Ex-Pageant Director Eytchison Ramps Up Design Shop
OC Insider by Rick Reiff
Remember Glen Eytchison? The musician-composer-graphic-artist-lighting-designer directed the Pageant of the Masters for 17 years before leaving in 1995 and turning his attention to Hollywood and corporate America. Since then, his special effects have brought statues and paintings to life in “Devil’s Advocate,” “Wild Wild West” and “Ghostbusters II.” He’s in charge of digital branding for Ford Motor spinoff Visteon Corp. and he paints race cars (and is redesigning the helmet) for champion driver Scott Pruett. “We really audition our clients,” says Eytchison, who’s gearing up for more interviews. Glen Eytchison Design, which has grown to 12 full-timers and numerous contractors, recently moved from Newport Beach to bigger, more centrally located and funkier digs near the Irvine Spectrum, in a former lima bean granary next to Tia Juana’s. Trains rumble past 20 times a day, which doesn’t faze the artists and, besides, “the clients love it,” says new marketing director Kathy Hills
Soap Opera Pacific: Dick Engle has added his two cents to the Broadcom affair, describing fellow socialites as “whining” for filing the stock-fraud suit against the company and its philanthropist-founders Henry Samueli and Henry Nicholas. Engle says he lost $850,000 on Broadcom but, “I only blame me. I took the risk.” Engle, who says he’s given about $500,000 to the OC Performing Arts Center, says he left the organization’s board two years ago because he could no longer afford the $50,000 annual pledge. (“I went broke.”) His prediction: “A huge implosion of the arts center board.” Tom Tucker has his say on page 55
In the governor’s doghouse: UCI prof Peter Navarro, responding to Gray Davis’ shot at him in the San Diego Union-Tribune (see page 55): “If the governor thinks he should be applauded for keeping the lights on, then he must think Denial is a river in Egypt
He can’t even swear with conviction … Exactly a year after I wrote an article criticizing the governor for entering into the long-term energy contracts, he finally admitted they were flawed,and then criticized my views”
Reunion: Three OCBJ alums covered Hewlett-Packard’s big shareholder meeting in Cupertino last week: Peter Brennan of Bloomberg News, Ian Fried of CNet’s News.com and Murray Coleman of Investor’s Business Daily
Orange Coast publisher Ruth Ko has been trying to get Register parent Freedom Communications to change the name of its very similar lifestyle mag, Coast. The Insider is told lawyers are circulating a settlement letter that calls for the change. If it doesn’t get signed, expect Ko to go public with a David-vs.-Goliath story
Despite turning 50 this year, Tim Cooley still has enough pep (and Bob Fluor in his foursome) to win his own golf tournament, the 14th annual O’Ridley, O’Cooley & O’My Sports Outing & Meditation Session. About 150 Venture Capital and tech types joined in the golf and/or libations, including Chuck Martin, Walter Cruttenden, Mike Danzi and Tom Gephart.
