|
|
||
|
|
||
The big bash and media extravaganza recognized the opening of Courthouse Square for the first time since the devastating, four-acre Universal backlot fire last June. The square, now fully restored, is the first part of the backlot to reopen and other areas will reopen in the spring of next year. During the reopening ceremony construction crews were hard at work on nearby structures.
Courthouse Square is the world's most-photographed town square, and the site of more than 1,000 movie and TV shoots dating back to the 1940s. It is best known from the "Back to the Future" movies but is also famous from "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The Music Man," "Bruce Almighty," "Amistad" and many other films.
Most recently it has been featured regularly in the "Ghost Whisperer" television show and the show's producers are looking forward to being able to shoot there for this fall's fifth season.
The throng of media representatives on hand that Thursday morning anxiously awaited the arrival of that first tram and the kick-off of the festivities. Cameras clicked away at construction workers and reporters established the scene on video.
Meanwhile, Audrey Eig, public relations director at Universal Studios Hollywood, emphasized the importance of the event. "This will be the first tram to navigate through this portion of the backlot since the fire," she said.
All eyes and lenses turned to that tram as it pulled to a stop and the USC Marching Band paraded toward it.
Movie characters including Doctor Emmett Brown from "Back to the Future" and Professor Sherman Klump from the "The Nutty Professor" were joined by others on stilts, handing out balloons to the tram riders and pressing the flesh.
The event also marked the introduc-tion of Universal Studios Hollywood's new "mobil movie theater" trams, which are outfitted with high definition flat screen monitors and surround sound audio.
