Bow Bridge from “Glee”

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I have a thing for Central Park bridges.  One of my favorite places in all of New York City – in all of the world, actually – is Gapstow Bridge.  I’ve stalked it countless times, blogged about it, and honestly just cannot get enough of its bucolic beauty.  Though I have walked pretty much every square inch of the park and seen the vast majority of its bridges, one span that I had never properly stalked until my recent NYC visit this past April was Bow Bridge, which I knew of from its two appearances on the television series Glee.

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Designed by Calvert Vaux, Bow Bridge was constructed between 1859 and 1862 and has the distinction of being the first cast-iron bridge built in Central Park.

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The 87-foot-long site gets its name from its arched shape, which is said to resemble the bows of both archers and musicians.

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Bow Bridge sits atop the Central Park Lake and, with its 60-foot span, connects Cherry Hill to The Ramble.

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The structure’s walkway is made of the highly durable South American ipe (pronounced ee-pay) wood, also known as Brazilian walnut.

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Not only is the bridge itself extremely picturesque . . .

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. . . but its setting is absolutely magical.

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Bow Bridge also boasts some pretty amazing views.

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As such, it should come as no surprise that the location has been featured countless times onscreen – far too many times for me to properly document here.  But read on for a list of the highlights.

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In the Season 2 episode of Glee titled “New York,” Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) surprises Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) with a spontaneous date in the Big Apple, telling her via text to “Meet me in Central Park at Bow Bridge.  Dress up.  Finn.”

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The two meet on the bridge, where Finn gives Rachel flowers, and they then venture off to various landmark Manhattan locales.  During their date, Rachel says, “Being in New York is like falling in love over and over again every minute.”  I know what you mean, Rachel.  I know what you mean.

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Rachel returned to Bow Bridge – wearing a fabulous fuchsia trench coat – while singing “Yesterday” in the Season 5 episode titled “Love, Love, Love.”

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Bow Bridge was the site of another romantic scene involving another Finn.  In 1998’s Great Expectations, Finnegan Bell (Ethan Hawke) met up with Estella (Gwyneth Paltrow) at the picturesque site.

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Molly (Brittany Murphy) jumps from Bow Bridge into The Lake in the 2003 comedy Uptown Girls.

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Bow Bridge is where Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) breaks up with Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) in 2007’s Spider-Man 3.

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That same year, Giselle (Amy Adams) danced across the bridge, while Robert Philip (Patrick Dempsey) followed behind, during Enchanted’s big “That’s How You Know” number.

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Patrick Dempsey returned to Bow Bridge for the filming of Made of Honor.  It is there that Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) tells Dempsey’s character, Tom, that she is going to Scotland for six weeks in the 2008 romcom.

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Beth (Kristen Bell) jogged across the bridge in 2010’s When in Rome.

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Bow Bridge was also featured a couple of times in the Season 7 episode of Doctor Who titled “The Angels Take Manhattan,” which aired in 2012.

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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: Bow Bridge, from the “New York” and “Love, Love, Love” episodes of Glee, is located in Central Park at 74th Street, just west of Bethesda Terrace.

The TKTS Booth from “Glee”

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I’ve made no secret of the fact that I bailed on the television series Glee shortly after the second part of the first season began airing.  In my opinion, after starting out so strong, the show totally jumped the shark at that point.  But because I love the Big Apple, I did make sure to tune in to the Season 2 episode titled “New York,” which was partially shot in Manhattan.  One of the locations featured was the TKTS booth, or TKTS staircase, in Times Square.  While I had seen the booth shortly after it was constructed in 2008, I had never properly stalked it.  So, since the site is so picturesque and so quintessentially New York, I made sure to amend that while visiting the city this past April.

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The TKTS (pronounced “Tee-Kay-Tee-Ess”) booth was initially established in 1973 to provide theatregoers with same-day discount tickets to Broadway shows.  The pavilion was constructed at Duffy Square, a traffic island situated between West 46th Street, 7th Avenue, Broadway, and West 47th Street that was named in honor of World War I military chaplain Father Francis P. Duffy.  (A statue honoring Duffy is pictured in the images below.)  The original design, which was completed by the Mayers & Schiff Associates architecture firm and stood at the site from 1973 through 2006, consisted of a trailer surrounded by a red truss frame strung through with white canvas panels bearing the TKTS logo.  You can see what it looked like here and here.

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Though Mayers & Schiff’s design proved iconic, the structure was only meant to be a temporary installation and it eventually began to show signs of wear and tear.  In 1999, the Theatre Development Fund, along with the NYC 2000 Millennium Committee and the Van Alen Institute, hosted a competition to re-design the booth.  Over 683 submissions were received, but there was one clear winner.  Australian architects John Choi and Tai Ropiha’s concept of a red staircase topping a transparent pavilion won the vote.  Of their creation, juror Tucker Viemeister said, “The winner is really the winner.  Seldom in a design competition with so many excellent entries is the winner so obviously the best choice.  It goes beyond meeting the criteria and is even poetic (which is really hard considering the Times Square environment!)  It will become a landmark.”  The Perkins Eastman architecture firm was brought in to finalize the design, which consists of a glass ticket booth with twelve sales windows . . .

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. . . capped by a large set of red bleacher-style steps.

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Construction of the new booth began in May 2006 and was completed in October 2008.

