Theme_Park_Insider
04-13-2009, 07:40 PM
By Robert Niles: Universal Studios Florida's shoot 'em up Men in Black: Alien Attack (http://www.themeparkinsider.com/reviews/universal_studios_florida/men_in_black_alien_attack/) pulled off one of the big upsets in this year's Best Ride in America tournament (before the whole thing became a battle of various theme parks' Facebook groups). The discussion thread about MIB (http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200903/1117/) revealed that many Theme Park Insiders have a lot of love for this video game-inspired dark ride. (And you can count me among them.)
One thing led to another, and that discussion put me in touch with Dave Cobb, the ride's creative director. Dave now graciously has agreed to answer questions from Theme Park Insider readers about the ride, so here is your chance.
Dave got his start working in the parks, specifically, at Universal Studios Hollywood. He worked his way up through Universal Creative, where he became the Creative Director for Men in Black: Alien Attack, taking the project from design to completion in just 27 months.
Since then, he's worked as the Senior Creative Director for Paramount Parks and today he holds the same title at Thinkwell Design & Production, a Burbank, California firm that's created everything from theme park attractions to museum presentations to Super Bowl pre-game shows.
We'll visit with Thinkwell in a future piece. For now, though, I want to talk with Dave about Men in Black: about the creative process, his inspiration, some background about the ride, its legacy within the industry, you name it. And, oh yeah, his insider's tips for higher scores, too. ;-)
So, please submit any questions you have for Dave about the attraction, using the comments below. I'll pick the best ones (and add some if there's something I want to ask that you didn't cover) and take them to Dave. Then I'll post his responses in a Q & A here on Theme Park Insider.
More... (http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200904/1160/)
One thing led to another, and that discussion put me in touch with Dave Cobb, the ride's creative director. Dave now graciously has agreed to answer questions from Theme Park Insider readers about the ride, so here is your chance.
Dave got his start working in the parks, specifically, at Universal Studios Hollywood. He worked his way up through Universal Creative, where he became the Creative Director for Men in Black: Alien Attack, taking the project from design to completion in just 27 months.
Since then, he's worked as the Senior Creative Director for Paramount Parks and today he holds the same title at Thinkwell Design & Production, a Burbank, California firm that's created everything from theme park attractions to museum presentations to Super Bowl pre-game shows.
We'll visit with Thinkwell in a future piece. For now, though, I want to talk with Dave about Men in Black: about the creative process, his inspiration, some background about the ride, its legacy within the industry, you name it. And, oh yeah, his insider's tips for higher scores, too. ;-)
So, please submit any questions you have for Dave about the attraction, using the comments below. I'll pick the best ones (and add some if there's something I want to ask that you didn't cover) and take them to Dave. Then I'll post his responses in a Q & A here on Theme Park Insider.
More... (http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200904/1160/)