'Sculpting...' booksigning/screening - the aftermath

Well, it's over. I can start breathing again.

It was a big sucess. It took most of the day on Saturday to get everything set up. The turnout was great. There was a good mix of both professional FX guys and fans and everyone, especially Lorne, had a wonderful time.

If you were there, we probably had about a half dozen ex-ILM/STAR WARS vets there plus other guys who worked on BLADE RUNNER, CE3K, ARMAGEDDON, TERMINATOR2, etc who just showed up to see Lorne and the movie. I managed to get Lorne, Dave Jones, Jon Erland, and Pete Kuran up on stage to do the Q&A at the movie. They actually had to put SOLD OUT on the marquee about 40 minutes before it started - we have a great picture of Lorne standing underneath it which will be posted as soon as I can figure out how.

First off, I have to thank Lorne for writing the book that gave us this good excuse to geek out. And Robbie from Insight Editions for helping set this up.

As I said before, Lucasfilm's PR dept. really got behind this and provided a lot of great photos. Everyone here should reply and say thank you to Tracy - she really helped to make this special. You know that bubble gum card with the ILM model guys posing with the table of models? Most of the guys in that photo were there. They couldn't believe that they were doing this 30 years later. They also couldn't believe the clothes they wore back then either, but that is another issue.

I gotta give props (get it?) to Master Replicas for schlepping out the Falcon to the gallery. The ILM guys were all amazed that 1) this kind of replica exists, reversed engineered from photos, and 2) that it is actually available. Thank you Barry, Bryan, and Amy. I want mine even more now.

Steve (swpropmaker) and Rolando (echoleader) also have to be called out and thanked. Steve busted his ass to get an Escape Pod to Rolando to build and primer so it could be here for the event. And for all his effort, Steve didn't get a chance to make it out here. That is my one regret. Steve - we'll do something like this again, and you will be there. The Escape Pod was a huge hit. I had to pop a few bubbles when I told them it was a replica. Most everybody there initially thought it was on loan from Lucasfilm. (And some of those guys woreked on it originally). There is another story about the Escape Pod that will be told - but I'm going to leave that up to Rolando to tell.

Speaking of Rolando - I had him on his hands and knees......in the lobby of the Aero, helping me paste up the photos onto foam core before the event. I wound up putting him to work.....and that's after he flew out here from Miami AND shipped out his repainted Y-wing (which rocks, by the way). I couldn't have asked for a better geek to be my assistant for the day.

And thank you RPF'ers - those who made it out there and those that were just with us in spirit. I'm sure photos will start appearing in this thread soon. Rolando had his camera and shot a bunch of stuff, but I was too busy worrying about something (anything) to really get a chance to use it.

This was fun. We'll have to do it again sometime.

Gene

Sounds like it was a great time. How about some pics of what was available to take pictures of? I recognize some things cannot be shared.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rmschneider104 @ Dec 10 2006, 09:21 AM) [snapback]1375012[/snapback]</div>

Sounds like it was a great time. How about some pics of what was available to take pictures of? I recognize some things cannot be shared.
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Boy, I would love to. But the general deal is that the imagery is to be used for this event only and is not to be distributed elsewhere. I told people that they could take photos of the displays, but that really closeup photos of the photos was a no-no. With the crowd there, it was tough to police. I hope everyone respects that request. No matter what we feel about the rules - well, they're rules for a reason. Lucasfilm really helped make the event special. If they get PO'd with the coverage..... well, they'll just stop helping with future ones. And that will suck for all of us.

I think everyone will like the DVD that is included with the deluxe book. It seems to contain a LOT of behind the scenes stuff (and no, I'm not going to copy the DVD).

The ILM guys had a fun time with this. Odds are, we're going to do another one of these things in the future. One guy aksed me "How are you going to top this one?".....I'm scratching my head and thinking.........

Gene

What's the big deal about these photographs? Top secret ILM photographs that they refused to add to the lousy book? That figures... :rolleyes

Or even a simple photo of Lorne signing for a fan might be cool. But if you can't, you can't. That's cool. Since I'm in the midwest, I'm just trying to live vicariously.

Good job, GK. I know you worked your arse off on this event. I'm really sorry I could not be there to see it. Very glad it was a big success. You're getting really good at this sort of thing. I for sure won't miss the next one. . .

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DARKSIDE72 @ Dec 10 2006, 11:55 AM) [snapback]1375086[/snapback]</div>

What's the big deal about these photographs? Top secret ILM photographs that they refused to add to the lousy book? That figures... :rolleyes
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It really has nothing to do with the actual photos. It has everything to do with me honoring a deal I made in order to add something special to the event.

We've covered this secrecy/privacy/NDA thing in the past. I'd like to table this discussion for now. It's not going to get us anywhere.

