[Movies] Life-Size Starship Enterprise Was Almost Built In Las Vegas
Posted by Joseph Lee on 04.13.2012
But the project fell through...
A life-sized Starship Enterprise was almost built in Las Vegas.
Gary Goddard wrote on the Goddard Group blog that his design firm worked on it in the 1990s in an attempt to revitalize downtown Las Vegas.
He said: "It would create a new '8th Wonder of the World, with an iconic monument that would take its place alongside other 'must see' monuments in the world. (You would be able to see this from the airplanes as they came for landing at the Vegas airport. It's that big.) Conceptually, it was to be a 'tour' of the ship, with all of the key rooms, chambers, decks, and corridors that we knew from the movie. There was to be the dining area for the ship's crew (where you could dine in Star Fleet comfort), and other special features. There were also one or two interesting ride elements that we were considering including a high-speed travelator that would whisk you from deck to deck. But we were really just getting into the show aspects when everything came to a head."
The project was quickly canceled after being revealed to Paramount CEO Stanley Jaffe after five months of work. Goddard wrote: "You know, this is a major project. You're going to put a full-scale Enterprise up in the heart of Las Vegas. And on one hand that sounds exciting. But on another hand, it might not be a great idea for us -- for Paramount. … In the movie business, when we produce a big movie and it's a flop -- we take some bad press for a few weeks or a few months, but then it goes away. The next movie comes out and everyone forgets. But THIS -- this is different. If this doesn't work -- if this is not a success -- it's there, forever."
