Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1520492
REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2024 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE I I-CONNECT007 41 building, inside and out, that touched technology in any way. Prior to that, I was part of the concept team, and my role was helping set the strat- egy for how we were telling stories using technology. At one point I was physically lugging projectors around to figure out how we would do the lensing and the optics for the Millen- nium Falcon experience. There are even little panels and bits and bobs that I manufactured at home at the last minute because I had the ability and time was tight. But largely my biggest responsibility was leading a giant group of people and figuring out how to slice this elephant up. I had budget responsibility for both coasts for all of that. There was a whole separate crew—another show manager and a whole other team, including a technical director named Greg Johnson, who was the TD for the Walt Disney World Hollywood Studios location. Marsicovetere: My husband and I are fas- cinated with how it moves from so many different units. You're jumping off one ride, and then getting onto another ride. I mean, it's definitely groundbreaking. There have been multiple times at Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance that I've been brought to tears. Bailey: It's amazing to me how silent people are when they get off this ride. On other attractions across the park, there's all this chatter, but not coming off Rise. It's amaz- ing. It's overwhelming. Marsicovetere: We get off the transport and all the stormtroopers are there, and there's no noise there either. And then entering the room with the AT-ATs (All Terrain Armored Transports) in it? Mind blown. Yes, it's fascinating. I can't wait to call my husband and tell him about the Kenny Baker (the actor who played R2-D2) droid story, about imprinting of the wheels in the land because we are the kind of people who notice that. Bailey: I'm glad to hear that. Matties: So, Paul, how do you approach strategy? Bailey: I tend to think a little off the beaten path in my approach to strategy, not the easy, straightforward, go-to way of saying, "I'm going to put this strategy in place, blah blah blah." Here's a quick story: I had a friend growing up named Eric who came from a Hollywood family. (His father Ken, played Eddie Haskell on "Leave it to Beaver.") He had an early job working for a movie direc- tor, Brian Levant. Brian had been a writer on "Happy Days," and he created "The New Leave It to Beaver" show. He also wrote and directed the movie "Beethoven." He's a com- edy writer, and a fun, fun guy. Brian hired Eric and me to help put together a sort of "best of" internal movie about Brian's career to take back to his alma mater to show some students there. We went off with a camera