Is your name in any of the Star Wars movie credits?
Might we have seen you in one of the documentaries on the DVD/Blu-Ray releases?
Lots of other things come to mind–being in the vicinity of impressive artists, getting sneak peeks into different behind-the-scenes processes (not only at Skywalker, but other studios and facilities as the job demanded), the fun little swag we’d get for a job well done, or inviting friends over for lunch (employees are allowed to have guests visit) and the muted excitement they’d have when unexpectedly seeing GWL eating lunch at the next table.
But if I had to choose a final one, it’d be split between two film experiences
(a) We had a dignitary from Japan scheduled to visit (some bigwig at Sony or something, because technology companies would often customize tech/digital devices for LFL for shooting the films) and he was asked if there was one movie–any movie–he could see in the main, fully-decked out theater, what would it be. His answer?
John Ford’s 1926 Three Bad Men! This was because it was said to be a great inspiration for Kurosawa, but still not a movie that was readily available for viewing anywhere at the time. My mission? Make it happen.
And I did. I found a print from a major national film archive that we negotiated the use of, arranged for a pianist who specialized in playing silent film scores live, and got hold of a piano (easy, since Skywalker Sound had some onsite because they’re often used for album/studio recordings). Needless to say, when the gentleman (and his posse) arrived, he was stunned that we had a screening of that film ready for him. And then, in this massive, gorgeous theater, about a dozen of us watched this beautiful restored B&W print with live music accompanying it, maybe the oldest film ever shown there. A terrific experience.
(b) In anticipation of the release of Episode III, I was called upon to do a Quality Control assignment (one of my disciplines there). It turns out, GWL’s best friend (we’ll call him SS) was being given his own personal print of Ep3 to see. However, it was decided that he should also have a copy of Ep4 so that they could be run consecutively, back-to-back (for the purpose of highlighting all the continuity embedded therein). But since this was going to be SS’s personal deluxe home cinema, we were to send him the best print possible.
Now while I had been exposed to the film many times while working there, it was always in bits and pieces, on DVD or my computer work station, always with a “job” in mind, deconstructing visuals or audio for a variety of reasons. But I didn’t even remember the last time I’d seen the film on a big screen, though probably around '97 when the SE first came out.
And one cardinal rule I had discovered while working there is that the really really great films never got old (I count Empire and Raiders as the only two from the studio). The bad films stayed bad, and those I thought in the pretty good range, you still hit an exhaustion threshold over time. I always considered SW4:NH one of those.
So here I was, with a pristine 35mm print of New Hope, one that was struck off one of the master negatives, told to QC it start-to-finish to make sure it looked good (no one even knew the last time it had been examined). Yes, this was the Special Edition version, but it was still me all alone in the theater, about to watch a stunning print of this film.
I thought I’d be jaded, or a little bored with the familiarity of it, or too wrapped up in my assignment to actually have fun. But I was wrong. I was transfixed, and while I have issues with the film, everything that made it so remarkable, so amazing and creative an accomplishment, all popped out again, so vividly and lovingly, as if to remind me of all the things I had since taken for granted. The eyes of a nine-year-old and a 37-year-old converged.
Personally, I love being alone in a big theater watching a movie. There’s something very special about the experience, as if it’s being held just for me. Well this one was, with as good a print and as quality a theater as existed anywhere–and it was far far better than I could’ve imagined. I left beaming. I’ll never forget it.
Credits are often a prickly and political thing. If I had worked at Pixar, for example, their policy for credits would’ve put me in far more final rolls than I actually was at LFL. Every place is different.
But I do have an IMDB page (though not a complete one) and my name does pop up once in a while. As for my face…I’ve already answered that.
Thanks for coming back and answering more questions.
Weekend bump
Yes, many thanks, MovieMogul! Interesting stuff.
So what was the first thing you worked on? And how did things change over time, as far as the culture and everything? You mention not being proud of the Star Wars sequels–what’s the one thing you worked on that you are most proud of?
And how did you (and/or people in general) wind up working there in the first place?
I think the big cultural shift was after Ep3 was released, because then, everything was in limbo for a while. Would GWL actually do more experimental work? Would there be a ramp up of non-franchise projects? Outside of Indy 4, what else was on the horizon? As it happened…not much. Clone Wars was its own workflow separate from the main studio, and while Red Tails certainly took up people’s focus and energy, there was little else to look forward to. That was a primary reason why I left (For a while, I could easily see myself staying there for much longer).
