Venice Beach

It is hard not to look back on our short time in Venice Beach with a certain amount of sadness, for it was a time not only of celebration but of separation as well.

We arrived on Monday July 25th in the late afternoon, still buzzing from our tour of Walt Disney Studios and Building 23. We were spread across a few different hotels; I was among the group that stayed at a converted historic home a few steps from the beach. The hotel itself was fine but we were disappointed by their broken wi-fi network that remained down throughout our stay.

I didn't have time for more than a quick walk along Venice Beach that afternoon.


That evening we gathered together with a few other LOSTies and Barracks spouses for a final meal in the sunny state of California.

Below photo courtesy @BonnieJGreen

The mood was sombre and relaxed as good friends said their good-byes that evening. This may just be my favourite picture from the trip.


Tuesday morning saw a parting of the ways. Several set off to the airport for the long journey home. Others stayed in the LA area to enjoy a few more days of vacation. Another four, including myself, embarked on yet another round of adventure. By noon that day I was sitting comfortably in seat 23 of a Hawaiian Airlines flight to Oahu!

Building 23

On our post-Comic-Con tour of Walt Disney Studios in Burbank we were literally surrounded by awesome at every turn; yet, one sight and one sight alone sits at the the apex of Mount Awesome -- Building 23. Yes, friends, that Building 23. The edifice which served as the production office for LOST's six seasons. Home to the source of LOST creativity -- the writers room. (I feel like going off on a rant about punctuation at this point but don't want to interrupt the flow.) (Yet I do feel obliged at this juncture to point out this interesting article about a poster featuring many of the Barracks clan which hung inside Building 23 during Season 6.) Yin to Hawaii's yang. Jin to Oahu's Sun. Abbott to ... well, you get the idea. It's a big deal to hardcore LOST fans.

Below photo courtesy @Lottery_Ticket

After standing in slack-jawed silence for several minutes we slowly regained our senses and pulled out our cameras. The most profound of these shots features our entire group reflected in the glass facade of Building 23. Obviously there is a parallel with the theme of characters looking into mirrors in the Season 6 flash-sideways. (Though we were not deceased at the time these pictures were taken. That I'm aware of.) Deeper is the realization that this television program transcended simple entertainment and impacted our lives in meaningful and long-lasting ways. The simple fact that we are standing together side-by-side in these photos is testament to that fact. Without LOST, we would never have found each other.

Below photo courtesy @Lottery_Ticket

Below photo courtesy @BonnieJGreen

I admire LOST for many things -- the actors, the crisp direction, Giacchino's music, the lush "look" of Hawaii, all scenes featuring Elizabeth Mitchell -- but above all else it is the writing that elevates the show. Whether it be the creative narrative devices, the epic mythology or the finely honed characters, LOST did it as well as or better than any other television program, at least any that I've seen. From the ether it sprang to life on whiteboards and laptops in Building 23.


The brave among us ventured forth into its inner sanctum. Four entered but only one returned, thankfully with photographs. OK, I made that last part up. Except for the photos, see:

Below photo courtesy @Lottery_Ticket

To pay our respect to the structure and those who labored within, two of our number performed the ritual known as "planking" at its base.

Below photo courtesy @LOST_4815162342

Truly it was a special experience to see Building 23, knowing its place in LOST history and knowing the caliber of talent that had worked within its doors. If there is a flash-sideways in store for us, I hope our gathering place is Building 23.

Below photo courtesy @zort70

The Magic of Walt Disney Studios

One of the side-benefits of knowing smart, talented, creative people is that they often have really cool jobs. Such is the case with a member of our Barracks family who is employed by The Walt Disney Company. She graciously volunteered to provide our group with a post-Comic-Con tour of Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.

On the morning of Monday July 25th we packed up our things and piled into several cars headed from San Diego to Burbank. The feelings of sadness as we said good-bye to our LOSTie home-away-from-home intermingled with excitement for the journey ahead. The two-hour-plus ride featured a healthy dose of LA-style traffic and showcased the benefits of social networking as applied to congestion avoidance. Being a David Lynch fan, I was delighted to spot a Mulholland Drive street sign on the way.

