Runyon Canyon Park from “The Hills”

P1030749

A few years ago, after my good friend Nat happened to spot Runyon Canyon Park pop up in an episode of fave reality series The Hills, she sent me an email asking if I had ever stalked the place.  And while I had long known that the locale was not only a big-time celebrity hangout, but also a popular filming location, because I am not a fan of hiking (or working out in general, if we are really being honest here), I had never added it to my “To-Stalk” list.  But I assured Nat, who is very much into calisthenic-type activity and who, unlike me does not actually consider walking to Starbucks a form of exercise, that the next time she came to visit, we would definitely hit the place up.  Which is how, bright and early a few Sundays ago, the Grim Cheaper, Nat and I found ourselves in Hollywood about to embark upon a morning hike at Runyon Canyon Park.  I even bought some new workout pants for the occasion!  (Now, shopping – that is definitely a type of exercise that I can get behind!)  Unfortunately for Nat, though, because there did not seem to be any restrooms on the trail and because I had downed a Venti iced latte shortly before arriving there, our trek was pretty short-lived.  See what I mean?  I was just not made for the outdoors.  The GC made fun of me relentlessly while we were hiking, by the way, due to the fact that I was carrying my Louis Vuitton purse.  Men!  I mean, what the heck else was I supposed to do with it?  Leave it in the car?  As if!

P1030753 P1030760

P1030757 P1030758

The 160-acre parcel of land that now makes up Runyon Canyon Park was originally named “No Man’s Canyon”.  It came to be known by its current moniker thanks to one of its early owners, coal baron Carman Runyon, who used the sprawling site as a hunting and riding venue.  In 1929, the grounds were purchased by Irish tenor John McCormack, who had a large mansion built on the premises which he dubbed “San Patrizio”, in honor of St. Patrick.  When A&P Supermarket heir Huntington Hartford bought the estate in 1942, he renamed it “The Pines” and commissioned architect Frank Lloyd Wright to build a pool house on the site.  Hartford’s friend Errol Flynn was a frequent guest at the pool house and is rumored to have thrown some wild parties there.  Sadly, when Jules Berman, a wealthy liquor importer, purchased the property in the late 1960s, he demolished “The Pines”.  The Lloyd Wright-designed pool house was subsequently destroyed by a fire in 1972.  All that remains of the two historic structures are some ruins located near the Fuller Avenue entrance to the park.  So incredibly sad!  In 1984, the City of Los Angeles stepped in and acquired the vacant acreage, subsequently turning it into a public park, as it remains to this day.

P1030754 P1030755

P1030762 P1030766

Thanks to Runyon Canyon Park’s proximity to Hollywood and the stunning views that it boasts (which you can see above), the place has long been a stomping ground of the rich and famous.  Just a few of the stars who have been spotted working out there include Gilles Marini, Famke Janssen, Eriq La Salle, Josh Hartnett, Hayden Panettiere, Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel, Matthew McConaughey, Jake Gyllenhaal, Kathy Griffin, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Duhamel, Kellan Lutz, Ryan Gosling, Dane Cook, Orlando Bloom, Sheryl Crow, Ashley Tisdale, Haylie Duff, Anne Hathaway, Ali Fedotowsky, Amanda Bynes, Matthew Perry, Ali Larter, Joe Jonas, Amanda Seyfried,  Adrian Grenier, Natalie Portman, and Chris Pine.  And while we did not see any celebs during our hike, when fellow stalker Lavonna was in town this past November, she spotted B.J.Novak, aka Ryan Howard from The Office, walking the trails.

[ad]

ScreenShot3836 ScreenShot3837

ScreenShot3838 ScreenShot3841

In the Season 3 episode of The Hills titled “With This Ring . . .”, Whitney Port had a one-on-one training session/date with her personal trainer, Jarett Del Bene, at Runyon Canyon Park.

ScreenShot3821 ScreenShot3823

ScreenShot3824 ScreenShot3825

And in the Season 4 episode of The Hills titled “Who To Choose?”, Lauren Conrad and Audrina Patridge discussed Audrina’s love life while on a hike at Runyon Canyon.  And I could swear that the park showed up in yet another episode of the series in which Lauren and Whitney were shown working out, but I cannot seem to find it anywhere.

ScreenShot3832 ScreenShot3833

ScreenShot3834 ScreenShot3835

In the Season 4 episode of Seinfeld titled “The Trip, Part 2”, Jerry Seinfeld (who played himself), George Costanza (Jason Alexander), and Kramer (Michael Richards) visited Runyon Canyon Park immediately after Kramer was released from jail, where he was being held as the supposed “The Fog Strangler” serial killer.