I came in between Ep1 & 2, but I was also heavily involved with the Marketing dept. in preparing content for the various DVD box sets and soundtrack restorations, so one thing I’m very proud of is a lot of the extras on the recent SW Blu-Ray box set, much of which I had spent years researching and overseeing the transfers of. Since I don’t have a Blu-Ray player, I honestly don’t know how that material has been packaged or whether I received any credit. But it was a lot of work and the reviews I read were very positive.
Another thing I’m extremely proud of was an internal project which I can’t discuss, but it was also many many months in the making and a great deal of fun to create a truly one-of-a-kind resource.
I have a film background (BA & MA) and had worked for film societies, festivals, archives, and theater chains. Since I already lived in the Bay Area, I kept my eyes open for anything at Pixar, Lucas or Coppola. When a position popped up at ILM, I applied and was one of the two finalists. They chose the internal candidate who was already working at the Ranch, so I knew about that vacancy a month before that position even posted. And since my ILM interview went well, I was already on the fast track for this other position because they needed it to be filled quickly. It was a lucky convergence of events, but there are lots of film opportunities up here in NorCal (beyond the local studios, lots of independent filmmakers as well).
What is the cafeteria like?
What happens at the Christmas party and the 4th of July party? Did you get the Christmas card?
Any fun/interesting traditions among the employees?
Were you ever onsite for the prequel shoots? How was it like? The SW prequels had some young cast, and as each film had a production schedule of about 2 years, the actors visibly aged. How was that handled?
I can now answer my own question, because yes it is.
When I first started there, there were four different eating establishments:
(1) The Main House ground level is open to all employees and visitors (but not upstairs–executive offices–or downstairs–editorial) and they had a service restaurant, with wait service and a menu that changed every day, including ingredients from the on-site organic garden. This was your best shot of seeing GWL any given day, though a bit pricey for employees to eat at regularly. This is where I would bring any friends who’d visit me for lunch.
(2) The Tech Building (Sky Sound) had more of a buffet layout. I never ate here myself but the atrium and skylights were quite wonderful, and it seats more people than the MH.
(3) The Fitness Center (yes, there’s a gym on-site, with membership fees a fraction of Gold’s) had a salad bar and a grill, so it was mostly a place to get burgers, sandwiches, french fries, etc.
(4) The Solarium, adjacent to the MH. This had pre-made items (cold sandwiches, fruit, soda cans, etc) for those who wanted to pick up something quick and bring back to their desks (though the Fitness Center also made items To Go).
However, once Big Rock Ranch opened (another facility up the road from Skywalker, given LFL’s need for expansion), #2 & 4 closed since half the Ranch personnel had left. Also, the MH stopped being wait service and became a buffet and a bit more affordable.
I brought my lunch myself 90% of the time, so I only ate “out” occasionally–but since we were miles from the nearest convenience store or restaurant, having these onsite did come in handy sometimes. I always found the food good but very rich and not something I could necessarily eat every day.
It should be noted that most of the people at BRR (as well as all of ILM and LucasArts) moved to the Presidio (across the GG Bridge, in SF) and Lucas Animation is at BRR now. Both of those facilities have more of a large company cafeteria feel, with different stations for pasta, sandwiches, entrees, dessert, etc that you can wander from one to the next. The Presidio (technically, the Letterman Digital Arts Campus) also serves breakfast, too.
Another thing that changed is that you used to be able to deduct the price of the meal from your paycheck as a sort-of auto-deduct. This was very convenient (again, nearest ATM was miles away) but at some point, this stopped, too. I had heard that with LDAC opening, the company chose to consolidate all its eating establishments with one catering vendor, and that the food quality and variety changed dramatically as a result. Since I didn’t eat “out” often enough, I never really noticed
(B) The 4th of July picnic/BBQ is huge and takes place on the Ranch, which means for a majority of the LFL employees, it’s perhaps the only time they see the Ranch all year.
It’s is a potluck for salads, appetizers, and side dishes, but with a ton (perhaps literally) of meat provided by the company and available on a huge array of grills. Also, an ice cream truck.
The 4th of July event is geared toward families, so at different times, classic picnic games (3-legged race, etc) would be organized for different age groups. There is also a man-made lake on the property (Lake Ewok–not, that’s not a joke) and rafting races would be organized there, too. The swimming pool (part of the fitness center) would be more for playing around (during the work week, strictly lap swimming, though). Also, some of the animals in the stables would be available for petting.
Because this is out in the country and during a notoriously hot and dry time in Marin Co., the event would end at dusk so no fireworks.