Shortly after noon we pulled up to the studio lot, presented our credentials, parked and reunited with our host and the rest of our group. First order of business was lunch at the studio commissary. The food selection and quality was fantastic, much better than the offerings I'm used to (avoiding) at my own workplace.

Below photo courtesy @BonnieJGreen

We then started our tour of the studio at the Michael D. Eisner building. (Full disclosure: yes I am using Wikipedia to jog my memory on some of the building names!) The facade features the seven dwarfs appearing to hold up the roof.


Laid out in front of the dwarfs is Disney Legends Plaza which contains several statues, benches, and walls of plaques identifying renowned Disney executives, artists and actors associated with the company.



From there we passed by the Frank G. Wells building, decorated with an image of 2 movie reels.


Just walking through the lot holds a lot of interest; a tall water tower featuring Mickey Mouse watches over the day-to-day hustle and bustle of a working film and television studio. Even the storage warehouses are adorned with Disney imagery!


Next we went inside the building which housed many renowned Disney animators from the 1940s through the 1980s. Both sides of the main hall are adorned with beautiful stills and concept art from dozens of Disney features. I could easily have spent a couple of hours examining each piece of art in detail.


The building's offices are currently assigned to a mix of people across both ABC and Disney. Our group was especially excited to see two familiar names on the directory. (Hint: The names are Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.)


Across the way from the (original) Animation building is the Fantasia theater. I believe this is where Disney periodically holds screenings which can be attended by employees and their families.

The excitement level, already sky-high, rose several notches as we made our way past some of the larger soundstages toward the back edge of the lot. Stage 2 is dedicated to Julie Andrews -- both Mary Poppins and The Princess Diaries filmed within.


Around the corner from these soundstages lay the holy grail of our Disney visit. Unfortunately its awesomeness is too immense to be contained within these pages, so it will have to wait for a later, dedicated post!

Our first post-grail visit was the ABC studios building (built after Disney's purchase of ABC) where the halls were brimming with the storied past and present of that network's television programming.


Our final stop was the Roy E. Disney Animation Building, where much of today's feature animation takes place. Under the sorcerer's hat is an office previously used by Roy Disney; we had the privilege of entering the room and learning a bit about its history. We also took a peek inside a screening theater (where the infamous "notes" are written), checked out some of the cool offices within, hung out at the coffee bar, sat in some funky spherical chairs with a Fahrenheit 451 vibe that have interesting acoustic properties, and even were able to admire artwork from some of Disney's current releases.


The infamous Disney attention to detail is apparent in the fence which surrounds the studio.


And with that our tour to came to a close, another highlight of an amazing week. From Burbank we set off for our final California destination -- Santa Monica.

Mission Beach

Our base of operations for Comic-Con was actually located in Mission Beach, about a 30 minute drive from the San Diego Convention Center. Although much of our time was spent either geeking out downtown or relaxing on The Barracks deck, we did find some time to enjoy the sights and sounds of the boardwalk and the beach.


On our final night we took a sunset stroll down the boardwalk for a farewell dinner. That evening featured a beautiful sunset that brought out dozens of cameras including my own.

Picture below courtesy @zort70Below picture courtesy MelBelow picture courtesy Mel

After dinner we took a final walk back to The Barracks, sweet memories swirling about our heads as we readied for the next leg of our journey.

Cowboys & Aliens World Premiere

Another of the many highlights of Comic-Con 2011 was the red carpet world premiere of Cowboys & Aliens on Saturday July 23rd. There were several ways to win passes to the event including a scavenger hunt for gold bricks (some of which held tickets), and a signing held on July 22nd at which Jon Favreau himself handed out bricks, each with a pass inside. C&A co-writer Bob Orci was also out-and-about that day.

Photo below courtesy @patmc4fun

Photo below courtesy @LOST_4815162342

To be honest I was somewhat underwhelmed by the Cowboys & Aliens trailers I had seen so I had planned another day at the convention center on Saturday. However, Saturday morning one of our group with a pass wasn't feeling well and I was offered it in her stead. I gratefully accepted.


