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112-607: The Mulholland Dam is a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power dam located in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California , east of the Hollywood Freeway . Designed with a storage capacity of 7,900 acre⋅ft (9,700,000 m) of water at a maximum depth of 183 feet (56 m), the dam forms the Hollywood Reservoir , which collects water from various aqueducts and impounds the creek of Weid Canyon. The dam

224-425: A Special Achievement Academy Award for Visual Effects ( Frank Brendel , Glen Robinson and Albert Whitlock ). The film was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Original Score ( John Williams ). The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: For the film's television premiere on Sunday, September 26, 1976 on NBC , additional footage

336-660: A hydroelectric power plant located in San Francisquito Canyon powered by the Los Angeles Aqueduct , began generating electricity. It ultimately produced 70.5 megawatts and is still in operation, producing enough electricity for 37,500 Los Angeles homes. Three years later, in 1920, Power Plant No. 2 was added, but destroyed when the St. Francis Dam failed. However, the plant was completely rebuilt and back in service by November 1928. It remains in operation today, having

448-459: A "consultant" to the editing process). Editor Gene Palmer was hired to direct the additional footage, with a script provided by an uncredited Francesca Turner. Robson petitioned the Directors Guild of America that it was specified he was the director of the "theatrical version only" (which was granted). While inserting approximately 30 minutes of unused footage shot for the theatrical version

560-443: A basic problem with the story: "With a Poseidon Adventure or an Airport the ending is clear – people are saved ultimately thru their own or somebody else's enterprise. But with an earthquake, the final solution is out of one's hands, anyone's hands – even Allstate 's. If the tremors don't stop, then everybody'll die; if they do, then only a few people will die. End of story." Charles Champlin of

672-408: A combination office building and underground mall and parking structure that survived the earthquake. Rosa is mistakenly arrested for looting by a National Guard unit led by Jody. He orders her to stay inside a secluded store for what he says is her safety. More troops arrive with Jody's housemates, who are also being detained for looting. To the shock of his troops, Jody taunts then murders them for

784-402: A concussion during the flood sequence (the accident was used in the film), and several stunt artists were injured during the elevator crash scene, since the set was designed to collapse upon them. Multiple stunt artists were injured during a scene involving an escalator as well. Universal Studios and Jennings Lang wanted Earthquake to be an "event film", something that would draw audiences into

896-548: A coup when he was able to sign screenwriter Mario Puzo , who was paid $ 125,000 to write the first draft during the summer of 1972. Puzo, fresh from the success of his novel and film, The Godfather , delivered the draft script in August. However, Puzo's detailed and expansive script would have necessitated a larger production budget, as the action and multiple story arcs were spread over a vast geographical area in Los Angeles. Universal

1008-414: A few homes using a network of wooden pipes. In December 1861, heavy rains destroyed the system and Dryden gave up his franchise. The city attempted contracting out water distribution rights to others, but none of the systems resulting from these contracts were successful. The city's previous attempts to allow others to develop a water system on its behalf prompted the city council to relinquish its rights to

1120-557: A gas truck falling into the station, a runaway train and a flood. The Florida attraction opened in June 1990. It began with an introductory film on the making of Earthquake with Charlton Heston appearing to explain the special effects, followed by a live demonstration based on the film with audience participation. The attraction culminated in a simulated 8.3 earthquake aboard an underground train at Embarcadero Station in San Francisco. In

1232-499: A job with the Royce Construction company of the film (in fact, hoping to work with Charlton Heston's character, Stewart Graff), while his wife has the eerily accurate ability to see the future with tarot cards . Their airliner attempts to land at Los Angeles International Airport as the titular earthquake hits, and the airliner makes a touch-and-go landing on a runway that is breaking up, diverting to San Francisco . Throughout

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1344-526: A large expansion of the company's water system. Eaton left his position in 1886 when he was elected City Engineer. In early 1897, city engineers created plans for an updated water system and the Los Angeles City Water Company's lease was not be renewed beyond its expiration date, July 21, 1898. In early 1898, talks between the city and the Los Angeles City Water Company began to take over the company's current water system. During negotiations it

1456-554: A new idea that would work within the same "disaster-suspense" genre. Inspiration came in the form of the San Fernando earthquake of February 1971. Universal was intrigued by the idea of creating a disaster on film that would not be confined to an airliner, but rather take place over a large area. Donnenfeld and Sturges left the project early in 1972, and Universal executive producer Jennings Lang took over development, bringing Mark Robson aboard as producer and director. Lang scored

1568-463: A passing truck, driven by Miles and Sal. After saving them, they meet up with Slade, who knows Miles and Sal (after arresting both a year prior during a biker riot), and commandeers the truck to use as an ambulance, while Miles takes his motorcycle to search for Rosa. Slade stays in the area with additional injured, while Sal drives the rest to a makeshift field hospital being set up at the Wilson Plaza,

1680-471: A race against the clock with the bigger-budgeted disaster film, The Towering Inferno , which was being produced by Irwin Allen and financed, for the first time, by two studios ( 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. ). While The Towering Inferno featured a larger "all star" cast, Universal was able to land Charlton Heston in the lead role for the sum of $ 600,000, plus a percentage of the profits. Rounding out

