Universal Studios Fire 6/1/08

[Adam]

Not sure how many are tracking the story, but apparently the damage includes:
"a set from 'Back to the Future,' the King Kong exhibit and a video vault containing more than 40,000 videos and reels."
I hate to think of what might have been destroyed in that video vault.

[Hopscotch]

Someone posted elsewhere that there were duplicates of everything in the vault? Let's hope that means all the good stuff. And let's hope it's true.

[alandau]

I hope none of the old negatives have been destroyed. That would amount to an irreparable tragedy. Just think 30-40's Paramount!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Saturnome]

It's a video vault that burned. No film, no old nitrate negatives were burnt, I think they aren't kept at Universal Studios but somewhere else.

[Adam]

Fire at Universal Studios

Universal backlot blaze destroys street scenes

By TIMOTHY M. GRAY, DANA HARRIS, DIANE GARRETT

Two popular Universal Studios backlot shooting locations -- New York Street and the "Back to the Future" courthouse square -- went up in smoke Sunday during a ferocious predawn blaze that also incinerated the King Kong amusement park attraction and countless copies of studio films and TV shows in a cavernous video vault.

Hours later, with the fire still burning, the full impact on shooting and themepark operations was unclear.

"Only three to four acres burned," said a Universal rep Sunday afternoon. "There are plenty of other locations." The studio had no info then regarding future production in the affected areas.

The studio initially had hoped to open the theme park but ultimately decided to keep the gates closed Sunday. CityWalk restaurants reopened in the afternoon and the MTV Movie Awards was still skedded for the evening in the Gibson Amphitheater, possibly with a relocated red carpet.

Universal Studios prexy and chief operating Ron Meyer called the blaze a "bad situation" but said it could have been much worse, noting that the studio's main motion picture vault was not affected. More than 40,000 films and TV shows were stored in the video vault that burned, but he said the studio has "lots of duplicates" elsewhere.

"Fortunately, nothing irreplaceable was lost," said Meyer, who walked the lot with longtime fixture Steven Spielberg in the morning to assess the damage.

Meyer confirmed that the fire damaged two of the eight locations for the CBS drama "The Ghost Whisperer" and "completely destroyed" a set that most recently housed "Changeling," a Universal feature directed by Clint Eastwood that just had its premiere at Cannes. A U spokesperson said "Ghost Whisperer" was already on hiatus until mid-June and that the studio would find other locations for it to use when shooting resumed.

Meyer confirmed that a commercial had been shooting over the weekend on the lot's New York street. But a studio rep said there was no production under way at the time the fire ignited sometime around 4:45 a.m.

The Sunday-morning blaze broke out in an area that previously burned during a 1990 fire caused by arson. That fire caused tens of millions of dollars in damages; Spielberg helped rebuild the area back then.

The Los Angeles County Fire Dept. could not immediately determine the cause of Sunday's blaze, which quickly engulfed three to four acres of the 391 acres on the lot. Loud explosions woke nearby residents, but it was not immediately clear whether they caused the fire or were a byproduct of it.

Hundreds of firefighters raced to the scene, but their early efforts were hampered by low water pressure; they drew water from backlot ponds and lakes to aid their work. Several firefighters suffered minor injuries.

"They are our real heroes," Meyer said at a Sunday morning press conference. "I can't thank them enough."

Meyer dismissed reporters' inquiries about the prospect that a bomb threat had been called in shortly before the fire began. "None of us have heard this," he said.

The melting plastic and reels from the video vault spewed toxins into the air around Universal Studios. After much consultation with the fire department and air quality officials, the studio decided to keep the park closed for the day. Health officials advised those in the surrounding area with respiratory problems to avoid outdoor exposure.

After the 1990 blaze, the New York street was rebuilt with reengineered facades that were meant to offer fire retardation and protection, but a fire department spokesman said Sunday's blaze overwhelmed those safety measures. City officials immediately promised a review of fire safety precautions in the wake of Sunday's inferno.

