Rock Star: Trekking To California’s Vasquez Rocks Park
June 7, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steve in Geography & Travel & History & Trivia & Uncategorized. ]
That tilted rock formation… now where have I seen that before? On TV and in the movies, most likely. Vasquez Rocks Park, just north of Los Angeles, California, has been a favorite “otherworldly” film location for many decades. This slightly slanted look at Vasquez Rocks promises, as the Gorn from Star Trek’s “Arena” episode once did, to be merciful and quick.
Bandito’s Bolthole
(image via: TrekEarth)
Heading out along the Antelope Valley Freeway north of Los Angeles, motorists can be forgiven for letting their eyes wander off the road if only for a moment. A moment is really all one needs for the distinctive sharp angles and eroded striations of Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park to trigger a flood of movie and TV memories.
(images via: Urban Overgrowth and DukeWayne.com)
Located near Agua Dulce between the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys, Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park (to give it its official name) sprawls over 3 square kilometers (905 acres) of rugged – some might even say “tortured” – hardscrabble rocky land that looks to be the ideal hideout for a rustler on the lam or a Mexican bandito pursued by state-commissioned posses.
(images via: Photoacumen, John Kenneth Muir and UpTake)
The latter is true, actually – one Tiburcio Vásquez (for whom the rocks were named) used the jagged formations as one of his many boltholes. Vásquez, who was considered to be California’s most notorious bandit of the late nineteenth century, went on a 20-year-long reign of terror that featured horse rustling, prison breaks, robberies and burglaries.
(images via: Forest Theater Guild and Fanatique.net)
Vásquez was finally caught in 1874 and was executed by hanging early the next year. To the very end he proclaimed his innocence and constant desire to stand up for the rights of Hispanic Californians. Some say Tiburcio Vásquez was the inspiration for the fictional literary and cinema swordsman Zorro. Besides Vasquez Rocks, his name graces the Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center with 6 locations from Union City north to Hayward, CA.
Fault-y Towers
(images via: Eleven Shadows and MSSL)
Tiburcio Vásquez’ reign of terror shook the lives of southern Californians, so it’s an appropriate coincidence that Vasquez Rocks are a byproduct of a much older life-shaker, the San Andreas Fault.
(image via: HeroComm)
The inexorable grinding action along the faultline over countless thousands of years has resulted in slabs of 25-million year old striated sedimentary layers at Vasquez Rocks being shifted away from horizontal, in some cases at acute angles.
(image via: Stephen Ponting)
Erosion has been minimal in the region’s arid climate and, if anything, weathering has narrowed the upper reaches of the rock formations making them appear even sharper. Today some of the slabs are inclined at up to 50 degrees and their summits jut more than 150 feet (45 m) high.
Rock & Roll ‘Em!
(images via: Mysterious Island Design, Eleven Shadows and The World of Ward)
Have Vasquez Rocks gone Hollywood? Well yes, yes they have! The timeless, otherworldly landscape of Vasquez Rocks – not to mention their convenient nearness – immediately attracted Hollywood’s budding film industry who saw the distinctive terrain as being the perfect stand-in for the surfaces of other planets. Click here to view an exhaustive listing of the many productions that have featured Vasquez Rocks.
(images via: Bonanza Boomers and UpTake)
Classic Western TV shows like Bonanza would occasionally put Vasquez Rocks at center stage. In one memorable episode from late 1964 titled “Between Heaven and Earth”, Little Joe Cartwright (above) loses his rifle while climbing “Eagles Peak” and finds he has a fear of heights.
(images via: John Kenneth Muir, Kirk’s Homepage and Eleven Shadows)
Sci-fi films and television shows of the Fifties and Sixties glommed onto Vasquez Rocks like a mongoose on a rattler… or like a Gorn on a certain Federation Starship Captain who does not need to be named. Aw heck, it’s James Tiberius Kirk of course, an actor so intimately associated with Vasquez Rocks the penultimate peak has been dubbed “Kirk’s Rock” in his honor.