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The TKTS stairs have gone on to win 18 design awards and today are a favorite gathering place for New Yorkers and tourists alike.  The site is also turning into a popular filming location.

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In the “New York” episode of Glee, the New Directions members gather at the TKTS booth upon first arriving in the Big Apple for Nationals.  While there, they spontaneously break out into an a cappella version of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”

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The TKTS booth also popped up later in the episode during the “I Love New York”/”New York, New York” mash-up number.

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Alicia Keys and Jay Z made prominent use of the TKTS stairs in their 2009 music video for “Empire State of Mind.”

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You can watch that video by clicking below.

A dilapidated version of the TKTS booth was featured in 2007’s I Am Legend, though no actual filming took place at the site.

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Instead, the steps were re-created as part of an elaborate set inside of the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx for the shoot.  You can see photos of that re-creation and the entire Times Square set here.

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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 TKTS Booth, from the “New York” episode of Glee, is located at 1564 Broadway in Times Square.

All Star Lanes from “Glee”

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Another Eagle Rock-area location that Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I stalked a few weeks back after our venture to the nearby Eagle Rock Plaza Mall was All Star Lanes – the bowling alley where Finn Hudson (aka Cory Monteith) took Rachel Berry (aka Lea Michele) on a date in the Season 1 episode of Glee titled “The Rhodes Not Taken”.  I found this location thanks to an eagle-eyed (pun intended) anonymous fellow stalker who lives in the area.  My source recognized the bowling alley when it showed up in the episode back in September of last year and emailed me immediately afterwards to let me know.  So, thank you, anonymous source!  I don’t know who you are, but I will be forever grateful for the stalking tip!  Smile 

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The 22-lane bowling alley, which features state-of-the-art equipment and automatic scoring, was completely empty when Mike and I showed up to stalk it, which made for a prime picture-taking opportunity.  The owner finally made an appearance about ten minutes after we showed up and was nice enough to chat with us for a bit about the various filming that has taken place there in recent years.  Sadly, he didn’t have much to tell me about “The Rhodes Not Taken” episode of Glee, though, because he had never actually watched the show before it filmed on the premises and, therefore, did not pay much attention during the shoot. 

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He did tell us that part of the episode was lensed in the alley’s retro-style cocktail lounge and, even though it was closed at the time, allowed us to take a quick peek inside.  Besides bowling, All Star Lanes also features pools tables, a video arcade, a Chinese food restaurant, and, as was shown on Glee, nightly karaoke!  Love it!  In 2009, All Star Lanes was voted First Place in the “Best Bowling” category of MyFOX Los Angeles’ “Best of the LA HOTLIST” contestLA Weekly newspaper also recently dubbed the alley the “Best Glow-in-the-Dark Bowling 2010” thanks to its late-night glow-in-the-dark bowling sessions, which feature glowing pins and balls!  How incredibly cool is that?

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In “The Rhodes Not Taken” episode of Glee, Finn takes Rachel on a pretend date to All Star Lanes in the hopes that he can somehow talk her into re-joining the McKinley High Glee Club. 

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Will Schuester (aka Matthew Morrison) and April Rhodes (aka Kristin Chenoweth) also visit the bowling alley that same night and it is there that Will tells April that one of his biggest regrets in life is never having sung with her.

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April then leads Will over to the alley’s cocktail lounge where the two hop up on stage and sing a rousing karaoke rendition of the 1987 Heart song “Alone”.

You can watch their “Alone” duet by clicking above.

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The owner of All Star Lanes also informed us that the outside of the alley and its parking lot area were recently dressed to look like the Mid-Atlantic Trailways Bus Station for the Season 8 episode of NCIS titled “Broken Arrow” for the scene in which Ziva David (aka Cote de Pablo) and Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo (aka Michael Weatherly) track down Anthony DiNozzo Sr. (aka Robert Wagner).

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Apparently, the All Star Lanes parking lot is quite the popular filming location because fellow stalker Chas, from ItsFilmedThere, also let me know that it was featured during the opening credits of the 1992 Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs.  In the scene, in which the bowling alley is not actually visible, Quentin and the gang walk through the parking lot toward Eagle Rock Boulevard after their famous conversation about tipping which took place at the nearby Pat & Lorraine’s Coffee Shop.  The Eagle Rock Plaza strip mall, which is located directly across the street from the alley, is the building that pictured in the above screen captures.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: All Star Lanes from “The Rhodes Not Taken” episode of Glee is located at 4459 Eagle Rock Boulevard in Eagle Rock.  Rachel and Finn bowled in Lane Nine and Will and April bowled in Lane Fifteen in the episode.  In Reservoir Dogs, Quentin and the gang walk east through the alley’s parking lot towards Eagle Rock Boulevard.  You can visit All Star Lanes’ official website here.

