The Millennium Biltmore Hotel from “A Star Is Born”

The Millennium Biltmore from A Star Is Born (19 of 27)

It’s not everyday you’ll find photos of a public restroom on my site.  It’s not everyday you’ll find me stalking one either.  But a couple of years ago, the Grim Cheaper and I were granted an extensive private tour of the Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles that included a visit to the hotel’s Regency Room men’s lavatory.  Our guide thought we would want to see the space thanks to a bit of cinema history that exists there.  (More on that in a bit.)  Flash forward to last week – while scanning through the 2018 A Star Is Born prior to writing my recent post on East Hollywood bar The Virgil, I was shocked to see the very same bathroom (well, the women’s version, at least) pop up in an opening scene and decided I just had to chronicle it here.  When I sat down to write the post, though, I discovered that the entire Biltmore property – not just its bathroom – has ties to three of the A Star Is Born movies.  So I figured a more all-encompassing article about the hotel was in order.

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The Biltmore’s Regency Room was originally part of the Sala De Oro ballroom, which was constructed during the hotel’s 1928 expansion.  You can see what the stunning venue looked like in its early days here and in its current state below.

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The Millennium Biltmore from A Star Is Born (27 of 27)

The grand space, surprisingly located on a sublevel of the hotel, ran 140 feet long and 107 feet wide and boasted three open stories, an insane vaulted ceiling, a large mezzanine, box seating for 46 groups, a stage (built on hydraulics that allowed it to be raised and lowered), a dance floor, a check room with a capacity for 100 guests, and its own kitchen.  So stunning was the massive hall that it was chosen as the site of eight different Academy Awards ceremonies.

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The Millennium Biltmore from A Star Is Born (3 of 27)

In 1934, management decided to change things up by turning the ballroom into a hopping nightclub named the “Biltmore Bowl.”  Architect Wayne McAllister, who also gave us Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank, was brought in to revamp the room.  And revamp it he did.  He moved the stage, making it the central focal point, and also, oddly, split the venue into two levels, a two-story upper floor and a single-story lower floor.  You can see what the upper level looked like during its heyday here and here.

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The Millennium Biltmore from A Star Is Born (11 of 27)

Sadly, the nightclub was gutted by a fire in the 1950s and subsequently renovated, at which time the grand ceiling and elegant stage were removed.  But the split levels remained, with the top floor becoming a ballroom that retained the Biltmore Bowl name and the sub-level becoming an exhibit hall initially dubbed the “Rex Room” and later the “Regency Room.”  The gilded, gated entrance to both spaces is pictured below.

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The Biltmore Bowl underwent a re-do again in 2001, during which the venue’s tiered seating was removed and its decorative aesthetic shifted to match that of the rest of the hotel.

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The Regency Room, which is largely unchanged from its 1950’s post-fire state, is much less opulent than its upstairs neighbor, as you can see below.

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The Millennium Biltmore from A Star Is Born (24 of 27)

In fact, the only ornamentation the space really has is some decorative grillwork, which is leftover from its days as part of the Sala De Oro ballroom.

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The Millennium Biltmore from A Star Is Born (21 of 27)

The ornate ceiling in the Regency Room’s foyer is also original to the Sala De Oro.

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The Millennium Biltmore from A Star Is Born (2 of 2)

Today, the Regency Room boasts 17,000 square feet of space – and a set of famous bathrooms.

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At the beginning of A Star Is Born, Ally (Lady Gaga) breaks up with her boyfriend via phone from a stall in the Regency Room women’s bathroom, which is said to be the restroom of the hotel kitchen where she works.

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  Though I did not see the women’s bathroom during my tour, I was shown the very similar-looking men’s room.

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The Millennium Biltmore from A Star Is Born (18 of 27)

It was there that Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) and his pals tied up and threatened Police Commissioner Jacobs (Pat McNamara) in the 1999 drama Fight Club.

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Our tour guide highlighted the space not only because of its onscreen cameo, but also because of some damage that occurred during the shoot, which she figured I would be fascinated by.  And I was!  Apparently, while Pitt and McNamara were filming the fight scene, the base of one of the pedestal sinks was splintered.  For whatever reason, the chip was never filled in and the sink currently remains in its post-Fight-Club state, a little piece of filming ephemera left behind for the ages.

