01x02 - Tron

[bunniefuu]

DAN LANIGAN:
Released in the summer of '82,

Tron was set
inside a computer-generated world

- unlike anything audiences...
- Fire!

Including a ten-year-old me,
had ever seen.

On the other side of the screen,
it all looks so easy.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

- DAN: With futuristic costumes...
- Finish the game!

Weapons and effects...

- t hat combined cutting-edge technology...
- [MAN GROANS]

with traditional
film-making techniques.

DAN: Forty years later, not much is left
from the digital world of Tron.

But I wanna track down
a few rare physical pieces

that do still exist.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]

[PROJECTOR TRILLING]

DAN: In a movie, every detail,
no matter how small,

is designed to tell you something.

- DAN: [CHUCKLES] Does it have your smell?
- No comment.

[LAUGHS]

I'm Dan Lanigan, and I've spent
my entire life collecting artifacts

from my favorite films.

This is a real cinema relic,
sort of like me.

[BOTH LAUGH]

DAN: Now, I'm setting out to learn
more about the props

- from the Disney movies that I love...
- Fall back!

- Feels a lot lighter.
- [ALL LAUGH]

DAN: Because these historic artifacts
make you feel

like you're a part of the story.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]

DAN: Holy cow!

Part of the thrill of prop collector
is the hunt.

The more unique a piece is,
the more satisfying it is to find.

And with 1982 sci-fi classic Tron...

so many of its pieces
only existed in cyberspace...

but not the sign for Flynn's Arcade.

It was a functioning neon sign

and a glowing identifier
for Jeff Bridges' character, Flynn...

and I found what's left of it

deep in the bowels
of the Walt Disney Archives.

So, this piece is really important.

It's so great the archive has had it
all these years.

Yeah, it's great to see it up close.

- Let's test it. Let's see what works.
- All right. Let's see what lights up.

Moment of truth,
let's see what it looks like.

[ELECTRICITY CRACKLING]

- Well, that means, uh, we got a problem.
- Yeah.

DAN: I can't let the film's
biggest physical artifact

remain in this state of disrepair.

So, we're gonna try and...

- When I say "We..."
- [LAUGHS]

- I mean you...
- RICK: You.

Are gonna try and get this thing
up and running.

DAVE: It's definitely got breaks

in occasional spots and I don't think
this is supposed to be here.

But we don't wanna change too much.
It has to stay as original as possible.

I know it makes it more difficult.

It's doable.

[ROCK MUSIC PLAYS]

[CRACKLES]

DAN: No matter where you stand
on the debate

between restoration and replication,

we can all agree that preserving
these artifacts is the priority,

and Dave has his work cut out for him.

- [BEEPS]
- [DOOR OPENS]

DAN: Before I left
the Walt Disney Archives, I asked Rick

if he would lend me one of
their most treasured items from the film

so I could reunite it with someone
who hasn't seen it in over 30 years.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

And where better to meet them
than at a video arcade?

It's no Flynn's, but I managed
to track down

one of the video games the film spawned.

It's old and it's weathered,
but the joystick still feels the same,

and it sure does take me back.

- But I'm not here just to play Tron.
- [CLICKS]

I'm here to meet Tron himself,
Bruce Boxleitner.

- [DISC ROARING]
- [TRON GRUNTS]

- You're very persistent, Tron!
- I'm also better than you.

- DAN: Greetings, program.
- BRUCE: Greetings.

- Appreciate you coming out.
- BRUCE: Oh, my pleasure.

You're playing
in my sandbox here, you know.

- DAN: That's right, your digital sandbox.
- Yeah. [LAUGHS]

DAN: I brought something
that I'd love to show you

that connects to, uh, your experience
in Tron. You wanna check it out?

- Certainly. Let's do it.
- All right. Follow me.

BRUCE: Oh, my gosh. Look at this.

Are you telling me you found these?

Oh, my God. Hello, old friend. [CHUCKLES]

- Greetings, program.
- DAN: Now, here's the thing.

