Homemade documentary on TNG sets in 1988

Discussion in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' started by jimbotron, Jan 18, 2014.

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  1. treknician1701

    treknician1701 Lieutenant Commander

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    Yes, yes, YES. That was me, over 25 years ago, pulling that STUPID stunt, trying to make a home movie of the sets of STTNG. Ralph and I were lucky enough to be on the sets for over an hour, while the doors were locked. Had I known that this video would be stolen from me (a copy anyway) and mass produced, sold at conventions, burned to DVD copies, and sold, and generally re-edited to make me look ever worse that I already looked, I would have just walked away. Being harassed on the internet from day one, stalked and harranged for just being a FAN, it's left a real sour taste in my mouth. NO, we were not arrested that night, but I was arrested at a later date, for totally unrelated situations, but the studio suits were really concerned about what I planned to do with that video!

    I was let off with no jail time and only community service for two weeks! And regardless of what has been said, nothing was ever stolen from the sets, EVER, and no reports of stolen costumes, props, or wall panels was ever made! The only stealing that went on, was a breakin at Michael Dorn's trailer, and they took both his WORF costumes, and his headpieces! I know this because the company that I worked for did makeup as well, and Paramount wanted our makeup girl to come over there and make some more headpieces, since Michael Westmore was in Europe!


    Ralph and I made a pact to not disturb anything that would halt or stall the production of STTNG, and that bed falling over was just an accident, the thing weighted like 300 pounds, solid metal. Guy Vardeman stated that the whole day after, production was stopped so they could fix that bed, which is not a truthful statement. No report of damage to the sets or that bed were ever reported, and they didn't even know about the video for YEARS after that.


    The only thing that I can think was, since the bed was on a furniture dolly, being moved one place or the other, that it was being put into storage. The idea that tipping over could damage that monster, you couldn't damage that thing if you put it on the freeway and hit it with a Mack truck. You would only damage the truck!


    People have used this video to claim that I am a liar and a thief, and that this proves that I broke into the sets, and that I had stolen stuff, which there is NO footage of that basis at all. They then started saying (and still say) that I was a fan, when I actually worked on the show! Mike Okuda stated at a convention that "Greg Stone has never worked on any Star Trek production EVER"! Now, it is said that "Greg Stone was a minor SFX artist who worked on SOME episodes of TREK"!!!


    Truth be told, I actually worked for the first three years, from 86 to 89, and left to work on the James Bond film "License to Kill". I worked in various movies and TV for 13 years, ending up with "Lethal weapon 4".


    When I think of other things, I will post it here.

    Greg Stone
     
  2. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    Why would Michael Dorn's headpieces be in his trailer? Surely those go to the makeup trailer/room? Same with his costumes. Doesn't wardrobe have those cleaned every night?
     
  3. Hober Mallow

    Hober Mallow Commodore Commodore

    Greg, thanks for posting. I guess the only question I have is how the hell did you manage not to get fired?
     
  4. treknician1701

    treknician1701 Lieutenant Commander

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    I can only tell you what a security guy told me, but I do know that his headpieces were taken, because they called us to have our makeup girl come and make some more. About two weeks later, a security guy that I knew told me that Michael's trailer had been broken into. And, yes, the headpieces should be kept in the makeup trailer, and the costumes should be held in the costume area. But sometimes, things get loose and lax, and people screw up, or it could be just a total story, you know what type of people work security. Consider it an unconfirmed report!

    Greg Stone
     
  5. Balrog

    Balrog Commodore Commodore

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    I know this was shot 25 years ago. But I'm cringing my way through this video thinking, "Stop messing with the sets! You're going to break something!"

    I don't know. I don't like this. Not cool.

    ETA: Just like to add that at least it seems like you guys were trying to be careful and respectful to the sets and props. Kudos for that. Plenty of idiots out there would have probably run around like drunken morons and broken a lot of shit.
     
  6. treknician1701

    treknician1701 Lieutenant Commander

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    Yes, Balrog, we were very careful, for the most part, not to disrupt or damage anything. One time, while we were on the set, there were film cameras, and videotape cameras and machines, and if I were some sort of crook, I could have really made off with a TON of equipment!


