In addition to the trashed King Kong attraction and famed New York street set on the Universal Studios backlot were hundreds of classic film prints!
The prints were high quality dupes (interpositive negatives), not the original masters, but the loss of these classics could impact screenings at festivals and rep houses for decades.
The fire also obliterated a good chunk of the Universal Music Groups recording collection including big band and jazz labels on the now defunct Decca label as well as high end videos of TV shows.
There is no truth to the rumor that Seth Rogen and James Franco’s discarded ‘fake’ fattie smoked during the MTV Movie Awards was responsible for the fire which began hours earlier.