Paramount Studios . . . A Third Time

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As I mentioned in last Thursday’s post about my second VIP Tour of the Studios at Paramount Pictures in Hollywood,  I also recently embarked on a third tour of the lot, along with fellow stalkers Lavonna, Debbie, Connie, and Beth, who were all in town visiting from Ohio this past October.  And I am very happy to report that my third Paramount tour was just as fabulous as my first two.  If you have yet to visit the famed Hollywood studio, all I can say is that you REALLY must!  As I’ve stated numerous times in the past, it is simply the best studio tour Los Angeles has to offer.  This time our tour group consisted of two guides, the five of us, and only one other gentlemen (who showed up in a business suit with the intention of handing out headshots to various studio executives that we might happen to pass along the way, which was extremely uncomfortable for everyone involved, but that’s a whole other story), so we were very lucky in that our group was not only smaller than normal, but our tour was also very much catered to the places on the lot that Lavonna and Co. were interested in seeing.  I should mention here that Paramount guides are very good about customizing tours for each particular group, so if you do happen to embark on a visit to the lot, I highly encourage you to speak up and tell your guide exactly what it is that you are interested in seeing.  

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Our first stop, as always, was Lucy Park, the history of which I wrote about in last week’s Paramount post.  One thing I forgot to mention, though, was that the Chevalier Building, which runs along the eastern side of the park, was used as Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s Jefferson High School on the 1970’s television series Happy Days.

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Directly across from Lucy Park is the Ball Building, named in honor of actress Lucille Ball, where Tom Cruise’s production offices were formerly housed.  Tom’s office is the one with the large bay window denoted with the pink arrow in the above photograph, from which is a fabulous view of the Hollywood sign.

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We were then shuttled by Stage 25, which is considered by many to be an extremely lucky stage being that two of the most successful shows in television history, Cheers and Frasier – both of which ran for eleven seasons and both of which starred actor Kelsey Grammar as Doctor Frasier Crane – were filmed there.  Our guide told us that Grammar likes to joke that his short-lived television series Back to You, which was filmed elsewhere, would have been much more successful had it been lensed on Stage 25.

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Next up was Stage 28 where the Nickelodeon Television series Big Time Rush is filmed.  The exterior of that particular stage is used each week for establishing shots of the Rocque Records offices on the show.

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Right next door to Stage 28 is Stage 27, where the Grim Cheaper’s favorite movie of all time, The Godfather, was filmed, so of course I just had to snap a photograph of it.

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We were then taken inside the set of the apartment belonging to Alex (aka Elisha Cuthbert) on the yet-to-be released series Happy Endings.  Alex’s apartment, which we unfortunately were not allowed to take photographs of, but which you can see in the above screen captures, is VERY reminiscent of Monica and Rachel’s apartment on Friends.  It was absolutely amazing to be able to see the set in such an up-close-and-personal manner and to discover how truly realistic everything actually was.  At one point Lavonna and I wandered into Alex’s bathroom – which according to our tour guide is not going to be used for actual filming but will only be seen in the background of certain scenes – and were shocked to discover how incredibly detailed it was.  There was a huge make-up basket filled with actual make-up on the counter, there was a toothbrush and toothpaste by the sink, and the drawers were filled with hairbrushes and other beauty paraphernalia.  The attention to detail was astounding, especially considering that the bathroom will only be appearing in the background, if at all!  There were also real life bills being stored in Alex’s mail holder and actual books piled on her bookshelves.  So incredibly cool!

You can watch the promo for Happy Endings by clicking above.

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Up next was my VERY favorite section of the Paramount lot, New York Street, where filming for both Happy Endings . . .

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. . . and Community was taking place.  I happened to spot cutie Joel McHale walking around the Community set, but I couldn’t get my camera out fast enough to snap a photograph of him, which was so   unbelievably frustrating I cannot even tell you!  UGH!

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Paramount Studios was used as the location of the Junior Prom in the Season 1 episode of fave show 90210 titled “Zero Tolerance”.  In the episode, Naomi Clark (aka AnnaLynne McCord) and Liam Court (aka Matt Lanter – sigh!) decide to take a break from the dance to walk around New York Street and they wind up sitting on a brownstone stoop where, in a drool-worthy moment, Liam finally admits to Naomi that he has actual feelings for her . . . and then, it begins to snow!  So darn cute! 

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I was absolutely dying to take a picture while sitting on Liam and Naomi’s stoop, but unfortunately I could not remember exactly which one it was, so I ended up sitting a few houses too far to the north. 

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Liam and Naomi’s actual stoop is located on the Lower East Side portion of New York Street and is the stoop located closest to Washington Square and is denoted with the pink arrow in the above photograph.

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The café from Spiderman 3, where Peter Parker (aka Tobey Maguire) tells Harry Osborn (aka James Franco) that Mary Jane Watson (aka Kristen Dunst) is in love with someone else, is also located on New York Street, in the Greenwich Village area. 

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Much like the jazz club from Spiderman 3 which I talked about in my previous Paramount post, the café is a “practical set”, which means that it is not just a façade, but that it also has an interior area where filming can take place.

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We actually got to step inside one of the facades while we were on New York Street, which I had never done before on a previous tour.  As you can see in the above photographs, the interior of the facade consists mainly of large metal beams, from which set electricians can hang lights, and open space, where background actors are sometimes held in between takes.

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The “Schlemiel, Schlimazel, Hasenpfeffer Incorporated” segment of the Laverne & Shirley opening credits was also filmed on New York Street, in the Washington Square section.

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Interestingly enough, the exterior of Rosalita’s Bar from Happy Endings was dressed a bit differently than it was the last time I visited the lot a few weeks beforehand.

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The way it looked on my previous tour is pictured above. 