1792-618: A raid by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of LADWP Headquarters. Wright was then investigated and sentenced to 72 months in federal prison for accepting bribes from a lawyer to ensure the approval of a three-year $ 30 million no-bid contract. LADWP veteran Martin L. Adams was confirmed by City Council as General Manager on September 13, 2019. LADWP is headquartered in a Corporate- International Style building designed by A.C. Martin & Associates and completed in May 1965. The 17-story building

1904-696: A repeat disaster. Due to the St. Francis Dam disaster, the California legislature created an updated dam safety program, and, in 1929, the Department of Public Works, under the oversight of the State Engineer, was given authority to review all non-federal dams over 25 feet high or which would hold more than 50 acre-feet of water. The new legislation also allowed the State to employ consultants, as they deemed necessary. Additionally,

2016-468: A screenplay, so director Mark Robson worked with him to narrow the scope of the script to fit into the budgetary constraints. After 11 drafts, Earthquake went before the cameras in February 1974. Since Robson was also tasked with producing such a technically complex film, Bernard Donnenfeld was brought back to co-produce, but was uncredited. Budgeted at US$ 6,675,125, Earthquake immediately found itself in

2128-463: A shaking effect), Earthquake used a new technique developed especially for the film: a "shaker mount" camera system that mimicked the effects of an earthquake by moving the entire camera body several inches side to side, versus simple shaking the camera on a stationary tripod, for a more realistic motion. This camera mount was used for most exterior scenes or other instances where shooting on location. Extensive use of highly trained stunt artists for

2240-453: A short period, but was brought back to life by the huge success of the 20th Century Fox hit The Poseidon Adventure , released in December 1972. Fueled by that film's enormous box-office receipts, Universal Studios put pre-production on Earthquake back into high gear, hiring writer George Fox to continue work with Puzo's first draft. Fox was principally a magazine writer and never had written

2352-537: A similar effect as in the theater. Earthquake inspired the attractions Earthquake: The Big One at Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood . The Hollywood attraction opened in March 1989 as part of the Studio Tour tram ride. The tram enters a sound stage, the interior designed to look like a San Francisco underground BART station, whereupon a two-and-a-half-minute simulation of an 8.3 earthquake takes place, featuring

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2464-468: A still frame of part of the unusable footage, resulting in the "cartoonish" nature of the shot. The television version removed the animated blood sequence. Released in the United States on November 15, 1974, Earthquake ranked third among the high-grossing film of the year; The Towering Inferno was the highest. Earthquake grossed $ 1,306,271 in its opening weekend from 62 theatres in 51 cities in

2576-412: A theatre using the system lost part of its inventory when items from several shelves were thrown to the floor when the system was cued during the quake scenes. Sensurround was used again for the films Midway (1976), Rollercoaster (1977), and Battlestar Galactica (1979). The 2006 Universal Studios Home Entertainment DVD release features the original "Sensurround" 3.1 audio track, duplicating

2688-596: Is a provision in the union contracts which requires a normal shift worked after more than one hour of overtime to be paid at double time, as well as that overtime is not based on working more than 40 hours in a week, but on working time beyond a "normal" shift. A separate study found that LADWP's yearly payroll expense per customer was $ 490, significantly higher than the nationwide median for large utilities of $ 280 per customer. In 2019–20, LADWP supplied more than 21,130 gigawatt hours (GWH) to more than 1.5 million residential and business customers, as well as about 5,200 in

2800-584: Is also the location of the photograph "Man on Steps, Bowl (The Thinker)" by Hiromu Kira . Mulholland Dam is featured in the opening scene of the 1983 film Valley Girl . As the scene continues, the camera pans over the Hollywood hills to a wide angle shot of the San Fernando Valley , cleverly setting up a compare and contrast theme for the rest of the movie between the San Fernando Valley culture of

2912-462: Is attracted to Rosa, is a member of a National Guard unit being called up, and heads home to change into his uniform. His housemates harass him for having posters of male bodybuilders on his wall, using homosexual slurs. Another small tremor cancels Denise's film shoot for the day, so she goes to meet her friend, Barbara, a secretary at Graff's engineering firm. Graff bumps into Denise in the building's lobby. The pair return to her house and have sex for

3024-431: Is bearable for the spectacle. And ... here we have a feast of feats of destruction." Pauline Kael wrote "The picture is swill, but it isn't a cheat; it's an entertaining marathon of Grade-A destruction effects". Roger Ebert criticized the "witless Earthquake " for "regarding [the effects] with awe". Gene Siskel gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote the special effects were "terrific" but identified

3136-434: Is highest, and is pumped back up at night when excess capacity is available. About 1,600 megawatts, or 22% of the total capacity, is generated at this facility. LADWP maintains a diverse and vertically integrated power generation, transmission and distribution system that spans five Western states, and delivers electricity to more than 4 million people in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles City Council voted in 2004 to direct

3248-410: Is notable for the use of an innovative sound effect called Sensurround , which created the sense of actually experiencing an earthquake in theaters. Former college football star Stewart Graff argues with his wife Remy after she fakes another suicide attempt when a mild earthquake jolts Los Angeles . Furious, Graff visits Denise Marshall, a part-time actress and widow of a co-worker who he assigned to