    By the way, is it just me, or did someone yank my TOS sound effects topic? I can't seem to find it anymore, and that was an important story for me to share. I didn't like the comment that there are "Official sources that say otherwise", and I wanted to know WHICH official sources? Since Neil Norman dealt directly with me, as well as Sam Horta, I would like to have known what was being said!

    Greg Stone
     
  7. feek61

    feek61 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Hey Greg,

    Thanks for posting. I have enjoyed your video for years and I'm glad to see it again; it has always intrigued me. It may be the best BTS videos of the set. Is your copy in any better quality? Drexler and others have said that there was damage to the sets from your visit and that it delayed shooting the next day. From what I'm hearing from you; that is not true. On another note: how about posting some of those black and white photos you took of the set?
     
  8. treknician1701

    treknician1701 Lieutenant Commander

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    Hello, Feek61. I have seen your username in the past, and glad to see you are here. No, Drexler never said that, as a matter of fact, he even posted that it was Guy Vardeman who made that comment, not him! The black and white photos were horrible quality shots of the panels, which others have posted primo quality of all of the STTNG panels. I have been collecting them on various other sites for years, and I think that I have the entire ships instrumentation. Plus, my LCARS collection is also very large. I can upload a file and give you the link, if you PM me.
    Greg Stone
     
  9. jimbotron

    jimbotron Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Yes, it appears to have been deleted.
     
  10. bbailey861

    bbailey861 Admiral Admiral

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    Well, treknician1701, I am conflicted. One part of me wants to slap you up side the head for pulling a stunt like that. On the other hand, the little kid in me absolutely loves it. It was 25 years ago, after all. I need a drink.
     
  11. Hober Mallow

    Hober Mallow Commodore Commodore

    So what happened to the other thread?
     
  12. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    I suspect it was deleted for the OP making unflattering claims about another party.
     
  13. treknician1701

    treknician1701 Lieutenant Commander

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    Unflattering? I only told the truth, and MY side of the story! I was the damaged party here, and if someone goes WAY out of their way to tell lies about you, you would want to respond, wouldn't you. I have two pieces of FACT, and one person (Neil Norman from Crescendo Records) still living who can verify that what I say is true!
    I'm really not too motivated to post any more on this site if someone can just come along and yank your thread. I should have been notified to amend my post, or my statement to CONFORM with the feelings on this board. Censorship is cruel, no matter where it comes from.

    Greg Stone
     
  14. Mutai Sho-Rin

    Mutai Sho-Rin Crusty Old Bastard Moderator

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    T'Bonz, the site Admin, pulled the thread citing legal reasons. Her judgment is based on past experience with Paramount. No need for melodramatic over-reaction.
     
  15. GNDN

    GNDN Commodore Commodore

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    I'd be interested to know what happened to the Sound FX post as well, since T'Bonz herself edited your original wall of text into something readable. If it was also she who deleted it, I would have thought she'd provide you with a reason. You can contact her directly, contact the moderators of the Original Series board, or discuss the matter in Moderator Actions if indeed no one contacted you about the thread. In any case, this is the wrong forum for that discussion, but it seems that no one responding to that thread really knew of you being wronged or that there was a story, so perhaps the defensiveness and accusatory tone came off wrong.

    As per the video being discussed in this thread, it is an interesting artifact, and I'm glad to have seen it, but cannot condone how it was created or that no harm was done. I won't speculate on what access to the set was permissible, and I won't claim that the fanboy in me would not have wanted to harmlessly document the world of the 24th century much as was attempted here, but the fact is that this was a closed and locked set, and from the sound of it, not the only time you or someone 'broke in' after hours.

    This, along with toppling the sickbay bed, and leading to a stricter policy to keep fans away from the production even on a professional level, far outweigh the value of this video, no matter how it was released on the internet. In this case it seems the makers of the video are hardly the injured party.
     