[dx23]

What probably got the fired started and was burned in the lot were all the recalled Hd DVDs. Those things keep bad karma around.

[HerrSchreck]

I heard somebody finally lost it and ran amok w a flamethrower after not being able to see Island of Lost Souls...

[jsteffe]

From what I understand (via a Universal Studios exective), the storage facility *did* contain studio prints in addition to the videocassettes. These included a large percentage of Universal's 35mm rental/screening prints, but not all of them. (Many prints are actually kept at another facility.) What this means is that depending on the title, it may not be possible to screen a 35mm print for the time being, but the main archives should still have elements to strike new prints.

[jaredsap]

From what I understand (via a Universal Studios exective), the storage facility *did* contain studio prints in addition to the videocassettes. These included a large percentage of Universal's 35mm rental/screening prints, but not all of them. (Many prints are actually kept at another facility.) What this means is that depending on the title, it may not be possible to screen a 35mm print for the time being, but the main archives should still have elements to strike new prints.

Yes, this is a far worse situation than the press has been making it out to be. It seems nearly 100% of Universal's non-archival prints have been lost. For instance, someone just told me their screenings of MIDNIGHT and REMEMBER THE NIGHT had to be cancelled because the prints were turned to ash.

[jaredsap]

Actually, I think it's far more tragic than that. Apparently it's all the archival prints that were lost, not the non-archival prints.

[jsteffe]

Actually, I think it's far more tragic than that. Apparently it's all the archival prints that were lost, not the non-archival prints.

According to the communication I received from the Universal Studios executive, "Most of the prints that the studio has been able to loan out were the ones destroyed. The materials needed for replacing them are still safe. As to when replacements will be made is not known at this time."

It's unfortunate, but I'm not sure that it warrants panicking at this point.

[jaredsap]

Actually, I think it's far more tragic than that. Apparently it's all the archival prints that were lost, not the non-archival prints.

According to the communication I received from the Universal Studios executive, "Most of the prints that the studio has been able to loan out were the ones destroyed. The materials needed for replacing them are still safe. As to when replacements will be made is not known at this time."

It's unfortunate, but I'm not sure that it warrants panicking at this point.

Bear in mind archival prints doesn't mean original camera negatives, which, yes, are apparently safe in New Jersey. But it will take Universal years -- probably decades -- to re-strike prints of everything lost.

[ptmd]

It's unfortunate, but I'm not sure that it warrants panicking at this point.

It's a lot more than that. The materials are still there, DVDs can be produced, etc. but it costs thousands and thousands of dollars to strike new prints and it simply won't be practical to do that for most of these. What this means, in practical terms, is that most of these titles are now out of 35mm circulation, possibly forever. Newer or more famous titles are fine, but archival screenings of Universal titles are simply not possible now. Our forthcoming screenings of Psycho and Mulholland Drive are fine, because they're coming from an East Coast depot, but I just had screenings of all of our rarer films (titles like "Make Way for Tomorrow") canceled because the prints no longer exist! This is devastating news...

[jaredsap]

...but I just had screenings of all of our rarer films (titles like "Make Way for Tomorrow") canceled because the prints no longer exist!

God that's painful. I feel sick.

[starmanof51]

The materials are still there, DVDs can be produced, etc. but it costs thousands and thousands of dollars to strike new prints and it simply won't be practical to do that for most of these.

Would it be too Pollyannaish to hope this might actually spur some of these titles to show up on DVD? That in the process of sizing up what would need a re-strike they assume DVD release/sales of those titles to partially or wholly pay for it and they end up getting some of these very titles out on DVD faster than they otherwise would have? Big setback for the rep circuit, some silver lining for DVD collectors?

Yes, too Pollyannaish. Yet I'm going to keep a warm thought.