3360-573: Is overseen by the five-member Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners, who are appointed by the Mayor of Los Angeles and confirmed by the Los Angeles City Council for five-year terms. The board sets policy for the Department of Water and Power and votes on utility rates, renewable energy projects, and pension tiers for LADWP employees. The Board meets regularly on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. Currently,

3472-478: Is stunned to find Remy, who convinced Sam to offer the promotion to save their marriage. Angered, Graff admits the affair with Denise, deciding to end their marriage. An earthquake measuring 9.9 on the Richter Scale strikes then destroys much of Los Angeles. Sam and others are trapped on the upper floors of the skyscraper , which catches fire, due to the escape stairs collapsing and the elevator being destroyed by

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3584-468: Is usually maintained at about 2,800 acre⋅ft (3,500,000 m)—and to place an enormous amount of earth, 330,000 cu yd (250,000 m), on the dam's downstream face. In addition to bolstering its resistance to hydraulic uplift and earthquake forces, it also screened the dam from public view. This work was carried out in 1933–1934, after which the LADWP undertook a forceful program of re-vegetation on

3696-673: The Brown Act . On May 26, 2023, Cynthia Ruiz, the first Native American to serve on the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners was informed by the deputy mayor that she was being removed as a commissioner less than one year into her four-year term, which was confirmed that day by an email from Mayor Karen Bass , whose decision it was. George McGraw was sworn in as a commissioner on June 20, replacing Ruiz. The general manager, senior assistant general managers, chief financial officer, and managing senior assistant city attorney (under

3808-501: The Intermountain Power Plant to run on natural gas. Most of the power lines in Los Angeles were built above-ground before it became customary to run power lines below-ground. Starting in 2007, LADWP has a long-term project to upgrade the overhead power lines and convert them to underground. This difficult conversion has been slowed by budget constraints, the impact on traffic, the pursuit of other modernization projects, and

3920-616: The Los Angeles City Attorney ) manage operations. On January 31, 2014, Ron Nichols resigned as chief of the LADWP amid ongoing controversies regarding the LADWP. On February 21, 2014, Marcie L. Edwards was unanimously confirmed by the Los Angeles City Council on February 21, 2014. She is the first woman to lead the LADWP. At the time of her nomination, Edwards was Anaheim 's City Manager. Prior to her appointment as Anaheim's City Manager, Edwards served as chief of Anaheim Public Utilities for 13 years. Edwards previously worked at

4032-709: The Los Angeles Times wrote that the Sensurround vibrations "succeed very nicely in making themselves felt as well as heard and they set up an anxiety which makes watching 'Earthquake' a very ambivalent experience for anyone who, so to speak, has been there before." Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote "Thanks to Sensurround, 'Earthquake' figures to be the gimmick hit of 1974. Without the gimmick, it would be difficult to distinguish this perfunctory, mediocre piece of storytelling from Universal's other disaster vehicle, Airport 1975. " On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes

4144-500: The National Guard and police as a precaution. In a vacant lot, motorcycle daredevil, Miles Quade, and his manager and mechanic, Sal Amici, have set up a dangerous stunt track, hoping to impress a Las Vegas promoter, so he will book their act at a hotel. Unconvinced that the stunt will work, Sal's sister, Rosa Amici, fears that Miles will be injured in the attempt and refuses to help promote it. Grocery store manager, Jody Joad, who

4256-523: The Owens Valley , starting with its initial acquisition of water rights , as well as acquiring farms and governance of Mono Lake and Owens Lake . The LADWP played a role in the development of Hoover Dam and bringing its energy to Los Angeles. The LADWP continued to operate the Hoover Dam electrical facility alongside Southern California Edison until 1987. On October 10, 2011, the LADWP, along with

4368-520: The Pacific AC Intertie 's two 500 kV lines terminating in Los Angeles are included) is presently technically infeasible. Upgrading the overhead lines is expected to take 10 to 15 years. The upgrading of LADWP's overhead power lines consists of eliminating the V-shape brackets on the power poles that are holding up the crossarm and replacing them with cross-brackets that are put on the crossarm. Some of

4480-539: The St. Francis Dam , built and operated by the LADWP, collapsed catastrophically . The disaster was the second-greatest loss of life in California's history, after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. The ensuing flood caused devastation to present-day Valencia, Newhall and the cities in the Santa Clara River Valley, taking the lives of some 425 people. The high death toll was due, in part, to confusion and mis-communication by and between employees of both

4592-464: The 3rd level basement garage, Graff tells an Army Corps of Engineers Colonel that there may be survivors trapped in an underground garage, which would be accessible via a parallel storm drain. Against the Colonel's advice, Graff and Slade use a jackhammer to drill through to the garage and find seventy survivors, including Denise, Corry, Remy, and Dr. Vance. The damaged Mulholland Dam gives way, flooding

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4704-521: The Board is observing physical distancing measures in accordance with California Governor Gavin Newsom 's order for COVID-19 prevention. Regular meeting agendas are available to the public at least 72 hours before the Board meets. The agenda for meetings contains a brief general description of the items to be considered. The Board may consider an item not on the agenda only in limited circumstances consistent with