We were told that anyone with a pass arriving before 4PM would be guaranteed a seat. In order to get a really good seat most of the Barracks folk departed Saturday morning for the theater and were one of the first in line. I departed a little later, picked up my pass from @patmc4fun who was waiting in line for the Community panel, and made my way to the theater. On arrival there was a line of maybe 50 people outside, but the line moved relatively quickly and soon I was in. After checking my cameras and going through security I entered a large waiting area (thankfully with comfortable seats, free beverages, and complimentary C&A-branded beef jerky). I said hello to my friends who'd already been there several hours, then grabbed a seat.

A little while later @patmc4fun arrived. After waiting for 3 hours he had been shut out of the Community panel! It was an all-too-common story at Comic-Con 2011; hopefully changes will be made for next year to reduce the sky-high disappointment levels.

Below photo courtesy @BonnieJGreen

As we waited inside, the red carpet area was readied outside.

Below photo courtesy @Scoutpost

We waited and waited and waited. This was the worst part of the day. It would have been nice to have something to keep us occupied, a movie, music or a visit by some of the celebs. It was painfully long wait, especially for those who had arrived early that morning.

Below photo courtesy @patmc4fun

Finally, shortly before 7PM, we were allowed to head for the theater in groups. We walked by the red carpet just as the action started; I believe Favreau and Daniel Craig may have been out at that point.

Below 2 photos courtesy @LOST_4815162342

Apparently the venue is not normally a movie theater, so the C&A team had to bring in a screen and extra sound equipment to bring it up to snuff.

Below photo courtesy @LOST_48152342

The reward! After waiting eons for the show to begin, my Barracks buddies enjoyed some of the best seats in the house, 3 or 4 rows from the front.

Below photo courtesy @BonnieJGreen

Meanwhile, @patmc4fun and I still had a fine view from the mezzanine, 4 rows in. Although we didn't see it in person, the crowd in the theater did watch the live red carpet arrivals on the big screen.

Below photo courtesy @patmc4funBefore the film, Favreau came out on stage to introduce some of the actors and production team.

Below photo courtesy @patmc4fun

You may have heard of some of these guys -- Daniel Craig (huge applause!). Harrison Ford (even louder!). Olivia Wilde (woo-hoo!).

Below photo courtesy @BonnieJGreen

Um, Steven Spielberg. Ron Howard. Brian Grazer. Sam Rockwell. Adam Beach.

Below photo courtesy @andalone

Keith Carradine. Clancy Brown. And more. What a cast. And what an honour and thrill to be in the same room as so many Hollywood heavyweights. It was great to be able to feedback our love and appreciation through applause.

Below photo courtesy @andalone

Here's a view of the audience that Ron Howard took from the stage. I think I'm in the upper mezzanine, close to the top-left corner of the picture.


I was very pleasantly surprise by Cowboys & Aliens the film. I thought it was a lot of fun. Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford were fantastic; it was Ford's best role in quite a few years. The story was straightforward and made no apologies for it -- bad aliens need to be defeated by good cowboys. It reminded me a bit like Raiders of the Lost Ark in that respect -- an uncomplicated thrill-ride with fun roles and good performances all-around.

Favreau had one more trick up his sleeve -- a full-on Hollywood after-party outside the theater following the movie. It wasn't a chintzy affair either -- plenty of tasty food, drinks, and an open bar, staffed by what seemed like a team of hundreds. Music. Top-notch.

Below photo courtesy @patmc4fun

Below 3 photos courtesy @LOST_48152342Below 2 photos courtesy @patmc4fun

As @patmc4fun and I exited the theater we happened upon Jon Favreau at the party, mobbed by adoring fans. I heard that Bob Orci was also out for a bit, but I think most of the stars of the movie either made brief appearances near the entrance or skipped out altogether.

Below photo courtesy @patmc4fun

The only recognizable face I saw later in the evening was Grant Bowler who played Captain Gault (captain of the Kahana) on LOST. I said hello to him and he graciously posed for a few photographs. He even gave @andalone a kiss on the cheek, which was very sweet.

Below photo courtesy @BonnieJGreen

Happy campers! After a great film, good food, and a few drinks the interminably long wait that marked much of our daylight hours was forgiven and forgotten.

Below 2 photos courtesy @BonnieJGreen

Below photo courtesy @patmc4fun

Below are a series of publicity photos taken at the world premiere, to give a non-fuzzy view of what the guests looked like that evening.