Under Steve's Hat

FIRST PEEK—At the new Watchmen trailer. Next year...

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:09:00 -0700

FIRST PEEK—At the new Watchmen trailer. Next year can’t come fast enough!

UPDATE: Looks like YouTube is being spotty, so you can watch it in higher resolution off this page.

CRAZY CATCH—It’s a Gatorade ad, but it’s very...

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:54:00 -0700

CRAZY CATCH—It’s a Gatorade ad, but it’s very well done!

THE VIEW FROM MY OFFICE—Surprisingly, it doesn’t...

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:06:41 -0700

THE VIEW FROM MY OFFICE—Surprisingly, it doesn’t stink in my building.

THE BIG FIRE—So I woke up this morning to a phone call and...

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 11:56:00 -0700

THE BIG FIRE—So I woke up this morning to a phone call and 3 text messages saying Universal Studios was ablaze. Most of the fire is contained now, though the highly-flammable (now with toxic fumes!) videotape archive is still burning. No worries, though, about anything being permanently gone—everything in the video archive is copies, originals are stored in an abandoned underground salt mine somewhere in Kansas. So those vintage “Complete Savages” masters are safe!

Anyway, looks like New York Street was the source of the fire. Just the other day, I saw they were filming down there, with 20-foot tall rubber ducks mysteriously appearing on the street. Most of the street looks burned from the photos, I’ll have to see what it looks like when I go back to work tomorrow. Also gone is the Courthouse Square, famously used as the Hill Valley set in “Back to the Future”. This same area was also destroyed by fire in 1990. Word is there is also nothing remaining inside the famous King Kong showroom on the Universal Tour, either.

So where is the fire? Try clicking here for a map of Universal Studios. In the search box, type ‘6153’ and hit enter. In the next box that appears, select ‘Brownstone Street’ and the map should zoom in on the affected area. The big fire is now in building 6197, the video archive. The firefighters are on top of #6217 with their hoses. The octagon east of 6197 is the water tank used as Kramer’s swimming spot in the East River on Seinfeld.

If you click and drag west, you’ll see building 5225, where I work. Although it looks close on the map, there’s a lot of sheet metal buildngs, asphalt, and other sundry non-flammable items between there and the main fire. The more at-risk area is south, around the ‘Tour Bridge’ marker, that large unmarked section is all dry hillside, except for my parking lot (where I saw a coyote the other day, and a family of deer live just above). As long as the hillside doesn’t catch fire, everything should remain fine in my area of the lot.

The sets of “Life” are further west of the 5225 building, in the green buildings marked 43 & 44, on the other side of the gigantic Bud Westmore building.

We’ll have to see how it all looks tomorrow.

via foxtracker.files.wordpress.com (Click for a bigger version)

GREAT PICTURE!—That’s the Phoenix Mars lander, as...

Mon, 26 May 2008 20:51:28 -0700

GREAT PICTURE!—That’s the Phoenix Mars lander, as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. A manmade camera in orbit of Mars captured a shot of a separate manmade object sent to the surface.

(via Bad Astronomy Blog)

BACK TO WORK—Halfway through my first week back on the...

Wed, 21 May 2008 20:13:21 -0700

BACK TO WORK—Halfway through my first week back on the job. It’s been kind of quiet, it’s nice to ease into work instead of having everything just thrown at me willy-nilly. An easy first few days also allows time to explore what’s new at Universal Studios, got a chance to take a spin on the new “Simpsons” themed ride. It’s fun, but I don’t know if it’ll replace “The Mummy” as my favorite lunchtime diversion.

IT’S HERE—The midnight pre-order pickup line at...

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 04:57:13 -0700

IT’S HERE—The midnight pre-order pickup line at GameStop was 200 people deep, but it took only 20 minutes to collect my copy of Grand Theft Auto IV. So, for the next few days I’d expect to be knee deep in Liberty City.

BEEN BUSY

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:40:00 -0700

Well, OK, not really that busy with anything serious. Just finishing up my rounds on this:

While I wait until April 29th for this:

…My first day of work has been pushed back to May 19th due to script issues, so, I’ll have plenty of time to drive around Liberty City until then.

WOW—Trying not to turn into a gushing fanboy here with all...

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:39:39 -0800

WOW—Trying not to turn into a gushing fanboy here with all the Batman and Indiana Jones news, but, my God, the cast photos are out from the new Watchmen film and I can’t help but just stare in shock at how truly awesome they are. Zach Snyder (director of “300”) obviously knows what he’s doing with this property. For all the pics, click here.

WHAT'S THE HOLDUP?

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 04:55:00 -0800

WHAT'S THE HOLDUP?:

L.A. wants to build a bike path along the Los Angeles river, from Downtown to Canoga Park. What’s stopping them? NBC/Universal studios. Why?