4816-817: The Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Cleantech Alliance, founded the LA Cleantech Incubator . In October 2022, LADWP lost a lawsuit against the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District for failure to control dust on Owens Lake near sensitive sacred tribal land claiming that they were not responsible for the pollution. The LADWP has been criticized for allowing excessive overtime. In 2018, 306 of its workers took home more than $ 100,000 in overtime pay, while

4928-429: The LADWP and Southern California Edison, who also had facilities and operations in the area. The confusion led to a lack of prompt warnings being sent to the downriver communities. Those cities included Piru, Fillmore , Santa Paula , and San Buenaventura . Mulholland assumed full responsibility for the disaster and retired the following year. The LADWP has been a leading actor in the struggle over access to water from

5040-472: The LADWP for 24 years, starting at the age of 19 as a clerk typist. In August 2016, Marcie L. Edwards announced her retirement. On August 16, 2016, the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners appointed David H. Wright Interim General Manager, and requested the City Council to confirm his appointment as permanent General Manager. Wright remained General Manager until 2019, when he resigned following

5152-431: The LADWP to generate 20% of its energy (excluding Hoover Dam) from clean sources by 2010, a goal which was met and exceeded. The LADWP expected to achieve 25 percent renewables by 2016 and 33 percent by 2020, both which have been met and exceeded. As of 2020, "green power" renewable energy sources accounted for 37% of the LADWP's capacity, including the 120 MW Pine Tree Wind Farm, the largest municipally-owned wind farm in

5264-741: The Mono and Owens basins is causing the LADWP to look into a number of new water sources, including a new direct connection to the California Aqueduct , increased use of recycled water, use of stormwater capture and reuse, and increased conservation. Many of the old pipelines are beginning to wear out, or are at capacity and insufficient to handle future demand. LADWP has undertaken pipeline replacement projects on many L.A. boulevards like Exposition and Olympic . In addition to Los Angeles, LADWP provides services to parts of: Over its service territory, LADWP serves four million residents and businesses. LADWP

5376-550: The Mulholland Dam, it was nearly identical in size and shape. In March 1928, the St. Francis Dam experienced a catastrophic failure , and the resulting flood devastated the Santa Clarita River Valley and took the lives of more than an estimated 430 people. William Mulholland ordered the Hollywood reservoir lowered shortly after the collapse of the St. Francis Dam as a precaution as well as to help ease public fears of

5488-753: The Owens Valley. The LADWP operates four natural gas-fired generating stations within city boundaries, which combined with other natural gas sources, account for 24% of capacity. It receives 21% of its electricity from coal-fired plants in Utah and Arizona , but plans to transition away from coal by 2025. A further 14% is generated using nuclear power, which is from the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Arizona. It receives about 2% of its electricity from hydropower, most coming from Hoover Dam and

5600-513: The Richter scale. The film's final scene was significantly re-edited, and originally showed Denise walking up to Lew Slade as he emerges from the manhole, and asks if Stewart had survived; upon hearing of his death, she walks over to Corry who has regained consciousness. A scene involving an elevator loaded with passengers plummeting 25 floors to the ground during the earthquake is one of the film's more notorious sequences, mainly for how its conclusion

5712-641: The State was given full authority to supervise the maintenance and operation of all non-federal dams. Soon after the failure of the St. Francis Dam, a Committee of Engineers & Geologists to Assess Mulholland Dam was appointed. This was followed in January 1930 by the External Review Panel to evaluate the structure, convened by the State of California. In March 1930, the City of Los Angeles Board of Water & Power Commissioners appointed their own Board of Review for

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5824-672: The Suitability of Foundations followed this in late 1931, appointed by the Board of Water & Power Commissioners. These believed design deficiencies, made by the engineering department while planning, employed in both the Mulholland and the St. Francis Dam, were brought to light, though given little public notice in 1931. The decision ultimately made was to keep the Hollywood Reservoir permanently drawn down, its capacity at no more than 4,000 acre⋅ft (4,900,000 m)—the reservoir now

5936-452: The United States and Canada. It eventually grossed $ 79.7 million in the United States and Canada ($ 450.5 million, adjusted for inflation in 2023 dollars) being one of the highest-grossing films of the time. Internationally, it grossed $ 87.7 million, including ¥3 billion ( $ 10 million ) in Japan, bringing its worldwide gross to $ 167.4 million . At its release, critics generally acknowledged

6048-517: The United States. LADWP is also investing in photovoltaic solar throughout the Southwest and geothermal sources in the Salton Sea area. In March 2021, LADWP joined with Mayor Eric Garcetti , United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm , leading energy scientists, and local elected officials to announce the results of the Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study ("LA100"). The study, which

6160-401: The agency paid $ 250 million for overtime, a new high for the agency. The most egregious example of this is a security worker who was paid $ 314,000 in overtime, on a listed base pay of $ 25,000, along with three peers who were paid more than $ 200,000 overtime each. (The nationwide median wage for security officers was $ 28,500 in 2018.) One policy which enables these large overtime payouts

6272-412: The antagonist, Jody. Relative unknown Victoria Principal was hired to play the sister of Roundtree's business partner, Sal, played by veteran actor Gabriel Dell . Walter Matthau was cast in a cameo role, for which he was credited as "Walter Matuschanskayasky". Executive Producer Jennings Lang, who had worked with Matthau on the previous year's Charley Varrick , was able to convince him to appear in

