January 3, 2008

"Half the fun of working in the entrance area at the Mansion is that you got to play a character of your own devising."

"You could put a silly or sinister spin on the butler or the maid. It was all up to you. But now with this official script and the new blocking, that's all going to change. It won't be nearly as fun as it used to be to work at the [Haunted] Mansion."

Must everything get less fun?

15 comments:

Palladian said...

Everything is becoming so stage-managed, sanitized, scripted; every place that used to be wonderful has now been renovated into a cleaner, more homogeneous simulation of itself. If our aesthetic sense had evolved concomitantly with our ability to technologically control our surroundings it wouldn't be so bad, but it's been the opposite.

We've gone from processed food to processed existence in just a few generations.

LordSomber said...

"...in order to prevent squeamish guests from being offended by semi-improv-ed remarks like "Please follow the blood red carpet into the Foyer," the Imagineers have now written an official script for the Mansion's entrance area."
Maybe some Vampire-Americans were offended.

chuck b. said...

"[I]n order to prevent squeamish guests from being offended by semi-improv-ed remarks like "Please follow the blood red carpet into the Foyer," the Imagineers have now written an official script for the Mansion's entrance area."

What do you think the official pronunciation for 'foyer' will be?

chuck b. said...

I wonder which candidates the complainers are most likely to support in the Iowa caucuses.

Unknown said...

Inspired by the likes of Michael Newdow, the cranks of the world are flexing their clout.

What did the "offended" guests expect in a horror-themed ride?! Let's just pray none of them uttered "Chr*****s" in an unscripted moment!

George M. Spencer said...

How awful...forcing actors to actually memorize a script! And to please the paying ticket holders! These customers should be happy to just get what they get. If something has been done one way for 40 years, that is the way it should be done.

Go to the linked story at "Jim Hill Media. You can't figure out who or what "Jim Hill" is. Very opaque. No bio information.

The story quotes "sources" and "my guy in Glendale" who supposedly speaks on behalf of Disney. Who, actually, is complaining? Two teenagers with part-time jobs?

Maxine Weiss said...

http://tv4u.com/show-large-video.asp?cid=4&sid=456&vid=953&t=Show%201&cat=Variety

Zachary Sire said...

Totally unrelated...but I didn't know where else to show this video of Ann's dreamdate. Check out those shorts:

http://www.adultswim.com/video/?episodeID=8a25c39216cdd4f10116d07bd6af0120

Trooper York said...

Drudge Report January 3, 2008
In response to the reports of the changes in the regulations governing haunted houses, Hillary Clinton has officially served notice that if she is elected she will turn the White House into a Haunted Mansion. Janet Reno has agreed to reprise her role as Lurch to greet visitors, and Sandy Berger has agreed to pop out and grab personal belongings of the visitors which he would then stuff down his pants. Former President Bill Clinton has agreed to a starring role as the Magician behind the curtain with his traveling road show and cigar emporium. The role of the ghost will be played by Vince Foster…developing.

jeff said...

Not surprised. Weak management wants absolute control "just in case". Strange that Disney of all places is just NOW imposing this.

blake said...

You, a law professor, need to ask that question?

Wait, that should be phrased differently: You, a law professor, needs to ask that question!

By comparison, I suppose, Knott's Berry Farm has run the Bird Cage (improv) theater for over 40 years, and Steve Martin credits it greatly with honing his skill.

Anonymous said...

Gosssip Alert!

One of our good friends was Cinderella.  She fell in love and married Prince Charming.  Unfortunately, that particular fairy tale didn't have a happy ending.  Such are the vagaries of DisneyWorld cast romances.  But at least their son has been one of my son's favorite friends.

Our friend apparently was an excellent actress, with a definite script to follow, but she was allowed some latitude when interacting with guests.  This was part of her character, and from what I understand, she was on a fairly short leash.  She has fond memories of her years at DisneyWorld, and seems to have had no problem with the idea that she was an actress following a script.  My impression is that she appreciated the structure, as not every actor can improvise successfully.  It sounds like the improv the Haunted Mansion cast members were doing took on a life of its own and perhaps got out of hand.

Our friend found her DisneyWorld experience was valuable in her subsequent career, but she did have to resist the temptation to put "1991-1994: Cinderella" on her resumé.

Bob said...

Probably the Jungle Cruise boat operator will get a script, as well. I seem to recall them doing a lot of ad-libbing during the course of the journey down river.

Kev said...

Our friend found her DisneyWorld experience was valuable in her subsequent career, but she did have to resist the temptation to put "1991-1994: Cinderella" on her resumé.

We were told (in grad school, if I recall correctly) that it was actually good to put unusual stuff like that on our résumés, because it would catch people's eyes. I haven't updated mine in many years (it's been a while since I've needed to job-hunt), but I'm pretty sure that it always included the fact that I was an extra in a movie that was shot on campus while I was in college.

halojones-fan said...

Actually, this might not be a bad thing. Maybe what they said was "hey, having the HM staff be wacky and fun is a good idea, let's make that a formal thing rather than just depending on the cast to do it on their own." So they're going to make it part of the training instead of just leaving people to do it by themselves.