ScreenShot3826 ScreenShot3827

ScreenShot3828 ScreenShot3830

In the 2009 flick Funny People, Runyon Canyon Park was where Ira Wright (Seth Rogan), Leo Koenig (Jonah Hill) and Mark Taylor Jackson (Jason Schwartzman) discussed the illness of fellow comedian George Simmons (Adam Sandler).

ScreenShot3842 ScreenShot3844

ScreenShot3847 ScreenShot3848

Thanks to fave book Hollywood Escapes: The Moviegoer’s Guide to Exploring Southern California’s Great Outdoors (and I just figured out how to write in color on my blog, by the way!  In heaven!!!!), I also learned that in the ultra-weird 2001 flick The Anniversary Party, Runyon Canyon was where Joe Therrian (Alan Cumming) and his wife Sally (Jennifer Jason Leigh), along with their friends Skye Davidson (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Levi Panes (Michael Panes), searched for their missing dog, Otis.

P1030748

Hollywood Escapes also states that 1983’s Breathless and 2005’s Undiscovered were filmed at Runyon Canyon Park, but, unfortunately, I could not find copies of either movie with which to make screen captures for this post.

P1030764

Some filming locations are also visible from the various Runyon Canyon trails, including the abandoned Solar Drive mansion from Law & Order: Los Angeles that I blogged about last December;

P1030767

and the John Lautner-designed Garcia House from Lethal Weapon 2, which I blogged about way back in February of 2008.  And there is a also private home known as Runyon Ranch located inside of the park that has been featured in countless movies and television shows over the years, including my fave, Beverly Hills, 90210, but I am saving that location for a different post.

Big THANK YOU to my good friend Nat for forcing me to suggesting that I stalk this location.  Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Runyon Canyon Park from The Hills is located at 2001 North Fuller Avenue in Hollywood.  You can visit the park’s official website here.

The “Pretty Woman” Party House

P1030108

Over the past few weeks, fellow stalker Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I have been on an extensive hunt for several unfound locations from the 1990 classic romantic comedy Pretty Woman. And the locale that I was most interested in tracking down, you ask?  Why, the huge, modern-style abode where Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) attended a party in the film’s opening scene, of course.  You all know how this stalker absolutely loves herself some movies houses!  Anyway, after doing some extensive digging online, purchasing the Pretty Woman 15th Anniversary Special Edition DVD, watching each and every one of the special features included in it, and still coming up completely empty-handed, Mike decided that we had to change our course.

ScreenShot3298 ScreenShot3297

Mike had noticed a smattering of tall buildings in the background of the Pretty Woman party scene and, although the view of them was not entirely clear, he had a hunch that they were located in Century City.

Pretty Woman Party House map

So using an aerial map of West Los Angeles, he drew an angled line based on those views from Century City outward and it led him straight to the hills of Bel Air.  He then zoomed in on the spot where the line had pointed and immediately noticed a huge white mansion that was very reminiscent of the Pretty Woman party house.  And, sure enough, upon closer inspection, he found that it was, indeed, the right place!  Wahoo!  So I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out there to stalk the place this past weekend.

[ad]

ScreenShot3305 ScreenShot3307

ScreenShot3308 ScreenShot3306

The opening scene of Pretty Woman centered around a party held at a large house high up in the hills above Hollywood, thrown in honor of Edward’s arrival in Los Angeles.  I believe that the residence was supposed to belong to Edward’s lawyer, Philip Stuckey (Jason Alexander), in the flick, but that was never actually specified.

P1030105 P1030104

P1030107 P1030106

Sadly, not very much of the property is visible from the street, but, as you can see above, the bush where the valet stand was placed, the double windows located above the garage, the brick driveway, and the bent tree on the side of the driveway, all still look exactly the same as they did onscreen way back in 1990.  So incredibly cool!  In real life, the Pretty Woman party house, which was originally built in 1988 and sits on an almost 3/4-acre plot of land, measures 5 bedrooms, 8 baths, and a whopping 10,650 square feet of living space.

ScreenShot3295 ScreenShot3296

As you can see in the above aerial views, both the home and its surrounding property are absolutely ginormous!

ScreenShot3300 ScreenShot3302

ScreenShot3303 ScreenShot3304

According to director Garry Marshall’s commentary on the Pretty Woman 15th Anniversary Special Edition DVD (which I highly recommend, by the way – the special features are fabulous!), the real life interior of the home was also used in the filming.  Man, what I wouldn’t give to see the inside of that place!