6384-479: The audience to catch any falling debris – to tremendous success. The "Sensurround" process proved to be a large audience draw, but not without generating a fair share of controversy. When the film premiered in Chicago, Illinois , the head of the building and safety department demanded the system be turned down, as he was afraid it would cause structural damage. In Billings, Montana , a knick-knack shop next door to

6496-455: The capacity to generate 18 megawatts. On January 17, 1994, the city of Los Angeles experienced its one and only total system black-out as a result of the Northridge earthquake . Much of the power was restored within a few hours. In September 2005, a DWP worker accidentally cut power lines that caused over half of Los Angeles to be without power for one and one-half hours. On March 12, 1928,

6608-441: The city council rejected as "excessive" a closed-pipe system that would serve homes directly. As a solution, the city allowed "water carriers with jugs and horse-drawn wagons…to serve the city's domestic [water] needs." By 1857 the council decided that the system needed to be updated, granting William G. Dryden franchise rights to provide homes with water through a system of underground water mains. The initial system served only

6720-463: The company's principal stockholder, advising him to accept the city's offer of two million dollars for the system. The Los Angeles Bureau of Power and Light was formed in 1911 to administer the electrical system in the city that supplied power generated by private companies. In 1922, it purchased Southern California Edison 's distribution system within the city limits. In 1937, when the Bureau purchased

6832-457: The dam. Although the state's panel did not recommend modification of the dam, both panels came to a similar conclusion: that the dam lacked what was at the time considered sufficient uplift relief, which might possibly lead to destabilization, and that this was unacceptable. A fourth panel, the Board of Engineers to evaluate Mulholland Dam, was appointed in 1931 to examine the feasibility of abandoning Mulholland Dam. An external Geological Report of

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6944-564: The deputy, resulting in his suspension. At the California Seismological Institute (CSI), junior seismologist Walter Russell calculates that Los Angeles will suffer a major earthquake within the next two days. Head seismologist Dr. Stockle and associate Dr. Johnson determine the hypothesis probable and contact the mayor, who, fearful of the social and political consequences, decides to tell the Governor of California to alert only

7056-454: The early earthen dams and storage reservoirs. It is located in what was originally called Holly Canyon and then Weid Canyon, after an immigrant from Odense , Denmark, named Ivar Weid, who lived in the canyon after the Civil War and sold some of the land in the 1880s. Ivar Avenue in Hollywood was also named after him. The area was first surveyed for use as a reservoir in 1912. In 1922, the area

7168-426: The eighties versus the grittier culture of Hollywood and central Los Angeles. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power It was founded in 1902 to supply water to residents and businesses in the city of Los Angeles and several of its immediately adjacent communities. In 1917, LADWP began to deliver electricity to portions of the city. It has been involved in a number of controversies and media portrayals over

7280-712: The environmental issues associated with oil-type cable. The 315 megawatt capacity Scattergood Steam Plant (Unit 3) to West Los Angeles (Receiving Station K, "Olympic") 230 kV line is having to be replaced after only 45 years of operations, due to multiple failures within this rather long single-circuit, oil-filled, "pipe type" cable. The LADWP provided about 159 billion gallons (602 million cubic meters) of water in 2019, to 735,600 water service connections, pumping it through 7,340 miles (11,813 km) of pipe . In fiscal years 2016–2020: The use of water from specific sources can vary greatly from year to year. The prospect of increased demand coupled with reduced supply from

7392-690: The film a "BOMB" rating, stating "[the] title tells the story in hackneyed disaster epic ... Marjoe as a sex deviate and Gardner as Lorne Greene's daughter tie for film's top casting honors." Gardner was only 8 years younger than Lorne Greene. Earthquake became a blockbuster success, and was nominated for four Academy Awards. including Best Film Editing , Best Cinematography , Best Art Direction (Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen and E. Preston Ames ; Set Decoration: Frank R. McKelvy ) and Best Sound ( Ronald Pierce and Melvin Metcalfe Sr. ). It won for Best Sound (Ronald Pierce and Melvin Metcalfe Sr.) and

7504-453: The film holds an approval rating of 44% from 32 reviews with an average score of 4.90 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads: "The destruction of Los Angeles is always a welcome sight, but Earthquake offers little besides big actors slumming through crumbling sets." Metacritic, who uses a weighted average , has assigned the film a score of 56/100 based on 6 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Leonard Maltin gave

7616-458: The film, notably from the pre-quake sequences, at the cost of some of the dramatic flow. This included a narration sequence about the San Andreas fault and an impending catastrophic earthquake that would occur in either Los Angeles or San Francisco. This scene was filmed and was set to be shown before the opening title credits (although it was removed at the last minute, it was eventually included as

7728-467: The first time. Graff then asks Denise to come to Oregon with him, and bring Corry, while he works on a hydroelectric dam project that summer. Graff's boss and father-in-law, Sam Royce, later offers Graff the company presidency. Graff calls Denise to say he cannot see her that evening, and she says she wants to go to Oregon with him. Conflicted between the relationship and the promotion, Graff nevertheless decides to accept Sam's offer. At Sam's office, Graff

7840-482: The ladder during the flood, searches in vain for Graff, but escapes up to the street. In tears, Denise returns to Corry, who has regained consciousness. Slade and Rosa survey Los Angeles' ruins. Stunned survivors mill about the devastated landscape while the fires burn. In the wake of the tremendous success of the 1970 disaster-suspense film Airport , Universal Studios began working with executive producer Bernard Donnenfeld and director John Sturges to come up with

7952-506: The largest component of the power supply was renewable energy at about 37%. The second-largest component was natural gas, at about 24%. Coal-fired power made up a further 21%. By contrast, the California investor-owned utilities SCE, PG&E, and SDG&E, had all eliminated their use of coal. In 2013, LADWP announced it would become coal-free by 2025 by divesting its 21% stake in Navajo Generating Station in 2016 and converting

8064-555: The last of the injured back to Wilson Plaza. En route, they come across Jody and his unit, who has quarantined the only passage through. As Jody threatens to shoot them, Rosa emerges from the store, screaming to Slade for help. Facing an assault rifle , Slade and Graff turn around and drive away. However, Slade returns on foot and gets the jump on Jody who is about to rape Rosa, shooting him and rescuing her. An aftershock destroys Wilson Plaza before Graff, Slade, and Rosa arrive there. After Barbara says she last saw Denise, Royce, and Remy in

8176-505: The late Los Angeles City Councilman John Ferraro . The building was featured extensively in the 2010 science fiction thriller film Inception . Unusually for a municipal public utility , LADWP has been mentioned several times in popular culture, both fiction and nonfiction: Notes Earthquake (1974 film) Earthquake is a 1974 American ensemble disaster drama film directed and produced by Mark Robson and starring Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner . The plot concerns

8288-437: The lease allowed. As the end of the lease drew near in the mid-1890s, popular support began to build for a return to complete municipal control of the local water supply. Fred Eaton proposed that tax revenues would enable Los Angeles to provide water to its residents without charging them for the use of water directly. During Eaton's nine-year term as the superintending engineer of the Los Angeles City Water Company, he headed

8400-423: The lingering effects of a workforce reduction over the last decade. Budget issues are particularly acute in the department's transmission system, where underground transmission costs about 10 to 14 times the cost of overhead transmission, per unit length, and the technical and environmental challenges which confront such installations. Additionally, undergrounding of the three 500 kV transmission lines (five lines, if

8512-421: The most dangerous scenes involving high falls, dodging falling debris, and flood sequences, set a Hollywood record for the most stunt artists involved in any film production up until that time: 141. Major stunt sequences in the film required careful choreography between the stunt artists and behind-the-scenes stunt technicians who were responsible for triggering full-scale effects, such as falling debris. Timing

8624-483: The new earth, which succeeded in screening the dam from most everyone's notice. More recent studies have revealed Mulholland Dam to be within the state guidelines for dam safety. The Mulholland Dam was prominently featured in the 1974 disaster film Earthquake , where, after a catastrophic earthquake destroys Los Angeles, the dam collapses due to damaging aftershocks. It also appears in Roman Polanski's Chinatown . It

8736-522: The opening sequence of the NBC television edit for the September, 1976 broadcast premiere). Also excised were lengthy scenes of Remy and Graff arguing at the beginning of the film. After Remy's faked suicide attempt, Dr. Vance ( Lloyd Nolan ) inadvertently informs his old friend Graff that Remy had an abortion two years prior (he was told it was a miscarriage). Angered because he wanted children, Graff storms off. There

8848-436: The original storyline from the theatrical film. Editing and re-recorded dialogue helped integrate this expansion into the original film. A short scene involving Richard Roundtree 's character, Miles Quade, was scripted, but never filmed. An entirely new storyline shot specifically for the television version was that of a young married couple ( Debralee Scott and Sam Chew ) flying to Los Angeles on an airplane. The husband seeks

8960-457: The original theatrical "Sensurround" track (but oddly in mono directed to the front 3 speakers rather than the original stereo mix), but no actual 'rumble' generator was used, and only the two control tones that activated the generator can be heard. In addition, the film's original soundtrack was remixed in Surround Sound 5.1 which was simply a tag as once again only the control tones feature on

9072-551: The power system of the Los Angeles Gas and Electric Corporation, it became the dominant power supplier in the city. That year, the bureau merged with the Bureau of Water Works and Supply to become the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). In 1939, LADWP became the sole electrical service provider for the city of Los Angeles. The Bureau first offered municipal electricity in 1917 when their Power Plant No. 1,

9184-434: The project that accidentally killed him. Feeling obligated to help her and Corry, her 10-year-old son, Graff brings the boy an autographed football from his college days, and helps Denise rehearse her lines for an upcoming film shoot. Officer Lew Slade chases a car thief. After crossing jurisdictional lines, he is intercepted by a rival deputy from a neighboring district. Already enemies with a history of antagonism, Slade hits

9296-446: The remainder of the television version, the film cuts back to the couple as they discuss their future together, and the husband's wish to return to Los Angeles and help rebuild the city. The "Sensurround" audio of the original film was simulcast in FM stereo in the Los Angeles and New York markets. This theoretically allowed the home viewer (with the properly equipped sound system) to experience

9408-526: The rest coming from the Los Angeles Aqueduct system itself as the water descends from its mountain sources. The LADWP, along with raw water deliveries and lake level management from the California Department of Water Resources , also operates the Castaic Power Plant as a pumped storage facility . Water flows from the upper reservoir to the lower during the day, generating power when demand

