Media-inspired float gets ready for action
Volunteers are working “frantically,” putting in long hours, six days a week to construct the Media City-inspired float for the 125th annual Rose Parade, according to Burbank organizers.
The city’s float, with the theme “Dreams Do Come True,” depicts a movie scene in which a damsel in distress, on the verge of getting run over by a train being steered by a villain, is rescued by a hero wearing a white hat and riding a white horse.
“We would like to think that dreams come true in Burbank through the art of moviemaking, so that’s what our float celebrates, the movie industry,” said Steve Edward, vice president of the Burbank Tournament of Roses Assn.
Organizers nabbed actor, director and producer Garry Marshall — known for creating the TV shows “Happy Days” and “The Odd Couple” and directing the feature films “Pretty Woman” and “The Princess Diaries” — to sit in the director’s chair on the float during the parade.
“Burbank is the media capital of the world, really, so it’s really nice to celebrate that the movie industry is here in Burbank,” Edward said.
During the last two decades, the association has constructed two floats centered around the entertainment industry in Burbank, Edward said. In 2009, the float depicted people going to the movies, and in 1993, it featured cartoonish characters in the shapes of a movie camera, microphone, television and radio, and was titled, “Milestones in Entertainment.”
But the movie set design is the first of its kind, Edward added.
Several volunteers are employed by Burbank’s numerous studios, including Edward, who works for Warner Bros.
Hundreds of volunteers are needed during the coming weeks to help construct, decorate, and, after the parade, “deconstruct” the float, Edward said.
“I’m still frantically building this thing and I’m already planning its demise,” Edward said with a laugh.
Meanwhile, the Burbank association has already kicked off the design contest for the 2015 Rose Parade, which Edward said should involve “tales that will inspire and bring hope.”
For information about how to volunteer or submit a design, visit www.burbankrosefloat.com.
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Follow Alene Tchekmedyian on Google+ and on Twitter: @atchek.
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