Photos of Universal Studios Hollywood Backlot Reconstruction

[UberBeavis]

Took a few pics today out on the Studio Tour...

[brilinjo]

cranage

[TheRapidsNerd]

Save the clock tower! Save the clock tower!

 

Good to see them rebuilding and thanks for posting these. Had been wondering what was happening of late.

[PCW_Nut]

Is there any news of what exactly they are building? When it will open? etc?

 

I ask as I am going down there at the end of June for the first time and am real curious.

[UberBeavis]

They should have the area ready for filming by June.

[themeparkman25]

Before the fire, was the backstage area used only for shooting movies or was there rides too? And now after the fire, what can we expect to see? It is great to see them rebuilding though, I never like to see parks left devastated.

[jjune4991]

Before the fire, was the backstage area used only for shooting movies or was there rides too? And now after the fire, what can we expect to see? It is great to see them rebuilding though, I never like to see parks left devastated.

 

i believe they did a tram there, just like at MGM Studios at Disney World.

[ahecht]

The fascades in the backlot area that they are rebuilding was primarily used for shooting, although as mentioned above the tram tour did pass through the streets that weren't currently being used for filming. What is NOT currently being rebuilt is the King Kong attraction (which was part of the Tram tour) which was hidden behind some of the New York facades and was also destroyed in the fire.

[Director_Guy]

What's interesting is that this isn't the first time the courtyard from BTTF had been burnt down. According to Robert Zemeckis on the Back to the Future Part III DVD Commentary, a Security Guard went insane and burned it down. Interesting, no?

[Jew]

^The courtyard/courthouse (and New England Street to the left) actually survived this fire aside from minor smoke/fire damage. This fire marks the 3rd fire that the Courthouse has actually survived!

 

The Courthouse itself was the only thing in courthouse square that survived the fire Robert Zemeckis was talking about in 1990. Another fire in 1997 took out New England Street, but spared Courthouse Square.

 

Here's the new blurb from Amusement Today:

 

A little over a year after a fire damaged four acres on the world's largest working movie studio lot, Universal Studios Hollywood will re-open in mid-Summer most of its iconic sets and will unveil innovative shooting locations designed to meet contemporary film production needs. The new and re-created sets will be featured on the world-famous Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour-recently upgraded with Hi-Def digital servers and flat screen monitors-and will enhance visitors' behind-the-scenes experience of a working studio environment.

 

 

 

Beginning in mid-summer, production will resume on the world- famous Courthouse Square, Brownstone Street and an enhanced New York Street. The new locations to be introduced this year will include a gas station, a firehouse, a London Street and, most notably, a modern urban cityscape, with glass and steel facade structures that will provide film and TV crews with the opportunity to replicate a modern city street scene in a controlled studio environment. The contemporary cityscape will be the largest modern urban backlot shooting location in Los Angeles.

 

These advanced facilities were constructed to provide ideal shooting conditions for contemporary productions, and were designed with the assistance of leading filmmakers and art directors. Additional sets will remain in construction and are planned to open in 2010. The great majority of the studio's famous standing sets and locations, including the "War of the Worlds" set, Western Streets, European Street, Mexican Street, the Psycho House-Bates Motel, and "Desperate Housewives" Wisteria Lane were untouched by the fire and have remained in continuous use for dozens of motion picture and television productions.

 

During the reconstruction phase of the backlot, Studio Tour guests will experience a panoramic view of the construction and dramatic transformation taking place at the historic studio. The Studio Tour is a signature attraction at USH and is also being upgraded this year to feature a Hi-Definition TV digital system, with new flat-screen HD monitors installed in each Tram car. The new monitors will feature commentary from filmmakers and stars and clips from movies and TV productions, many created especially for the Studio Tour and all corresponding to the sites visited along the Tour route. Because the Tour is constantly changing to accommodate movie and TV production schedules, a custom Hi-Definition playback system was designed to allow for the selection of material from the hundreds of clips created for the Studio Tour attraction.

[ebl]

My cousin works as a carpenter at Universal, and I should find out how much (if at all) he is involved in this restoration project.

 

It's great to see it coming together.

 

Eric