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Fellow stalker Beth also somehow managed to snap the above photograph of the interior of the soundstage where Happy Endings is filmed, the door of which happened to be open as we drove by.  As you can see, the doorway and part of the exterior of Rosalita’s Bar has also been built inside of the soundstage, which was very cool to see!

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Next up was the famed Stage 14, where fave show Glee is filmed.  Because Lavonna, Debbie, Connie, Beth, and I are all diehard Gleeks, we were hoping to have the same star-sighting luck outside of Stage 14 that I had on my previous tour, but alas, that was not to be.

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We all just about died a few minutes after driving away from the stage, though, when who should we spot being shuttled around on a golf cart but Miss Lea Michele!  I was beyond excited to catch a glimpse of Lea as I had only seen her for a split second during my previous Paramount tour and, aside from Will Schuester (aka Matthew Morrison), Rachel Berry is my favorite character on the show.  Sadly though, the experience was not a good one.  As Lea’s cart approached, the driver put her hand up to block the actress’ face from us, which was absolutely unbelievable!  It’s rude enough when an actor puts up their own hand to block their face from fans, but to have an assistant do it for you is an absolute diva maneuver if I ever saw one!  The whole thing was extremely disappointing for us as, prior to that, we had all LOVED Lea.  Our tour guide on the the previous tour had told us that Lea was the worst one of the entire Glee bunch and that the studio staff had taken to humming the Wicked Witch of the West theme song from The Wizard of Oz every time she rode past them on her bike, but, even after hearing that, I had still believed she was nice.  Sadly that did not seem to be the case, though.  Such a shame.

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Next up was the exterior of Stage 15 where NCIS: Los Angeles is filmed, which I was absolutely FLOORED about seeing (and which took my mind off of the whole Lea Michele debacle) as the outside of it is used for the filming of the exterior of the NCIS Office of Special Projects on the series.  So incredibly cool!

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We were then taken to Paramount’s Production Park, where the Lubitsch Building is located, which was used as Westdale High School on fave show The Brady Bunch

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The Lubitsch Building is located on the east side of Production Park and the doorway which was used as the entrance to Westdale High is denoted with the pink arrow in the above aerial view.

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Production Park was also recently used in the Season 1 episode of Rizzoli & Isles titled “Money for Nothing”, in the opening scene in which Detective Jane Rizzoli (aka Angie Harmon) and Dr. Maura Isles (aka Sasha Alexander) are shown stretching before a morning run.

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The filming of an episode of Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush had just wrapped when we arrived at the park, which is what the sign reading “Palm Woods Park” was set up for.  Filming had involved the cast of the show being in some sort of a mud pit and the crew was covering up the pit while we were there, which is what you see in the above photograph.

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We also made a stop at the Paramount Studios Theatre and while we were there our tour guide mentioned that the theatre lobby had been used as a hotel in a certain movie, but when I sat down to write today’s post, I could not for the life of me remember which movie.  Enter Lavonna, who CALLED UP Paramount to find out for me!  Amazingly enough, who should answer the phone, but our actual tour guide who informed Lavonna that the movie he had told us about was Clear and Present Danger.  Thank you, Lavonna!  🙂

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Our final stop was the famous Paramount Studios water fountain, which was also featured in the “Zero Tolerance” episode of 90210

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Despite our disappointment over Lea Michele, the tour was still a FABULOUS, FABULOUS experience and I honestly cannot recommend taking it enough!  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Paramount is hands down the best studio tour in Hollywood!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

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 and the tour lot is located on Bronson Avenue, directly across the street from the studio’s main entrance.  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.

Little Dom’s Restaurant from “90210”

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This past Saturday night, I dragged the Grim Cheaper out to Los Feliz to stalk Little Dom’s – an Italian eatery owned by Warner Ebbink and Brandon Boudet of the Eat Heavy Restaurant Group, the very same team that was responsible for founding the 101 Coffee Shop that I blogged about yesterday.  The GC and I had actually breakfasted at the Los Feliz-area establishment once before a couple of years ago, but at the time I had no idea the place was a filming location or a celebrity hotspot, so I, unfortunately, did not take any photographs while there.  Well, imagine my surprise when just a few months later the restaurant was featured in a Season 2 episode of fave show 90210.  I recognized the place immediately, and, let me tell you, just about fell out of my chair.  And then this past September, I just about had a heart attack when the eatery appeared on 90210 yet again.  And then, last week, when I came across these November 4th paparazzi photos of the cast of Glee – including Lea Michele, Dianna Agron, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Harry Shum Jr., Kevin McHale,  Jenna Ushkowitz, Naya Rivera, and Chord Overstreet – dining at the restaurant, I just about died and immediately informed the GC that Little Dom’s was where the two of us would be spending our upcoming Saturday night.  

