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Man Creating Tourist Attraction Figures

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: October 20, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Ever dream of meeting Abe Lincoln? George Washington? Or how about Mark Twain or Marie Antoinette?

Chris Dunne, a New Port Richey resident, will make it possible with a tourist attraction in development, Stars of History.

Dunne, an artist and filmmaker, is building life-size scale models of historical figures that will have many on-board microcomputers to give them lifelike movements.

Up to 150 figures could be created for the attraction, which will wind up in the heart of the Orlando tourist area.

Think of it as a wax museum without the wax or Madame Tussauds.

"This is not a wax museum," Dunne emphasized.

"Their movements are subtle," Dunne said, such as heads turning or eyes moving to follow spectators.

Infrared motion detectors inside the figures will make it seem as though they are reacting to guests. Instead of a single computer "brain" inside the figures, many microprocessors will give the figures much finer control over movements.

Nor will the Stars of History figures resemble the Audio-Animatronic robotic figures at Disney attractions.

"When an Animatronic figure talks, you can tell it's a puppet," Dunne said.

The Stars of History walk-through exhibit will aim for the "illusion of reality."

Mostly political figures from the past will populate the exhibit.

But other figures could include Beethoven, Vincent Van Gogh, Alexander the Great, Pharaoh Ramses the Great of ancient Egypt, or maybe even Socrates, the philosopher of Classical Greece.

African tribal rulers and warrior kings who resisted Colonialism could be part of the mix, too.

Dunne even envisions one exhibit dedicated to the Battle of Hastings. In the storied encounter in 1066 the Norman king William the Conqueror delivered a mortal blow to Saxon King Harold II.

"You'd have to go to every historical museum in the country to see all these figures," Dunne said.

Dunne is designing and engineering the prototypes. The first four – Lincoln, Washington, Marie Antoinette and Van Gogh – are taking shape.

In-depth research was used for these preliminary models. Dunne consulted various sources, including period portraits, written descriptions, contemporary photos, if available, life casts and sculptures.

State-of-the-art elastic chemical skin is cast, as the Web site explains. Unlike traditional wax, the materials will not age, wear or degrade for centuries. Hair and eyelashes are inserted and eyes are installed in the full size figure.

Dunne honed his craft by creating countless props and models for plays during his tenure in the 1990s with Richey Suncoast Theatre in New Port Richey.

In 1998, he directed a local, low-budget movie, "Titus Andronicus." The production, filmed in Tampa, called for several gruesome props such as decapitated heads, which Dunne gleefully rendered in gory detail.

The movie's story is based on Shakespeare's most action-packed, bloodiest play of the same name, which is about a vengeful Roman general in ancient Rome. You might even still be able to find a copy of the movie on the Internet somewhere.

In 2002, Dunne was toying with creating a marionette theater somewhere on the west coast of Florida. Marionettes are lifelike string-operated puppets with a European flair.

For a time he was the Sea Chanteyman, a visual and performance artist.

But then Dunne had to think in much bigger terms when the Stars of History concept first took shape.

Dunne and his backers are scouting for a site with 20,000 square feet along International Drive in Orlando.

"It kind of has to be in Orlando," Dunne remarked. The major attractions along International Drive, including Universal Studios Florida, SeaWorld Orlando and Islands of Adventure, would attract some 5 million tourists a year, he believes.

Joe Redner, the Tampa-based adult entertainment entrepreneur and sometime politician, is bankrolling the Stars of History venue. He also footed most of the bill for the "Titus Andronicus" film.

It is expected to open by fall 2009, Dunne reports, although a "soft opening" would happen earlier than that.

Resumes are being accepted. Go to the Stars of History Web site for the e-mail link and other information.

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