- These are very delicate.
- BRUCE: Oh, my... Of course they are.

DAN: They weren't
back in the day, but now...

- BRUCE: Can I lift the helmet?
- Yes, please.

May I lift the helmet? I just wanna...
I haven't seen this thing in years.

God, look at that. Amazing.
[CHUCKLES]

See how this was added on here.

- There's a foam...
- Yeah.

- Added on to the plastic.
- And some tape, as well.

BRUCE: And some tape, yeah.

- BRUCE: That's... It's aged.
- I mean, it's old. It's... That's...

- You can see all the adhesives coming off.
- Yeah. Believe me,

my adhesives are coming off, too.

- [LAUGHS]
- That's how old it is.

Uh... [LAUGHS] But it is amazing
holding this, because...

working for... on a Disney movie
for a kid like my age grew up...

This is what we grew up on.

And, um, to actually be in a Disney movie
was pretty thrilling, I gotta say.

DAN: So,
you have a very unusual costume...

- BRUCE: Mm-hmm.
- And design.

It's made out of Lycra...

- plastic...
- BRUCE: Some of it is Lycra, yeah.

- BRUCE: Plastic, basically. Yeah.
- DAN: Uh, leather, canvas...

Look how sheer the things are.
We were wearing only, uh,

a sort of a dance belt...

- Right.
- Basically a male thong.

You... Wait. Wait, hold on.
You wore a thong...

- BRUCE: Yes, I did. I did.
- For this? Wow.

BRUCE: There were some very funny
situations, 'cause walking around

in those very sheer tights

- was almost a lewd act.
- [DAN CHUCKLING]

BRUCE: I remember a note came
from on high saying,

"Would Messrs. Boxleitner, Bridges,
and the rest of the cast,"

"when going to the commissary,
please wear your cast bathrobe?"

DAN: Yeah. [LAUGHING]

That would be the back side,
this was the front side

we've got right here. See,
because I have the iconic four symbols.

- That is how you identified Tron...
- DAN: Interesting.

From Flynn or anybody else.

- DAN: Wow.
- BRUCE: And then, when you put that on,

you stand differently,
you walk differently.

It is everything to do with character.

You know, a film of this age,

in a period of time when they were not
saving this material...

- Mm-hmm.
- It... it's amazing

that this costume still survives,
and all of the pieces are here.

- BRUCE: Yeah. It's a pretty awesome thing.
- And... to reconnect you

- with your costume is...
- BRUCE: It is amazing.

DAN: What does this costume mean to you?

I would have to say, Dan, it...

it means I was part of history.

Filmgoers all over the world
may have never heard of me before,

they knew me through this.

So I am forever linked with this project,
but I feel a part of history.

I feel a part of movie history.

DAN: Seeing this costume
makes me wanna find out

where the look had come from,
and luckily,

a lot of the original art still exists.

DAN: Did you take
any stabs at the costuming?

SYD: I did.
One of the drawings I did,

I remember, was the back view
of a Tron character.

And what I did was, knowing anatomy,

I concentrated the circuitry
to be a reflection

of the nervous system...

- DAN: Oh! That's...
- yeah, that runs

the muscle structure.

- DAN: That makes perfect sense.
- Yeah.

DAN: Futurist Syd Mead is the one
Hollywood turns to

when they want to visualize the unknown.

His concept art has brought
epic sci-fi films to life

for nearly four decades.

And on Tron, Syd would take
director Steven Lisberger's ideas

and turn them into the blueprints
for the digital realm.

I guess these are some
earlier design ideas?

- Yes.
- DAN: Had you ever done design work

- that was translated into computer work?
- SYD: No.

I didn't know the ins and outs
of the technicality and the limitations.

For instance, this sketch here,
the guy's helmet

was supposed to match up to the windshield
of the bike...

- DAN: Right.
- And when he leaned forward,

you'd have bike, helmet, guy,
feet back here in the little slot.

And the computers at the time,

they couldn't do it,
because it was too elaborate.

