TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES crew screening

Just got back from an amazing experience at the Paramount Studios lot, where the crew screening was being held for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I worked on the film doing previsualization for two months while at The Third Floor, inc. The group of us at the time were all focused on the snowy mountaintop chase sequence between the Foot Clan, April, Vernon, and the turtles, and the sequence had a glut of over-the-top action that was fun to animate. It was a helpful challenge as well because we had to make lots of fast revisions, often in front of the second unit director, who would provide notes alongside us as we worked. The part I worked on that I liked the most was when Donatello slings Raphael (always my favorite turtle) into a Humvee at (0:54):



Visiting Paramount Studios was a dream come true for me and my longtime friend Paul, who I brought as my guest. He showed up a bit earlier than I did, and showed me a few landmarks on the lot before showtime. It was great to see the Robert Evans office, as well as the sound stages for Rear Window, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Coming to America, and many others. Before we went in to the theater, we got a shot near the famous arch that leads to the sound stages:

With fellow Vancouver Film School alum Paul Booth outside the gate to the Paramount sound stages (Hollywood sign in the far background).

 The Paramount Pictures theater was very nice and felt like a real theater you'd walk up to on the street, complete with a lobby. We saw it in 3D in what felt like the loudest theater I've ever been to (I guess it's known for that).

Inside the Paramount Theater lobby.

The original, classic Paramount logo.

Seeing the movie was entertaining, and I know it will blow the minds of young kids like the first ones did when I was a kid. Being a part of that cycle for the next generation of moviegoers was a treat, as it always is.

Update: So it looks like the public loved it! $65 million domestic gross ($20 million above projections). Nice to see people enjoyed it.