About me

Hi, welcome to The Custom Cab blog/ build log for Fordite, my trusty ’66 F-250.

I’m Paul. I’m one of those misfit toys that do a little of everything, usually under tectonic pressure and intense schedules. Or, put differently, I work in Themed Entertainment.

I’m an Imagineer. I misapply common technologies to tell rich, immersive stories. My career exists basically at the intersection of art and technology. You might have seen some of my recent work: Like this

I’ve been building things for as long as I can recall. My parents tell stories of the boxes of scotch tape I’d burn through as I made things – usually whatever I saw on TV. Being a movie buff and huge sci-fi geek, quickly turned into making whatever props or creature I saw on TV. But I was also predisposed.

My Dad was (and still is) a DIY-er and “maker” before those were labels that existed. He worked at IBM, in a unique role combined with both mechanical and electrical skills. I know at one point he worked on Selectric typewriters – I remember marveling at the bins of teeny parts he had stored away. And he was instrumental in installing some of the first Automated Teller Machines in Los Angeles. He even worked on some of the timekeeping systems for the 1984 Olympics. Our first color TV was a Heathkit he assembled, and because of IBM, I think we had every PC from at least the 5160 on.

But growing up it wasn’t all computers. I have recollections of working on an old 70’s Chevy Impala with my Dad that had a giant 454 V8 in it. I have lingering memories of wondering how the timing light worked, and of being terrified of the loud, lurching metal tiger strapped into that car. He maintained every inch of our house and vehicles, meticulously so. And so I also learned carpentry, masonry, paint and finishing, drywall repair, etc.

My Mom recognized that I was developing visual arts talents, and she enrolled me in drawing, sculpture, and pottery classes. I ate it up. She understood and fostered all of the non-technical sides of my growth too.

Somehow I had the opportunity to combine a lot of that. A fluke meeting of a high school friend’s Dad led to the opportunity to spend some time down at Paramount on Star Trek: Next Generation with the makeup department. And that led to working in both creature and miniature effects on a variety of movies. Special effects combined all the things I learned growing up, albeit with a decidedly “art” bent. My focus turned to creature design, and I made my living primarily as a sculptor.

In the late 90’s I was recruited to Walt Disney Imagineering to do some sculpture work on this fun maze attraction called “Treasure of the Incas” that went into DisneyQuest at Walt Disney World. I had been working on the Matthew Broderick Godzilla film, which had just gone on hiatus, so it seemed like a good switch at the time. (Fun 6 degrees of separation fact: the last name of Matthew Broderick’s character in the movie was “Tatopoulis,” named for the production designer on the film, who is now married to my high school friend whose Dad opened the door for me at Paramount.)

Imagineering (WDI, as it’s called) turned out to be an unexpected treat. Artistically it’s similar in many ways to the movie industry work I’d done. But VERY different at the same time, in terms of how the art gets executed. The rigor applied to ensure reliability and safety is far beyond the scope of what’s done for movies. Instead, things are engineered for permanence and thought through like production automobiles. It quickly ticked all the boxes missing from my movie career. I was hooked and never looked back.

I’ve subsequently been and lived all over the world. I have worked in and out of Disney, and have built things of all sizes. I have an idea or two left though, and a list of things I still want to build… at some point. But for now, here I am with a truck.

• Orlando Sentinel | Did George Lucas visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and other questions | FEB 2019
• Moorpark Reporter | Film industry professionals discuss new technology and education at Lumiere Awards | JAN 2020