So, remember they had
the code wand in their hand?

- That's right.
- And in about two frames, all of a sudden,

- you had the light cycle appear, bang.
- DAN: Right. Right.

SYD: Which is the only way
they could do it.

[ENGINES REVVING]

DAN: What's amazing
is that the technological limitations

of the computer animation
led to some creative solutions.

SYD: The other thing with the light cycles
was that...

And I see the next drawing here.

Steven said,
"Well, we have to turn these things."

I said, "Well, here's a game."

"It's not a real world,
there's no gravity, no inertia."

So I said, "Just have them
turn right angles at top speed."

- I said, "Well, that solves that problem."
- [ENGINES REVVING]

DAN: I mean,
that is such a strong story point,

and has become so iconic.

- That was your idea. That's amazing.
- Yeah.

DAN: Let's take a look
at this piece right here.

This is a very special one, I think.

- It shows the main villain of the film.
- SYD: Oh.

That's the...
that's the evil face on the cylinder.

DAN: Yes, the MCP.

SYD: If you know mechanics,
there's a timing light you shine

on the fan belt,
and if you match it just right,

the spot will stay the same.
And I thought,

- "We can do that for this face."
- DAN: Ah!

SYD: So it's going... [IMITATES WHIRRING]

Every time it comes around, the eyes,
the mouth, the nose, are visible.

- DAN: Right. Right.
- SYD: So that's where that came from.

- DAN: That's amazing. That's amazing.
- [CHUCKLES]

Working on a breakthrough film like that,
the chance to get in

essentially at the ground floor
of computer animation...

- [CHUCKLES]
- on a project

that nobody had done before.

It was thrilling. [CHUCKLES]
It really was.

DAN: Syd Mead had a long history
of designing the future,

but even he couldn't imagine

how his concepts would be developed
into real elements for the film.

DAN: I contacted
some of Lisberger's original team,

a group of renegade visual artists
and engineers

who became the digital animation
designers of the film.

I hoped that they had retained
some of these physical elements

that they used to create
the digital world of Tron.

And we agreed to meet at the place
where it all began,

- Stage Four on the Disney lot.
- [BIRDS CHIRPING]

So, when we started working on the designs
to create this character called the Bit,

these came in from Syd Mead.

And Syd's a fantastic designer,
but we thought

- this was a little bit too cute.
- Yeah. Yeah.

And so we were experimenting
with these dodecahedrons

that could animate and transform.
They'd have a "yes" and a "no,"

would come out from inside the neutral.

Well, where's your program?
Isn't he gonna miss you?

BIT: No.

I'm your program.

- BIT: Yes.
- [SIGHS] Another mouth to feed.

DAN: Not only is this the first
digital character, but it's probably

the first digital character who's ever
interacted with a human, right?

It's important in the history
of filmmaking and computers.

- Nice work.
- Thanks, man.

DAN: But the Bit was just the tip
of the iceberg.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]

DAN: This team would go on to help
create digital props

like the light cycles, the recognizers
and, of course, the solar sail.

[LASER g*ns sh**ting]

KENNY: We all were creating things
that we'd never seen before.

We were making art with film technology
that we were inventing as we went along.

- [CHUCKLES]
- KENNY: Like, for instance, when I drew

these storyboards
for Flynn's ride, we call it...

[SWISHING]

KENNY: The journey from the real world
to the game world.

I didn't know quite how I was going to do
what I was designing,

but I knew that's what I wanted to see.

So, like in every film, today included,

we'd draw the storyboards.
What does this thing look like?

Pencils are cheap.
You lay it out first here.

If you wanna change something,
change it here,

because there was no rendering,

- there was no computation going on.
- Right.

KENNY: We didn't have digital.

DAN: So you were sh**ting film,
creating the digital imagery with...

One element at a time.
There may be 500 elements.

DAN: It all seems so overwhelming.

These guys had less technology
to work with

than we have in our cellphones...

- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- But thanks to meticulous planning,

they built the first digital world,

not just with some
of the earliest computers,

but even by hand.