Universal fears “that people would use the path to lob unsolicited screenplays onto the studio’s nearby production lot — something that apparently happens at other spots when a Universal film scores big at the box office.”

Only in L.A. Another interesting thing in the article is this note: “At the same time, the media and entertainment giant is trying to gather public and political support to build 2,937 residential units on the Universal Studios back lot. The company also wants to be a major tenant in a project next to the Red Line subway stop on nearby Lankershim Boulevard. That proposal includes a television production facility, an office tower of up to 24 stories and another building that could be up to 34 stories.”

Interesting….

Another movie I’m looking forward to is “21”,...

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:15:12 -0800

Another movie I’m looking forward to is “21”, which is loosely based on the incredible true story of MIT’s own “Blackjack Team”… a group of students that managed to break the bank in Atlantic City, Vegas, and on the Mississippi casino cruises. From the trailer it looks like it could be a fun little film.

OUCH—Really, it just hurts to watch. Other great ones,...

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:18:23 -0800

OUCH—Really, it just hurts to watch. Other great ones, too, on this website—including one where a woman with over $62,000 can’t solve (and I’m not making this up) “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”.

MAY 22nd—IT’S ALMOST HERE! The first trailer for...

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:28:02 -0800

MAY 22nd—IT’S ALMOST HERE!

The first trailer for Indiana Jones 4 is up. What do we see? Well, that’s definitely the government archives from the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. And that box definitely says “Roswell, NM”. Looks like aliens, action, some Central American ruins, and a whole lot of fun!

IT'S OVER!

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:52:16 -0800

IT'S OVER!: By a vote of 92.5%, the WGA decided to end the strike. The official vote to accept the proposal will be soon, but for now, much of the town is going back to work. Still waiting to hear from the networks about plans for returning shows.

STILL EXCITED ABOUT THE GIANTS!—And how can you not be? ...

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 22:28:00 -0800

STILL EXCITED ABOUT THE GIANTS!—And how can you not be? One of the biggest upsets in football, and against the much-hated Patriots. Here’s Marv Albert’s call of the amazing catch by David Tyree (with assistance from his helmet), from Westwood One.

OVER SOON?

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 07:10:16 -0800

OVER SOON?:

Perhaps the strike will be over soon. The WGA announced a meeting Saturday to discuss the terms of an agreement with the producers:

“To Our Fellow Members,

As Negotiating Committee Chair John Bowman wrote you last night, we are continuing to negotiate the terms of a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. We anticipate that we will be able to present the terms of that agreement to you in the next few days. In order to have a full discussion with you of the terms and how they were reached, and in order to get your input before making recommendations or decisions, we have scheduled membership meetings for current-active members only for this Saturday, February 9, in New York and Los Angeles.

The New York meeting will take place at 2 pm ET in the Broadway Ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Times Square, 1606 Broadway (Broadway and 49th Street).

The Los Angeles meeting will take place at 7 pm PT in the Shrine Auditorium (665 W. Jefferson Blvd.).

We urge you to attend. We have gotten to this point in our negotiation as the direct result of the power of this strike, which each of you has generated. Neither the Negotiating Committee, nor the West Board or the East Council, will take action on any contract until after the membership meetings are held and your voices have been heard. We are all in this together.

Best,

Patric M. Verrone
President
Writers Guild of America, West

Michael Winship
President
Writers Guild of America, East”

NEW FISH DAY—Got 2 new Panda Corys today. These little...

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:21:07 -0800

NEW FISH DAY—Got 2 new Panda Corys today. These little guys grow to be just over an inch long, and spend most of their time as diligent workers cleaning the bottom of my tank.

"My sister does a lot of reading, and spends like $1000 a year on just books alone. Most of them she..."

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:04:03 -0800

“My sister does a lot of reading, and spends like $1000 a year on just books alone. Most of them she reads once then never looks at again. Is there any kind of like…video rental store but for books? Would make things a lot cheaper, plus once one person has read one the next person can get enjoyment from it, etc.”

- Selekta, asking a question in an internet forum. Why no one thought of such a place before is beyond me.

"Nothing says Christmas like Scientology and churros."

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 02:12:00 -0800

“Nothing says Christmas like Scientology and churros.”

- As noted by me, when passing the remnants of the Hollywood Scientology Celebrity Center’s “Take Your Picture With Santa” setup over the weekend. They had a sleigh, a stand where Santa sat, and a churro wagon.

WHO’S THAT GIRL?—Riki Lindhome is the star of this...

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 23:21:39 -0800

WHO’S THAT GIRL?—Riki Lindhome is the star of this Domino’s commercial. She’s also appeared in Gilmore Girls, Million Dollar Baby, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Riki got her start in acting on the infamous UUTV program Syracuse Live! No joke. I think she joined the year after I left, I’ll have to ask about it at the next alumni get-together.