SCI FI PI

When people from Australia discuss visiting San Francisco, they invariably point out that it’s “just like Sydney”. For the most part, this statement is rubbish. Whilst both cities have many things in common – iconic bridges, stunning harbours and vibrant subcultures, there is a sense of the dramatic that San Francisco holds, from its ridiculously vertical hills, its sharp weather and its dark underbelly that Sydney doesn’t come close to matching. It’s not odd then, that a city born of earthquakes, skullduggery and failed gold rush dreams should also be home to the Vatican of explosive film-making, ILM.



R2 D2. The R2 D2.


ILM stands for Industrial Light and Magic, a company created in the early seventies by George Lucas to take care of the special effects requirements for films such as Star Wars. It was specifically created to create new ways of doing things, to constantly push the envelope of movie magic, and has continued to do so for the ensuing 30 years.

For the film buff, if you go to ILM, you may go there on some Star Wars pilgrimage. But when you leave, it will be as a film historian, your movie world expanded beyond the scope of a single franchise, enveloped forever in a sense that you have reached behind that magic curtain, and if not actually possessing the magic itself, at least witnessing it.

For the jaded, the unimpressible, ILM is, at the very least, one of the coolest workplaces on earth.



This particular ET was used as the 'stand in' ET in the film.


Situated on The Presidio, the ex-military area that is now home to rolling hills, hiking tracks and buildings converted to other uses, ILM is housed with Lucasarts and Lucasfilm in old military hospital buildings that provide views not only towards the Golden Gate Bridge, but over Alcatraz.

Large windows in offices and meeting rooms combined with long, labyrinthine corridors, give the building a unique feel, not dissimilar to a rather hip museum.



Ewoks for sale! ILM even has a shop!


Obviously, this effect is compounded by the row upon row of iconic movie artefacts encased in glass, hanging from the ceiling, lining the walls, hanging from the walls, sitting in the corners or hidden in stair wells.

But it is a workplace. Friday is guest day, and the employees at MegaLucasCorp accept that the occasional stickybeaker is going to stick their head in, point to the giant battle-scarred Star Trek saucer section and expect you to say ‘yes’ (which you do) when they ask if that’s the very model used in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.



Before Slimer was a ghost in Ghostbusters, he was solid.


There’s a pragmatism to the place. Yes, we work here. Yes we’re trying to do as good a job as possible (which is the way we do things here because it’s pretty much the best of the best) but yes – this is the place where they make Star Wars. And Indy. And Pirates of the Caribbean. And Iron Man. And ET. And Terminator. And the list goes on.

The people in this building have contributed to a staggering $USD 15 billion in movie grosses. 4 out of the top 5 films of all time bear the hallmarks of ILM and Lucasfilm, as do 40 out of the top 100 films of all time. Of all time. From one company.



The Golden Gate Bride, as seen from ILM.


That’s why there’s an odd sense of calm about the place. Nobody’s trying to impress you. Nobody’s trying to get into some weird office politics.

They don’t have to. Do a good job. Have some fun doing it. Remain the best special effects company in the world by creating the future of film special effects. That’s what seeps out at you as you walk the corridors.



Typical ILM office, complete with iconic giant model from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.


And of course, as part of a guided tour, it’s only SOME of he corridors. And it’s not a guided tour, per se. It’s actually headed by a chap (Technical Publicist, Greg Grusby) who knows what he’s talking about, not some intern or PR flunky who has to ‘refer to the notes’. This is a chap who’s walked the walk before talking the talk as a technical consultant, helping the outside world understand just what goes on at ILM.



Matte painting used for the finale of Die Hard II.


First off, let’s get something straight. Whilst George Lucas remains the CEO of all the companies that bear his name, he is not there, stalking the halls, checking in on people, doing everything. All the companies housed at the Presidio are multi-million dollar concerns, headed by their own leaders, with their own goals and concerns. Sure, they report to Lucas in a final word scenario, but it is in the classic CEO sense for most of the time. The most powerful effect that one of the world’s most talked about (and blogged about) filmmakers is the unhurried, calm that infuses the place. No matter how high stress the deadline, how tight the security, how super secret the project, how ground-breaking the technology, there’s a laid back air to it all. Excellence is expected. No one blabs. No one steals.



Close up of matte painting from Die Hard II reveals a tribute to the recently deceased Jim Henson - a frog on the truck door!


The irony is, of course, that these things are in some way unusual. But it is the Hollywood where these things are rare that gives ILM and its surrounds such a rare, sweet breath of clarity. It is in fact why George Lucas set up the company in San Francisco, an hour’s flight from Los Angeles, in the first place. Close enough to be relevant, but far enough away to remain unsullied. Rival special effects houses are started up by ex-ILM employees because everyone who works at the highest SFX level in Hollywood IS an ex-ILM employee.

To get a sense of the not taking oneself too seriously side of things, you only have to look up on the wall next to one of the many reception desks that dot the many floors of the complex to see Jar Jar Binks, encased in carbonite, across the wall from the more well known figure of Han Solo, also encased in carbonite.



This is the kind of camera used on Star Wars IV: A New Hope on the Death Star sequences.



Jar Jar hangs next to a small paper cutting, referring to the world’s most annoying film character. A gift, 'The Jar Jar' hangs in eternal testament not only to failure, but also to a sense of humanity, a world where mistakes happen, and perfection is a goal, rather than an everyday destination. It’s funny, in an actual laughing out load kind of way, rather than a 'humour the corporate vampires' kind of way. And that, right there, is the difference. You speak and get spoken to as a person, as a guest, as a human being. Sure, the Lucasworld’s PR machine is run by professionals, but there’s a difference between slick and just plain decent.




Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, original matte painting.


END OF PART 1 of 3, of a 3 part series on ILM..

TO READ PART 2 CLICK HERE!

TO READ PART 3 CLICK HERE!