By Jasen T. Davis

While Gary Goddard has traveled all over the United States and the world, the office for his company, The Gary Goddard Group, is located in North Hollywood, California, not too far from where dreams turn into celluloid. Goddard has proven he can do that, but he also has the ability to create themed attractions that take people into that dream, to be a part of that world, whether it’s Spider-Man, Terminator, Conan the Barbarian, Pirates of the Caribbean or Star Trek.

Gary Goddard’s office is spacious with an oak desk large enough to comfortably sleep on and an Apple computer with a monitor so large I feel like I could climb into it. Goddard’s Tony Award for the musical Hair sits far up on a shelf, next to Star Wars toys, Star Trek paraphernalia and what looks like a Darth Vader action figure. Every wall in his office is a bookshelf with titles ranging from fiction to the art and science of architectural design. But then there’s one shelf loaded with comic books and graphic novels, including Super Man, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and works by Jack Kirby, Grant Morrison and my all-time favorite, Bill Willingham.

Goddard himself is calm and affable, as opposed to the aloof and inaccessible Hollywood personality one might have expected. He sits relaxed with his arms folded across his chest, an unlikely visionary turned successful businessman. His dreams have become entertainment reality for hundreds of thousands of people around the planet. So what was the initial step that formed the foundation of his empire? Disney, it turns out. “I really learned the art of Show Design from the guys that created the industry,” He recounts. “And in those days, no one ‘taught’ you anything.  You participated and absorbed things and if you were young and smart and interested, you learned and you learned fast… I think I was fortunate in that I learned from the guys that actually designed and built Disneyland and Disneyworld, still the best two examples of theme park design and execution in the world… I was there at the right time.”

While Goddard has a prolific body of accomplishments, what he is currently most known for is the little niche market of turning films into large themed attractions that consistently entertain. I can’t help but inquire as to how and why properties are chosen to become themed attractions. “Many different reasons really,” He clarifies. “Sometimes it’s because a particular owner or operator needs something new and seeks out an attraction, as in the case of the Hilton Hotel and the Star Trek attraction.  Sometimes it’s because an owner or operator wants to have a ‘hot property’ to add to their existing park to kick up attendance, as in the case of Terminator 2/3D.”

Goddard goes on to explain that at times because an owner owns and operates a theme park and already has the property available to them, plus the movie is so large that it demands an attraction as with the Jurassic Park River Adventure at Universal.  In some cases the ride may precede the movie as in the case of both Pirates of the Caribbean and The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. “Each case is unique,” he says, “but I guess it always comes down to a certain formula:  It’s the right property being available at the right time, for the right price, for the right location.  When these needs all come together, the attraction has a good chance of making it from concept through the many stages of design and development, to opening.”

As to the genesis of one his more famous works, Terminator 2/3D is unique in that the attraction itself seemed like a living part of the Terminator world. Plus, Mr. Goddard worked hand in hand with James Cameron on this attraction. “I started banging away at a concept that would be true to T2, that would honor the mythology that Cameron had created, and that would also use technology in a way to further the story and the experience in a manner that would be in keeping with the Terminator legacy.”  When he finally pitched the idea to Mr. Cameron, Gary recalls that, “to say it went well would be an understatement. He got it, 100%.  And loved it. He said ‘…you really get it, the mythology is right, the storyline makes sense…’ He noticed it was really a continuation of the Terminator saga, based upon the events of T2. So that presentation launched a very productive relationship between the two of us that resulted in T2/3D.” It’s worth noting that 15 years later T2/3D is still the greatest theme park sit down attraction in the industry today.

“I guess if I was to summarize what I learned from Jim,” - he calls James Cameron “Jim,” I love it – “was a reinforcement of the importance of story driving the project, and of the need for humor even in the midst of big action.  Jim’s really good at having a sense of how character, story, action and humor all work together.”

Mr. Goddard then throws in a swank bon mot: “As far as Jim and me, I guess I introduced him to 3D.  And obviously, he took that ball and ran with it.”

He’s done it all, but Mr. Goddard has also done Star Trek. There must have been enormous pressure when he designed Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton, since the Star Trek franchise is so famous and its fan base can be quite critical. “Well, whenever I start an attraction I always ask, “Who is the core audience?’” Gary explains. “I think this is something that most designers forget.  In the case of Star Trek, creating an attraction based on such a massively popular and well known property we knew right away that we had to make the core audience the fan base.  We knew we couldn’t fail them.” Damn skippy. Have you seen Trekkers? They carry phasers, man. “We knew we wanted an attraction that was not ONLY for the fan base, we wanted the attraction to appeal to both generations that knew different parts of the Star Trek mythology and to also appeal to a wider audience who might know very little of, or even nothing, about Star Trek.”

In describing this thought process, Gary brings up the key concept of “The Big Idea,” which is to create an emotional connection to the audience. All of his projects incorporate this principle. To achieve this, he explains, you have to find a way to create an experience in real time that delivers the spirit and overall qualities of the mythology you are working with. In the case of Star Trek, Goddard and company analyzed the goals of Paramount and Hilton and added a baseline idea. “Paramount wanted to bring guests on board the Enterprise and take them into a battle with the Klingons.” But Hilton wanted something so big it would get people off the strip and into their hotel to see the attraction. “If we could find away to beam people up to the Enterprise, I thought, we can pull that off in a way that makes people say to themselves ‘What just happened?’ If we could pull that off, we could make the attraction work.”  If you’ve been to Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas you know that it did.

With so many projects being produced and designed by The Goddard Group all over planet Earth, the future of entertainment belongs to Gary Goddard, and it’s in good hands, indeed.

GARY GODDARD AT A GLANCE

Studied at the California Institute of Arts in Valencia, California for four years. By the time he had graduated he had already directed the Western United States Touring Production of Godspell, which ultimately went on to tour Western Canada as well, and had created two summer musicals for the Hollywood Bowl “Open House at the Bowl” program.

The Goddard Group designed and constructed the world-famous Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, the largest Aquarium in the world.

He is the creator and producer of the Glow in the Dark Parades now seen in six of the Six Flags parks through North America, with three more scheduled to open through 2011.

In addition to his work in America, Goddard has designed themed attractions and entertainment parks in Japan, Dubai, China, Mexico and Qatar, to name only a few!

Gary Goddard is currently at work on a massive new theme park and resort destination in China – working with producing legend Zhang Zigong -- based on his 60- hour television series and film trilogy of the legendary Journey to the West entitled The Monkey King, featuring the mythological folk hero of the same name.

Goddard and his company are currently designing the central hub of a city in China, which features a large circle shaped statue, more than double the size of the Washington Monument.

His 2009 production of Hair won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

Directed the 1987 film Masters of the Universe.

Created and Produced the 1988 Television Series Captain Power & The Soldiers of the Future (the first live action weekly series to use digital character animation, and the first interactive television series)

Created and Produced the 1991 CBS Animated Series Skeleton Warriors

His many hit Broadway (and off-Broadway) productions include:

• The Wiz

• Jesus Christ Superstar (several productions including the now famous “reunion” 2007 event production that included original motion pictures stars Ted Neeley, Yvonne Elliman, Barry Dennen reunited along with special guests starts Ben Vereen and Jack Black.

• Jekyll & Hyde

• Hair

• EFX (at the MGM Grand)

His many successful themed attractions include:

• The Star Trek: The Experience at the Hilton Hotel

• The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man at Islands of Adventure, and Universal Studios Japan

• Terminator 2/3D: Battle Across Time at Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Universal Studios Japan

• Jurassic Park: The Ride at Universal Studios Hollywood, Islands of Adventures, and Universal Studios Japan

• Conan: A Sword and Sorcery Spectacular at Universal Studios Hollywood

• Kongfrontation at Universal Studios Hollywood

He also designed The Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace, the iconic Hershey’s Chocolate World in New York’s Times Square, and the new Galaxy Resort for Macau will open in early 2011.

Comments (0)

Show/hide comments

Show/hide comment form