[Adam]

This is the announcement I was just forwarded by a friend, from the AMIA list (AMIA = Assn. of Moving Image Archivists)

For those who run classic films, Universal just announced:

"It is with great sadness that I must inform you that yesterdays fire destroyed nearly
100% of the archive prints kept here on the lot. Due to this we will be unable to honor
any film bookings of prints that were set to ship from here. Over the next few weeks and
months we will be able to try and piece together what material we do have and if any
prints exist elsewhere. For the time being please check your rental confirmations and
look under shipping instructions. If the print was set to ship from the studio then you
date is now canceled. If the shipping instructions say ship from Deluxe then those dates
are still good."

The good news is that the elements survive. The bad news is that most likely, only the
"big" titles will ever be reprinted in 35mm. Many Universal titles will never be seen in
35mm publicly again."

so much for it just being dubs of videos.

[domino harvey]

And to think that 99% of the world is mourning the King Kong Ride.

[justeleblanc]

Wait, I'm confused. They still have backups of everything in some form, right? And truthfully, it's not as if Universal released any of their films onto DVD anyway.

[Cold Bishop]

Wait, I'm confused. They still have backups of everything in some form, right?

They have negatives to strike prints, create masters, but it appears the archival prints are gone. I don't know if they stored a large number of them elsewhere, but it seems that the majority of their prints were located on the Studio, and that those are all now gone.

And truthfully, it's not as if Universal released any of their films onto DVD anyway.

But that's the problem. With prints gone, were at the mercy of DVDs that will never come, or the chances of them putting up the cost for new prints (not likely). No theatrical screenings at Film Forum or the Egyptian Theatre or whatever your theatre of choice is to finally catch Make Way for Tomorrow or Islands of Lost Soul or any other unavailable film. The only option is to endlessly wait for a DVD, or to try tracking down a bootleg or vhs (if available).

[Saturnome]

I'm too confused now. I thought nothing had happened and now it looks like the end of the world. I can grasp the importance of all this.

[jaredsap]

And the answer to your second point is - nobody knows if there are backup prints. Anywhere.

This is a horrendous and heartbreaking situation, but I can confirm that UCLA's archive has nitrate prints of the entire pre-1950s Paramount library. They also have Preservation prints and elements for many of the Lubitsch, Sternberg, DeMille, Leison Paramount titles. But Universal would still need to strike new archival prints to get these films back into repertory circulation.

[justeleblanc]

Would the chances of Criterion now coming in and releasing these films become smaller or greater?

[Adam]

To the last question, I think it would have no effect. More from Yahoo news:

The video vault, housing 40,000 to 50,000 videos and film reels, was destroyed, but Gardner said the contents were digital or film copies, not the master negatives kept elsewhere.

The prints were high quality copies of old 35-millimeter film prints, the studio said. The loss could affect upcoming screenings of classic movies at museums, festivals and theaters.

Universal sent an e-mail Monday to film exhibitors to inform them that the fire obliterated most of the archive prints that were booked for summer screenings.

"Due to this we will be unable to honor any film bookings of prints that were set to ship from here," the memo said.

Making new film prints cost $5,000 or more each, and take months to produce.

The fire also destroyed a portion of Universal Music Group's recordings, primarily big band and jazz recordings on the Decca label and video copies of Universal movies and television shows.

Music stored in the vault also had backup copies, said Peter LoFrumento, a spokesman for Universal Music Group, now a subsidiary of Vivendi SA. It was unclear if the recordings were originals, he said.

[Cinephrenic]

I don't understand why archives like these are not stored in special fire-proof climate controlled places. What if a fire broke out in the real negatives was destroyed, then what?

[HerrSchreck]

This is absolutely abysmal, totally unbelievable. These prints should have been stored within a concrete/fireproofed structure so that even a very hot, spreading fire would bypass it.

How does it feel NBC? The whole cineaste population of the planet is moaning over your carelessnesss for a second time. Indugle a moment of /b/tard speak viz NBCUniversal (from a man w 1sthand exp)..: