Georges Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Officially Breaks Ground in Los Angeles !

Today marked the official groundbreaking for the highly awaited Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Co-Founders George Lucas and Mellody Hobson along with the Museum’s Board of Directors joined Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price and a group of more than 100 civic and community leaders to break ground on this 21st century cultural destination to be located at Exposition Park in South Los Angeles.



“The focus of the Museum is to open up people’s imaginations and inspire them to dream beyond what is considered possible,” said co-founder George Lucas. “Narrative art and storytelling stirs our emotions, shapes our aspirations as a society, and is the glue that binds us together around our common beliefs.”



The Lucas Museum will celebrate the art of visual storytelling and enable people of diverse backgrounds to experience the power of narrative art across all mediums, including painting, illustration, comic art, photography, film, animation and digital art. It is intended to be a place where visitors feel comfortable and welcomed by engaging with art forms they may already recognize and love.

“Our goal is to create the world’s most inclusive and accessible art museum—a place that brings together people from every walk of life,” said co-founder Mellody Hobson. “We are excited to call Exposition Park home, surrounded by more than 100 elementary and high schools, one of the country’s leading universities, as well as three other world-class museums.”



With an iconic building designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects, the 300,000 square-foot non-profit museum will feature collection galleries and exhibition spaces displaying original works of art from world renowned artists, cutting-edge digital technologies and daily film screenings in two state-of-the-art theaters. It will also offer extraordinary educational opportunities with hands-on and digital classrooms and a free public research library for educators, scholars and students. Education will be a centerpiece of the Museum’s programming to provide diverse students of all ages the skills to voice their own stories and spark creativity.



The project will transform a series of asphalt parking lots into a museum surrounded by 11 acres of new park land and gardens designed by Los Angeles-based landscape architecture firm Studio-MLA. Thousands of jobs will be created directly and indirectly as a result of the Museum.



“The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will be an architectural wonder, a cultural treasure, and a center of storytelling and creativity at the heart of a reimagined Exposition Park,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “I thank Mellody Hobson and George Lucas for their incredible generosity and vision, which will inspire countless Angelenos and visitors from around the world.”



“Today is a momentous occasion, as we break ground on what will surely become one of Los Angeles County’s most popular and beloved landmarks,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. “The Lucas Museum will not only display brilliant works of art, but also teach countless children the science and technological skills needed for careers in the film, animation and design industries. It will cement Exposition Park‘s reputation as a world-class destination for arts and entertainment.”

"My heartfelt thanks to George and Mellody for this unprecedented investment in South Los Angeles," said Los Angeles Councilmember Curren Price. "When completed, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will be a special, very magical gathering space for individuals from all walks of life to experience art like never before. We share an absolute belief that all children and families, no matter their skin color or zip code, deserve equal access to the arts."

Construction is commencing immediately and is anticipated to be completed by late 2021.

About Narrative Art

Narrative art is art that tells a story through images, either as a single moment in an ongoing story or as a sequence of events unfolding over time. It is as old as humanity, with many of the world’s great works of art being narrative in nature, conveying stories from religion, myth, legend, history, literature or current events. While storytelling takes many forms, narrative imagery and pictures may have preceded the written word in capturing the thoughts and actions of people. Storytelling is central to the history of visual art across nearly every culture and time period in human history - ranging from cave paintings to Egyptian hieroglyphics to religious paintings and now to the modern use of film and digital animation. The power of narrative art is in bringing people or societies together, or inspiring us to action, through shared beliefs.

Above: Woody, Buzz and Jessie in Toy Story 3

The Lucas Museum will showcase how storytelling works in various art forms and various times and places. The Museum will assemble many different genres including comic art, painting, illustration, photography, filmmaking, and drawings for exploration and celebration. These works of vastly different types of art will coexist in the galleries for comparison, contemplation, inspiration and discussion.

Above: an early draft for Star Wars : A New Hope opening scene

Above: A rendering for Blade Runner

For more information, please visit www.lucasmuseum.org and also HERE 

Pictures: copyright Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Disney-Pixar

D&M Archives : A Special Alien Encounter - Stitch's Great Escape Tribute

When the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter attraction opened at WDW some years ago it was quite an event. Not only it was part of a new re-themed Tomorrowland, but "Alien" was supposed to be a real frightening attraction, the first of its kind in a Magic Kingdom. Well, for the adult audience, it was really fun, and not-so-scary. But for the 12 years old young girls, the 3D sound ,the darkness and in-theatre effects were may be a little bit too scary!

No need to say that WDW executives didn't like at all to see these young girls exiting the attraction theatre crying, and this is probably why this brand new WDI attraction - that was supposed to be built in other Disney parks - remain the only one of its kind... Mind you, still in 1994, Tim Delaney, DLP Discoveryland show producer was still expecting to built it right at the entrance of the land where the room has been kept , on the little hill on the right, between the "Constellations" shop and Autopia.

Let's begin by some rare WDI artwork as well as official pictures of Alien Encounter.



















We all know what happened next: the attraction was re-themed around the Stitch character and is supposed now to be less scary than before. On the pictures above and below, the difference between the two pictures of the same scene is interesting: on the Alien Encounter one the boys are yelling, but on the Stitch one, the boys are younger and smiling. The message is clear: no need to be afraid of this attraction any more, come on in!

Also, note the difference between the two photos of the pre-show sequence , with the small teleportation experiment. On the Stitch version, the S.I.R robot - one of the best programmed Audio-Animatronic i've ever seen - is now dressed in a more cartoonish look. But the really interesting shot above is the sixth from the top, as this rendering show a kind of pre-show "laboratory" scene that finally was never built...

And, last but not least, you may have noticed on the Alien encounter marquee that the attraction was supposed to be a " Sensory thriller from Disney AND Georges Lucas ". Why Georges Lucas was involved in Alien Encounter, you ask? Well, apparently, and if i'm right , it seems that the concept/idea of the attraction came from him during a meeting, and when Lucas have an idea, you better not forget that it came from him...which, i must agree is perfectly legitimate.















And now, on with the show, as below are the Youtube videos of the two versions. The two first videos show the pre-show and the show of Alien encounter and the two last one show the pre-show and the show of Stitch's great escape.














Photos and Artwork: copyright Disney

Videos: Copyright Martin Smith or SaveTheLastRide

All about the Incredible Star Wars "Warring Coaster" Patent

Two days ago wdidreamer, a member of WDWMagic.com forum, posted the pictures above and below from a U.S. patent supposedly filed by WDI last year. The title of his thread was "After Star Tours....is this what's next?" and almost instantly members of WDWMagic forum were amazed by what looks like an incredible Star Wars dueling roller coaster concept.

There was just a little problem: this patent filed last year is NOT a WDI patent! So, if this amazing concept was not designed by WDI Imagineers, who did it? A closer look at the patent reveals that it was filed by someone named Jonathan Gordon. And, yes, if you call WDI switch board they will confirm that there is no Jonathan Gordon working at Imagineering, so it's definitely not a WDI patent. I really wanted to know more about this mysterious and exciting Star Wars concept and I finally found the web site of Jonathan Gordon – www.gordonrides.com – a company that "offers new and innovative amusement rides and attractions for customers that demand the latest and greatest". Their rides are based on proprietary designs that they develop in-house. They work "with the finest engineering and manufacturing firms in the amusement industry to ensure the creation of a product that is second to none".

That sounds good, so I decided to give them a call hoping to talk with Jonathan. Luck was with me, as it was Jonathan himself who answered my call. Jonathan kindly accepted an interview and provided me with precious details about his Star Wars roller coaster concept. As you can see on the pictures above and below, the concept looks like a dueling coaster but in fact it's more than that, it is a "warring coaster" which Jonathan on his web site describes like this: "The Warring Coaster concept takes an armed conflict from a film or a story and allows riders to live it. Through the use of multiple trains on multiple tracks, giant themed arenas, animatronics, interactive laser gun systems, and much, much more, the Battle of the Death Star* from Star Wars* roars to life! This is the ultimate in themed rides and roller coasters combined."



Well, it certainly looks like the "ultimate ride" and on the patent drawing above you'll see that the coaster can have up to six different tracks with six vehicles moving simultaneously. The launch would be done by linear induction or linear synchronis system and the vehicles would reach 50 miles per hour in a few seconds. And because this warring coaster is designed with a Star Wars theme, the vehicles - I mean, the fight - will be between X-Wing fighters and Tie Fighters! Each vehicle will have six seats, and each guest will be able to use a mounted laser gun to shoot at the "enemy". Each hit will be counted and will appear on the fighter’s screen, and in addition to the usual lap bar there will a grab bar which will be helpful to guests if they need to steady themselves while they are shooting.



One of the questions I asked Jonathan was about the size of the X-Wings and Tie fighters. When you look at the drawings of the X-Wing fighter above and the Tie Fighter below, the vehicles look huge and I wondered if it was possible to have such big vehicles on a coaster track. According to Jonathan it would not be a problem as long as the vehicles are light enough. If we take the X-Wing fighter, for instance, the wings would be made of fiber glass over an aluminum frame with minimal steel reinforcement, and of course the important "middle" part of the vehicle frame and structure will be in steel.



Still, when we look at the drawing with its incredible tracks and considering the large size of the vehicles I couldn't stop thinking that this indoor project will require a huge facility and Jonathan confirmed that his concept indeed requires a huge building. But the best is yet to come, as this building would be fully themed so that the epic battle between X-Wings and Tie Fighters would take place over the surface of the Death Star and inside the famous Death Star trenches - yes, the same trenches in which the final battle happened at the end of the first Star Wars movie (Episode 4) or also in Star Tours 1! You can see in the drawing above where it is written "Main Trench". You'll note also the words "Millenium Falcon" which indicates that Han Solo’s fighter should be included in the decor.

Another great idea - a genius idea I must say - is the one related to the queue. As there will be two "teams" riding at the same time, guests will be divided – they will either join the "rebels" and board an X-Wing fighter or they will join the "Empire" and board a Tie Fighter - they will be directed down two different paths and in each of them they will have access to Death Star or Rebel Fleet ship turrets - as such, the queue decor will be "inside" the Death Star or a Rebel Fleet ship. Each turret will be equipped with laser guns AND using these laser guns guests in the queue will be able to "fire" at the roller coaster vehicles as they enter the Death Star trenches! On the drawing below the numbers 406, 410 and 416 represents the locations of some of the turrets guns.



Each hit from the turret guns to the vehicles would tally additional points which would be counted in the final count. At the end of each ride, depending who is the winner (based on the number of points), either the Death Star will "explode" - with the use of lighting and pyrotechnic effects - or, if the Empire wins it will be the rebel planet base which will "explode" thanks to projection effects.



Isn't it an amazing concept? It surely is, but, as with each concept, there are also some difficulties which would need to be resolved. For example, how the guests would board each vehicle, especially the X-Wing fighter. Jonathan imagined a system where the upper wings could be moved down to make the boarding easier, as shown on the first drawing on items 516 and 526. Technically, Jonathan is pretty sure that everything he designed in this ride can be done. Of course the biggest problem would be the cost of the ride. To give you an idea, at WDI this kind of ride would cost probably around $150M, or less if it was built by someone else - not to mention the cost of the important licensing rights to Lucas Film Ltd. The huge facility would cost a lot, too. The ride hour capacity could be also a problem, especially considering the inevitable tremendous success of this Star Wars ride concept. Even with six tracks, considering that each of the six vehicles will embark six guests that makes 36 guests only for each ride, and considering that it would be probably a 3 minutes ride that makes an hour capacity of 720 guests which is indeed not enough. However, the patent notes that a proper block-section design could allow for multiple vehicles to run on each track at the same time, which would resolved this hour capacity problem.

Regardless, it is a fantastic Star Wars attraction concept, and probably just like you, I wish to see it becoming real as soon as possible. Jonathan unfortunately can't propose his concept directly to WDI as Imagineering generally doesn’t accept concepts coming from the outside but who knows, if Georges Lucas himself happens to read this article and love Jonathan's ride idea then we might ride this Star Wars roller coaster in the future!

All pictures and patent drawings: copyright GordonRides, LLC 2009 - all rights reserved

* Death Star, Star Wars are trademarks of their respective owners who do not endorse GordonRides LLC, nor are they in any way connected with GordonRides. Concepts presented in The Warring Coaster are the subject of several pending patent applications owned by Jonathan Gordon, the principal of GordonRides.

Star Tours 2 : C3PO meets Georges Lucas in Starspeeder 1000

Although a previous picture of C3PO was released some months ago this new one shot at Disneyland give us a better idea of his dimensions, where as the new Starspeeder 1000 pilot he will sit, and all this with his creator standing next to him - Georges Lucas himself!

Talking about Star Tours 2, do you know that Disneyland Paris didn't announced yet any plans to "upgrade" Discoveryland's Star Tours to Star Tours 2? And it is DLP 20th Anniversary next year! To be honest, considering that WDI Imagineers need 9 months only to transform the attraction DLP executives still have some time to make their final choice and to give the green light to begin the works. We'll see...

Picture: copyright Disney

C3PO will be the Starspeeder pilot in Star Tours 2 !

You better don't miss Tom Fitzgerald's article on the Disney Parks blog if you want to know more about today major news: C3PO will be the Starspeeder pilot in Star Tours 2! Jump to the full article HERE.

And while i talk about C3PO, watch what unfolds when C-3PO and R2-D2 land on earth and discover a Currys & PC World Megastore in this FANTASTIC new TV Ad.




Picture: copyright Disney

Captain Eo will be back at Disneyland Paris next July !

That's it, after Disneyland, Anaheim, Captain Eo will be back at Disneyland Paris next July. Although it's not officially announced yet It's a pretty good move from the park as this will be a major news for all DLP and Michael Jackson's fans in Europe - and God knows there is here a lot of Michael's fans. Also, it will bring a "new" attraction in the park when the summer season will begin, and considering that Toy Story Playland won't open before mid-August Captain Eo's return will surely help to bring more guests in the park.

It's hard to say that Captain EO's return fits very well with the "Year of the New Generation" 2010 theme, but it surely will make happy a new generation of DLP fans who were too young 11 years ago and never saw the 3D movie.

Honey I Schrunk the Audience will close late april, so if you're a fan of this 4D movie you have only two weeks to enjoy it one last time. We don't know yet how long Captain EO will stay at Discoveryland and what will be next, so don't ask me!

Picture: copyright Disney/Lucas Film

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings

There is no new Indiana Jones movie this year, and considering the mediocre quality of the Crystal Skull it's almost a good news! However, on June 9, Lucas Arts released a brand new Indiana Jones video game called "Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings". The game is released for Nintendo Ds and Play station 2 of course, but - and that's where it becomes interesting - also for the now famous Nintendo Wii. Thanks to the Wii technology, the gamer will be able to act like Indiana Jones, and, as one of the game designer said "It's as close as you can get to be a real Indiana Jones".



The 3D animation looks fine, and especially the decors and background as you will see on the videos below. Lot of reminiscences from the Indy movies in the Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings adventure, but that's okay, it should be fun.



As i know you like concept-arts, here are some of them in wallpaper size. More concept-arts available on the game web site HERE







This first video below is the official game trailer.



In this next video you'll see game designers explaining how it works with the Wii.



And this last one shows the first Ten Minutes of "Indiana Jones And The Staff Of Kings" in the Wii version.



And what about a new Indy movie, you ask? Well, if we consider what Shia LaBeouf recently said in an interview - later confirmed by Producer Frank Marshall - they're currently working on a script. Mmmmh...the last time i heard this from a Indy producer was 15 years ago and we had to wait almost as long to see the movie - and not a real good one. So, i'll believe it when i'll see it!

Hat Tip to Blue Sky Disney for the news!

Pictures and videos: copyright Lucas Arts

Who have some news about Star Tours 2 ?

Some years ago, in 2005, Georges Lucas himself announced at the Star Wars Celebration III event: "Star Tours will be getting an overhaul soon". Since then, we heard some infos or rumors and then, nothing. It's just like if the project had fall into a black hole! So, let's have a look back to this Star Tours 2 saga, a story by itself.

Ten years ago, i was at WDI doing some Imagineers interviews and, back in 1998 or so, the imagineers were already thinking about a story line for a Star Tours 2 attraction. At that time the script was basically that the StarSpeeder on the road for Tatooine would be trapped in one of the Pod race, and there we go. An interesting idea was about the ride beginning: In Star Tours first version, if you remember well, the Star Speeder has a sudden left turn and a "fall" - inside the huge room where we can see the Adventure through Inner Space mighty microscope - before ho goes in outer space at light speed. Rex, the driver robot, excuses himself for his mistake, etc...

Now, in the 1998 script, the beginning of the Star Tours 2 movie would have been the same, but instead to wrongly turn left the Star Speeder would have take the right way, i.e moving straight ahead. A way for the imagineers to do a wink of an eye to the first version.



And then we know what happened: Eisner and Lucas relations were supposedly as bad as possible and we had to wait for the end of the Eisner's era and better relations between Lucas Film and Disney new CEO to have the project on the road again.

After Lucas announcement to the fans, everybody was expecting Star Tours 2 for 2007 - as the year was at the same time the 30th anniversary of the first Star Wars movie AND the 20th anniversary of the first Star Tours. But we're now in 2009 and - correct me if i'm wrong - but i don't think we've seen the opening of a Star Tours 2 attraction two years ago.

However, since then, exciting news were released more or less unofficially : Anthony Daniels who played C3PO announced in May 2007 at the Adventure Con comic book convention in Knoxville said that "he just got finished filming the new digitalized upgrade for the ride". He also said: "this update will start up around the end of the year and from what he has seen it looks very, very exciting". Good. Happy to know that.

Then we learned more about the future new special effects:

- Each Star Speeder simulator would be equipped with five 3D retro-projectors screen using the Disney Digital 3D technology. A big screen in the front and two smaller one on each side. The screens on the side are supposed to give complementary views.

- Another source said that imagineers may use lenticular screen for the smaller "3D" scren on the left and the right of the main screen in the front.

- The simulator would have also an additional hydraulic system with the ability to lift up part of the Star Speeder's roof during some sequence or special effects of the movie.

- 3D polarized glasses would have a Star Tours theme.

- The front projection system would be changed to allow the perception of landscapes in 3D. It should be a a double projection of high-definition film on a hemispherical screen - like the one you have in Omnimax theatres. Right now, the projector is inside the simulator, but in this case it may be located outside to cover the whole screen surface, and more, like when the roof will be lift.

- A DTS audio system will equipped each shuttle for a better realism of sound effects, and others loud speakers could be put outside the simulator for other sounds effects.

- Finally three Audio-Animatronics would be part of ride. Two of them would have a "walking" simulation although you will see only the upper part of their "body", and the third one won't walk but would move thanks to its computer program or eventually could have a "live" animation for a better interaction with the guests inside the Star Speeder.

If all of this is really part of a Star Tours 2 experience, it will be great, isn't it? But still, the main question is: when?



In a May 2007 interview about his CGI effects in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, ILM wizard Hayden Landis said that “Next up (for him) is another nostalgia-oriented project a redo of the Star Tours ride at Disneyland”.

Last year a Screamscape source said that "WDI has been playing around inside the cabin after hours and playing It’s Tough To Be a Bug footage of all things. While this seems odd at first, apparently they are doing it to test a new 3D projection system they are working on for the cabins for the new Star Tours" and other rumors also said that Imagineers were using the Epcot's Body Wars simulators for some tests which i must say would make sense as they can do them secretly in the now closed Wonders of Life pavilion.

And for on opening date, fall 2009 was envisioned, but an opening in 2010 should be more consider if the "Tomorrowland 2010" project that may see the entire land refurbished again for Disneyland's 55th Anniversary is still in the plans. It would be perfect, and also explain why we waited so long as obviously Disney - on a marketing point of view - will need not only a re-theming of the land but also a new attraction.

Now, i must say that the secret is perfectly kept at WDI because none of my sources or imagineer friends know anything about a Star Tours 2 opening date - or, of course, they keep it secret. Anyone out there who have more real news - not rumors - about it is very welcome!

Pictures include in this article including that fake new DLP Star Tours outside decor - and the opening date on the top image which is pure wishful thinking - are not Disney or WDI pictures but were done by two talented members of the french Disney Central Plaza forum - BIX! and McFLY - whom i thanks a lot for their authorisation to post them here.

Thanks also to my friend Pascal Pinteau for some technical infos from his excellent EffetsSpéciaux.info web site

A Special Alien Encounter - Stitch's Great Escape Tribute

When the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien encounter open in WDW , some years ago, it was quite an event. Not only it was part of a new re-themed Tomorrowland, but "Alien" was supposed to be a real frightening attraction , the first of its kind in a Magic Kingdom. Well, for the adult audience, it was really fun, and not-so-scary. But for the 12 years old young girls, the 3D sound ,the darkness and in-theatre effects were may be a little bit too scary!
No need to say that WDW executives didn't like at all to see these young girls exiting the attraction theatre crying...
This is probably why this brand new WDI attraction - that was supposed to be built in other Disney parks - remains the only one of its kind...Mind you, still in 1994, Tim Delaney, DLP Discoveryland show producer was still expecting to built it right at the entrance of the land where the room has been kept , on the little hill on the right, between the "Constellations" shop and Autopia.











We all know what happened next: the attraction was re-themed around the Stitch character and is supposed now to be less scary than before. On the pictures above and below, the difference between the two pictures of the same scene is interesting: on the Alien one the boys are yelling, but on the Stitch one, the boys are younger and smiling. The message is clear: no need to be afraid of this attraction any more, come on in!
Also, note the difference between the two photos of the pre-show sequence , with the small teleportation experiment. On the Stitch version, the S.I.R robot - one of the best programmed AA i ever seen - is now dressed in a more cartoonish way.
But the really interesting shot above is the sixth from the top, as this rendering show a kind of pre-show "laboratory" scene that finally was never built...
And, last but not least, you may have noticed on the Alien encounter marquee that the attraction was supposed to be a " sensory thriller from Disney AND Georges Lucas ".
What is Georges Lucas doing in all this, you ask? Well, apparently, and if i'm not wrong , it seems that the concept/idea of the attraction came from him during a meeting, and when Lucas have an idea, you better not forget that it came from him...which, i must agree is perfectly legitimate.









Here below are youtube videos of the two versions. The two first one shows the pre-show and the show of Alien encounter - Video: copyright Martin Smith

And the two last one shows the pre-show and the show of Stitch's great escape - Videos: copyright SaveTheLastRide

Photos and Art-work: copyright Disney