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Little Dom’s first opened in January of 2008 on the corner of Hillhurst Avenue and Avocado Street in the heart of Downtown Los Feliz in the space that previously housed the French bistro La Belle Epoque.   Warner Ebbink, who so ingeniously designed the 101 Coffee Shop interior, completely gutted the former Epoque property and created the Manhattan-esque decor of his new Italian eatery from scratch.  The interior designer/restaurateur searched far and wide, and I mean that literally, for the items that now make up his eclectic establishment.  He purchased and then transported the wooden bar, which dates back to the 1930’s, from a former saloon in Eaton, Pennsylvania; he found the authentic leaded-glass windows, which now make up some of the restaurant’s interior walls, at an about-to-be-demolished building in New York City, and the picture of Yosemite National Park which hangs above the bar area was requisitioned from none other than Warner Brothers Studios.  As the Eater website so aptly stated in their January 2008 review of the restaurant, “Warner Ebbink is an ace at making an entirely new space feel like it’s been there forever.”  I couldn’t agree more!  Sitting at the antique bar and looking around at the dimly-lit, tin-ceilinged space, I found it very hard to believe that the place had not been around during the heyday of Hollywood catering to members of the Rat Pack. 

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Besides the spectacular ambiance, Little Dom’s also serves up some fabulous food!  I absolutely gorged myself on the Brussels Sprouts with Shaved Parmesan side dish and the Truffled Chicken Salad with Arugula Sandwich entrée – both of which were divine!  And I just about died from excitement when I saw that they featured my very favorite dessert, Affogato – vanilla gelato with a shot of espresso (pictured above) – on the menu!  I never actually knew that my favorite dessert had a name, nor had I ever actually seen it featured on a restaurant menu before, but I have been ordering a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a shot of espresso on the side as dessert for just about as long as I can remember.  So, the fact that Little Dom’s had it named on their menu was simply amazing to me!  The restaurant also breaks down their wine list into three sections – ”Tried and True”, “Your New Best Friend”, and “Go Out on a Limb” – which I thought was just about the cutest thing ever.  The eatery’s prices were also extremely, extremely reasonable, which, needless to say, the Grim Cheaper was thrilled about.  We both absolutely LOVED the place and cannot wait to go back there for another stalking/culinary adventure.

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It should come as no surprise that, in the three short years that it has been in operation, Little Dom’s has become a big time celebrity hot spot.  Just a few of the stars who have been spotted there recently include Drew Barrymore, Jason Segel, Katherine Heigl, Josh Kelly, Rachel Bilson, Joe Jonas, Pixie Lott, Conan O’Brien, Ryan Reynolds, Megan Fox, Kate Walsh, Zachary Quinto, Michelle Williams, Spike Jonze, Vince Vaughn, Gisele Bundchen, Ron Livingston and, as I mentioned above, most of the cast of Glee.  And while the GC and I, unfortunately, did not spot anyone famous on this most recent trip to the restaurant, we did see actor Michael Cera, who played Paulie Bleeker in the 2007 movie Juno, during our first visit there.

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And the place is also a filming location!  Little Dom’s appeared in the Season 2 episode of 90210 titled “Women’s Intuition”, in the scene in which Debbie Wilson (aka Lori Loughlin) confronts Sasha (aka Mekia Cox) about what she suspects is her fake pregnancy.  That scene was filmed in the booth located closest to the restaurant’s front door.

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Little Dom’s was also used in the Season 3 episode of 90210 titled “2021 Vision”, in the scene in which Mr. Cannon (aka Hal Ozsan) “accidentally” bumps into Erin Silver (aka Jessica Stroup).

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In the scene, Silver sat in the booth located third in from the restaurant’s front door.  That particular booth was, sadly, occupied while I was stalking the place, so I had to settle for taking a photograph in the one directly next to it.

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Silver’s Vespa was parked just outside of the restaurant, on Avocado Street, in the scene.  And I just have to say here that I am absolutely hooked on 90210 this year.  The series started getting pretty good last season, but I think it is just now finally beginning to hit its stride and I absolutely love it, love it, love it.  Especially the brewing romance between Liam Court (aka my latest celebrity crush Matt Lanter) and Annie Wilson (aka Shenae Grimes).  Those two are SO darn cute together!!!

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Little Dom’s also appeared in the 2010 movie The Kids Are All Right, in the scene in which Nic (aka Annette Bening) and Jules (aka Julianne Moore) discuss the fact that their children’s biological father Paul (aka Mark Ruffalo) is now a part of their lives. 

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Little Dom’s restaurant from 90210 is located at 2128 Hillhurst Avenue in Los Feliz.  You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

The Paramount Studios Tour . . . A Second Time

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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

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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!

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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. 

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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”.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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

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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.  🙂

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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).

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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. 

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

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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

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

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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.

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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.  🙂

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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

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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.

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

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

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

Helen Bernstein High School – The New William McKinley High from “Glee”

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A little birdie recently told me that fave show Glee was no longer filming on location at Juan Cabrillo High School in Long Beach – a locale which I blogged about back in January of this year – and that producers had found a new school to stand in for the fictional William McKinley High, one that is located a bit closer to Paramount Studios where the series is lensed.  So, I immediately started digging around the internet to find out exactly which school was now being used and fairly quickly came across this YouTube video which an anonymous person had taken of the cast while they were filming the Season 2 episode of the show titled “Audition”.  In the comments section, the video’s author explained that the segment had been taped at Helen Bernstein High School in Hollywood.  So, I immediately put the location high up on my “To Stalk” list and after embarking on the Paramount Tour with fellow stalker Lavonna and her friends Beth, Debbie, and Connie, who were in town visiting from Ohio a few weeks back, we all set out to stalk the new William McKinley High.