ScreenShot3309 ScreenShot3316

ScreenShot3310 ScreenShot3315

Amazingly, when Mike went to stalk the house a few days after I had, the gate just happened to be open and he was able to snap a few pictures of the front of it!  WHOO-HOO!

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for finding this location!  Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The party house from the opening scene of Pretty Woman is located at 650 Sarbonne Road in Bel Air.

The 3rd Annual “Get Lucky for Lupus” Celebrity Poker Tournament

Kellie Martin from "Life Goes On"

Last Wednesday evening, my girl Miss Pinky Lovejoy, of the Thinking Pink blog, invited me to do a little stalking of the 3rd Annual “Get Lucky for Lupus” Celebrity Poker Tournament, which benefited Lupus LA, the West Coast division of the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation.  Well, once I head the word “lupus”, I knew that I had to attend as I had a pretty strong feeling that one of my very favorite actresses, Kellie Martin, would be there.  Kellie’s younger sister, Heather, tragically passed away from lupus in 1998 at the tender age of 19 and the actress has been a very vocal advocate for research on the disease ever since.  (You can read an article that Kellie wrote about her sister’s battle with lupus for the September 1999 issue of Jane Magazine here.)  And, sure enough, about ten minutes after the Grim Cheaper and I arrived on the scene, who should walk up but Kellie!  And, let me tell you, I just about had a heart attack I was so excited to meet her! Life Goes On was one of my very favorite television shows growing up, so seeing Becca Thacher in person was almost most than I could bear.  Kellie was very sweet and happily posed for a picture with me, but seemed truly surprised that anyone had recognized her, which shocked me!

[ad]

Melissa Joan Hart

Next to arrive was Melissa Joan Hart, from Sabrina, the Teenage Witch fame, whom I had been dying to get a picture with for over a decade!

ScreenShot1210 ScreenShot1212

When I moved to Los Angeles way back in early 2000, one of the first things I did was register for background work at Central Casting. The same day that I registered, I was fortunate enough to get hired as an extra in the Season 4 episode of Just Shoot Me titled “Fast Times at Finchmont High”.  As it turned out, the scenes I was in were with special guest star Melissa Joan Hart in which I played one of her cheerleader friends.  That’s me in the above screen captures – in the first capture, I am standing to the right of Melissa and in the second, I am standing in between Melissa and the other cheerleader.  Melissa could not have been sweeter to me or more professional to work with even after I accidentally gave her a flat tire (i.e. stepped on the back of her shoe, causing it to come off) while we were filming!  I am a huge klutz by nature and the director, who as it turns out was Steven Levitan (the creator of Modern Family whom I just met two weeks ago at a pre-Emmy party), had asked me to stay as close to Melissa as possible while walking down the hall.  Well, I stayed so close to her that I ended up stepping on the back of her shoe and pulling it off.  She did not miss a beat, though, and kept right on shooting.  I was highly embarrassed over the whole thing, but Melissa was a complete and total sweetheart and, when I apologized to her afterwards, she said, “Oh my gosh, don’t worry about it at all!”  All in all, I could not have asked for a better first Hollywood experience and it was largely due to the kindness of Melissa.

Me on “Just Shoot Me”! 🙂

You can watch the clip of me on Just Shoot Me by clicking above.

James Denton from "Desperate Housewives"

Other celebrities who attended the “Get Lucky for Lupus” Celebrity Poker Tournament (and who were ALL so nice and laid back) included James Denton, from Desperate Housewives;

Aaron Hill from "Greek"

Aaron Hill, from Greek;

Verne Troyer

Verne Troyer;

Roger Cross from "24"

Roger R. Cross, from 24;

Jason Alexander

George Costanza himself, Jason Alexander, who was so incredibly friendly and nice it was almost unbelievable;

Jamie Gold - poker player, producer, owner of Buzznation

Jamie Gold, the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event champion;

Ryan Cabrera

singer Ryan Cabrera;

Camryn Manheim

Camryn Manheim – SUCH a sweetheart and absolutely GORGEOUS in person;

Michael Trucco from "Battlestar Galactica"

Michael Trucco, from Battlestar Galactica;

Ben Lyons from "E!"