9520-427: The ridicule he has endured. Graff drives his co-workers to the Wilson Plaza, dropping off Remy, Barbara, and Sam. To Remy's protestations, Graff leaves to search for Denise and Corry. Sam is attended to by Dr. Jim Vance but dies. Graff's car is one of the few surviving vehicles from the quake and is commandeered by Slade as he drives past. Unable to work the manual transmission, Slade makes Graff drive, while they take

9632-446: The role (originally to be filled by veteran actor Harry Morgan ). The unpaid cameo - and his credited name - were part of the deal. Production necessitated the complete re-dressing of the entire Universal Studios "New York Street" backlot in order to simulate the catastrophic earthquake of the title. Along with a clever use of miniatures of actual buildings, matte paintings , and full-scale sets (some of which were placed on rollers for

9744-698: The same eight-note melody, albeit in different keys). The music of the song " C'est si Bon " by Henri Betti is played on the guitar in the middle of the film. On December 10, 2019, La-La Land Records released a fully remastered and expanded version of Williams' music, as part of the Disaster Movie Soundtrack Collection , which includes the remastered expansions of Williams's music for this film, as well as The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure . After an October 2, 1974 test screening in Joplin, Missouri , Universal opted to cut 30 minutes from

9856-599: The special effects in Earthquake while discounting other aspects. Without either panning or praising the film, Nora Sayre of the New York Times wrote that it was an improvement on Airport 1975 and observed, "The impulse to shout advice to the screen—get out! go away! don't enter that building—is quite powerful, so this does rank as a participatory movie." Judith Crist wrote in New York Magazine that "the nonsense

9968-452: The storm drains miles away. Denise, Corry and Dr. Vance make it up a ladder to safety. However, while climbing up some rungs, Remy is knocked off into the flooded sewer. Graff looks up at Denise waiting for him at the top of the manhole , but hearing Remy's wailing, he realizes he cannot abandon Remy. Swimming, Graff reaches her, but overcome by the rushing water, both of them, along with others, are swept away and drown. Slade, having held on to

10080-457: The struggle for survival after a catastrophic earthquake destroys most of the city of Los Angeles, California . Directed by Robson with a screenplay by George Fox and Mario Puzo , the film starred a large cast of well-known actors, including Heston, Gardner, George Kennedy , Lorne Greene , Geneviève Bujold , Richard Roundtree , Marjoe Gortner , Barry Sullivan , Lloyd Nolan , Victoria Principal , and (under an alias) Walter Matthau . It

10192-418: The stunt people inside the elevator set with blood when the set came crashing to the ground. After several tries over two separate filming days weeks apart (the break in filming was an attempt to perfect the mechanical effects involved), and with unsatisfactory results, the decision was made to edit the scene with an "animated blood" effect to be added in post production. The optical effect was superimposed over

10304-426: The theatre multiple times. After several ideas were tossed about (which included bouncing styrofoam faux "debris" over audience members' heads), Universal's sound department came up with a process called " Sensurround " – a series of large speakers made by Cerwin-Vega powered by BGW amplifiers, that would pump in sub-audible "infra bass" sound waves at 120 decibels (equivalent to a jet airplane at takeoff), giving

10416-450: The top billing were Ava Gardner (who co-starred with Heston in 1963's 55 Days at Peking ), George Kennedy , Lorne Greene , and Geneviève Bujold . Richard Roundtree (riding a wave of success from the Shaft film series) was brought in after filming had already started, filling the part of an Evel Knievel -like motorcycle stuntman. Former evangelical preacher Marjoe Gortner was hired as

10528-427: The track. John Williams' music for Earthquake was the second of his trio of scores for large-scale disaster films, having previously scored The Poseidon Adventure and following with The Towering Inferno . Williams scored Earthquake and The Towering Inferno during the summer of 1974, with both scores showing similarities to one another (notably Earthquake's theme and The Towering Inferno's love theme sharing

10640-529: The tremor. After many fall to their deaths through the chasm, Sam rigs a firehose to a chair and lowers the rest of his staff down one at a time. Before he can descend himself, Sam suffers a heart attack, but Graff rescues him. Corry has been catapulted from a collapsing footbridge into the Los Angeles River and become entangled with electric cables from a fallen pole. Denise finds him unconscious and climbs down to save him. Unable to climb back out, she hails

10752-451: The viewer the sensation of an earthquake. The process was tested in several theatres around the United States prior to the film's release, yielding various results. A famous example is Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California , where the "Sensurround" cracked the plaster in the ceiling. The same theatre premiered Earthquake three months later – with a newly installed net over

10864-465: The water in the Los Angeles River in 1868. The city of Los Angeles could no longer benefit from their municipal water distribution business. John S. Griffen, Solomon Lazard , and Prudent Beaudry , created the Los Angeles City Water Company, which violated many of the provisions of its lease on the Los Angeles River, including secretly tunneling under the river to extract 150 times as much water as

