One of Hollywood's largest movie studios starred in a disastrous sequel Sunday as a fire ripped through a lot at Universal Studios, destroying a set from 'Back to the Future', a King Kong exhibit and a streetscape seen frequently in movies and TV shows.
It was the second fire at the historic site in nearly two decades, leveling facades, hollowing out buildings and creating the kind of catastrophe filmmakers relish re-creating. This time around, thousands of videos chronicling Universal's movie and TV shows were destroyed in the blaze.
But Universal officials said that they were thankful no one was seriously injured at the theme park and that the damaged footage can be replaced.
"We have duplicates of everything," said Ron Meyer, NBC Universal president and chief operating officer. "Nothing is lost forever."
The blaze broke out on a sound stage featuring New York brownstone facades around 4:30 a.m. at the 400-acre property, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Michael Freeman said. The fire was contained to the lot but burned for more than 12 hours before the final flames were extinguished.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Damage was expected to be in the millions of dollars.
The iconic courthouse square from 'Back to the Future' was destroyed, and the famous clock tower that enabled Michael J. Fox's character to travel through time was damaged, fire officials said. Two mock New York and New England streets used both for movie-making and as tourist displays were a total loss, Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Darryl Jacobs said.
An exhibit housing a mechanically animated King Kong that bellows at visitors on a tram also was destroyed.
All three sites were either damaged or destroyed during another fire at Universal Studios in November 1990. That fire caused $25 million in damage and was started by a security guard who was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to arson.
Hundreds of visitors who had waited for hours outside the park gates were turned away after officials decided not to open the area. On a typical weekend day, about 25,000 people visit Universal Studios. NBC Universal said in a statement that the park would reopen Monday morning.
Universal CityWalk, a shopping promenade, was also closed. The MTV Movie Awards, broadcasting live Sunday night from the adjacent Gibson Amphitheater, went on as planned.
Mike Herrick of San Diego watched the fire on television from his hotel Sunday afternoon before deciding to return to Universal Studios for a second day with his wife.
"By gosh, we're going to go and get whatever we can out of it," Herrick said. On Saturday, Herrick had ridden the tram that winds around the studio lot, snapping photos of the King Kong attraction, among other sights.
The fire broke out along New York Street, where firefighting helicopters swept in for drops and cranes dumped water on the flames. A thick column of smoke rose thousands of feet into the air and could be seen for miles.
"It looked like a disaster film," said Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge.
Several firefighters suffered minor injuries. One firefighter and a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy were slightly hurt when a pressurized cylinder exploded inside the building housing the videos.
The streetscape that burned recently served as a backdrop in such films as 'Bruce Almighty' and television shows including 'Monk', 'Crossing Jordan' and 'House', said NBC Universal spokeswoman Cindy Gardner.
Meyer estimated there were 40,000 to 50,000 videos and film reels in a vault that burned but said duplicates were stored in a different location. Firefighters managed to recover hundreds of titles.
The videos included every film that Universal has produced and footage from television series including 'Miami Vice' and 'I Love Lucy'.
Universal Studios, nine miles north of downtown Los Angeles, has thrill rides and a back lot where movies and television shows are filmed, including scenes from 'War of the Worlds', 'When Harry Met Sally' and 'Scrubs'.
Source: AP
Monday, June 2, 2008
Christian Bale Reveals Being Broke
He might be starring in the biggest grosser of recent times, but Batman star Christian Bale was so broke five years back, that he even had his house repossessed, revealed the actor himself.
Though he was cast in American Psycho in 2000 and Reign of Fire in 2002, his low earnings had landed him into deep debt, because of which he and his wife Sibi Blazic had to be forced out of their house.
However, the Welsh-born actor claims that he is not the only celebrity to face such a situation, as many before have also been through hard times.
“I don't believe that there's an actor alive who hasn't been in that position - and in that position many years after people recognise you and have a very wrong impression of what they imagine your life to be like,” The Sun quoted him, as telling Details magazine.
When asked about when exactly he had his encounter with debt, he said: “I know absolutely when it was. I'm just trying to decide how comfortable I am talking about it. (It's) only going back five years. House repossession - all that.”
Bale also said that he did all those big screen roles just to earn buck to clear his debt, including one particular movie that he refused to name.
The actor, whose second Batman film, 'The Dark Knight', is releasing in July, said: “I won't tell what it was, but it was following closely on the heels of (the repossession). It ended up that I found a great many experiences from it - but the motivation was completely keeping the head above water.”
After doing roles in The Machinist, Batman Begins Harsh Times in 2004 and 2005, Bale became one of Hollywood's highest earners.
Source: ANI
Daniel Craig Lined Up for Honorary Green Beret!
English actor Daniel Craig is being lined up for an honorary Green Beret by the British Royal Marines.
The British Royal Marines were the ones who had first escorted him along the Thames when he announced his appointment as 007.
To receive the honour, all Craig has to do is complete a test of endurance. Once he passes, he will earn his place among one of the world’s most elite military units.
As revealed by a source at the Royal Marines training centre in Lympstone, near Exmouth, Devon, Craig was very enthusiastic about the work of the Marines.
“We were the ones who took Daniel to the press conference when he was revealed as the new James Bond,” the Daily Express quoted the source as saying.
“He was great – a really good guy – and he was very appreciative of our work.
“He supports the RNLI and is very interested in the Royal Marine Commandos too.
“We’re trying to get him down here to do one of the Commando tests so he can get his honorary Green Beret. It’s just about trying to find the time. He’s so busy,” the source added.
If the 40-year-old actor succeeds with the endurance test, he will be the first James Bond to be a real-life Royal Marine.
As it is, his character’s full name is Commander James Bond, who had joined MI6 after a distinguished career in the Royal Navy.