RICHARD: We have been talking
about computer simulation.

- DAN: Right.
- There was a whole other part of the film,

how we stylized the live-action characters

to give them a look that made it look like
they were made of energy and light.

- DAN: Right.
- And we still had some places

- where we hadn't worked it out.
- DAN: Sure.

And one of them was the helmets.

It's basically a hockey helmet.

- It's a Cooper hockey helmet.
- DAN: Yeah, yeah.

So we were, like, a week and a half away
from principal photography,

and we had white helmets.

[CHUCKLES]

- That could be a problem, right?
- RICHARD: Yes.

So what I would do is
I would take a helmet home each night

at my dining room table,

- and using Chartpak tape...
- DAN: Wow.

And quarter-inch masking tape,
and half-inch masking tape,

and an X-Acto,
and I would do a helmet a night.

And they had to be on set tweaking
when little parts of this would come off.

What I love most about them is that,
it's the hand-made quality.

I just love that it's made out of tape

- and of hockey helmet, and...
- [DAN CHUCKLES SOFTLY]

KENNY: There's something very personalized

about when we're making stuff up
from scratch.

And my question is, why has no hockey team
adopted this process?

[ALL LAUGH]

DAN: The black tape on the helmets
marks specifically

where they would add the neon glow
later in the process.

RICHARD: We were sh**ting these characters
like you see here.

White costumes, black designs,
on a black stage

- with black and white film.
- DAN: Right.

We were sh**ting in 65-millimeter,
so we got the biggest negative we could.

And then, that would go
to a photo-roto machine.

Then, every part of this picture
is isolated for separate exposure,

tone of the face, the whites of the eyes
and whites of the teeth,

the color of the costume itself,
the circuits.

DAN: So that you could turn them
into a different color if you wanted.

- RICHARD: Yes.
- Well, you guys know what it's like.

You just keep doing what it looks
like you're supposed to be doing,

no matter how crazy it seems.

So, Richard, how many elements
did you have, generally?

We had two semi-trucks

that were the library of all these boxes
of all these scenes.

Both walls were just shelves
all the way up, and that's where...

- Wait, so how many elements of...
- I would guess...

- I'm guessing 32 tons of art.
- RICHARD: Yeah.

- [DAN LAUGHS]
- Thirty-two tons.

I hope you're beginning to understand

why this is the first film
ever made using this,

and the last film ever made using this.

- [LAUGHS]
- Exactly.

- Total insanity. [CHUCKLES]
- DAN: Wow.

DAN: With physical pieces from Tron
so few and far between,

any lead is worth investigating.

So when I caught wind that a Tron piece
was about to go under the gavel,

I called Brandon Alinger
of the legendary auction house.

The Prop Store.

BRANDON: So, we have this thing
up here at the moment

'cause we're just getting ready
to sh**t it for the catalog.

- DAN: Right.
- Uh, so...

Oh, wow! There it is!

BRANDON: There it is, the scoop arm.

- What do you think?
- Oh, my gosh! That is awesome!

- It's massive!
- This is the first one we've ever had.

We've had other pieces from Tron,
as you know,

but as far as the scoop arms
themselves,

this is the first one that I've handled.

DAN: This prop was used in the Ring Game,

the first physical challenge Flynn faces
once inside the digital realm.

BRANDON: Obviously, you've been
paying attention to the Tron market

- for a number of years.
- Right.

Have you ever seen
another one of these come up?

I have not seen another one,

but a mutual friend of ours,
I believe, has one in his collection.

There's only two in the film, so...

- it's possible they only made two.
- BRANDON: There may have only been two.

You think you're gonna wipe me right out,
don't you?

No, I...

- [LASER ZAPPING]
- [GRUNTS]

I mean, what's interesting about this is
it's obviously a practical prop.

- Right.
- I mean, we can see here,

they took a found part, you know?

I'd assume this was a real scoop
that they went out and bought...

