Fire at Universal Studios

EddyW

EddyW

Active member
Oh no! That is terrible indeed! I remember a fire a few years back at the Aardman studio just after they finished Curse of the Wererabbit. Almost everything that was built for that film was destroyed.
 
Goonie

Goonie

New member
fixer79 said:
Terrible news...

And if I remember correctly, this isn't the first time...
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I know this is a second fire, could be a third.

Do they still got that burning house there? They never seemed to be able to put that one out. ;)
 
Michael24

Michael24

New member
I was surprised to read about the fire this morning. Although I don't remember when the last fire was (I thought they had a minor one 5-6 years ago), Courthouse Square was also damaged/destroyed by fire back in the early-90s as well. Hopefully they'll have it rebuilt it no time. Especially since it's the primary set for Ghost Whisperer, which should go back into production for Season 4 sometime in August.

Sad that the original set as it was used in Back to the Future no longer exists. :( When I took the studio's VIP Backlot Tour in 2005, our tram actually stopped in the square and less us walk around on the lawn infront of the courthouse for several minutes to take pictures. Even though it really looked nothing like it did in BTTF (the actual rooftop clock tower part of the courthouse is usually not even there), it was still very cool to actually be standing there in the same spot where it was filmed.

Goonie said:
Do they still got that burning house there? They never seemed to be able to put that one out. ;)
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I think the "burning house" was gone from the backlot by the late-80s. I remember it well, though. Universal Studios has really changed a lot since the '80s.
 
Nurhachi1991

Nurhachi1991

Well-known member
Yeah I read the article this morning a tear came to my eye when I read about King Kong I had so many great memories about Universal.........




Why does Universal hate BTTF so much? Why did they make it the Simpsons Ride :mad:
 
Twilightpro101

Twilightpro101

New member
Part of it is they don't want to build on their property and the other part is it's cheaper for them to just replace old rides with new ones. Or at least that's what the employees at the park continually spill in regards to matters.

Fixer, you would be correct. This is the 3rd fire.
 
Michael24

Michael24

New member
Yeah, I remember we went to Universal just after it first opened, and it was awesome. I hope they'll rebuild it, and it'd be a good time to update the TV news broadcasts you can see through the apartment windows.

EDIT: Just saw this information as well.

It looks like more was damaged or destroyed in today's Universal Studios fire than anyone previously thought. I've learned that Universal Music, which is a completely separate company and owned by Vivendi (which owns 20% of NBC Universal), rents space in the huge video vault housed on the studio lot. But one source tells me that, as a consequence, inside the video vault that was billowing thick black smoke were 1000's of original Decca, MCA, ABC recording masters from the last century including a wide range of music from Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters to Judy Garland and The Carpenters. "This is a tremendous loss in music history. A very sad day indeed. It's too bad they saved the videos that they have backups on instead of the master recordings in which they do not, although they may not have had a choice since the fire had already engulfed much of the music side of the vault," a source just told me. Universal Studios tells me it can't confirm what has been damaged or destroyed music-wise at this point because it doesn't yet know what exactly was housed in the storage rented to Universal Music.
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:(
 
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I

IndyCam

New member
I was honestly devastated when I heard the news this morning. As a film buff it breaks my heart that so much film history was destroyed including the BTTF(and other films) clocktower. I hope that everything will be back on track soon. The Industry is having a rough year.
 
F

fixer79

New member
xfkirsten said:
Really a shame about King King - that was a classic Universal Studios attraction!
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That's odd... I always thought King Kong was burnt in one of the previous fires when I was around ten or something... around 1989...

Maybe it was the original 1933 Kong that was destroyed back then and this time it's the 1976 Kong...

Does anyone know this?
 
Michael24

Michael24

New member
I think the Kong exhibit that burned down Sunday is the only such one they've ever had. Opened sometime in the late-80s, I believe, though I don't remember the exact date.
 
No Ticket

No Ticket

New member
That really sucks about courthouse square. That's one of the biggest parts of Back to the Future. So much was shot there. Really sad. Same goes for the Kong attraction. I can't believe it's gone. :(

Crazy that, while I was watching the MTV Movie Awards earlier tonight, it was only right next door to the fire. Well, pretty much. They said it was adjacent to Universal Studios' back lot and that they continued filming because that area was unaffected.
 
F

fixer79

New member
Michael24 said:
I think the Kong exhibit that burned down Sunday is the only such one they've ever had. Opened sometime in the late-80s, I believe, though I don't remember the exact date.
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Oooh, you mean the theme park Kong? The one that's part of the studios tour right after or before the flooded subway?
 
Michael24

Michael24

New member
fixer79 said:
Oooh, you mean the theme park Kong? The one that's part of the studios tour right after or before the flooded subway?
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Yeah, it's the one where the tram goes into the building and crosses the bridge as Kong shakes it and breathes his banana-scented breath at you. :D

No Ticket said:
Crazy that, while I was watching the MTV Movie Awards earlier tonight, it was only right next door to the fire. Well, pretty much. They said it was adjacent to Universal Studios' back lot and that they continued filming because that area was unaffected.
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The Movie Awards were broadcast from the Gibson Amphitheatre, which is located inside Universal Studios, but it's away from the backlot and the fire area in particular. It's actually upfront near the main entrance, pretty much adjacent to the Waterworld stunt show. I've been to a couple concerts there in the last few years and it's a really nice place.
 
M

Maybe.Not Today

New member
Very Sad news. It's strange because it sounds like it was a fairly large fire and i was at universal citywalk that night as it was happening, and didnt notice any signs of fire..infact i didnt even find out till i heard the news sunday morning.
 
Michael24

Michael24

New member
Was it Saturday night you were at CityWalk? Because the fire started Sunday morning and was apparently contained by the end of the day.
 
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