Ben Lyons, from E!’s The Daily 10;

Poker Player Tiffany Michelle

poker player Tiffany Michelle;

Josh Altman from "Million Dollar Listing"

Josh Altman, from Million Dollar Listing;

Karina Smirnoff

Karina Smirnoff, from Dancing with the Stars;

Slash from Guns N Roses

Slash, from Guns N’ Roses, who really did not want to pose for a photo, but was somehow magically talked into it by Miss Pinky Lovejoy;

Derek Mears aka Jason Voorhees from "Friday the 13th"

and Derek Mears, who played Jason Voorhees in the 2009 remake of Friday the 13th.

Derek Mears aka "Jason Voorhees" from "Friday the 13th"

Derek was so nice that he actually took two pictures with me as he was not sure he looked “scary enough” in the first.  Love it!

Jermaine-Jackson-1

I also ran into Jermaine Jackson this past Saturday afternoon and he was SUPER nice and happily agreed to pose for a photo with me.  So, factoring in the Emmys, I guess you could say that it was a pretty INCREDIBLE week for this particular stalker.  Smile And I have no idea how I am going to write my Emmy post at this point in time, by the way, as it is looking to be a pretty daunting undertaking.  I think I am going to have to break it up into several different columns, as it will just be FAR too long otherwise.  But I do promise to write it soon.  Smile

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Pinky Lovejoy, from the Thinking Pink blog, for inviting me to this event.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: There is no stalking location for this one, but you can find out more about lupus and lupus research by visiting the official Lupus LA website here.

The Paramount Studios Tour . . . A Second Time

DSC_0144

Brace yourselves, my fellow stalkers, ‘cause today’s post is going to be a long one!  Back in September, Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I set out on our second VIP Tour of the Studios at Paramount Pictures in Hollywood.  We embarked on our first Paramount tour just over two years ago, in September of 2008, and I can honestly say that, for me, it was love at first sight!  As I’ve mentioned previously on this blog, the Paramount tour is hands down my absolute FAVORITE studio tour in all of Hollywood.  I love the place so much, in fact, that the Grim Cheaper and I seriously considered getting married there.  Well, I should say that I seriously considered getting married there – the GC was against the idea from the start, as he didn’t think a movie studio would be an appropriate venue for a wedding.  And while I can definitely see his point – the 62-acre lot is better suited to host a party rather than a wedding ceremony – because the place has such an incredibly rich cinematic history – it has been at its current location since 1926 and is the only major studio still located in Hollywood – for a movie-lover like myself, there is no more hallowed ground.  So, when Mike called me up in early September to ask if I wanted to go on another tour of the place, I jumped at the chance.

ScreenShot5620 IMG_1533

As they say, no two studio tours are ever the same and I am very happy to report that that was definitely the case with Paramount.  After paying for our tickets in the Studio Store, our small group of eight was given a brief history of the 84-year old lot before boarding a golf cart to begin the two-hour tour.  Our first stop was the corner of Avenue A and 3rd Street, just southwest of Stage 23, where the ending scene of the final episode of fave show The Hills was filmed, which I blogged about back in September.

IMG_1539  

Just beyond The Hills finale location is Stage 24, which was home to fellow stalker Owen’s all-time favorite sitcom Family Ties from 1982 to 1989. 

DSC_0155

Each individual soundstage at Paramount boasts a large plaque which lists all of the major productions which have been filmed on the premises. 

IMG_1538

And, as you can see in the above photograph, Stage 23’s plaque is somewhat unique.  According to our tour guide, actor Ray Romano was (jokingly) a bit bent out of shape that his new sitcom Men of a Certain Age wasn’t considered by Paramount to be a “major” enough production to be named on the plaque, so he took matters into his own hands and, using a label maker, printed out the name of the show and stuck it onto the sign himself.  LOL LOL LOL  Love it!

  IMG_1542

As always, the tour made a stop at Lucy Park – a small landscaped area named in honor of actress/producer Lucille Ball, former owner of the now-defunct Desilu Studios which was purchased by Paramount in 1968 and now makes up the western portion of the lot.  Lucy had the park built as an exact replica of the backyard of her Beverly Hills home so that she could take publicity photographs there with her children without ever having to leave the lot. 

IMG_1540

The above-pictured facade, which runs along the northern side of Lucy Park, is an exact replica of the exterior of Lucy’s New York City apartment building, which she had constructed for the same purpose.  We also learned that it was none other than Lucy, and her husband Desi Arnaz, who invented the live audience/three camera system that situational comedies still use for filming to this day.  Apparently, Lucy much preferred acting before a live studio audience, which, at the time, was not common practice when shooting television shows.  So, she and her husband came up with the idea of setting up the stage in the format of a theatre, with an open fourth wall facing the audience, and using multiple cameras to film each scene from different angles.  That very system has been in use ever since.  The powerhouse couple was also responsible for inventing what is known today as a “re-run”.