- DAN: Yeah. I think it is.
- And then they dressed it up.

And you can see the black mark down there
where the ball prop

- would have been rolling in and out.
- DAN: Oh, right. Yeah.

Which shows the use on it,
which is pretty neat.

DAN: But it's been
painted white, obviously,

- to match the look.
- BRANDON: Yeah.

DAN: It's not a pure white,
it's more of, like, a cream white.

And then they put these foam pieces over
the top to give it dimensionality.

Yeah. And look here, we got some paint

- or maybe Sharpie touch-up on set...
- DAN: Yeah.

Which is a good sign that it was there
and it was used,

- and all that sort of thing.
- Oh, yeah.

We do have a little bit of the tape
peeling off the wicker back here,

but all the best props
start as found items.

- They do. They do.
- Lightsabers, Tron scoops.

- Blade Runner g*ns.
- Yeah, that's right.

There's something that feels
real about it,

- because it is something real.
- BRANDON: Right.

DAN: The question is,
whose jai alai scoop is this?

[PANTS] Okay, here's an easy one.

DAN: If we can confirm it's Jeff Bridges',
then it's a really important piece.

You know what,
it's interesting how this pattern...

- BRANDON: Mm-hmm.
- Is different over here

compared to over here.
I've got some photos...

from the film.

- Let me pull these up.
- Oh, some production stills?

- DAN: Yeah. Okay, so here's Peter Jurasik.
- BRANDON: Mm-hmm.

I don't see any lines, but I'm seeing
this dot pattern.

BRANDON: Mm-hmm.
If you zoom in just there,

- does that match this?
- I don't know. It's hard to tell

whether or not this is here in this photo.

BRANDON: We should see if we can find
that image in slightly higher res.

See what we can see there.

- DAN: Now, here's Flynn...
- Yeah.

- From the other angle...
- Yeah.

And we're seeing something
that looks very similar to this.

BRANDON: So, the circuitry there. Yeah.

DAN: That's clearly that but here,
it's hard to tell.

- Maybe... We got four of these.
- It's interesting.

I see two little dots there, see,
next to...

- Yeah.
- One, two. We only have one here,

- but of course, that could've fallen away.
- Right, 'cause it's tape.

BRANDON: Yeah.

DAN: We clearly need more time
for definitive confirmation,

but this kind of investigative work
is my favorite part of prop collecting.

DAN: Obviously,
you guys have this piece here

'cause you're gonna be putting it
in an upcoming auction.

- Yes.
- I... [EXHALES] ...know...

how it is to sell something in an auction,
and then you never see it again.

- BRANDON: Right.
- Um, so, it's really cool,

whether I bid on this or not,

that, uh, you know, you've allowed me
to come take a look at it in person.

Because this could disappear
into a collection and never be seen again.

I mean, I think that's part of the fun
of collecting, is the fact that

these things are generally unique.
I mean, how long have you been collecting?

- Nearly 20 years?
- Twenty years.

- And you're only aware of one other one.
- That's right.

So it's like, that sort of speaks
to the limitations of the opportunity.

But I think that also speaks
to the fun of it, where it's, like,

speak now or forever hold your peace,
you know.

- That's right. That's right.
- So get that bidding paddle, Dan.

- See what you can do. [CHUCKLES]
- [CHUCKLES]

DAN: My investigation didn't stop
with this jai alai scoop.

I also found out

that there was
only one traditional matte painting

used in the film.

And it's still in existence.

Its creator, Harrison Ellenshaw,

agreed to check it out with me,
and as a bonus,

I got to pick him up at his house.

Wow! Look at all this gorgeous work!

Harrison's home is a treasure trove
of Disney history.

Is some of this stuff your dad's?

HARRISON:
Yes, it's probably about 50-50.

DAN: Harrison's dad is matte painter
and Disney legend Peter Ellenshaw.

This is very special to me.

My father, my mother, and I
went down to Disneyland on a Sunday.

- DAN: Right.
- HARRISON: And Walt was down there.

