The “You, Me and Dupree” House – Revisited

P1020810

Today’s location is one that I have actually already once blogged about – way back in April of 2008 – but because it was a fairly short write-up and because I somehow missed one very pertinent detail when reporting on the place, I decided that it was most-definitely worthy of a re-post.  The location?  The adorable Craftsman-style bungalow where newlyweds Carl (Matt Dillon) and Molly (Kate Hudson) lived in the 2006 romantic comedy You, Me and Dupree.  Fellow stalker Mike, from MovieShotsLA, took me by the property and pointed out the detail that I had inadvertently missed while the two of us were out doing some stalking in the West Adams district a couple of weeks ago and, let me tell you, I just about fell over from shock.  I could hardly believe my eyes when he pointed it out!  What is this detail, you ask?

[ad]

ScreenShot3682 ScreenShot3685

ScreenShot3673 ScreenShot3686

As you can see in the screen captures pictured above, in You, Me and Dupree Carl and Molly’s residence appears to be two stories tall.

P1020807 P1020809

P1020811 P1020812

In reality, though, and as you can see above, the home, which was built in 1923, is a ONE-story dwelling!  How I missed that fact the first time around is absolutely beyond me, especially being that I usually consider myself to be quite an observant little stalker.  I must have been in the midst of a severe blonde moment when I originally stalked the property!  I am not sure if a fake second level was built on top of the bungalow during the filming or if one was digitally added during post-production, but, either way, I was absolutely gobsmacked (LOVE that word!) when Mike pointed out the discrepancy!

P1020806 P1020808

According to Zillow, in real life the 1,726-square-foot house boasts 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, but Property Shark tracks the place at 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, so someone seems to have gotten their wires crossed with the measurements at some point.

ScreenShot3669 ScreenShot3674

ScreenShot3684 ScreenShot3670

Being that Carl and Molly’s living room was dominated by a set of stairs that led up to the home’s fake second level, the real life interior of the property was, obviously, not used in the filming.  The inside of their house was, in actuality, just a set that was built on a soundstage at Universal Studios Hollywood.  According to fave website Hooked on Houses, of the set, directors Joe and Anthony Russo said in the movie’s DVD commentary, “We tried to make Carl and Molly’s world sort of warm and accessible and you’ll see that in the choice of their house.  It’s an older home, modest in scale, and the neighborhood feels like it’s been there awhile.”

ScreenShot3676 ScreenShot3680

ScreenShot3677 ScreenShot3681

Also according to Hooked on Houses, the scene pictured above, in which Carl watches Dupree (Owen Wilson) play baseball with some neighborhood kids, was actually filmed from inside of the real life home, because the directors wanted to “capture the look you can only get through old glass.”  It has been said that “God is in the details” and it is the little details like this that I absolutely LOVE hearing about.

ScreenShot3692 ScreenShot3693

ScreenShot3690 ScreenShot3691

According to IMDB’s You, Me and Dupree trivia page, the set used for the interior of Molly and Carl’s house was the same one used for the residence of Hope (Mel Harris) and Michael Steadman (Ken Olin) on the 1980s television series thirtysomething. But, as you can see above, while slightly similar, the two are most definitely not one in the same.

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for pointing out the discrepancy in the number of stories of the You, Me and Dupree house.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The You, Me and Dupree house is located at 2406 Gramercy Park in the West Adams District of Los Angeles.

Pawn Shop to the Stars

img_0096

screenshot441

Another day, another pawn shop to write about. 🙂 Ironically, just around the corner from the now defunct Beverly Hills, 90210 pawn shop that I blogged about yesterday, is yet another local pawn shop that also has a filming history. Who knew that pawn shops were such popular filming locations?? 🙂 Angelo’s Jewelry and Loan Company, which touts itself as the “Pawn Shop to the Stars”, opened up in 1984 and has the distinction of being Santa Monica’s oldest pawn shop. Since it was around at the time, I can’t help but wonder why it wasn’t used as Dylan’s pawn shop in the “Anaconda” episode of 90210. Or why there would be two pawn shops in such close proximity to each other. Perhaps that explains why the “Anaconda” one is no longer in business. Anyway, even though the tiny shop was overlooked by 90210 location scouts, it did get featured just last year in the Owen Wilson movie Drillbit Taylor.

img_00981

screenshot442

screenshot443

In Drillbit Taylor, a group of nerdy teenage boys hire con man Owen Wilson to be their bodyguard. But instead of protecting them, Drillbit ends up robbing them blind and hawking their goods at a local pawn shop. That pawn shop was Angelo’s. And it looks exactly the same in real life as it did in the movie. According to the owner Angelo’s has also been featured in other productions over the years, but he was unable to recall which ones – which boggles my mind! LOL My guess is that Angelo’s has appeared in one or more of the L.A. based crime dramas such as Without A Trace, Cold Case, or the CSI shows.

img_0100

img_0099

I found this location thanks to Mike over at MovieShotsLA, but the truth is I really should have recognized it myself. For over two years I took acting classes right around the corner from Angelo’s and would pass by the shop at least three times a week on my way to grab a coffee before or after class. Every time I walked by I would laugh at the silly signs in the store windows (pictured above). So when Mike told me that my acting class pawn shop was the very same pawn shop featured in Drillbit Taylor, I had to mentally kick myself for not immediately recognizing it. And I call myself a stalker!! LOL Sometimes I really think all that blond dye goes straight to my head. LOL Thanks, Mike!

img_0101

According to this article, Angelo’s claim of being the “Pawn Shop to the Stars” is actually not a joke. Apparently movie stars do stop in to Angelo’s from time to time, although the owner refuses to divulge which ones. I didn’t see any while I was there, but who knows, while stalking the place you might end up spotting a celeb or two! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Angelo’s Pawn Shop is located at 206 Santa Monica Boulevard in Santa Monica.