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Helen Bernstein High School, which was named after the former president of the Los Angeles teachers’ union who passed away in 1997, just recently opened in the fall of 2008.  The school was constructed by the award-winning Chicago-based architecture firm of Perkins+Will in order to help ease the overcrowding at both John Marshall High School in Los Feliz and Hollywood High School in Hollywood.  The four-story school, which boasts 2,000 students, sits on 12. 4 acres of land, and measures a whopping 238,492 square feet of learning space, is easily one of the largest educational institutions that I’ve ever come across in my entire life!  The place is absolutely massive, and in an interesting historical note, was built on the former site of Fox Television Center/KTTV Studios, where such iconic shows as Saved by the Bell, Maude, One Day at a Time, Diff’rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, In Living Color, The Jeffersons and the pilot episode of Family Ties were filmed.  The studio, which later changed its name to Metromedia Square, was sold to the the Los Angeles Unified School District in 2000 and just three years later it was demolished entirely to make way for the new high school.  You can read more about the construction of Helen Bernstein High here.

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The area of the school that is most prominently featured on Glee is the main quad, which was the site of the New Directions’ rousing performance of “Empire State of Mind” in the “Audition” episode and the spot that I most wanted to stalk.  And even though we had waited until 4 p.m. to visit Helen Bernstein, after school was already over for the day, I wasn’t sure how amenable the staff would be to letting us onto the property.  When we explained that we were HUGE Glee fans, though, and that Lavonna and her friends were in town visiting all the way from Ohio, one of the super nice office administrators agreed to bring us over to the quad area and then allowed us to take all of the photographs of the place that we wanted!  🙂  YAY!

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In the “Empire State of Mind” scene, the Glee kids put on a lunchtime show in order to try to entice their fellow McKinley High students to join New Directions.  And I have to say that the performance has to be one of my all-time favorites of the entire series, most likely because I absolutely love that song.  In fact, I think I like the Glee kids’ version of it even more than I do the original!  “In Neeeeew Yoooooooork . . . “

 

You can watch the FABULOUS “Empire State of Mind” scene by clicking above.

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While we were stalking the quad, Lavonna, Beth, and I got to act out our own little mini-versions of the scene, which I was absolutely floored about. 

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And I, of course, just had to take a picture in the spot where Rachel Berry (aka Lea Michele) was sitting at the very end of the scene, although, as it turns out, I ended up sitting just a bit too far to the left.  Ironically enough, while we were snapping photographs, we spotted some Glee crew members who were onsite setting up for some filming which was going to be taking place the following day.  They did not seem all that friendly, though, so I did not attempt to talk to any of them.
 
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All of the William McKinley High School gym scenes – even those filmed during Season 1 – take place at Helen Bernstein, as well.

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As do the cafeteria scenes, but unfortunately we were not able to stalk those two areas while we were there.  You can see some fabulous interior photographs of the school here, though.

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And, according to the YouTube video commenters, the scene in which Finn Hudson (aka Cory Monteith ) sang “Hello, I Love You” in the Season 1 episode titled “Hell-O” was also filmed at Helen Bernstein High School. 

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

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Stalk It: Helen Bernstein High School, aka the new William McKinley High School from Glee, is located at 1309 North Wilton Place in Hollywood.  Please remember that Helen Bernstein is a working high school and is not actually open to the public.  If you would like to visit it, I recommend doing so on off hours when children are not present and always, always get permission from a staff member in the main office before entering the school grounds.  The area where the Glee kids sung “Empire State of Mind” is the main quad, which is located just due east of the school’s entrance and is denoted with the pink arrows in the above aerial view.

Moonlight Rollerway- The Roller Skating Rink from “Glee”

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One location that I have been dying to stalk for months now is Rinky Dinks, the cabaret/roller rink owned by April Rhodes (aka Kristin Chenoweth) in the Season 1 episode of Glee titled “Home”.  On a quick Glee side note, I just have to say that I was not at all happy with last week’s Britney Spears-inspired episode.  Besides just being disappointing as a whole, I was HIGHLY annoyed with the recreation of the “ . . . Baby One More Time” music video.  That video has to be one of my all time favorites and the fact that they couldn’t even get the costumes right seriously bothered me!  I mean, hello – where were the pink hair pom poms in the opening sequence????  Dressing up like “. . . Baby One More Time”-Britney without those pom poms is like dressing up as the Pope and not wearing a white robe!  I had a better Britney costume when I dressed up like the singer for Halloween back in 1999 and I didn’t have a big Hollywood budget to do it with, either.  Ugh, don’t even get me started!  😉   Anyway, in real life Rinky Dinks is known as Moonlight Rollerway and it is a national historic landmark.  The building which houses it was first constructed in 1940 and was originally used during World War II to build and produce airplane parts.  In 1950, the property was purchased by a man named Harry Dickerman, who transformed the space into a roller rink named Harry’s Roller Rink.  The property was taken over by new owners in 1963, who renamed the place Moonlight Rollerway, as it is still known today.  The rink is currently owned by Dominic Cangelosi, who was named the “RS Gazette Rink Operator of the Year” in 2006.  And the original 1950 maple wood flooring, which measures 75 feet by 170 feet, is the same flooring that Moonlight patrons skate on to this day. 