He looks at me and says,

"How would you like
to be the first passenger"

"on the Disneyland Railway?"

DAN: Wow!

Besides being
one of Walt's closest collaborators,

Harrison's dad was also an artist

and matte painter
behind Disney classics

like Mary Poppins and Treasure Island.

This looks really familiar,
I don't know why.

HARRISON: [CHUCKLES] Well, have you
ever seen 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?

- DAN: That's why it's familiar. Wow.
- HARRISON: That might be the reason.

DAN: Seeing all of this amazing
Disney history

made me even more excited

to head to the Walt Disney Archives
with Harrison...

to reunite him
with his matte painting from Tron,

that he has not seen in over 30 years.

- HARRISON: Oh, my gosh.
- DAN: Wow.

Look at that.

HARRISON: Uh...

It's... it's... [CHUCKLES]

I got more paint up here

- than I have on the actual set.
- [DAN CHUCKLES]

Oh, my gosh.

I think these are... these are
frame numbers for the rear projection,

which goes in this blank space.

So you basically project the live action
into the matching matte painting.

DAN: Matte paintings were a way
for filmmakers to create environments

that they couldn't in real life,
and on Tron,

this was the lone
matte painting featured in the film.

RAM: Hey, Alan...

you think I can have some of your popcorn?

ALAN: Yeah, sure.

DAN: The grid-light design of the office
was meant to be a subtle visual connection

between the real world
and the digital world.

HARRISON: I learned from my father,
who I saw paint almost every day at home,

if you could add things
that begin to create the atmosphere,

where you are, what it's like here,
and relate to it...

then you're halfway home.

How does seeing this piece 35 years
after you worked on it... feel?

It's... [CHUCKLES] ...it's...

it's pretty emotional.
I know that sounds kind of silly,

but it brings back
all the pleasant memories

of doing matte paintings,
of working on Tron.

Unfortunately, the film did not do well.

DAN: Disney was expecting
Star Wars numbers at the box office...

NEWSREADER:
Disney's computer animation fantasy Tron

disappointed audiences and has all
but faded from the marketplace.

DAN: But in the end,
Tron only delivered ten percent

of what Star Wars did.

For most films, financial disappointment
can lead to an immediate death,

but popular culture has a way
of keeping great ideas

on life support
until society eventually catches up

with pure genius.

- [ENGINE REVVING]
- [BEEPING]

VANELLOPE: Ralph...

DAN: Tron would continue
to inspire the entertainment world

for the next 20-odd years, including
a whole new generation of filmmakers,

which is why my journey is taking me back
to the Disney lot

to talk with Justin Springer,

the producer of the movie's sequel,
TRON: Legacy.

I saw the film for the first time
when I was a kid, and I just remember it

being so otherworldly.

It just didn't look like anything else
I'd ever seen before.

DAN: Justin Springer's introduction
to Tron was on home video back in 1986,

and nearly 25 years later,
while a producer at Disney,

he helped bring Lisberger's creation
back to the big screen.

[INTENSE MUSIC PLAYS]

So cool to see that you actually have
some pieces

from your production
in your own, uh, collection.

JUSTIN: I love to hold on to this stuff.

It triggers so many good memories
to pick up a helmet or, you know,

- a small light cycle toy
- DAN: Yeah.

That Steven Lisberger gave me
the first time that we met.

DAN: Filmmaking has gone
from handmade, taped-up

- hockey helmets and jai alai baskets...
- [WHIRRING]

to digitally engineered
costumes and props.

It's amazing to see how far we've come,
yet how much we still rely

on the ones that brought us here.

I think Steven deserves a lot of credit
for creating a franchise

that has been in the zeitgeist
for 40 years or more now.

- DAN: Yeah.
- JUSTIN: Multiple movies, comic books,

- video games, theme park rides.
- DAN: Yeah.

And it's an original idea.

- There aren't that many examples...
- [SCREAMING]

of massive sci-fi franchises
that are from the mind

of one individual who, in his late 20s,


that we're all still telling
stories inside of.