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   You can see said chip in the images above and below, as well as what an intact sink base looks like directly next to it.

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The Biltmore’s 25,000-square-foot basement kitchen, which I did not get to stalk during my tour, makes a couple of appearances as Ally’s workplace in A Star Is Born, as well.

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That very same kitchen also appeared as the kitchen of a Radisson hotel in East Lansing, Michigan in the Season 4 episode of The West Wing titled “College Kids,” which aired in 2002.

It can also be seen in the Season 4 episode of Bosch titled “Rojo Profundo,” which aired in 2018.  As I said in my recent post on the hotel’s South Galleria, every single area of the Biltmore has been utilized in multiple major productions!

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The hotel’s loading dock, which leads directly down to the Biltmore Bowl and Regency Room, also pops up a couple of times in A Star Is Born – first in the scene in which Ally leaves work to head to her gig at Bleu Bleu and then later when she and Ramon (Anthony Ramos) get picked up by Jackson Maine’s (Bradley Cooper) driver to go to one of his shows.

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The loading dock pops up in the “College Kids” episode of The West Wing, as well.

As I mentioned earlier, the Biltmore had ties to A Star Is Born long before the latest version was filmed.  In the 1937 original, Vicki Lester (Janet Gaynor) and Norman Maine (Fredric March) attend an Academy Awards ceremony at what is said to be the Biltmore Bowl.

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I am unsure if filming actually took place in the ballroom or on a studio-built set, though.

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My hunch is that a set was utilized being that not much of what was shown onscreen matches early photographs of the Bowl.  The wide shot of the room featured in the movie (pictured below) also looks to me like a matte painting of some sort.

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I can say with certainty that the Biltmore Bowl was the site of the Grammy Awards in the 1976 version of A Star Is Born.  You can see some behind-the-scenes photos of the segment being shot here.

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Esther Hoffman (Barbra Streisand) and John Norman Howard (Kris Kristofferson) even head up the escalators situated adjacent to the South Galleria in the scene.  It is on the escalator landing that Howard punches a paparazzi.

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The Biltmore Bowl is also the site of the Leadership in Journalism Awards gala in the Season 1 episode of The Morning Show titled “A Seat at the Table,” which aired in November 2019.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles, from A Star Is Born, is located at 506 South Grand Avenue in downtown L.A.  You can visit the property’s official website here.  The Regency Room and its bathrooms are situated underneath the Biltmore Bowl on the south side of the hotel and can be reached via the South Galleria.  The kitchen from the film is also located in the basement of the hotel.  Unfortunately, neither area is open to the public.  The loading dock can be found just south of Coffee on Grand at 530 South Grand Avenue.

Citigroup Center from “Opportunity Knocks”

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One of my favorite movies from my teen years is Opportunity Knocks.  I first saw the 1990 comedy in the theatre with my uncle and cracked up all the way through.  I have watched it countless times since and its hilarity has not waned in the slightest.  I knew that the flick was lensed largely in Chicago and recently asked It’sFilmedThere’s Chas (a native of nearby Indiana) to track down its locations.  One that he had some trouble with was the building that housed the office of Milt Malkin (Robert Loggia).  I thought it looked like an L.A.-area property and, as it turns out, I was right.  While the vast majority of the movie was shot in the Windy City, the exterior of Mitch’s office can actually be found in downtown Los Angeles.  (Although, this blurb from Shot On This Site, which I came across while researching for today’s post, has me wondering if more scenes – most likely interiors – were shot in L.A.)  In real life, Milt’s office was located in the Citigroup Center at 444 South Flower Street.

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The 625-foot, 48-story Citigroup Center was designed by the A.C. Martin & Partners architecture firm and was completed in either 1979 or 1981, depending on which website or book you are reading.

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Citigroup Center (1 of 20)

The structure, which originally served as the Los Angeles headquarters for Wells Fargo Bank, was first named the Wells Fargo Bank building.  When WFB acquired Crocker Bank in 1986, the company’s headquarters were moved to Crocker Center.  The property then became known as the 444 Plaza Building (or the 444 Flower Building) until the early 2000s when Citigroup Inc. moved in and changed the name to Citigroup Center.