(images via: WN.com and The World of Ward)
Star Trek: The Original Series’ producers may have had their tongues in their cheeks regarding the use – some say, overuse – of Vasquez Rocks as a locale. Maybe they were just trying to stay within budget. In any case, Vasquez Rocks’ unmistakable profile figured prominently in both the “WN.com”>Arena” episode and the Futurama parody of it around 30 years later.
Here’s a video immortalizing what might be the Worst. Fight Scene. EVAR… starring William Shatner, the Gorn, Vasquez Rocks and a large papier-mâché boulder:
Worst Fight Scene Ever, via Yaemes
(images via: Eleven Shadows, Down In Front and T Hoffarth)
When it came time for director J.J. Abrams and production designer Scott Chambliss to select locations for 2009′s prequel film Star Trek, Vasquez Rocks wasn’t forgotten. Far from it, in fact, as the formation is used (albeit CGI-enhanced) in a number of scenes meant to depict sites on Spock’s home world, the planet Vulcan.
(image via: Laurie’s Wild West)
Among many, many other productions of note, 1974′s Blazing Saddles included scenes shot at or near Vasquez Rocks – the 2D fake town of Rock Ridge was built in the valley just below the rock formation.
Art Rock
(image via: Mysterious Island Design)
The repeated incidental injection of Vasquez Rocks into pop culture has endowed the formation with a unique cachet. By virtue of widespread recognition on screens both large and small, Vasquez Rocks seems to have acquired a larger than life prominence.
(images via: Eleven Shadows and CalArts)
Much like the actors featured in innumerable scenes with the iconic tilted rock formation, Vasquez Rocks’ familiarity allows the location to be used, reused and reused yet again while “playing” the part of any location the production crew desires. If some day an inanimate object is granted a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, by all rights the honor should go to Vasquez Rocks.
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Peter Shiao Interview with US Asians - Pt. 4: Being a Passionate Social Entrepreneur
February 1, 2011 by · View Comments
Peter shares about being a social/media entrepreneur, the circumstances that provided the success of his past companies, working with prominent people (ie James Stern, Mike Medavoy, Lisa Onodera, Dean Devlin, Teddy Zee, Stephen Liu, Steve Tao, Fritz Friedman), his political role models and his high regard for Gareth CC Chang. Editor’s Commentary With the historic “G2″ conference in 2010 between President Obama and President Hu Jintao (that includes the first State Dinner with China in 13 years and where he stated will promote “democracy and the rule of law” . . . “improve the lives of the Chinese people”) — it is an acknowledgement that China’s status as the 2nd largest world economy, the global diplomacy dominance of China/United States, Hollywood-Chinese entertainment industries’ potential abilities to defuse political tensions, China’s pending position in surpassing Japan’s as the 2nd largest movie market after the US, Hollywood’s chase for financial resources in China in exchange for creative access and the desire/goal/need for both parties to work together — could the words “May You Live in Interesting Times” be true? It is exciting to note that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama state that “America has no better ambassadors to offer than our young people” that underscored the United States’ commitment to broadening and strengthening US-China people-to-people exchange particular in the form of educational and cultural connections between our young people …
Cool Underwater Photography, an alternate view underneath the deep blue.
November 6, 2009 by admin · View Comments
If you were asked to name a truly wonderful British film, chances are it was filmed at Pinewood Studios. Its great reputation has resonated worldwide, the scene for a thousand iconic images. Pinewood Studios recently had an inspiring exhibition, Water on Lens. It featured underwater photographs from movies such as The Da Vinci Code, Casino Royale, and Elizabeth: The Golden Age, as well as television features and music videos. Here are 23 images taken from those underwater shoots as well as a few extra underwater stage filming photos.
