This summer Universal Studios Hollywood will be celebrating a major milestone for what is arguably one of the most famous attractions ever created. The world famous Studio Tour will mark 50 years of behind the scenes tours and movie making magic with an unprecedented expansion in scope and a brand new finale that will leave visitors thirsting for more. On the eve of a major transformation and expansion of the park’s signature attraction, Universal Studios Hollywood’s Creative Director John Murdy met with us to talk about the history of the tour and what the future holds.
Strolling the halls of Universal Studios Hollywood Creative brain trust with Murdy we breezed past collages and photo displays of the Studio Tour’s history. Each picture depicting noteworthy events and markers in the history of the ride – legends like Alfred Hitchcock, Frankenstein and Steven Spielberg right alongside everyday visitors. Reverence being given to every photograph, reminding each passerby of the legacy they hold in their charge.
“When I think of the start of the studio tour, I always think of when Carl Laemmle started the studio tour on March 15th, 1915” Murdy started, noting the fuzzy timeline of the upcoming semicentiennial. Laemmle, a German immigrant, started offering tours when he moved Universal to its existing 235 acre piece of land in the San Fernando Valley. Murdy, continues, “He invited 20,000 people to come and watch how they made films. He erected huge bleachers where people could watch them being shot in the open air, using natural sunlight. This was before the advent of sound. People were just wandering all over the backlot, just checking things out.” Murdy explained. “When sound came in, things changed. You couldn’t really have a lot of people walking around, making noise”.
During the 1950’s, outside tour groups were allowed to drive through the lot giving visitors a glimpse of Hollywood. These bus groups marked each visit with a trip to the studio commissary. After seeing a dramatic uptick in food sales when these groups came through, it was clear that visitors had a place on the lot. It wasn’t until 1964 that the studio would return to the idea though with the introduction of the pink and white, Harper Goff designed Glamour Trams.
But how did John Murdy, a kid from Hacienda Heights, become a major creative force behind Universal Studios Hollywood? How did he land the responsibility of guiding its signature attraction through a celebration of this scale? Furthermore, where is he guiding it? John glanced at a picture on the wall of one of the old trams and reminisced, “My first trip to Universal was in 1972. It was really interesting. I was obsessed with the Universal Monsters and there’s a picture of me with the Werewolf. My older brothers were terrified, but me, you look at that picture and I’m in love.”
Murdy’s connection to the beginning of the studio tour in 1964 is a close one. “I first came to work for Universal in 1989, the summer that Earthquake opened” John explained, “I was working under a man named Barry Upson.” Upson was the General Manager for the Studio Tour when it opened in 1964 and he was tasked with putting it together physically, staffing it, operating it, and overseeing it. John thrived under Upson’s managerial guidance and was soon stretching out to other areas of park operation. He also took full advantage of the Tour Guide policies at the time, by visiting the sets of films like Back to the Future 2 and 3 while they were being shot. He immersed himself in the world of movies and theme park operations.
Talking to John about the tram tour isn’t like talking to a stodgy historian. John lights up like a fan boy when the topic veers towards the history of this attraction. Most notable is his knowledge of the various set pieces, attractions, and stunts along the route. Everyone remembers the parting of the Red Sea or the Flash Flood. Practical demonstrations that punctuated the behind the scenes tours with glimpses of real movie magic were a trademark from day one. While the various staged scenes along the route continued to push the boundaries of technical wizard and theatricality, John noticed that something was missing. Murdy continues “The one thing that we noticed was that the tour never really had a finale. I mean, the closest thing we had was the ice tunnel.” A movie tour without a movie ending. Why had no one realized this before?
It wasn’t until Universal tapped Oscar winning Film Director, Peter Jackson, to create a 3D attraction along the tram route that they realized there was a viable way to finish the tour with a bang, literally. The wildly popular and prolific Fast and Furious franchise had a small kuka arm demo on the tour for a few years, but Universal saw the opportunity to go big and end the tram on a high note. “They took what they learned with King Kong and took it to a way, way, waaaaay higher level.” Murdy enthused. “We were able to get all of the cast and all of the film makers from the movie to help create this new attraction.” Along the tram route, guests will experience a b-plot, so to speak, as they encounter various cars along the route in a new storyline laced throughout the entire tour which will build to the ending attraction.
Another new expansion starting July 4th and running through Labor Day weekend of 2015 will be the highly anticipated Nighttime tours that will allow guests to see iconic sets like the Bates Motel, Psycho House, or even the European sets from the classic monster movies in a whole new light. John explains, “We have never had studio tours at night for a very practical reason. You need to light it.” Being that Universal is an actual working movie studio the permanent rigging required to light a set at night for regular tours proved far too intrusive for the ever-changing filming schedules on the lot. “We’ve spent the last two years going through the 400 acre lot, theatrically lighting them . We’re creating all sorts of media to showcase the films that were shot here at night, we’re doing original film production to bring these sets to life, new character interactions where the stars come out at night. It’s a lot more than just lighting. It’s going to be a whole new studio tour.”
Speaking about the dramatic difference that will divide the day and night tours, John enthusiastically started to talk about the changes coming to the Jaws encounter. “I think Jaws is a great example. Jaws is a hundred times more intense at night. You know, when Spielberg shot the movie, the shark didn’t work. So he was forced to take a Hitchcockian approach to it, not even showing the shark until 45 minutes into the picture. At night we are going for the same suspense. “John continues, “We are trying to light Jaws for key scenes that were in the movie. Like when Richard Dreyfus finds Ben Gardner’s boat, and goes under the water, and it’s all murky, we are trying to get that feel. It’s really cool! I really think that this is going to be something that people will want to come and see over and over again.”
Beginning July 4th, we will be able to experience the Studio tour in ways that would have made studio founder Carl Laemmle proud. By adding a story arch and delivering a new night time tour, John Murdy and the team at Universal Creative are pushing the boundaries even further to mark 50 years of tours through movie magic.
“… Just think what this would mean. To see the inner workings of the biggest moving picture plant in the wide, wide world. A whole city where everyone is engaged in the making of motion pictures, a fairyland where the craziest things in the world happen. A place to think about and talk about for the rest of your days! See how we blow up bridges, burn down houses, wreck automobiles…see how buildings have to be erected just for a few scenes of one picture and then have to be torn down to make room for something else. See how we have to use the brains God gave us in every conceivable way in order to make the people laugh, cry or sit on the edge of their chairs the world over!” – Carl Laemmle, March 15, 1915
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