As I re-read this, I think I may have mis-interpreted rmschneider104's post to which I replied. We can post all the photos of the event that we want. Lots of people had cameras at the event. Rolando took a ton - he'll post them when he gets back. I didn't take that many myself (since I was busy) and I don't think as a newbie I can even post them. The only thing that was a no-no per Lucasfilm was taking these really closeup photos of the photos and distributing those. Cameras are generally not allowed in a movie theatre, but we bend those rules to allow people to record the setup and displays. We've got several group shots of the ILM guys and Lorne around the models and him in front of the SOLD OUT marquee - all of that stuff will get posted.

Sorry if that was the intent rmschneider104.

Gene

Yeah, I would like to see pics of folks having fun.

Sounds great Gene. Congratulations on a successful and enjoyable event.
I would LOVE to see some photos of Lorne and the ILM guys with the models that were on display.

Chris

Sadly I had to pass on the event for the sake of some strateic palm-pressing at our annual black tie holiday party ( I DID manage to shake hands with our division VP, and he remembered me from last year.)...

Photos aside, what I'd be ost interested in is a recap of the Q&A. Any good insight revealed as to the building processes of the original models...?

Okay everyone, I just got back from L.A. so please bare with me, the busy weekend and the jet lag have me running on fumes but I wanted to post the pics ASAP.

First off I'd like to thank Gene for being such a gracious host and taking care of me while visiting L.A. and for introducing me to a bunch of ILMers that was a geek dream come true.

The pictures I'm posting are of the event with a few from a special excursion Gene took me to that I think many will enjoy.

I'll let Gene jump in later in the thread to name the players by name as I'm still recouping on whoÂ’s who and besides, he knows them better.

Oh. and the story on the Escape Pod that Gene mentioned is this.

When Lorne arrived at the book signing we hadn't set up the Escape Pod yet as that was the last one. So as I was taking it out of my travel duffle I see LorneÂ’s eyes light up. He immediately started scrutinizing it and said that I nailed it. The first things he checked and verified were the Sea Lab kit parts used. He mentioned that they were even scarce back then when they used them so he wondered how I got a hold of one. I mentioned that Steve Niesen has that kit and did the moulds and cast the parts. Lorne started pointing out parts and what kits they came from. After 30 yrs and the man still knows and has an interest in what was created.

Anyway to make a long story short, I am no longer in the possession of the Escape Pod. It now has a brand new owner that was stoked to have it. The new owner is Lorne Peterson. He was so taken by it that it was an honor for me to offer it to him as a gift. Lorne seemed to be taken by this but said he couldn't do that but instead; he would trade me something for it. You can imagine how I felt that one of the original builders of this SS model would actually trade me something to have my replica. What Lorne offered in trade is what he calls a C3PO-Oscar. It's a sculpt approx. 13in tall of C3PO that he converted to stand him up looking like an Oscar on his pedestal. He said that the statue is made of bronze and he would trade me one with my name on it for my Escape Pod. He also mentioned that these were to be given to all the people that work on the original Star Wars back then but that something happened in which only 4 were made and given to some one of which was John Dykstra. Looks like I'll have the 5th one. I'm totally stoked on this.

Well, like I promised, here are the pics, enjoy.

Does this place look familiar?



The old ILM shop from back in 1975





I guess they put up the barbed wire to prevent dumpster diving.



The place looks pretty much the same except for a tree that's not there anymore that was in the middle of the parking lot.



That's me in front of the old ILM shop.



Grant McCunes place next door.



Gene showing off the wares.





























Yours truly.



My special moment.









The store sold out of the books.

Fantastic pics Rolando, big thanks for sharing them, looks like all had a great day, pod and Y wing look amazing there on display......

lee

Now that's what I'm talking about. Great pics. Looks like a fun time. I'm jealous.

I truly enjoyed meeting these guys and listening to all the stories that they had from behind the scenes.

From having their toe nails painted black while they slept on break on their shift. Yes, they were running the shop 24/7.

Jon Erland even pointed out in a picture that shows the 5ft. falcon as it's flying into the Death Star docking bay some details that are on the ceiling of the bay and asked if we knew what the details were. Well, what it turned out to be was a miniature they made of the dykstraflex machine attached upside down. Just goes to show you the details these guys got into.

Another key element I found out about the Blockade Runner was when they did the questions and answers on stage prior to showing the movie. It was asked, what were the engine ends from on the RBR, if they were small slide carousels? Jon Erland jumped in and answered "no" that they were heat sinks.

So with that in tow I did a search for round heat sinks and look at what I came up with that seems close enough to be on the right track.

Following up on Rolando's post.

The original ILM facility is in a somewhat sketchy area of Van Nuys. Not that there's a really great area of Van Nuys. Heck, something like 90% of the world's porn comes from this area. It wasn't much better back then. Hence the razor wire. When I was in film school, I actually had a tour of Apogee led by Jon Erland, who is in some of the photos.