ScreenShot6094 ScreenShot6096

    IMG_1541 DSC_0157   

My favorite part of Lucy Park has to be its large central tree which was used in the Season 2 episode of The Brady Bunch titled “Where There’s Smoke” as the spot where Greg Brady (aka Barry Williams) smoked his very first cigarette.

You can watch that scene by clicking above.

ScreenShot6104 ScreenShot6105

According to our tour guide, Lucy Park was also used for the Season 2 episode of Glee titled “Grilled Cheesus”, for the close-up shot of Finn Hudson (aka Cory Monteith) cheering after scoring a winning touchdown.

 ScreenShot6107 ScreenShot6106

DSC_0158 DSC_0159

Our next stop was the studio’s Gower Street entrance, which stood in for the entrance to the fictional Woltz International Pictures lot in the 1972 film The Godfather.  That entrance and guard shack have, sadly, since been remodeled.

 DSC_0165 DSC_0166

We then made our way over to Stage 31, which is the spot where the Joel McHale television series Community is filmed.  It was extremely cool to see that particular stage, as it is one of the only stages on the lot that has a “dressed” exterior.  As you can see in the above photographs, the facade of the fictional Greendale Community College Library has been constructed around the exterior of the building.  So incredibly cool!

DSC_0164-1

We also spotted Donald Glover, who plays Troy Barnes on the show, while we were there.

DSC_0172 DSC_0184

Up next was New York Street – my VERY favorite section of the lot and the spot where the Grim Cheaper and I were thinking about getting married.  “Street” is actually a bit of a misnomer, though, being that the area measures a whopping five acres, is shaped like a square, and features numerous sections and blocks which were built to resemble different sections of New York, including Brooklyn, Greenwich Village, Washington Square, the Financial District, the Upper East Side, the Lower East Side, SoHo, a typical brownstone neighborhood, and, ironically enough, Chicago.  Each time I walk through New York Street, I truly feel as if I am actually in the Big Apple.  It’s amazing!  Even small details like mailboxes and payphones (pictured above) are so realistic that someone on a tour once put a letter inside one of the fake boxes thinking it was real.  🙂

 ScreenShot6116 ScreenShot6117

DSC_0167 IMG_1545     

The Washington Square section of New York Street is featured regularly on the new TNT series Rizzoli & Isles, as the home of Detective Jane Rizzoli (aka Angie Harmon).

ScreenShot6122 ScreenShot6121

IMG_1558 IMG_1547

Washington Square also appeared in the Season 7 episode of Seinfeld titled “The Rye”, in the scene in which Jerry Seinfeld tries to throw a loaf of rye bread up to George Constanza (aka Jason Alexander) who is waiting on the third floor of his girlfriend’s parents’ apartment building. 

 ScreenShot6112 ScreenShot6113

 IMG_1554 IMG_1586

The Boston Police Station from Rizzoli & Isles can also be found on New York Street, in the Brooklyn section.

ScreenShot6124 ScreenShot6128

DSC_0170 DSC_0171

The jazz club from Spiderman 3 is located in the SoHo section of New York Street and is what is referred to as a “practical set”, meaning that it is not just a facade, but also has an interior area which can be used for filming.

ScreenShot6097 ScreenShot6098

IMG_1568 IMG_1569

Pink’s 2008 Video Music Awards performance of “So What (I’m Still A Rock Star)” was also filmed on New York Street in the SoHo area.

[ad]

IMG_1570 IMG_1572

IMG_1571 IMG_1573

While walking through the Chicago area of New York Street, our tour guide pointed out the above-pictured building called the “Tin Shed” which he said serves as the dance studio for the cast of Glee.  So incredibly cool!

IMG_1574 IMG_1576

IMG_1588 IMG_1590

At the time we visited the lot, the Chicago section of New York Street was dressed for the filming of the yet-to-be-released television series Happy Endings, which stars Elisha Cuthbert.

DSC_0175

The facade pictured above, which is located at the corner of H Avenue and the Chicago section of New York Street, is being used as the exterior of Rosalita’s Bar, the Happy Endings’ characters’ main hang-out.

