13:25:00.000-07:00Sometimes, in this clairvoyant world we all live i...Sometimes, in this clairvoyant world we all live in, I'd be content scanning your content for capitals. But really, I just want to know what the script question would've been. What do actors ask writers about scripts? Or are we talking prescriptions, and you just don't want to admit it?growingupartistshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12399714569663568902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-73684592876773724842009-04-21T11:45:00.000-07:002009-04-21T11:45:00.000-07:00Great post. Thanks for the "tour." I'd love to rea...Great post. Thanks for the "tour." I'd love to read more stuff like this.Jeff Tompkinshttp://jefftompkins.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com