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Citigroup Center (7 of 20)

Citigroup Center played the headquarters of the Malkin Blower Company in Opportunity Knocks.  The building was only shown in one brief establishing shot, in the scene in which Milt first brought Eddie (Dana Carvey) to visit his office.

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The sculpture visible in the scene is named “Shoshone” and was built by artist Mark DiSuvero in 1982.

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The 45-foot tall piece, which is painted in two different shades of red, was constructed out of 13 steel I-beams and weighs 25 tons.

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The CRA/LA website states that the abstract sculpture “is aligned to frame the Bonaventure Hotel like an easel.”

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Citigroup Center was not used for the interior of the Malkin Blower Company in Opportunity Knocks.

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Interior filming took place at a building located somewhere in downtown Chicago, as is evidenced by the Chase Tower . . .

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. . . and Crain Communications Building visible outside of Milt’s window.

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Citigroup Center has been immortalized onscreen countless times over the years.  In the 1980s television series L.A. Law, the offices of the McKenzie-Brackman law firm were housed in the building.

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In 1986’s 52 Pick-Up, Citigroup Center was where Barbara Mitchell (Ann-Margret) worked.

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Citigroup Center was the site of the bank heist at the end of 1995’s Heat.  Only the exterior of the building was used, though. The bank’s interior can be found a few blocks east at 350 South Grand Avenue.  (Michael Heizer’s geometrically-shaped North, South, East, West art installation is visible in the scene.)

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In 1999’s Fight Club, one of the Fight Club members tried to start a scuffle in the forecourt of Citigroup Center’s street-level entrance.

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Citigroup Center was also featured in Gotcha! and To Live and Die in L.A, but, unfortunately, I could not find copies of either movie with which to make screen captures for this post.  And while several websites state the building appeared in Baby Boom, I scanned through the 1987 comedy and did not see it pop up anywhere.

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For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online.  And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Big THANK YOU to Chas, from the It’sFilmedThere website, for finding this location!  Smile

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Citigroup Center, aka Mitch’s office from Opportunity Knocks, is located at 444 South Flower Street in downtown Los Angeles.

Barneys New York from “Just Go With It”

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This past Friday night, the Grim Cheaper and I sat down to watch Just Go With It on DVD and I have to say that I loved the flick even more the second time around!  I honestly think it is my girl Jen’s best movie yet!  Although I did seriously love me some Office Space, but I digress.  So while the GC and I were in the area doing some stalking last Sunday afternoon, I just had to drag him out to stalk the Women’s Shoe Department at Barneys New York department store on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, where, in what turned out to be one of my favorite scenes in the film, Jen’s character, Katherine, tried on some expensive kicks at the behest of her boss/pretend soon-to-be ex-husband, Danny Maccabee (aka Adam Sandler).

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Before arriving at Barneys I was a little apprehensive that the store would have a no photos policy, but amazingly enough I ended up chatting with a super nice saleswoman who not only showed me the exact spot in the shoe department where filming had taken place, but also told me that I was free to take all of the pictures that I wanted.  Yay!  The woman also informed me that she had once waited on Jen and that she had been incredibly nice and down to earth.  Sigh!

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The Just Go With It scene was filmed in the very center of Barneys’ Women’s Shoe Department, in the area that features a square-shaped couch.  I was especially excited to see that the couch pillows that appeared in the scene were actually there in real life, as well!  Love it!

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And OH MY GOD do I LOVE me the shoes that Jen tried on in the scene!!!  What I wouldn’t give to have a pair of those!!!!  (They are made by Tabitha Simmons and they are called the “Bailee Suede” for those who are interested and have an extra $882 lying around.  That’s the sale price, by the way, they originally cost $1,470.)

Just Go With It–Barneys New York in Beverly Hills

You can watch the absolutely hilarious scene that took place at Barneys by clicking above.

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The saleswoman that I spoke with also told me that Jen’s ex, Brad Pitt, filmed a very brief scene for the 1999 movie Fight Club at Barneys, in which his character, Tyler Durden, and “The Narrator”, who was played by Edward Norton, sell soap to a high-end department store.

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The store was also where Turtle (aka Jerry Ferrara), Vincent Chase (aka Adrian Grenier), Eric Murphy (aka Kevin Connolly), and Johnny ‘Drama’ Chase (aka Kevin Dillon) shopped for pajamas for the annual Playboy Mansion Lingerie Party in the Season 2 episode of Entourage titled “Aquamansion”.