ScreenShot6108 ScreenShot6110

DSC_0176 DSC_0177

That very same facade was also used as the five-and-dime store where Holly Golightly (aka Audrey Hepburn) and Paul ‘Fred’ Varjak (aka George Peppard) stole Halloween masks in fave movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  So, I, of course, just had to take a picture standing in the doorway!

ScreenShot6091 ScreenShot6092

We also got to see the interior set of Rosalita’s while we were on the tour and it actually reminds me a lot of Grayson’s bar from fave show Cougar Town.  We weren’t allowed to take any photographs of it, unfortunately, but you can see what the bar looks like in the above screen captures, which I got off of IMDB

DSC_0189 IMG_1595

Our next stop was the place I had been waiting all morning to see – Stage 14, where fave show Glee is filmed!

IMG_1596 DSC_0190

Amazingly enough, our timing could NOT have been more perfect, because right when we arrived at the stage several of the stars drove by on golf carts!  We first spotted Harry Shum Jr. (pictured above) who plays dancer Mike Chang on the show.  He was on a golf cart with Jenna Ushkowitz (aka Tina Cohen-Chang), who we unfortunately did not get a photograph of.

DSC_0192 DSC_0193

   DSC_0194 DSC_0195   

Immediately after that, a cart carrying Amber Riley (aka Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (aka Noah ‘Puck’ Puckerman), and Chord Overstreet (aka Sam Evans) drove by.  We also spotted Dianna Agron (aka Quinn Fabray) and Lea Michelle (aka Rachel Berry), but unfortunately we did not get photographs of either of them.  Before spotting the Glee stars, our tour guide had warned us that the cast wasn’t known to be all that friendly or even particularly nice on the lot.  According to him, they have all apparently gotten a bit too big for their britches in recent months.  And, sadly, our experience definitely reflected that sentiment.  When the actors drove by, our small tour group was the only group of people around.  We did not in any way go crazy or walk up to them when we spotted them, but just politely stood in our places and waved.  And I am sad to say that not a one of them waved back or even managed to crack a smile.  In fact, as you can see in the above photographs, Amber Riley looked as if she wanted to throttle us!  I’m telling you, if looks could kill, our entire tour group would have been dead!  LOL  Mark Salling was the only one of the bunch who had a smile on his face, but it was definitely not directed towards us.  He was speaking with Chord Overstreet the entire time and did not so much as even look our way.  The whole thing was HIGHLY disappointing and only got worse two weeks later when I spotted Lea Michele while taking the Paramount tour once again with fellow stalker Lavonna and her friends, but I’ll save that story for a future post.  🙂

ScreenShot6129 ScreenShot6131

Top Gun porch IMG_1608

Our next stop was the Paramount Medical Services building, the back side of which (where you can see the lattice in the above photograph) was supposedly used as Charlie’s (aka Kelly McGillis’) porch in the movie Top Gun

 IMG_1615 DSC_0206

The final stop on our tour was the famous 516-seat Paramount Theatre, which has played host to several Hollywood premieres and premiere after-parties over the years and has also been the site of some filming, as well.

DSC_0197 

Just outside of the theatre is the famous Paramount water fountain;

IMG_1623 IMG_1625

Forest Gump’s bench from the movie of the same name;

DSC_0199

and the Bronson Gate – the studio’s former entrance, which was where Norma Desmond (aka Gloria Swanson) entered the lot in the 1950 movie Sunset Boulevard.  Legend has it that rubbing one’s hands on the gate while uttering Norma’s famous line, “I’m ready for my close-up Mr. DeMille”, will bring luck in the movie industry.

DSC_0210

And with that our tour was over.  But just as we were hopping back on our golf cart to head back to the studio store to make our departure, I spotted one of my mom’s all-time favorite actors – David Strathairn – who was nice enough to smile and wave at us after he realized that we had recognized him.  🙂  So incredibly cool!

IMG_1630

And while leaving through the lot’s main gate who should drive past us but Glee star Jenna Ushkowitz.  You can just barely see her in the black car in the above photograph.

IMG_1592

I honestly cannot recommend stalking the Paramount lot enough!  It is, in my never-to-be-humble opinion, the best studio tour in existence and I absolutely cannot wait to go on it again!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Paramount Studios is located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood.  Tours are given Monday through Friday at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 2 p.m. and cost $40 per person.  Reservations can be made by calling (323)956-1777.  Parking for the tour costs $7 per car.  I recommend booking your tour at least a week in advance, as they tend to sell out quickly.  You can find out more information about the Paramount Studios Tour here.

