Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1520492
42 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2024 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE and some lighting. We drove around and interviewed a whole bunch of people: Henry Winkler, Barbara Billingsley, Tony Dow, and, of course, Eric's dad. When we got to Garry Marshall's place, Garry wouldn't give us an interview until we played basketball against him. Garry told us how, whenever Brian hit writer's block, he'd take the script and stick a pencil through the top hole of the three punch holes, and he'd spin the script. All the pages would go up in the air, and by the time the last page hit the ground, he'd be out of his writer's block with a new idea. It was always the best idea. Garry turned to me, and said, "Always spin the script." That was a message that stuck with me: Always spin the script. That's always been a thing for me ever since. I always think, "Okay, here's the obvi- ous answer. But what if I flip it and look for a non-obvious answer?" I try to look at things that way. Matties: Now on the ride, it's a 15-minute experience, and well worth the wait. It's not like Space Mountain; three minutes later, it's over. You're prioritizing the whole 360-degree experience for the guests. Tell us about that. Bailey: Yes. John Larena, the creative direc- tor, grew up with an opera singer in the family. He was a gigantic Star Wars fan and a fan of theater. Star Wars has been referred to as a "Space Opera." So, what better per- son to tell the quintessential Star Wars story through a modern lens. I think he recog- nized very early on that the best way to do this would be to put the audience in the action, in recognizable moments from the films, while making the story unique. We all wanted that: Our very own Star Wars experi- ence. That is wish fulfillment for every single guest. I think that that's why the ride works; it's wish fulfillment. Matties: You certainly feel like you're in the experience. Marsicovetere: Yes. The cast members are really acting. Some of them are just so good. They're using accents. Some of them treat you like they actually are the bad guys, and they're mean to you. There's just so many different things going on. You're fly- ing, and then at one point, you're walking around, and then you're in a different shut- tle. It is just very, very immersive, especially for people who are hardcore Star Wars fans like we are. It's like you said—it's something you've always wanted to see come to frui- tion. It's like we've always wanted to be part of that world and for 15 minutes, you actu- ally are part of that world. Bailey: The neat thing about what we did, under the direction of Scott Trowbridge, is you can go as deep as you want to go with the story in the land and in that attraction. It's not about the Star Wars stories. It's not about Force Awakens. It's not about pre- quels. It's about your story. It's a new sto- ryline in Star Wars. We really get to go deep