DAN: And we're telling these stories
because Steven Lisberger's Tron

was so prophetic.

I've got a little challenge for you, Sark.

DAN: He predicted a world
that we're currently living in.

STEVEN: Every one of us
is in that computer somewhere,

whether it's because
of our driver's license,

or social security, or income tax,
but the fact is that there is, uh...

an alternate person
that is an electrical person

that is forming
inside this electrical dimension.

DAN: I decided I had to meet
Steven Lisberger in person...

and reunite him with the object
that most symbolizes

the digital age he envisioned.

STEVEN:
You see all these vessels.

They hold my creativity these days.
I make them on the lathe.

DAN: And Steven continues
to defy expectations.

Forty years later, he now prefers a lathe
and wood to the digital world

that is now our reality.

STEVEN: I mean, when everybody
was analog, I was digital,

now everybody's digital
and I've gone full analog.

- You could say I'm a druid at heart.
- [LAUGHS]

DAN: Not quite the life
I'd envisioned for the man

whose work prophesized the digital age.

- Do you believe in the Users?
- Yeah, sure.

I... if I don't have a User,
then who wrote me?

So, Steven, the Disney Archive
has joined me here today,

and we're going to show you a piece.

It's a very delicate piece.

STEVEN: Oh, all right.

It is the Frisbee.

It's the one that was on Bruce's back.

I guess the last time I saw that disc,
it was on Stage Four in 1981.

It would be, uh...

- the spring, I guess. Yeah.
- Wow.

Funny.

SARK: You will each receive
an identity disc.

Everything you do or learn
will be imprinted on this disc.

If you lose your disc
or fail to follow commands...

you will be subject
to immediate deresolution.

That will be all.

STEVEN: The disc was this idea

- that it is your digital persona.
- DAN: Right, right.

If you study Joseph Campbell
and you study Carl Jung,

and you study all these guys,
so much of that points back

to the symbol of the mandala,

- the symbol of the self. Okay?
- Mm-hmm.

To me, it was a kind of spiritual weapon,
if you will.

DAN: But that's what's so great about it.

It is one of the great movie weapons
of all time.

It is one of the great movie tools
of all time.

As for character,
'cause it is... it does everything.

Yeah, I like it a lot, too,
and it was great having...

- Frisbees on the set.
- [LAUGHS]

Picture this.
This is big-time filmmaking,

what are they doing in there?
They're throwing Frisbees.

[LAUGHS]

Nice.

- DAN: Looking back at this film...
- STEVEN: Mm.

Would you have done it any differently?

It... it's only... The only thing
I would've changed, looking back at it,

is I would've tried to warn the audience.

This is highly experimental
and it is avant-garde, and...

I knew we were making
something very far-out,

but I didn't anticipate people's terror
of anything

that had to do with technology.
And that was kind of a shame.

Are you still in possession of any items,
any artifacts, from when you did Tron?

I have boxes of things
that I have saved

- through the years. Yes.
- Boxes?

- And what are in these boxes?
- Well, we can, you know,

pry some of them open
and see what we find.

[LAUGHS] Okay.

[EERIE MUSIC PLAYS]

DAN: Who would've guessed my journey
through the digital world of Tron

would lead me to a yurt
in Steven Lisberger's backyard?

STEVEN: So, let's open one of these.

I mean, I haven't looked
in these boxes in ages,

so I'm not sure what we're gonna find.

- DAN: What's this?
- STEVEN: Oh, that's one of the, uh...

the crew jackets.

And I would need special effects
to fit in it now.

[LAUGHS] That's cool.

So, we have some storage items.

This is a Tron disc you can handle.
This is the...

- DAN: Wow. [LAUGHS]
- the paper plate Tron disc.

- If I throw it, will it come back?
- Hit me, hit me.

Well, maybe with a sandwich on it.

- [LAUGHS] Hey, all right!
- STEVEN: What is this?

Uh, I think this is...
Yeah, this is the Tron pillowcase.