10976-574: The wooden power poles are being replaced with metal poles. Also included in the upgrade of overhead power lines, are the upgrades of the insulators for the lower voltage distribution power lines, which are more modern than the old-fashioned ceramic insulators. The new modern insulators for lower voltage distribution lines look identical to Southern California Edison's distribution insulators. The department recently completed two 230 kV underground projects using an innovative cable technology which does not utilize oil as an insulator. The oilless cable mitigates

11088-416: The years, including the 1928 St. Francis Dam failure and the books Water and Power and Cadillac Desert . By the middle of the 19th century, Los Angeles's rapid population growth magnified problems with the city's water distribution system . At that time, a system of open, often polluted ditches , was supplying water for agricultural production but was not suited to provide water to homes. In 1853,

11200-438: Was a scene of a nearby lumberyard falling apart, and this was removed from the final cut. Other scenes were shot to wrap up many characters' stories after the earthquake, but were deleted from the final print: Walt Russell and Dr. Stockle – whose fates are undetermined after the quake in the theatrical release – were shown alive in the seismology laboratory post-quake. They were shown finding the earthquake's magnitude to be 9.9 on

11312-471: Was added to expand the film's running time so it could be aired over two nights, as part of NBC's promotion of "The Big Event" fall premiere series (the second night aired on Sunday, October 3, 1976). According to internal memos from Universal Studios , both Jennings Lang and Mark Robson were upset that Universal and NBC had agreed to alter the original film for its premiere broadcast, with Robson initially refusing to participate (but eventually relenting to be

11424-399: Was again surveyed and designs for a masonry dam begun. Construction of the dam began in August 1923. Upon completion, in December 1924, the Mulholland Dam became the first curved concrete gravity dam designed and built by the Bureau of Water Works and Supply. The St. Francis Dam was also designed and built by the Bureau of Water Works and Supply, and because its design was an adaptation of

11536-416: Was conducted by renewable energy experts at the U.S. Department of Energy 's National Renewable Energy Laboratory , laid out a pathway for LADWP to achieve a 100% renewable energy grid as early as 2035 and by 2045 at the latest. The pathway includes significant deployment of renewable and zero-carbon energy by 2035, including wind and solar resources accounting for 69% to 87% of generated power. As of 2020,

11648-625: Was considered, this "television version" made virtually no use of material edited out of the theatrical release (save the introductory sequence describing earthquakes in California on the San Andreas Fault , and one brief scene featuring Victoria Principal and Reb Brown ), but rather incorporated new footage filmed nearly two years after the original using two of the original film's stars, Marjoe Gortner and Victoria Principal, as well as Jesse Vint and Michael Richardson (reprising their film roles of Marjoe Gortner's taunting roommates), expanding on

11760-463: Was constructed on Bunker Hill with the purpose of consolidating 11 building offices scattered across Downtown Los Angeles and housing LADWP's 3,200 employees. On September 21, 2012, it was designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument . The General Office Building of the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power was renamed the John Ferraro Building on November 16, 2000, after

11872-484: Was critical, since some rigged effects involved dropping six ton chunks of reinforced concrete in order to flatten cars, with stunt performers only a few feet away. In other scenarios, some stunt artists were required to fall 60 feet (18 m) onto large air bags from the rafters of Universal's largest stage (Stage 12) – for which they were paid the sum of $ 500. While every precaution was taken to prevent injuries, several did occur during filming. One stunt person suffered

11984-428: Was decided that the current senior employees of the Los Angeles City Water Company would keep their jobs in order to ensure that the water system could continue to operate. It was not guaranteed that William Mulholland , who took over as superintending engineer after Eaton, would have a position working with the city-owned water system. Mulholland did not produce records the city officials requested during negotiations. It

12096-473: Was depicted. As originally scripted, the occupants were pressed to the ceiling of the elevator as it fell down the shaft, and then dropped to the floor when the elevator crashes to the bottom. To film this, an elevator set was built suspended several feet over the stage floor, allowing for the dropping of the set (with the stunt people inside). The scene was filmed several times, with several stunt people involved. Copious amounts of stage blood were rigged to spray

12208-406: Was discovered that neither the requested records nor a map of the water system existed. Mulholland, who was in charge of the non-existent records, claimed that he memorized all necessary information, including the size of every inch of pipe and the age and location of every valve. Mulholland secured a job with the city when he demonstrated his ability to recall the information. He then intervened with

12320-449: Was faced with either cutting the script or increasing the projected budget. Puzo's involvement with Earthquake was short-lived, as Paramount Pictures was anxious to begin development with the followup to The Godfather , The Godfather Part II in early 1973. Because Puzo's services contractually were obligated to the sequel, he was unable to continue any further work on Earthquake . The Earthquake script sat at Universal Studios for

12432-402: Was more of Slade's leaving the police station, and footage of Rosa's leaving the market was shot as well. She was filmed waiting for a bus and being offered a lift from a man on a motorcycle (this footage eventually was used in the film's television cut). Just before the earthquake, Stewart and Remy had a final fight (in front of Stewart's car) that was deleted as well. During the earthquake, there

12544-494: Was originally named Weid Canyon Dam, then Hollywood Dam. Finally, it was renamed Mulholland Dam in honor of William Mulholland , at the time the General Manager and Chief Engineer of the Bureau of Water Works and Supply, a predecessor of today's Los Angeles Department of Water and Power . Mulholland was responsible for the design and construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct and much of the city's water system, including many of

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