Follow us here folks: What happens if the massive, 1,500-room Western-themed hotel on the eastern edge of Aurora ends up two marshmallows short of a full bowl of Lucky Charms? Maybe we’ll still get another Academy Award for best picture.
Yeah, we know. That doesn’t make a lot of sense now, but let us explain.
Back in 1979 another developer rode into town, promising Aurora residents big things. Back then it was a $555 million Sci-Fi Land. Inflation adjusted, that’s $1.7 billion today .
To help make that disco dream a reality, the amusement park would be built using the set of an upcoming movie, which was based on the book “Lord of Light” by Roger Zelazny. Promises for the park were fantastic. Jack Kirby, who drew “The Incredible Hulk,” would design the park and it would feature rides on waves of wind. Sixteen statues, all roughly the size of the Statue of Liberty, would be erected to honor the film’s characters. Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury were in on the blockbuster pipe dream, too.
Obviously, nothing ever happened — the movie nor the amusement park. But what did come of the doomed script, the doomed park and the doomed investors was actually remarkable.
“Lord of Light” may not have ever seen the light of day, but the CIA purchased the script based on the book two years later to help provide cover for an operation to rescue hostages in Iran.
That sound a little more familiar now? It was the plotline for the 2013 Oscar-winning film “Argo.” That’s how a busted Aurora project led to an Academy Award more than 30 years later. They can thank us now.
Who’s to say what happens with the colossal cowboy inn at the edge of Aurora. A lot has been made about the amount of money going into it — $800 million — and the size of the danged thing out there. But like anyone who’s old enough in Aurora will tell you, this isn’t our first rodeo.