Sunday, June 1, 2008

Fire burns Universal Studios sets


A huge fire tore through a lot at Universal Studios Sunday, destroying a King Kong exhibit, a set from "Back to the Future," a video vault and a streetscape used in many movies and TV shows. It was the second fire in nearly two decades to hit the site.

Officials at Universal said there were no serious injuries and that the damaged footage can be replaced.

"We have duplicates of everything," said NBC Universal President and Chief Operating Officer Ron Meyer. "Nothing is lost forever."

According to Los Angeles County Fire Chief Michael Freeman, the fire broke out on at 4:30 a.m. on a sound stage and was contained to the New York-themed lot. Several hours lated 400 firefighters were still trying to extinguish the flames.

"It looked like a disaster film," said Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge.

The cause of the fire is unknown, and damage is estimated in the millions of dollars.

MTV has announced that the 2008 MTV Movies Awards will still go on as scheduled Sunday night at the Gibson Amphitheatre, which is in the adjacent Universal CityWalk.

No comments:

Post a Comment