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And while the Grim Cheaper and I did not have time to actually skate at Moonlight Rollerway, the employees there were nice enough to let us inside to snap some pics and take a look around.  They also answered all of my silly little questions about the filming of Glee and confirmed that Matthew Morrison is very cute in person.  😉

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I first found out about this location from an acting friend named Alex who had worked as an extra in several scenes of the 2002 gross-out comedy Van Wilder.  One of the scenes he appeared in was the Lambda Omega Mega fraternity party, which he told me had been filmed at Moonlight Rollerway.  

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Since that time, I’ve recognized the rink in several other productions, most memorably in the Brett Ratner-directed video for Jessica Simpson’s hit song “A Public Affair”, which also starred Eva Longoria, Christina Applegate, Christina Milian, Maria Menounos, Ryan Seacrest, Andy Dick, and Brent Bolthouse.  And even though Jessica Simpson is easily my least favorite celebrity of all time, for whatever reason I really loved that video.  I am pretty sure that was mostly due to her super-cute skating outfit . . .

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. . . which I tried to emulate at a friend’s roller rink birthday party just a few months after the video was released.  🙂

You can watch the “A Public Affair” video by clicking above.

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In the “Home” episode of Glee, Will Schuester (aka Matthew Morrison) goes on a search for a venue that the New Directions can utilize as their daily rehearsal space after finding out that Sue Sylvester (aka Jane Lynch) has commandeered their usual spot.  He winds up at Rinky Dinks roller rink, where he finds his old glee club crush April Rhodes, who now owns the place.  Producers changed quite a bit of the interior for the filming of the episode, including adding quite a bit of neon decor to the walls and a stage to the middle of the rink.  You can see the rink dressed for the filming on the Moonlight Rollerway Facebook page here.

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The rink’s snack bar and . . .

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. . . skate rental area were also used in the episode.

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Moonlight Rollerway has also appeared in episodes of Cold Case, What About Brian, Gene Simmons: Family Jewels, Medium, The Millionaire Matchmaker, and What Not To Wear, and in the 2008 Will Ferrell movie Semi-Pro.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Moonlight Rollerway, the roller skating rink from the “Home” episode of Glee, is located at 5110 San Fernando Road in Glendale.  You can visit the rink’s official website here.

24/7 Restaurant from Glamour Magazine’s “Glee Gets Glam” Photo Shoot

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One location that I have been ABSOLUTELY DYING to stalk for what seems like forever now is the diner-style restaurant where the girls from Glee – Lea Michele, Dianna Agron, Amber Riley, and Jenna Ushkowitz – posed for the May 2010 Glamour MagazineGlee Gets Glam” photo shoot.  After months of searching for it, though, and having absolutely no luck whatsoever, I had become convinced that the shoot had taken place on a studio set somewhere in Hollywood and not at an actual restaurant.  And then last Sunday night fate stepped in and, as so often happens with stalking, I ended up stumbling upon images of the Glee diner while searching for another location altogether.  Maddeningly enough, as it turns out, the Glee girls were photographed at a locale that I have not only been to several times, but one that I’ve actually blogged about before – the Standard, Downtown L.A. Hotel.  I have a pretty valid excuse at to why I didn’t recognize the place immediately when I first read the magazine, though – the girls were actually photographed inside the hotel’s 24/7 Restaurant, a place which I had never before visited.  So, I of course, dragged the Grim Cheaper right out to stalk it this past weekend!  🙂

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And the place did not disappoint!  I honestly cannot say enough good things about 24/7!  The restaurant’s hipster decor is a definite throwback to the 1950s and is unlike anything else I’ve ever seen in L.A.  Apparently photo shoots and filming take place on the premises all the time and it’s not very hard to see why – the diner is bright and funky and completely unique.  And the food is INCREDIBLE!  As I’ve mentioned before, I am an EXTREMELY picky eater, especially when it comes to chicken, but, let me tell you, I ate up every last bite of my 24/7 Cobb salad.  It was AMAZING!  And the prices are extremely reasonable, as well, which pleased the Grim Cheaper to no end.  To top it all off, the staff was also incredibly friendly and let me take all of the photographs of the place that I wanted.  Yay!  🙂

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Lea Michele and Amber Riley’s “Glee Gets Glam” photograph was taken in the center booth located just to the right of the restaurant’s lobby entrance.

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Dianna Agron and Jenna Ushkowitz posed for their photograph in front of the windows which face 24/7’s patio area.

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And, as you can see in this picture, the photograph of all four girls playing around in a bathtub was shot in one of the Standard’s hotel rooms.

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And, much to the Grim Cheaper’s dismay, I just HAD to recreate Lea Michele’s pose from the issue’s contents page while I was there.  I so wish I could have also been wearing her Marchesa dress while doing so, but unfortunately I didn’t have an extra $6,600 lying around!  😉  Sigh.

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I honestly cannot recommend stalking the 24/7 Restaurant enough.  For lack of a better word, it is just simply a cool, cool place to grab a bite to eat.  🙂  Note – The magazine images which appear in this post do not belong to me, but remain the property of Glamour Magazine and photographer Peggy Sirota (who also shot these fabulous Jen Aniston pictures for GQ Magazine).

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The 24/7 Restaurant can be found inside the Standard, Downtown L.A. Hotel, which is located at 550 South Flower Street.  As the name implies, the restaurant is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  You can visit the official 24/7 website here.