Mountain View Cemetery from “The Office”

Mountain-View-Cemetery-13

Since my favorite holiday, Halloween, is fast approaching, I thought it would only be appropriate to devote the next few blog posts to some filming locations of a spookier nature.  So, this past Sunday morning, Mike, from MovieShotsLA, the Grim Cheaper, and I went on a joint stalking venture up to Altadena to stalk Mountain View Cemetery which appeared in the Season 4 episode of The Office titled “The Chair Model”, among countless other productions.  I first found out about this locale from my parents’ neighbor, Julie, who owns The Coffee Gallery in Altadena – a location which was also used in “The Chair Model” episode and which I blogged about this past July.  According to Julie, while scouting locations for the “Chair Model” episode, location managers sought out a coffee shop that was in close proximity to Mountain View Cemetery where they were also shooting scenes, which is how they came to use her cafe.  Like the old saying goes, it’s all about location, location, location.  😉  Anyway, once Julie told me about the place, I started doing some research on it and discovered that Mountain View Cemetery has been featured in hundreds upon hundreds of productions over the years.  Apparently, the 60-acre cemetery is used for filming an average of 150 days out of EACH AND EVERY year, which is absolutely incredible to me!  Upon finding out that fact, I promptly informed both Mike and the GC that Mountain View Cemetery was the ONLY place I wanted to be buried.  Spending my hereafter at a site that is in use as a filming location almost half of each year sounds like absolute heaven to me (pun intended).  Mike jokingly said that if I did end up being buried there, my tombstone should read, “Lindsay Blake, from IAMNOTASTALKER –Still Stalking Filming Sites From Beyond the Grave”.  🙂

Mountain-View-Cemetery-26 Mountain-View-Cemetery-27

Mountain View Cemetery, which is one of the oldest cemeteries in the San Gabriel Valley, was first established in 1882 when a man named Levi W. Giddings designated a plot of his family’s land to be used as a site for burials for the citizens of Pasadena.  His descendants still own and operate the cemetery to this day, over 128 years later.  Mountain View, which as the name implies does boast picturesque views of the San Gabriel Mountains, is an absolutely enormous and quite beautiful property, with sprawling lawns, stately trees from all over the world, an art collection, two chapels, and two mausoleums.  Besides being a filming location, Mountain View is also the final resting place of several notables, including actor George Reeves, who played TV’s original Superman in the 1950s television series of the same name. George is entombed in the cemetery’s Pasadena Mausoleum.  Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe, one of the original founders of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and builder of the Mount Lowe Railway, is also buried at Mountain View, in the cemetery’s Royal Oak’s section.

[ad]

Mountain-View-Cemetery-16 Mountain-View-Cemetery-17

Mountain-View-Cemetery-21 Mountain-View-Cemetery-35

The yet-to-be released show Franklin & Bash was setting up to do some filming while we were stalking the cemetery on Sunday, and as you can see in the above photographs, had fake tombstones, floodlights, a generator, and a mock funeral assembled, which was very cool to see.

Mountain-View-Cemetery-30

There was also a fake crypt set up on the property, which none of us actually realized was a fake . . .

Mountain-View-Cemetery-32

. . . until we got around to the back of it and saw the prop door.  So, of course, I just had to get inside of it to snap a quick picture.  🙂  I am not sure if the fake crypt was a prop for Franklin & Bash or for Wicked Literature: A Halloween Theatre Festival – a Halloween-themed live theatre event which is running at the cemetery now through the end of October.  But being that Franklin & Bash is a series about a law firm, I am going to go out on a limb and guess that the crypt was set up for the Wicked Literature show.

ScreenShot5905 ScreenShot5906

ScreenShot5907 ScreenShot5908

In “The Chair Model” episode of The Office, Michael Scott (aka Steve Carell) falls in love with a chair model whom he sees in an office supply catalog.  He sends Dwight Schrute (aka Rainn Wilson) on a recognizance mission to track down the model and is crushed when he learns that she was recently killed in a car accident.  Dwight and Michael later visit the cemetery where she is buried in order to pay their respects.  While there, they break into a rousing rendition of the song “American Pie”.

IMG_2238 IMG_2241

While stalking Mountain View on Sunday, I was absolutely dying to find the exact spot where The Office had been filmed.  Unfortunately though, I was unable to figure it out at the time.  It wasn’t until after I got home and re-watched “The Chair Model” episode that I was able to discern the correct location.  So, bright and early yesterday morning, I dragged my dad out to re-stalk the place so that I could get some photos of the spot where Michael and Dwight had mourned, ahem, sang.  That spot can be found in the northeastern section of the cemetery.