A Joint Stalking Adventure

This past weekend, I finally had the pleasure of meeting Mike from MovieShotsLA in person! Mike and I decided to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, by getting some stalking in during our meeting. 🙂 So we met up on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica to grab some coffee and to stalk the Owen Wilson movie Drillbit Taylor. Drillbit Taylor was filmed all over Santa Monica, and the Third Street Promenade, an outdoor shopping district, was featured frequently in the movie, so it was the perfect place to meet. My boyfriend and I had a great time hanging out with Mike and his fiance and as Bogart once said, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. 🙂

About two years ago, I actually saw Drillbit Taylor being filmed inside the Johnny Rockets on the Promenade. Johnny Rockets was used for the scene where Drillbit meets the boys for lunch and makes them pick up the tab. They sit at the table near the door in front of the window. Besides Johnny Rockets, the outside of the Promenade’s Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf was used several times in the movie, although producers added a lot of foliage to the exterior so it looks quite different in person. For interior shots of the coffee house, I believe they used a different Santa Monica Coffee Bean location – the one located on Ocean Park Boulevard.

On a side note, Adam Ho who played the “Hendrix Kid”, the guitar playing boy in Drillbit Taylor, actually grew up playing guitar on the Third Street Promenade. For those who have never been there, the Promenade has long been a haven for street performers. My boyfriend, who used to work nearby, often saw Adam as a young child playing the guitar on the Promenade. How ironic that he’d one day end up in a movie which was filmed in the very spot where he got his start. You can see pictures of Adam performing on the Promenade here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Johnny Rockets from Drillbit Taylor is located on the Third Street Promenade, at 1322 Third Street, in Santa Monica. The Coffee Bean that was used for exterior shots can be found just down the block from Johnny Rockets at 1312 Third Street. The Third Street Promenade was also featured in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure as the location where Pee Wee’s beloved bike was stolen and in the movie Freaky Friday as the street where Jamie Lee Curtis goes shopping. The Coffee Bean used for interior shots in Drillbit Taylor can be found at 3150 Ocean Park Boulevard in Santa Monica, right near 31st Street.

The “You, Me and Dupree” House

A couple of years ago, long before I had a blog to write, I set out to find the You, Me and Dupree house. While I was a big fan of You, Me and Dupree, the real reason behind my mission actually had nothing to do with that movie. What I was actually hoping to find was Jenna Rink’s pink dream house from the final scene of 13 Going On 30, which according to the trivia section on IMDB, was the exact same house used in You, Me and Dupree.

Unfortunately, upon stalking the Dupree house, it became obvious that it was not the same location used in 13 Going On 30. Even so, the Dupree house is adorable and in a really cute neighborhood. It is also another fine example of that Craftsman architecture that filmmakers love so much. I must give props to Kerry, a fellow stalker, for getting the address of the Dupree house for me. I stalked this location so long ago (and failed to write down the address) that I couldn’t remember its exact location. Armed with only the picture I took of the house, which showed the house number, and knowing its general vicinity, she cyber-stalked the home and got the address for me! Thanks, Kerry! 🙂

Side note – I still have yet to find the 13 Going On 30 house – if anyone happens to know where it is – Help me! Please!! 🙂

UPDATE – Mike, from MovieShotsLA, found the 13 Going On 30 house for me a while back.  You can read the post I wrote on it here and you can see interior pictures of the house here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The You, Me and Dupree house can be found at 2406 Gramercy Park in the historic West Adams district of Los Angeles, not far from the location of the Numb3rs house. Even if you are not a fan of the film, I highly recommend stalking the house, as it is located on an adorable street in a neighborhood chock full of beautiful, historic homes. As always, take care not to disturb the residents.

Owen Wilson’s Former House

 

dscn0282.jpg

In honor of Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson’s rekindled romance (pictures of the two frolicking in Miami surfaced on the pages of US Magazine this week), I decided to stalk Owen’s Santa Monica abode. Several months back, I had read an article on TMZ which chronicled Owen’s suicide attempt and listed his home’s general location as the 900 block of 23rd Street. A different article published at the same time described his home as “gated”. So, this past Saturday, armed with those two clues, I set out to find his house.

dscn0284.jpg

 Success came rather easily, being that there is only one gated home located on the entire 900 block of 23rd Street. 🙂 I am continually shocked by the normalcy of so many celebrity homes, and Owen’s was no different. While large and beautiful, his home was in a very normal Santa Monica neighborhood and I would never guess a movie star lived behind the tall hedges.

dscn0283.jpg

 Owen lives in an adorable white clapboard residence and, although much of the house is blocked by tall palm trees and other foliage, you can catch a good view of the side of it by walking along 23rd Street. You can see the back of the house by driving down the alleyway in between 23rd and 24th Streets.

Update: Just got a comment from JJ saying that Owen moved out of this house and into a new Malibu house. Did a little research and apparently JJ is correct. Looks like I have a new location to stalk!! 🙂 From what I can find online it seems Owen still owns this Santa Monica house.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Owen Wilson lives at 947 23rd Street in Santa Monica, in between Idaho Avenue and Washington Avenue. After stalking Owen, you can visit Courteney Cox’s former home, which is located in the same neighborhood at 606 Alta Drive.