Special Effects Stage

[smoaT]

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.

Tum tum... well in the same note of Universal not having hits... I was actually surprised that Universal has never gotten a movie with a 100+ million opening weekend. Fast and Furious technically didn't do it either since it was a long weekend and it gather 96.8 million on the 3-day weekend; 120 million for the 4-day weekend. This is becoming one of their highest grossing movies ever and it's just on 500 million now. I am surprised that the movie is not breaking records in the industry, only for Universal standards. Warner Bros. has 4 movies that crossed the billion mark and Disney has 6. Universal has 0 (this grosses are unadjusted for inflation. If they were Universal fares a bit better).When I went to see the movie (the first one of the franchise I have seen and well it was so so) I heard the Universal fanfare and realized I almost never go to see Universal Movies. It's a shame how a once great studio now is struggling to make great movies as they used to. Jurassic Park still remains as their highest grossing movie ever and that movie came out 20 years ago (unadjusted, because if it's adjusted for inflation ET is their highest grossing movie ever, which makes the case even worse since that movie came out 31 years ago). I just wish that Universal gets better executives with the guts to take chances. It has worked for WB. They took one unknown director and risked giving him one of the greatest projects ever and revolutionized the entire industry: Chris Nolan with Batman Begins. Many directors thank him for taking the genre into whole new directions that many though impossible to reach. They need to take chances and take risky projects as the old days. Jaws, E.T. and Jurassic Park where so risky but they had so much passion behind them that turned out to be great movies. I want to be amazed by Universal once again...

 

[Jon Fu]

^ Doesn't help that Universal currently has the longest serving studio-head in history.

Makes you wonder.

 

[smoaT]

^ Doesn't help that Universal currently has the longest serving studio-head in history.

Makes you wonder.

Forgot to mention the risks taken for Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings for the same studio. Stablished books, but too risky to take them to the screen. And with the longest serving studio-head, one has to wonder if they need a fresher take on things

 

[Jon Fu]

On a somewhat unrelated note, anyone know why Special Effects has a monitor out like this? From what I've seen, it doesn't display anything useful - just the show logo.

 

[Allen The Actor]

I wonder if its one of those "why the hell not, we have a few extea monitors" type of things

Or maybe they'll be switching to all digital show times? Interesting though, very random.

I'd rather the money spent on this tv be spent on the stucco exterior of Animal Actors :/

 

[Jon Fu]

The odd thing is that the current show time system is pretty effective. The red LEDs are much more readable in comparison to this, and I'm assuming they're easier to change.


I have a feeling it's your first point.

 

[ItsAtrap]

They were put in during the Bill and Ted show to show clips from previous shows and a sort of pre-show.

During rain days when Blues Brothers and Amimal Actors are moved there the logo and show times of

each show is put on the monitors.

 

[Jon Fu]

They were put in during the Bill and Ted show to show clips from previous shows and a sort of pre-show.


During rain days when Blues Brothers and Amimal Actors are moved there the logo and show times of


each show is put on the monitors.

That sounds right. Thanks for the insight and welcome!

 

[BigBSerrano]

Haha no, I just thought you assumed I meant the continuous Eminem, Law & Order, Seinfeld, and Friends music fell under the Mamma Mia ride category. 

Can someone tell me why they play the Friends & Seinfeld music at the stairway? How is it related to Universal?

 

[Jonathan]

Friends and Seinfeld were on NBC

 

[BigBSerrano]

Thats right!!

 

[Jon Fu]

Just filmed this yesterday:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/96ekS9q4m18?feature=oembed

 

[BernardMesa]

Peter!

 

[Allen The Actor]

Awesome editing Jon!!!

I still wish they had more practical/"classic" effects to showcase. More interesting in a show IMO...

And geez, that astronaut bit still annoys me so much... :/

 

[ItsAtrap]

Nice editing.

I gotta say I really don't like the latest version of the show.
 And I don't like that Jerry. The bald guy who does it is hysterical.

Peter is great. What a funny guy. They seem to be taking all

the humor out of the show. I like that they promote new Universal

product but the Despicable Me part just goes on and on. And

it's about animation, not special effects. I, too, would like more

practical effects. I'd like to see a version of the Foley stage they

did on the lower lot. Kinda funny to use Despicable Me and get

some guests up there on stage to do sounds and even the minion

voices.

Nice to see this, Jon. Good work!

 

[Allen The Actor]

^ amazing suggestion! Have guests come up and record a minion voiceover! There needs to be more interactive elements from the previous incarnation. The show feels unbelievably long but the "fun" segments are way too short.

 

[Jon Fu]

I gotta say I really don't like the latest version of the show.
 And I don't like that Jerry. The bald guy who does it is hysterical.

Peter is great. What a funny guy. They seem to be taking all

the humor out of the show.

I agree. I've seen the bald guy before, and he's usually pretty good. Peter is great, but it seems like they're sucking the humor out.

I remember this bit a few months back that genuinely made me laugh. Theme park appropriate for all ages? Maybe not. But it's nothing you wouldn't find on cable.

I saw three performances on the day I filmed that show, and they seemed to have cut this "bit" out. Not sure if it was due to a guest complaint or what, but they aren't giving the actors much to worth with. Plus, it's a large room. Comedy usually works better in an intimate environment.

Orlando's Horror Make-Up show reminded me of our old Special Effects Stage. Same humor too. Not raunchy, but something that definitely pushes the limit of theme park entertainment.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/xLSKZtQMzUI?feature=oembed

 

[Allen The Actor]

Gosh, Jon I can rewatch that video of the horror make up show all the time. They're hilarious (that lady...needs to come here) and the show is so tight knit, just like our old one. They can easily redo the show like how it used to be (or almost) by simply reintroducing funny interactive moments like before. The voice over and sound effects segment would be hilarious again, as would more practical effects and more audience participation. They rely too much on the screens....

If I wanna see behind the scenes stuff on screens, I can watch a behind the scenes featurette on any DVD. I wanna see more examples in front of me. And when it's with a random audience member, it's hilarious!

And why on earth did they remove the creature segment from the show?! It was hilarious...

There's too much pre recorded and fake stuff in the current SES. The motion capture segment with Jerry is all completely pre recorded and rehearsed. And the astronaut bit is not funny after the first time.

 

[William]

Orlando's Horror Make Up Show is downright hilarious. I saw it last time with two female hosts (one of them being the one in that video Jon posted) and they were a hit. I wish we had some humor we didn't groan at.

 

[Allen The Actor]

Also, while humor IS more difficult in a larger space, it's not impossible. Look at the Genie in DCA's Aladdin. That show has been a hit for 10 years!