ScreenShot5895 ScreenShot5896

ScreenShot5898 ScreenShot5899

In the Season 1 episode of Desperate Housewives titled “There Won’t Be Trumpets”, Mountain View was the site of Mama Solis’ (aka Lupe Ontiveros’) funeral.  In the scene filmed at the cemetery, Gaby Solis (aka Eva Longoria Parker) flies into a rage after discovering that her destitute husband Carlos (aka Ricardo Antonio Chavira) has purchased a large crypt for his dead mother.  It was during the filming of that scene that Eva Longoria Parker accidentally (and hilariously) got the heel of her stiletto stuck in the cemetery’s grass.  Some paparazzi who were on hand managed to snap pictures of the event and those pictures later made their way onto the pages of US Magazine, but unfortunately I cannot find copies of those photographs anywhere online.

IMG_2230 IMG_2236

While watching the “There Won’t Be Trumpets” episode, I was convinced that Mama Solis’ crypt had been a prop put into place for the filming.  As I discovered yesterday morning, though, her burial site is an actual crypt belonging to the Buckley family.  So darn cool!  I would like to let it be known here and now that, upon my death, filmmakers have my permission to use whatever it is I end up being buried in – whether it be a crypt, a mausoleum, or a simple grave – whenever and in as many productions as they so desire!  😉

ScreenShot5913 ScreenShot5914

ScreenShot5915 ScreenShot5917

The cemetery was also used in the Season 8 episode of Seinfeld titled “The Foundation” as the final resting place of Susan Ross (aka Heidi Swedberg), George Costanza’s (aka Jason Alexander’s) former fiancé, who died after ingesting toxic glue while licking the envelopes of their wedding invitations.

ScreenShot5909 ScreenShot5910

ScreenShot5911 ScreenShot5912

Mountain View also appeared in the Season 11 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation titled “Shock Waves” as the site of the funeral of Officer Franklin Clark (aka Reggie Von Watkins), during which a bomb explodes.  Fave website Altadenablog was on hand during the filming of that episode and took some great photographs of the crew setting up the extensive rigging for the explosion scene.

                                       ScreenShot5958 ScreenShot5955

ScreenShot5956 ScreenShot5957

The cemetery also popped up in the pilot episode of the HBO series Six Feet Under as the site of the funeral of Nathaniel Fisher (aka Richard Jenkins).

ScreenShot5889 ScreenShot5890

ScreenShot5891 ScreenShot5892

The cemetery was also used in Ozzy Osbourne’s video for his 2010 song “Life Won’t Wait” . . .

. . . which you can watch by clicking above.

ScreenShot5902

Ironically enough, after visiting the cemetery, I had a feeling that it might have been the very cemetery used in fave movie A Lot Like Love, so after I got home I re-watched the flick and noticed the large, open-air grave-marker located in the background behind Oliver Martin (aka Ashton Kutcher) in the scene pictured above.

ScreenShot5900

I could also just make out the last name “Holmes” written on the marker.  So, yesterday morning, while re-stalking the cemetery with my dad, I walked around to see if I could spot that open air crypt.

ScreenShot5904 ScreenShot5903

A Lot Like Love Cemetery Location IMG_2250

And, amazingly enough, I did!  As it turns out, the filming of A Lot Like Love had taken place just due west of where The Office had filmed.  The grave where Emily Friehl’s (aka Amanda Peet’s) mother was buried in the movie was a fake that was put into place solely for the filming.  In real life, her grave is just empty space.  Ironically enough, Ashton Kutcher returned to the cemetery once again this past May to film scenes for the yet-to-be released comedy No Strings, along with co-star Natalie Portman.  You can check out some photographs of them filming here.  The 2007 remake of the classic horror film Halloween was also filmed at Mountain View Cemetery.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Mountain View Cemetery Locations II Mountain View Cemetery Locations

Stalk It: Mountain View Cemetery is located at 2400 North Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena.  The area which appeared in The Office is in the northeastern portion of the cemetery and is denoted with a pink circle and a pink “X” in the above aerial views.  A Lot Like Love filmed just due west of where The Office was filmed in the area of the cemetery numbered 4474, which is denoted with a purple circle in the above aerial views. Desperate Housewives was filmed in front of the Buckley crypt, which is located in the section of the cemetery numbered 4386, directly across from the Vista Del Monte mausoleum, which is denoted with a blue circle and a blue arrow in the above aerial views.