Seven years ago today…
click on image for full photo
Seven years ago, this was the view from Blue Sky Studios in White Plains, NY. From our office on the 17th floor of 44 South Broadway, we could see the Twin Towers on fire. We were 30 miles to the north of Manhattan, looking down the length of the island. In the photo, you can make out both towers smoking in the distance. The building that looks like it is next to them is the Empire State Building, but it’s actually several blocks away, on 5th Ave and 34th street.
It was a chaotic day, with the radio stations being the first way I learned of the disaster in progress on my way to work. At first, DJs seemed to think it was some kind of joke, or perhaps just a small plane. The second plane hit as I was getting in to the parking garage at work. I ran up to the office to see if we could see it from the office. As a kid from rural Pennsylvania, I really liked being able to see Manhattan in the distance. It felt like a small train set or something in the distance. I used to look at it quite a bit from time to time. On this day, it reminded me of a disaster film.
I made two quick calls: one to my wife (who wasn’t home at the time) and one to my mother back in Pennsylvania. They were just quick calls to let them know I was alright, and that I could see what was happening. Around 9:30, a spouse of my coworker called and told us that the Pentagon was also hit. About five minutes later, the phone grid went down and we couldn’t make or receive any phone calls.
We watched the towers fall, and the cloud of debris and smoke envelope the southern end of the island. They called a meeting at work, and sent us home.
In the following days, many people went into the city to help with relief efforts. I kept going in to work to help cover for people who were out. Production on “Ice Age” was officially shut down during this time, but working felt better than not.
Believe it ot not, the events actually altered our film. In the trailer for “Ice Age”, the Scrat runs from a glacier and ice dust cloud.
(watch around the :49 sec mark)
The execs at Fox seemed to think that this glacier face was too similar to the towers and their collapse. Even though the trailer had bene out for a while, and seen by millions, the scene was adjusted for the final film, with a newer, cliff like top piece. It seemed like a strange thing to have to adjust, but the mind set at the time was one of extreme sensitivity. In hindsight, I don’t think that anyone would have made that connection if it wasn’t explained to them, but we changed it anyhow.
Where were you?
»