BP's images of capped leak coming from set of Water World

Above: Crowds gather on the set of Water World to watch the Gulf "oil leak" be capped. The "capping" is repeated every half-hour for groups of tourists on the Universal Studio tour.

Universal City, CA--Every 30 minutes, tours at Universal Studios break into raucous cheers soon after settling into the cramped grandstand seats of Lot 21A, the set of Water World, the 1995 film starring Kevin Costner. The leftover, rusted metal in this fictional, floating world--a post-polar ice cap melting world-- is just as popular a destination today as it was 15 years ago.

Why the cheers? No, they're not for a half-naked, catamaran-riding Costner stunt double. They are for something much less steamy, yet much more relevant.

On cue, set crew members release a small amount of petroleum from an underwater "oil well," which quickly bubbles to the surface and dirties the already-dingy water. Crowds erupt with applause when the oil leak stops and a voice over the arena's intercom system announces: "The leak is fixed. Please, watch your step as you exit the theater at the bottom right. Universal Studios thanks you for visiting. Donations to help pay for the making of Water World are much appreciated."

BP began leasing the set of Water World only two days before the leak was "capped" last week, to film images of the "Gulf oil spill," which the company then released to the media and posted on its own website.

The company acknowledged that the 24-hour camera, positioned on the Deep Horizon oil spill, to keep the public up-to-date of the catastrophe, is actually being broadcast from the set of one of the most expensive (and disastrous) movies ever made--fitting for one of the most expensive oil disasters.

So serious is the company about putting the public at ease with encouraging, pleasing images, that they have purchased a movie clapboard in order to film multiple takes of the 'leak.' The capped well scenes are being captured by Moon Landing Productions, the same film company, that, you guessed it, shot the moon landing.

"It's a lot easier to film the leak here in sunny California on a set than in the deep, murky waters of the Gulf of Mexico," one BP official said. "Recreating and filming the 'leak' here has made it much, much easier to fix. I am much more relaxed when I watch the video of the 'spill' online now. We hope to have a permanent solution by early August ... that is, for the California 'leak.'"

"There are no storms to deal with or pesky wildlife. I think I may stay in California after this is all over," said Roger S., a deep sea diver with the Iowa Diving Company, one of the diving contractors originally working off the coast of Louisiana. "Though the Gulf oil leak is too deep for divers, the studio 'well' is only two feet below the surface. As a result, we had to make some adjustments to create a deep sea setting."

Among those adjustments were making the water a bit murkier, to prevent light from passing through easily, a common characteristic of deep ocean water.

Why all the effort to move to southern California? The energy company was looking to cut costs on the cleanup, and, by moving the repair operations to Universal Studios, will save nearly one billion dollars. The studio is also paying BP a small fee for simulating an oil spill for each tour group.

"I told BP that even though they were leasing the set--actually, only a small underwater space--it would still be part of Universal Studio tours," said Dana Gilbright, a Universal spokeswoman. "That's when BP came up with the idea of staging a fixed oil leak every half-hour. The tourists seem to really love it."

Above: A "leaked" photo from the set of a California movie studio where crews are recreating the Gulf oil spill. "My mind is much more at ease knowing that the well images are coming from a studio," said one BP official.