DAN: Wow.

Here we have Jeff Bridges
on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Wait. He wasn't on the cover
of Rolling Stone, was he?

Yeah. That's... I didn't forge that.

DAN: What's in this yellow thing?
What's this?

- STEVEN: Here's the Rolling Stone.
- DAN: Oh!

STEVEN: And there's the whole thing.
So, there's a picture in here

of Jeff and I together.

- DAN: There it is.
- There it is, and let's see.

DAN: That's awesome.

Cover story in Rolling Stone.

In the quote, I see myself saying,
"We're trying to show"

"that this electronic dimension
is really happening,"

I say... I'm saying.

- Well, I guess I got that right.
- [LAUGHS] Boy, did you.

DAN: Talking with Steven inside,
it was impossible not to get the feeling

that his history with Tron
is bitter-sweet.

But the more we dig through these boxes,
I can see him start to reconnect.

This is the actual last slate.
You know, in the old days,

when slates weren't electronic,
it was a tradition to give the director

- the last slate.
- Right.

This is the last shot we did, 7-17-81.

DAN: These pieces of movie history
are thrilling for me to see firsthand.

Wow. You should frame this thing
and put it in your house.

Yeah, well, that's true.

DAN: But even more so is to see him
get back in touch

with the feelings he must have had
making Tron.

STEVEN: Here is the script,
the sh**ting script,

with the original storyboards
by Bill Kroyer.

This is funny, because this one
accompanied the script early on,

but it wasn't part of the movie, you know?

And it says, "The story.
This film takes place in two worlds."

"There is our world,
the world of flesh and blood,"

"and there is the world we have created,
the electronic world."

"This is a land
of digitized electrical abstractions"

"and laser beams carrying information,
a world that has become a global network."

"We are the users, the programmers
who control the happenings here"

"like the gods in a Greek drama."

That's funny! I haven't read that
in a million years.

- It's really good!
- DAN: It's really...

- Yeah, it is really good!
- STEVEN: Yeah, I'm shocked!

DAN: It's not just good.
Everything I've learned about Tron,

the care put into every object and frame,
has made me appreciate even more

the vision he created.

Well, looking back
at all of this material...

you know, what kind of perspective
do you have on your experience on Tron

and, going forward,
for the motion picture industry?

STEVEN: Um... I...

I... If there's any young person
out there

that is working on a project
that is going to indicate or reveal,

in some way, where things are gonna be


- or content or visuals...
- Right.

I hope they do it
because I'd love to see it, you know?

I'd love to be the mentor
on the other side of the equation to say,

"Well, you know,
this is gonna be really rugged,"

"but don't worry, in 40 years,
you'll be appreciated."

[DAN LAUGHING]

DAN: Hearing Steven's passion
for creating visionary works...

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

reminded me of a little project
I have going.

DAN: So I'm going back
to the Walt Disney Archives

to check on the restoration
of the Flynn's Arcade sign.

How's it going, Dave?
This thing looks like it's brand-new.

- DAVE: Yeah, it cleaned up really well.
- You wanna do it?

DAVE: No, you do the honors.

- Really?
- Yeah. It's all yours.

DAN: Okay.

Oh, wow!

Nice work, Dave.

MASTER CONTROL PROGRAM:
Train him for the games,

let him hope for a while,
and blow him away.

KEVIN FLYNN:
I play video games better than anybody.

SARK:
You will each receive an identity disc.

DAN: My journey
uncovering these artifacts...

- Wow!
- from a hero's iconic costume...

to the art that envisioned the future,

to pieces that broke new ground,

has given me a new appreciation for a film
that created a world

no one had ever seen before...
using technology in ways

- that had never been done.
- [STATIC WHIRS]

DAN: These simple, everyday objects
helped open the door to modern CGI,

changing the landscape
of filmmaking forever.

There's too many of them!

And I'm just happy to play a small role
in preserving Tron's legacy.

Flynn lives!

MASTER CONTROL PROGRAM:
End of line.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]