(A) Xmas was always held at some kind of convention center or other large venue in San Francisco. This was a little more fancy/dress-up and had a different theme every year (boardwalk, Art Deco steamship, International fair, etc.). This would always include
(a) live music, usually multiple acts in different rooms, with dance floors
(b) food stations, all of whose contents would notoriously disappear quickly
(c) a little art gallery where employees could submit personal works (usually drawings) which would then be displayed
Though I don’t remember it being a fixture in the first few parties I went to, it seemed that more game stations and photo booths became more popular over time, too.
My favorite Xmas party was the very first, because the house band was Los Lobos! So amazing to be dancing to them so close. Needless to say, I thought this would be the norm (having someone famous headline), but I was wrong. Don’t know what was so special about that year, but it was very cool.
Ultimately, I only went to maybe one of these a year. I worked at Skywalker every day and since I don’t have kids, the only real allure for July 4 was free food–which is fine, but sometimes not worth the traffic. Ditto the Xmas party, which I’d only attend if I was doing something else in SF, again because of the traffic inconvenience.
I think the other thing you realize attending these parties is how big the company really was–between LFL, Sky Sound, ILM, LucasArts, GLEF (George Lucas Educational Foundation), THX (at the time; no longer), etc., there were a couple thousand employees, most of whom I’d have no contact with your average work month. My first July 4 picnic, I only ran into one person I knew, despite seeing hundreds of people wandering around.
So this made the events for me and my (now ex-)wife a little impersonal. The food would be good, but then we’d be done and leave early. Or we’d dance for a while but not want to stand in line for the games and give-aways. So given how little time we spent there, it became less a priority to go after I’d been there for a while. But there’s no question than an enormous amount of work would go into both each year and they were very well-attended and very nice.
(C) Yes, I have a collection of company Xmas cards I’ve collected over the years–some terribly bad (Chewbacca holding a child’s hand walking through the snow) and some pretty awesome (intricate snowflakes made out of X-wings, etc.)
The company also gave us some very nice Xmas gifts each year, too–some functional, some incredibly nice but not too practical. Whenever they picked clothing to give was always the year that generated the most complaints, because nailing down sizes across the board would be so challenging, and not all styles were comparable between men and women. No holiday bonuses, but the efforts to make some of the gifts very unique and distinctive really stood out (those, I’ve still kept, in fact)
The biggee would be the company Halloween party, held at ILM every year. They would convert one of the FX stages to a large hall where there’d be catering, candy, and a costume contest. I never usually dress up for Halloween so I only went once, but I was told that what I saw was very typical–most in attendance were parents with their kids dressed up, or super-incredible geek/nerd types that had some of the most impressive and intricate costumes I’ve ever seen in person. People would work for months ahead-of-time just for that night’s competition, and the prizes were usually pretty big (computers, airline tickets, etc.)
Other traditions:
(a) There is a working vineyard onsite (you used to be able to buy Skywalker wine on Coppola’s Niebaum website; maybe you still can) and employees could help harvest the grapes if they wanted.
(b) We’d get a company-wide yearbook each year. Just nice to see all the different activities and events the company was involved with each year–as long as you don’t mind your employee ID photo being used as your head shot
(c) We’d have a huge Trivia night to benefit the AIDS Emergency Fund/Breast Cancer Emergency Fund (AEF/BCEF) and this was also a huge undertaking with lots of cool prizes, plus an enormous amount of fund-raising, too (it was AEF/BCEF’s single biggest annual event). Only employees could participate, but there’d be usually between 50-60 teams every year
(d) Every Saturday morning, there would be a free screening of a movie that opened on Friday, usually a film that ILM or Sky Sound worked on. This would be around 8am at a local theater (so that we could get out before their regular screenings started). I saw a lot of free movies this way (though sadly, often ones I’m glad I hadn’t paid for)
May the 4th Be With You
(bump)
The Solarium, now that goes back a while…
They stopped the big parties when lucas became a bean counter and the lawyers took over the company. It was an amazing place when the film people ran the business. Great parties and gifts… also when ILM called Spielberg and said his shots might not make it on time and the workers walked outside to protest thier union contract… george was really really upset when Spielberg called him (red face and all “pissed off”)… he went right over to kernner and they had a deal the day… thats when it all changed to the dark side…
Ressurecting a thread to troll it?
And quote large chunks for short responses?
Why do I get the impression that george hates workers isn’t going to be participating in any other threads… :rolleyes:
Hayden, is that you?