  16. treknician1701

    treknician1701 Lieutenant Commander

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    Well, first off, I had a pass to be on the studio lot. Some have said that I needed a pass to actually be in the soundstage, but that was a situation that I was unaware of at the time, and still am. We never "Broke" in the sets, the firedoor was totally open, and we just walked in. While there, on that day and others, there were MANY visitors to the sets, some given a tour from Richard Arnold, Gene's assistant. We personally saw him pulling out some of the isolineir chips and giving them to these fans, to keep. I may have gotten blamed for that one as well!


    It's strange how that video, and myself keep getting blamed for things that have NOTHING to do with anything.


    FACT: In 1986, a young man named "Kevin" started breaking into the lot, over the back fence from the graveyard, in the early hours of the morning. That video was made in 1988. On one visit, Kevin, his friend Scott from San diego, and another friend Dan, from Santa Monica, went into the costume storage area, and went into several closets, which could be locked from the inside!
    They waited until 2:00AM, and started stealing ALL of the older TREK costumes, placing them into trash bags, tied together with rope, and slung them over their shoulders. They took out 6 bags filled with costumes, and cut a hole in the side fence that was big enough to drive a semi thru!


    THIS was why the studio beefed up their security! This was not only written up in the LA Times, after Kevin and his buddies were caught, but Shatner's daugter also wrote about Kevin in that book based on Star Trek 5.
    Kevin went to jail, as his buddies turned state's evidence against him, and they recovered about 80% of the costumes, but not ALL! Kevin had sold some of them to fans!


    Enter Det. John from the LAPD, who temped Kevin, thru a person that Kevin had known, who had a "Knightrider" car. He told Kevin that he wanted to trade the car for all the costumes, and so they met at a parking lot in North Hollywood, where Det. John and many officers were waiting!


    After the arrest, Det. John was feeling SO proud of himself, that he wanted to go after the other costumes, so he started attending all the conventions. Los Angeles, San Diego, and even Las Vegas!


    But he went too far, and stared "confiscating" fan created costumes, theatening the fans with jail time if they didn't co-operate. He would gather a whole box full of obvious fan created costumes, and took them to the studio, to be shown to the costume people, who had a big laugh about some of the creations.

    My friend from school had married a girl "Kimberly" who was one of the main people on STTNG in the costume department, so she told me this first person story.


    Det. John was told to stand down from his obsessional mission to recover the other uniforms, and he later retired and became a private security agent for.....you guessed it, PARAMOUNT!!!


    And, lastly, I cannot understand what anything that happened between Me, Ralph, and Neil in any way effects the OLD studio, which at that time, was a "Gulf and Western" company. With the sound effects, or with the video, there is nothing that involves "Viacom/CBS" in any way, shape or matter. And this knee jerk reaction is really way over the top. Too bad, also, since I have a TON of more inside stories to tell.


    But someone, somewhere doesn't want the sound effects story to get out, nor my side of the video story, which is why I have been banned from so many sites (No trek forums...yet) after posting my comments! BANNED!!! It is amazing that this story is so much of a threat to people out there, it boggles the mind!


    Greg Stone
     
  17. GNDN

    GNDN Commodore Commodore

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    Fascinating :vulcan:
     
  18. treknician1701

    treknician1701 Lieutenant Commander

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    In a word! :)


    Oh, and by the way, people, that video on Youtube is a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy, perhaps 5 or 6 times removed from the master videotape, VHS, old school, crappy quality to begin with, and it just got worse. My digital copy is much, MUCH cleaner, and I have run it thru several processes to clean up the video signal, and juiced up the audio 200%, and cleaned it up as well.

    Just a FYI

    Greg Stone
     
  19. Corran Horn

    Corran Horn Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Why you seem to think that what you did by trespassing onto the set is something to be proud of is a mystery.
     
  20. treknician1701

    treknician1701 Lieutenant Commander

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    Did you read my previous posts? I WORKED on the show, I was on the sets MANY times, I was there when Majel and Marina were totally NAKED in that one episode! I had a studio pass that day! GEEEZZZ, Why do I even post?

    BTW, people, that Youtube video is about to be yanked, so if you haven't downloaded the crappy copy of it......

    Greg Stone
     
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