Storyboard Comparison- "Skeletor's Arrival On Earth"

After a long delay... Here is MOTUMovie.com's second storyboard comparison! This time around, we're looking at the storyboards for one of the more iconic scenes in the film- Skeletor's arrival on Earth!





The storyboard set opens with the good guys moving cautiously through the streets...





Sounds rise from the dimensional door, causing the group to turn.









The door brightens in intensity as it opens, building into an almost blinding white-violet.



Since the storyboards were drawn during an early stage of production, many differences in the story appear throughout. This storyboard shows our first divergence in the scene. In the film, Evil-Lyn and the mercenaries were not present at Skeletor's arrival. Her group was located in a different part of the city, forcing Skeletor to communicate with her through their ships. In this earlier version, Evil-Lyn and her group are at the location of Skeletor's arrival. Though this scene doesn't appear in the film, the staging is close to an earlier scene of Evil-Lyn opening the portal-



It isn't hard to imagine these scenes taking place in the same area.





As the portals size and power increases, the heroes can do little more than look on in astonishment.



Another shot not in the film. Evil-Lyn and her group were originally intended to stand in silhouette against the portal's brightness.





A closeup of He-Man's reaction to the portal. Not used in the film, but similar in structure to an earlier brief solitary shot of He-Man.





















The scenes of Skeletor's troops (and ship) emerging through the portal are recreated almost exactly in the film. This was most likely due to the heavy effects work in theses scenes. Note again the presence of Evil-Lyn and one of the mercenaries in the latter 2 boards.





Skeletor's ship arrives, dominating the scene...





...followed by a closeup shot of Skeletor.











Due to the overwhelming amount of Skeletor's forces, the heroes are forced to flee from the scene. Note that in the storyboards, Gwildor runs on his own. He is carried by He-Man in the film, most likely due to Billy Barty's bad leg.









Another scene not used in the final film- Detective Lubic tries to use the radio in his car and a pay phone to call for backup, but has no luck with either. Lubic then witnesses Skeletor's forces moving down the street and immediately jumps in his vehicle and beats a hasty retreat.





The storyboards shift back to Skeletor with a view of the ship's control area. Note that in the stroyboard, Evil-Lyn is present in this scene. A pretty major divergence occurs again here. In the original storyboards, Evil-Lyn explains in person that they have captured the key, but that "the Thenurian has escaped us".



Skeletor's reaction to this news is much different in the original storyboards than it is in the film. Instead of showing disappointment in the heroes' escape, Skeletor says "I will see to He-man... You have done well".



Evil-Lyn then moves off, commanding troops as she walks.

A revised set of storyboards show a version much closer to the actual film-







A comtech advises Evil-Lyn that Skeletor demands a report. Evil-Lyn replies that they have the key, but that He-Man has eluded them. The storyboard only shows one perspective on this scene, which is split into two different shots in the movie: a group shot on Evil-Lyn's barge, and a closeup of Evil-Lyn.





Skeletor's displeasure is present on the revised boards. Here, he reacts with a quick "That will be all", just like in the film.



The final shot of these revised boards shows the pilot of Skeletor's ship relaying his message, which is not present in the final film.









The film gets back on track with the original storyboards, as Skeletor motions his air centurions to begin their pursuit.



Evil-Lyn moves off with her forces in this closing shot from this set of boards- a scene not shown in the film.

Next time around: "The Air Centurion Sequence"!

Pre-Production Painting: "Eternia"

This painting was part of a batch of pre-production art for the film sold on eBay recently. A giant landscape of Eternia is the setting for this concept piece. The conceptual art featured here shows the vast scope that the film employed before budgetary constraints forced a more focused view for Eternia, primarily limited to Castle Grayskull itself. One of the more interesting aspects of this beautiful piece is the situation of Grayskull atop a large mountain... which may have been due to the deleted scenes dealing with the "catacombs beneath Grayskull". Though listed as conceptual art, this might have also been done as a possible cover piece for some sort of publication. If you look at the art, it seems as if Grayskull and the MOTU logo are meant as a front cover, with the landscape folded around onto the back. There's also the large space above the cityscape, which was possibly left open for text. Very cool stuff!

















Landmark credits the art to a "D. Magnon", though this may be an error. I can't find any listing for a Magnon in the credits, and the signature on the piece looks more like "D. Negron"-



The credits do list a David Negron as a storyboard artist for the film. It is possible that this piece was painted by him.

Masters Of The Universe Magazine Summer 1987 Earl Norem Poster Insert

Been meaning to update this one for awhile now... Here's a better version of the Earl Norem poster previously spotlighted HERE. Clicking the image below should bring up a much larger version. HUGE thanks to Mr. Eamon O'Donoghue for cleaning up my scans and reassembling this beauty for us!

Evil-Lyn's Barge Miniature Shooting Model

This miniature model (used for filming scenes featuring the full shots of Skeletor's barge) was auctioned off a few years ago through "Profiles In History". It is constructed of resin and plastic elements, and measures 61 in. long x 34 in. wide (at wing tips). This barge/troop transporter was designed by master illustrator Ron Cobb and built by the Boss Film modelshop.











And how it appeared in the film:

Skeletor's Barge Miniature Shooting Model

This miniature model (used for filming scenes featuring the full shots of Skeletor's barge) was auctioned off a few years ago through "Profiles In History". It is constructed of resin and plastic elements, and measures 51 in. long x 23 in. tall. The model was wired with electronics so that the ship could have it's own interior lighting.









The model features miniature figures of Skeletor, 2 warriors, and one of the "warlords". Since these wouldn't be clearly visible on screen, the figures aren't incredibly detailed... but still manage to capture the look of the characters.







Lastly, here are a couple of shots of the model as it appears in the film-





*Credit to "Profiles In History" for the pictures presented here.

Movie Memorabilia: Film Crew Jacket

Like many other film projects, the production crew on Masters were given special jackets while making the movie. The MOTU crew jacket was made by "On Stage Design" (conveniently located in California). The back of the jacket features a beautifully embroidered "Masters" logo, with the film's tagline "Coming To Earth 1987" and "Canon Films Inc." placed directly beneath it.





Each jacket was individually embroidered with the crew member's name, followed by the division of production in which they worked. In the case of this jacket, the worker's name was Ben, apparently from the stunt department.



The credits from the film list a Ben Scott as working in the stunt department. Ben Scott is the son of the film's stunt coordinator Walter Scott (who also portrayed Julie's father). In all likelihood, this jacket belonged to him.

Pre-Production Painting: "Stalking He-Man" (By Claudio Mazzoli)

This piece of art was part of a batch of pre-production paintings for the film sold on eBay recently. The painting depicts a scene of He-Man and Julie hiding amongst the trees, while an army of Skeletor's troops moves from the city towards them. While this scene does not appear in the film, the He-Man and Julie pairing survives in the scene where He-Man defends her from the "curious quartet". Of interest here is the early take on He-Man's appearance. While the sword is fairly close to what would be seen in the film, He-man's attire looks very much like the vintage "Battle Armor" action figure...