As for the guys in the photos, let's see..... The very last photo of us in front of the X-wing (left to right) myself, Dave Jones (FX supervisor on BUCK ROGERS), Lorne, Jon Erland (helped form Apogee after ILM moved).

We were joined on stage for the Q&A by Pete Kuran who did all the laser blasts. It was just a quick 20 minute little session up there since most people were there to see the movie. We wound up ditching the presentation at the gallery due to the crowds and the fact that we had different groups of people interacting. I saw some guys asking questions of the other ILMers and they got direct answers from them. I had the DVD playing on a loop. It was just easier that way. By ditching the Q&A, the people that showed up had more time to chat with Lorne and the others. Actually Lorne showed up about an hour and a half early. There were a few people there, so we just started. The bookstore ran out of books around 6:30. I think it worked out fine.

Further up the list, Lorne is talking to Mat Beck (in the blue baseball cap) who's working on SMALLVILLE and was at Apogee for a bunch of stuff including FIREFOX and I think ST:TMP........

The overhead shot shows Jon Erland and Dave Jones talking with Peter Anderson (CE3K and BUCK ROGERS).

Pat McClung (ALIENS & ARMAGEDDON) and Mark Stetson (BLADE RUNNER) also showed up.

.....and Rolando just had to post my mug in front of the Falcon (I want I want I want one). Jeez....thanks.

All in all it was a cool event. I think everyone involved is up for doing something like this in the future. We'll see what happens.

Gene

PS - I took some photos of the display when I was taking it down on Sunday. As soon as I figure how, I'll get them posted. Maybe I'll just send them to Rolando to post.

Gene, send the pics my way and I'll post them up.

Hey Gene,

Thanks again for setting up the event. It was alot of fun and I got to see some old freinds and mentors from my early days. I look forward to future events and let me know if you need any help next time.


minieffects

One other thing to add based on some responses and queries and threads on other forums.

First off, this thing was the Visual Effects Society's idea and not Lucasfilm's or Insight Edition's. Van Ling and I discussed this a while ago and thought it would be a cool excuse to geek out. Not that we in particularly need one...... Anyways - Lucasfilm enthusiastically supported it and agreed for the print rental and access to the photo archives, but this was not part of some long term marketing plan for the 30th or the "Sculpting" book.

We started working on this idea in mid-October, which really didn't give me enough time to get everything I wanted to do in there. Since the gallery is across the street from a great theatre, the idea of a screening and the booksigning was a natural combo. The American Cinematheque contacted Lucasfilm directly for a print rental as Lucasfilm controls the screenings of the STAR WARS films. Unfortunately, we had to get an answer, 'yay' or 'nay', from Lucasfilm in about one day. Any company is good at saying 'no' right away; a 'yes' answer usually requires more time. To our surprise, they did answer us in one day (and to the affirmative). At no time did we ask for the Original Theatrical release because that version has been completely pulled from the rental market. It's just not available. The Special Edition may have been screened here and there in the past few years, but it has been sporadic. EMPIRE has played at the Aero before, but it too was the Special Edition. Quite frankly, I don't know if I would want to screen a print from the original release as the chances of getting a faded and scratched print are high. I don't believe they've struck a new print of the original release in many years. We run into this all the time with retrospectives and believe me, it really sucks to sit in a nice theatre and watched a messed up print. The Director's Guild DID try to get the Original Theatrical release a few years ago, and even advertised it as such, but it was switched out a week before the screening. If they can't get one or AMPAS can't get one, no one else can. So that's that.

When I was talking to Lorne about the plans, I mentioned the irony in the fact that we are gathering to celebrate the models in the movie, yet we are screening the version of the film that specifically targetted model shots and replaced them with CGI. He chuckled and stated that they didn't replace ALL the model shots (even from the end battle), and for the Special Edition, they did get to drag out the Sandcrawler model and play with that again. Quite frankly, he indicated that he didn't mind it.

A couple of the other ILM/STAR WARS vets that attended the event did indicate that the version we were screening "was not the version we worked on." In fact, I think one of them called it Episode 4.2. Even though a couple said they weren't going to stay after the Lorne's intro to the film, they ALL stayed and watched and enjoyed it. I found myself thinking about seeing it as a kid and how it got me into film making and how I can now organize events like this (I call these things a "who knew" moment). The crowd still cheered at the opening. And they boo'd when Greedo shot first. But they all had fun at the event.

No matter what version you see, STAR WARS is still, at its core, STAR WARS.

Gene

Well said. And I must say - this is probably the one event in 2006 that broke my heart to not attend. Next time you guys do something like this, I will fly out.

Thanks for all the reports,Gene,I bet it was a great day.Good to have you here.Alexander