The endurance test would not be such a difficult feat for Craig, who has been spending the past few months doing stunts for his second Bond film, Quantum of Solace, including work acrobatics, fighting and stunt driving.
If he earns an honorary Green Beret, he will be following in the daring footsteps of, Sir Jimmy Savile, 88.
Source: ANI
Britney wont be designing Furniture!
Britney’s furniture designer dreams shattered
Britney Spears’ plans of starting a sideline career as a furniture designer have been shattered.
Earlier it was reported that the fallen pop princess’ dad, Jamie, had worked out a deal with Danish entrepreneur Claus Hjelmbak where she would endorse a line of shabby-chic Scandinavian furniture - specifically, creating a piece called a “Woofy”.
“It was a plastic dog that retails for over $200 and hides electrical wires in your home,” the New York Post quoted a source, as saying.
“Britney wanted to do a pink-and-blue Woofy,” the source added.
But later Jamie pulled out of the deal because he didn't feel “comfortable” with Claus, who he thought was just using Britney for publicity.
Source: ANI
Transformers Wins Best Film Award
The 'Transformers' have another chunk of metal added to their collection.
MTV Movie Awards
The blockbuster about robots in disguise took home the golden popcorn trophy for best film at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday night, and Johnny Depp won two buckets for best comedic performance and best villain.
Accepting the best film award with director Michael Bay, 'Transformers' co-star Megan Fox trotted out some R-rated language to describe how good the film's sequel is going to be. Bay said the film would begin shooting the following day and take place two years after the first film.
And Rainn Wilson — who presented best kiss wearing nothing but a teddy bear — told on the gold carpet that he would play a college professor in 'Transformers 2'.
"I just love the idea of me being in giant Michael Bay movie," Wilson said.
A couple of hundred yards downhill, the final remnants of a disastrous fire that ripped through Universal Studios was extinguished as the ceremony got under way.
While there was no mention of the fire, there was definitely smoke during the over-the-top ceremony: Presenters Seth Rogen and James Franco, stars of the upcoming stoner comedy 'Pineapple Express', pretended to smoke marijuana before handing out the popcorn trophy for new category of best summer movie so far.
"Kids, don't really smoke fake weed like this," Rogen sarcastically told the crowd at the Gibson Amphitheatre.
As they pulled out the 'contraband', the cameras pulled away to a wide angle, staying that way until Rogen and Franco left the stage. The awkward moment made some in the audience laugh, but left Robert Downey Jr. — who accepted the award on behalf of 'Iron Man' — with a puzzled look.
"Thanks fellas," he said, "for that intoxicating introduction."
Franco later said backstage that MTV put them up to the joke, but that someone from the network decided at the last minute that they couldn't go through with it. By then, it was too late to pull back.
"MTV wrote it! ... Then backstage there was this big commotion: 'You guys can't say that,'" Franco said. "It says right in the script: 'Lights fake joint.'"
The nearby studio fire broke out 4:30 a.m. on a soundstage featuring a New York brownstone facades at the 400-acre property. It was contained to the lot but burned for more than 12 hours before the final flames were extinguished.
"I actually came here early because I wanted to see it," Chris Brown said before the show. What did he expect to see? "A whole lot of chaos."
Winners were threatened to keep their speeches short by a man resembling Javier Bardem's character from "No Country for Old Men" — complete with the bob hairdo and pneumatic cattle gun. Best female performance winner Ellen Paige from "Juno" escaped unscathed, but best fight winners Sean Faris and Cam Gigandet were ushered off stage by the menacing lookalike.
Host Mike Myers and Dana Carvey resurrected their 'Saturday Night Live' characters Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar, the cable access hosts of 'Wayne's World'. They acknowledged it's been awhile since they've been together ('1994. That's a while', said Wayne) and presented a risque top ten list of adult film titles (No. 8:'I Am Legend ... In Bed'; and No. 1 'Iron Man').
The mood backstage was calm as stars schmoozed during the show. Cruise posed for photos with his arm around Ben Stiller while wife Katie Holmes stood a few steps away. She wasn't by herself for long: Sarah Jessica Parker chatted Holmes up, and Sandler and Smith both had their children with them behind the scenes.
Depp showed up to accept his trophies for best comedic performance for "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" and best villain for 'Sweeny Todd'. While the crowd was visibly excited — including a nearly swooning Diablo Cody — 'Superbad' actors Jonah Hill and Rogen shot shook their fists at Depp and give him the thumbs down.
Depp kept his first acceptance speech short.
"You can ask anybody," he said quietly. "I'm not a very funny person. I'm not even remotely funny."
Tom Cruise presented Adam Sandler with the Generation Award, the MTV Movie Awards' highest honor, for his various comedic and 'stupid' performances over the years. Sandler sang a live version of "Nobody Does It Better" alongside a bevy of backup dancers clad in skintight gold outfits. Among them: Rob Schneider.
Sandler, who took a guitar solo on his gold Les Paul, changed the lyrics to "baby, I'm the best."
"That was probably the most arrogant thing I've ever done," Sandler said, moments after Cruise got on his knees to hand over the golden popcorn.
Coldplay performed 'Viva la Vida' amid a flurry of confetti, which at one point found its way in lead singer Chris Martin's mouth. Later, the Pussycat Dolls danced in front of a giant lit-up sign broadcasting the group's name alongside 'America's Best Dance Crew' winners JabbaWockeeZ to 'When I Grow Up'.
Other winners during the ceremony included Will Smith for best male performance for 'I Am Legend'; Zac Efron for best breakthrough performance for 'Hairspray'; and Briana Evigan and Robert Hoffman for best kiss in 'Step Up 2: The Streets'.
Source: AP
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