Pinewood Studios
(image credits:Mirror,livejournal,Mirror,Pinewood Group)
Filming in water can be a complex and costly exercise, but Pinewood Studios does not excessively waste precious water. Instead they keep their underwater stage permanently filled. The water tank is sized 20m x 10m x 6m deep, holding 1.2 million litres of water. This a globally unique water-filming facility captured images for Water on Lens to share with us like The Golden Age at top left. Beneath that photo is actor Alan Davies in a scene shot underwater for the TV series Jonathan Creek. Both the top right and the bottom pictures were captured as actors and actresses performed underwater with a complete filming crew.
From Motorcycle Stunts to Commercials
(image credits:BBC)
James Blunt plunged into the water to promote his performance on the British Awards show in 2005, the same year Pinewood Studios started…after after 5 years of being in concept and design. He is in the top two photos. Many advertisements have been filmed at the worldwide prestigious studios, including a commercial for The Quays Shopping Centre in Northern Ireland, shown on the bottom left. In the bottom right image, EastEnders filmed a dramatic car accident involving Peter Beale.
The Studio
(image credits:Mirror)
For a deeper insight into the craft that goes on to film underwater, here are more images to impress you with the work done at Pinewood. The top left photo is from Houdini while the top right picture was taken during filming of Mr. Nobody. Also included above are filming shots from an Oil of Olay commercial, Jaws, and Atonement.
From Sports to Fashion
(image credits: image credit:BBC)
Rugby is a beloved sport to many fans worldwide. The top image was taken in an advertisement for rugby. Underwater action sequences give the impression of weightlessness when bubbles are removed in post production. In the bottom photo, Hollywood actress Kiera Knightley submerged in water while dressed in haute couture dresses and jewelery as part of a charity shoot for Fresh 2o.
Baby to Blue Screen
(image credits:shortlist,Pinewood Group)
Water facilities available at Pinewood Studios include numerous stages with tanks incorporated into the floors, an exterior tank with a blue screen backing measuring 240 x 60 feet, and an underwater filming facility. Amazing results can be achieved for films, TV and commercials from underwater blue screens that are permanently on site to “wet for dry” appearance. The photo with the baby, upside down and submerged underwater, is a stunner. Also pictured above is the famous blue screen which can make any image at all seem to be the background. It takes a large group of people to successfully shoot and film a car falling into the water and sinking.
Imagine
(image credit:short list)
The capsule collection from Water on Lens provided a rare and behind-the-scenes view into one of the world’s most prestigious film and television studios and its underwater stage. Commercial diver and underwater photographer Phoebe Rudomino captured all the iconic moments on camera for Water on Lens, including the graceful and intriguing shot above. She stated, “U Stage provides such a secure and comfortable water filming environment that we’re able to produce almost any type of underwater production shoot. From working with horses and fire to the world’s top actors and models, the scenes are truly fascinating to capture.”
Boxing
(image credit:shortlist)
In this underwater boxing match, synchronised swimmers Emily Kuhl and Asha Randall of Aquabatix showed off their competitive streaks. What you don’t see in the shot is the massive crew for lighting and filming and even for holding the oxygen tanks.
Bond & Golden Age
(image credit:short list)
The photo on the left was a famous filming moment when the elevator plunged into the water during Jame Bond: Casino Royale. The frantic horse trying to swim in the choppy water was captured in this photograph during the filming of Elizabeth: The Golden Age.
Angie
Hollywood film planned about Professor Yunus.
May 15, 2009 by admin · View Comments
“Mamma Mia!” helmer Phylidda Lloyd is developing a feature project inspired by economist Muhammad Yunus’ revolutionary concept of micro-financing. Professor Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work, pioneered the use of micro-loans to people — predominantly women — in poor communities; program saw sums of as little as $27 loaned out, which allowed fund recipients to lift themselves up from poverty.
His Grameen bank has since loaned over $6 billion in Bangladesh and his work has been duplicated in more than 100 countries.
Please check out more info on the following sites,
Milla & Tom : )