William McKinley High School from “Glee”

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My Hollywood obsession as of late is the new Fox musical dramedy Glee.  Actually, stating that I am obsessed with the series is a rather gross understatement.  To say it’s more of an all-out, withdrawal-symptom inducing addiction would be closer to the truth.  In fact, I don’t think I’ve been this enamored of a show since, dare I say it, high school when Beverly Hills, 90210  was on the air.  Let’s face it – I am ABSOLUTELY, WITHOUT A DOUBT, ONE HUNDRED PERCENT, HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE with Glee!   In fact, the “Sectionals” episode was so fabulous that I watched it three times in a row (not kidding!), mostly because of the big “My Life Would Suck Without You” grand finale number, which was just about the cutest thing ever – especially the kiss at the end! 🙂  To illustrate just how smitten I am with the show (and its leading man Matthew Morrison – sigh!), I’d like to share the following little anecdote with you.  This past Friday, my dad had a minor surgery in the West L.A. area and, being the nice daughter that I am, I volunteered to drive him to and from the hospital.  Well, I guess it’s true what they say about no good deed going unpunished because I later found out that Glee would be filming on location on Larchmont Boulevard that very same day.  Of all the bum luck!  🙁   Anyway, my dad’s surgery went off without a hitch and while leaving the hospital I realized that Larchmont Boulevard was (sort of) on our way home.  So – and I can’t even believe I’m about to cop to this in a public forum – I just HAD to stop by.  I mean, don’t I owe at least that much to you, dear readers?  😉  So, yes, while my dad was drugged out of his mind on anesthetic, sleeping in the passenger seat of my car right next to me, trying to recover from surgery, I drove over to Larchmont Boulevard to stalk the Glee set.  Unfortunately, because they were filming inside of a store, I couldn’t see a whole lot via a simple drive-by.  And while deciding if I should park my car – with my dad inside – to venture closer to where they were filming, my conscience got the best of me and I turned around and drove on home.  So sad!  🙁  Ironically enough, though, my mom, who is also a big “Gleek” and who knew about the filming, called me up about five minutes later to ask if I had stopped by the set.  When I told her that I just couldn’t do it because I was worried about my dad, she said, “Why??  He’ll never know the difference!”  LOL LOL LOL   As the author of the I Am A TV Junkie blog said recently of his own Glee addiction, “It’s becoming a little ridiculous.  I may have to join a support group.”  Well, if you find one, TV Junkie, please sign me up, as well!  🙂  Until that time, though, I figure if you can’t beat ‘em, stalk ‘em!  So, this weekend I headed down to Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo High School in Long Beach, which stands in for William McKinley High School on Glee. 

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Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo High School is featured extensively on Glee.  In fact, according to this article, filming takes place there on a very regular basis.  The areas of the school which appear in the series include the football field, track, and bleachers, which were unfortunately completely locked up at the time;

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the staff parking lot area, which is located directly in front of the gym;

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and the outdoor stairwell located just to the left of the gym. (Please excuse the above photographs – the position of the sun was making it very difficult to take pictures that day.)

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The Cabrillo High School location that I most wanted to stalk was the arched-over outdoor hallway where Emma and Will shared a brief chat in the episode entitled “Showmance”.  Ironically enough, that outdoor hallway can be found at the top of that very same staircase located to the left of the gym, but unfortunately, I didn’t realize that until after I got home and re-watched the episode. 🙁 

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While stalking Cabrillo, I was lucky enough to run into two teachers who could NOT have been nicer and even went so far as to point out all the areas of the school used on Glee.  Both teachers I spoke with were quite amused over my excitement at seeing the Glee locales in person, especially since one of the them had yet to ever even watch the show!  I tried to explain to him that not watching a series that regularly films at his workplace is tantamount to sacrilege in my eyes, but I don’t think he much cared.  🙂   Most of the filming of Glee is relegated to the one small section of Cabrillo High’s 64-acre campus (and no, that’s not a typo, the school actually measures a whopping 64 acres!) pictured above.  The football field, staff parking lot, and gym, which are all located near the school’s main entrance just off of West Willard Street, are denoted with pink circles in the above aerial image. 

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A more close-up view of the staff parking lot is pictured above.

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According to the teachers I spoke with, several interior areas of the school, which I unfortunately could not stalk, are also used on Glee, including the cafeteria;

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and the auditorium.  You can see interior photographs of the school here.

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From what I understand, though, McKinley High’s gym is actually located on the campus of another school altogether – Helen Bernstein High School in Los Angeles.

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And a little bit of Glee trivia for you – according to one of the teachers I spoke with, Cabrillo High’s real life steel drum band was featured in the series’ pilot episode in the scene pictured above.  So cool!  🙂 

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Besides regular episodic filming, a photo shoot with the cast of Glee was also recently held at the school, which you can watch a behind-the-scenes video of here.  Cabrillo High School has also been featured in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, an episode of the television series Bones, and both Cheaper by the Dozen movies.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo High School, aka William McKinley High School from Glee, is located at 2001 Santa Fe Avenue in Long Beach.  Please remember that even though Cabrillo is a “public” school, it is still considered private property.   Take good care not to trespass, especially when students are present.  If you do want to visit the school, I suggest doing so on a Saturday or Sunday, and always ask permission from a faculty member before gaining access to the property.