comment #1

romeoisbleeding says ...

There has been some coverage on CNN. I think they mentioned some film vaults being in danger which is very sad. I think they also said something about sound stages and rides involved. It looks hugs from the video on tv. One of the shots showed a massive roof caving in. The news keeps going back and forth from the fire to political news. Will write more if I see more.

comment #2

corey3rd says ...

does anyone know if the film vault on fire is on that has actual camera negatives or is this the vault that stores the 35mm prints they rent out so that they're copies.

It was bad enough nearly 20 years ago when Universal had the vault purge and dumped all their extra footage.

comment #3

Reedyb says ...

One news item I saw said that something was filming before the fire and may have been part of the explosion that set it off.

Any word on that or what movies may be impacted by the flames.

That is ghoulish and self-serving, I guess, but I haven't heard of any casualties, so I'm thinking it's ok to wonder?

comment #4

Teacher's Pets says ...

King Kong has burned...'twas FX propane fireballs killed the beast.

comment #5

romeoisbleeding says ...

Nikki Finke has posted this info.....

A huge fire described as an "inferno" on Universal City's lower backlot broke out before dawn today and destroyed several buildings, sets and a sound stage and damaged a video vault, causing tens of millions of dollars worth of damage. "It looked like a bomb had exploded," one Burbank city official exclaimed. Among the sets damaged were the New York City and New England streetscapes, and among the buildings one housing the King Kong exhibit and one sound stage. In the archives building next door, Universal employees were bringing out hundreds and hundreds of containers of video vault material hand to hand to save it from the flames. Universal Studios president/COO Ron Meyer appeared at a news conference this morning alongside fire department and city and county officials to clarify what was, and wasn't, damaged or destroyed. Calling the fire fighters "real heroes" who arrived on the scene in record time while the flames were burning out of , Meyer said he wanted to "make clear" that the theme park was not affacted and would open at noon. What was damaged was the video library, he said. "But our main vault of motion picture negatives was not." In terms of the videos, "nothing irreplaceable was lost. We have duplicates. Obviously there's a lot of work to replicate what was lost, but it can be done," Meyer explained. He also said no shows or movies were affected "at all." by the fire. He noted that the TV series Ghost Whisperer uses 8 different locations and 2 were damaged but that it wouldn't hamper the show. And he said only a commercial was shooting on the New York streetsscape. "We were very lucky today. It's a bad situation but it could have been worse," he concluded.

The blaze was first reported in a sound stage on the studio back lot at about 4:45 a.m., and about 400 local firefighters were helping Universal Studios' own firefighters quench the fire. Several acres on the 230-acre back lot were burning at one point, creating a black cloud over the famed Hollywood Hills. Though the fire is contained, it is still raging. According to the fire departmnents, the flames "blew very fast" through the area of the New York street facades, then moved through Courthouse Square where Back To The Future was shot, then engulfed the King Kong building, totally destoying its inside. Hampering firefirghter efforts inside the video vault building was the thick black smoke billowing from all those plastic containers on fire. Salvage efforts involved moving "hundreds and hundreds" of videos out of that structure, while the building itself was drowned with water. Three firefighters received minor injuries, and another suffered heat exhaustion.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation. But today's inferno at Universal City is eerily burning many of the same back lot areas destroyed by a disastrous blaze in 1990. In that fire, gale-force Santa Ana winds whipped flames through the New York Street, the set used for the film Ben Hur, and most of the Courthouse Square facades. That damage was estimated at more than $50 million, and an elaborate reconstruction project took several years to rebuild the sets. The 1990 fire was officially ruled arson and reportedly deliberately set by a security guard with a cigarette lighter.

comment #6

George Prager says ...

Meyer added that "in no way will this affect the company's DVD release schedule," noting that "The Last Movie and Diary of a Mad Housewife are still scheduled to be released in November 2032."

comment #7

Suki Jonze says ...

Save the Clocktower?! Doc Brown too late! Back to the Future set destroyed as Universal Studio blazes on…
http://www.hollywood-newsroom.com/news/save-the-clocktown-doc-brown-too-late-back-to-the-future-set-destroyed-as-universal-studio-blazes-on/

comment #8

MrClever says ...

You know, I was never able to detect a banana smell in the King Kong part of the tram ride. I wonder why.

comment #9

Movie fan09 says ...

Posted by George Prager at June 1, 2008 10:52 AM

Save the Clocktower?! Doc Brown too late! Back to the Future set destroyed as Universal Studio blazes on…
http://www.hollywood-newsroom.com/news/save-the-clocktown-doc-brown-too-late-back-to-the-future-set-destroyed-as-universal-stu

slightly off topic:
http://www.hollywood-newsroom.com/rumors/cryer-spader-get-in-rodriguezs-shorts/

I guess he's showing his true colors?

comment #10

vp19 says ...

While I'm sorry to see some of the sets and props burned, they can be replaced. I'm thankful that apparently no one is hurt and that no motion picture negatives were damaged. (And keep in mind Universal's holdings include not only its own product, but several hundred pre-1948 Paramount films.)

comment #11

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comment #12

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