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Barneys New York in Beverly Hills is also a major celebrity hot spot.  Just a few of the stars who have been spotted shopping there in recent months include Courteney Cox, Lauren Conrad, Kate Bosworth, Audrina Patridge, Ashley Tisdale, Lindsay Lohan, Rihanna, Dakota Fanning, Nicole Richie, and Jessica Alba.  Barneys was also where Victoria Beckham and Katie Holmes famously shopped for shoes together back in 2006.  In fact, the above photograph was taken in the exact same spot where Just Go With It was filmed.  And the last time that the GC and I were at Barneys, we spotted Jessica Lowndes, aka Adrianna Tate-Duncan from 90210, doing some shopping with a friend.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Barneys New York, from Just Go With It, is located at 9570 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.  In the movie, Jennifer Aniston shopped in the very center of the Women’s Shoe Department.  You can visit the official Barney’s website here.

The 90210 Pilot Church

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A few days ago I sent Mike, from MovieShotsLA, a screen capture of the church featured in the pilot episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. I had a hunch he might know where it was located – and, sure enough, he did! He immediately called me and said “That’s the Spiderman church!” as it was also used in the filming of Spiderman 3. 🙂 God, he’s good! St. Brendan Church – or as Mike and I like to call it, the “pilot church” – was built in 1927 by Los Angeles area architect Emmett Martin.

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In the pilot episode of 90210, Brenda, not wanting her new twenty-something boyfriend Jason to know that she is only sixteen years old and still living at home with her parents, lies and says that she is attending UCLA and living in a sorority house named Sigma Rho Tau. After their first date, Jason drops Brenda off in front of her fake sorority house, which just happens to be located next door to a church. That church is St. Brendan and that sorority house is not really a sorority house at all, but the church rectory. As you can see in the above screen captures, all the producers had to do was add a sign with the sorority’s name to the outside of the rectory and cover up the stained glass window with a bulletin board – and voila, they had themselves a sorority house!

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While researching St. Brendan Church earlier today I remembered something very ironic from my past. I can’t even believe I’m admitting to this – in a public forum no less – but you only live once, so here goes! When I was in high school I receieved the Sacrament of Confirmation. At the time I was fifteen years old and deep in the throws of my 90210 obsession. So much so in fact, that I chose Brendan, after St. Brendan, as my confirmation name. In the Catholic faith, when ones receives the Sacrament of Confirmation, they are to adopt the name of a patron saint who is said to then guide and protect them. Confirmation candidates are supposed to study the history of the saints and find one that represents the type of Christian they want to become. But for me the choice was easy. Once I found out there was a saint named Brendan, that was it for me! Of course, the female version of the name Brendan is Brenda. 🙂 Yes, I was THAT obsessed. LOL Being that my mother wanted to kill me when she found out the saint name I chose, this little episode of my life has been a long running joke in my family. LOL So earlier today when I found out that St. Brendan was the name of the 90210 church, I just about fell out of my chair.

St. Brendan actually has quite a rich filming history. Besides the pilot episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, the church was also featured in Armageddon as the location of Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler’s wedding.

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You can watch the wedding scene below:

It was the location of Stephanie Seymor and Axl Rose’s wedding in the Guns N’ Roses music video for the song “November Rain”.

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On a side note – I must say that I absolutely LOVE Stephanie Seymour’s wedding dress from the video (pictured above). I am gonna have to get me one of those for my wedding! LOL As if!! 🙂 You can watch the “November Rain” music video below:

In the Season Four episode of CSI: Miami entitled “From the Grave”, my fave Horatio Caine confessed his sins at Saint Brendan.

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The church was also featured in the 1953 version of War of the Worlds (as the location where the residents of L.A. gather during the final scenes of the movie), Spiderman 3 (the interior is where Topher Grace prayed for God to kill Peter Parker), Fight Club (Edward Norton’s cancer support group was held there), and an episode of Unsolved Mysteries. You can see interior pics of the church on the Saint Brendan website.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Beverly Hills, 90210 pilot church, aka St. Brendan, is located at 310 South Van Ness Avenue in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles.