On the Set of “Mad Men”

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This past Tuesday, I received an email from one of my fellow stalkers alerting me to the fact that the hit AMC television series Mad Men was going to be shooting on location in Pasadena the following day at Don and Betty Draper’s house, which I blogged about last June.  And even though I don’t really watch the show, I just had to venture out to stalk the set – with my camera in hand, of course!  🙂  Unfortunately though, not a whole lot was going on while I was there and the filming only lasted a few short hours.  The scene being shot was a very short little driving scene involving actor Jon Hamm, who plays advertising executive Don Draper on the show.  And sadly, the crew, while nice, made it very clear that they did NOT want photographs being taken of anything – the set, the filming, the actors, etc., etc., etc.  And while I was in no way going to let that stop me ;), the only pictures I could take were on the down low, so I didn’t get very many good ones.  I did manage to snap the above photograph of Jon as he was leaving the set after shooting had wrapped, though, and let me tell you, I was completely floored about that!  🙂

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Jon seemed super friendly and waved to me and another stalker who I was hanging out with from his van as he was being driven away from the set.  I so would have LOVED to have gotten a photograph with him, but unfortunately he was shuttled away from the premises rather quickly as he was due in Downtown L.A., where more Mad Men filming was taking place.

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After Jon Hamm was driven away, I stuck around for a bit to watch the crew members strike the set, a process which I find incredibly interesting.  I always love to see what aspects of a property are changed for a filming and which are left the same.  One altered aspect of the Draper house that I knew about prior to my set visit yesterday was the color of their front door.  As you can see in the above photograph, which I took when I stalked the property last June, in real life the home’s front door is painted blue.

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But on the show, the Draper’s front door is painted a bright red color, and, let me tell you, when I set out to stalk the set yesterday, I was most excited over the prospect of seeing that red door in person – even more so than I was about the prospect of seeing Jon Hamm.  😉  And I was even more excited when I was able to snap the above photograph of it!  YAY!  I found out from a crew member that the home’s real life front door is actually painted red each and every time they film at the property!  I had mistakenly assumed that set dressers had a special door that they installed during each filming, but in reality, someone is actually brought in the day before shooting to paint the real life door red and then, after shooting wraps, he or she paints it back to its original blue color . . . every single time they film!  Isn’t that incredible?  I mean, I realize doors are expensive and all, but it seems to me that it would be a whole lot more cost effective and a whole lot more timely to simply switch out the real door for a red one.  Not to mention the fact that there now must be over a dozen layers of paint on that door!  I swear, I’ll never understand Hollywood sometimes!

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Set dressers also install a fake light post (which you can see laying on the ground in the above photograph) each time filming takes place, which was incredible to see.  They actually dig up a part of the home’s front lawn in order to bury the base of the light each and every time they film!  With all the filming that takes place at the property that poor lawn probably never has time to grow back!  They also bring in a slew of potted plants (which you can also see in the above photograph) which are placed on the front porch for each filming.

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The coolest thing for me to see, though, was the fake street sign that was put up for the scene.  The signs above which read “Shady Lane” and “Bullet Park Road” normally spell out “El Molino Avenue” and “Arden Road”.  So darn cool!  According to one of the crew members I talked to, the fake sign was so realistic that it caused a bit of confusion for a passerby who was driving around, trying unsuccessfully to find Arden Road.  LOL

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Set dressers also covered up the above-pictured stop sign with a fake 50’s style stop sign, but unfortunately I didn’t get a photograph of it.  In fact, I didn’t even notice it was a fake sign until one of the set dressers removed it after filming had wrapped.  I SO wish I had gotten a picture of it!  UGH!  I am SO blonde sometimes.

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Ironically enough, my fiancé and I were watching the 1995 movie Outbreak a couple of weeks ago and I was floored to discover that the house belonging to Robby Keough (aka Rene Russo) in the flick was none other than the Mad Men house!  So cool!  You can see some great interior photographs of the home here.  And, according to one of the crew members I talked to, some Mad Men filming does actually take place inside of the home.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Don and Betty Draper’s house from Mad Men is located at 675 Arden Road in Pasadena.

Amanda’s House from “The Holiday”

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I thought I’d mix it up a bit today by forgoing blogging about one of the many Pacific Northwest locations that I stalked while in Vancouver and Seattle two weeks ago, in order to write about a residence that can be found right here in the San Gabriel Valley – the mansion which belonged to Amanda (aka Cameron Diaz) in the 2006 romantic comedy The Holiday.  I found this location thanks to fellow stalker Nick, who had done some research on the subject and had managed to discern that the home featured in the movie was located somewhere in San Marino and had been designed in 1928 by legendary Los Angeles architect Wallace Neff.  According to Nick, Neff, along with his family, had even lived in the property at one point during the 1930’s.  So, I immediately headed over to my friend, and fellow stalker, E.J.’s website – The Movieland Directory – which has an entire page dedicated to Wallace Neff-designed homes in the L.A. area.  The Movieland Directory listed a total of three San Marino residences that the famed architect had once called home.  Because I had never seen The Holiday, I sent all three addresses to Nick to see if one of them was the mansion featured in the movie and, sure enough, one was!  YAY!  So, I immediately ran right out to stalk it and, then yesterday, finally sat down to watch The Holiday for the first time.  And I have to say that I absolutely LOVED it!!!  I have NO idea how I missed it when it first came out four years ago.  But I digress.

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In person, The Holiday mansion is absolutely beautiful and absolutely humongous!  The Tuscan-style villa boasts 9 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, and a whopping 10,324 square feet of living space!

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The residence pops up quite a few times in The Holiday, especially the front entrance and second story balcony areas.

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And while, for the most part, the mansion looks much the same as it did in the movie, there have been quite a few changes, including the front gate, which is now wrought-iron instead of wood . . .

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. . . the front door which is now recessed . . .

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. . . and the driveway area, to which a fountain had since been added.

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And while I was fairly certain that the real life interior of the mansion had been used in the filming, according to IMDB’s trivia page for The Holiday, all of the interiors of the house were actually just sets that had been built on a soundstage and had cost a whopping $1 million to construct!

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But as you can see in the above screen captures and aerial view, the home’s real life backyard and pool were actually used in the flick.

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On a side note – Sadly, the picturesque English cottage which belonged to Iris (aka Kate Winslet) in The Holiday does not actually exist in real life.  Both the interiors and the exteriors of the adorable little home were built solely for the filming of the movie.  You can see photographs of the construction of Iris’ cottage on fave website Hooked on Houses here.

Big THANK YOU to Nick for finding this location!  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Cameron Diaz’s mansion from The Holiday is located at 1883 Orlando Road in San Marino.

Viola’s Mansion from “Monster-in-Law”

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The second Monster-in-Law location that I set my sights on tracking down this past weekend was the gargantuan mansion owned by Viola Fields (aka Jane Fonda) in the flick.  Once again, fellow stalker Nick had done most of the legwork on this one by discerning that the house was located in Pasadena and had been built in 1927 by famed Los Angeles-area architect Wallace Neff, the very same man who was responsible for designing King Gillette Ranch (aka the Biggest Loser Ranch) and the dwelling where Brad and Jen lived during most of their five year marriage.  But even though Nick had provided me with that wealth of information, for some reason, I had a very difficult time finding this particular residence.  As fate would have it, not only did Wallace Neff design quite a few homes in the Pasadena area, but the vast majority of them were Mediterranean in style and extremely similar in appearance to the Monster-in-Law mansion.  So, I once again headed over to fave bookstore Vroman’s with the hope that it could provide me with some Wallace Neff insight.  And, sure enough, it did!  As was the case with Kevin’s house from Monster-in-Law, which I blogged about yesterday, Viola’s mansion was chronicled in the very first book in which I looked – Wallace Neff: Architect of California’s Golden Age.

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In real life, the Monster-in-Law mansion is known as the “George O. Noble House” and, as I mentioned above, it was designed by Wallace Neff in 1927.  The Spanish Revival-style abode boasts six bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a whopping 8,971 square feet of living space.  And, while it once sat on over three acres of land, much of the parcel was subdivided in later years and the property currently encompasses “only” 1.2 acres.  Sadly, though, not much of the residence is visible from the street.

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But, as I’ve said before, that’s why God created aerial maps!  😉  As you can see in the above image, the George O. Noble House is not only stunning, but absolutely ginormous!

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The mansion was featured quite a few times in Monster-in-Law . . .

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. . . most notably in the scene in which Charlie Cantilini (aka Jennifer Lopez) and Kevin Fields (aka Michael Vartan) get married.

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And, thanks to a photograph provided in the book Architectural Realism, you can see that the mansion’s real life interior was also used in the flick. 

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The George O. Noble House also appeared in the 2009 horror flick Drag Me to Hell as the residence belonging to Clay Dalton’s (aka Justin Long’s) parents.  And, as was the case with Monster-in-Law, the real life interior of the residence was also used in the movie.

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A few other Monster-in-Law locations can also be found in the Pasadena area, including the Ross House, which I blogged about yesterday, and the Bundy House, aka the Governor’s mansion from Benson, which was used as the home of one of Charlie’s dog walking employers (pictured above).  And, yes, I did also find Charlie’s apartment building from Monster-in-Law.  Tune in tomorrow for that location.  🙂

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Big THANK YOU to Nick for helping me find this location!  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The George O. Noble house, aka Viola’s mansion from Monster-in-Law, is located at 675 Burleigh Drive in Pasadena.  The Governor’s Mansion from Benson is located at 1365 South Oakland Avenue in Pasadena.

Julia Child’s Childhood Home

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One of the best things about being a member of the Screen Actors Guild is that each and every January all guild members receive, often without notice, DVDs of various movies that have been nominated for an upcoming SAG award.  These DVDs are doled out “for your consideration” so that members can watch them before casting their ballots for the upcoming awards.  And, let me tell you, I can hardly stand the anticipation as I head to my mailbox each day during awards season, wondering what treasure I will find waiting for me in there. It’s like Christmas in January!  This week alone I received five different DVDs, one of which was Julie & Julia.  Ironically enough, while at a birthday celebration last Sunday night, some new friends were inquiring about my blog and asked if I had yet to see the Meryl Streep/Amy Adams movie, which I had not.  They ordered me to run right out and rent it immediately, as not only was it a fabulous flick, but its plot also centered around the true life story of an intrepid young blogger named Julie Powell who they said reminded them of me.  So, you can imagine my surprise when I opened up my mailbox just a few days later and found a copy of Julie & Julia waiting for me!  YAY!  So, I, of course, watched the movie that very night.  I honestly didn’t have high hopes for it, though, despite the glowing recommendation I had just heard, because I am not that interested in the culinary arts.  Actually, truth be told, I am not AT ALL interested in anything having to do with the culinary arts.  I am an absolutely HORRIBLE cook.  I somehow managed to ruin an entire serving of rice the other night – while using a RICE COOKER, no less!  I am very lucky, though, because my fiancé actually does all of the cooking in our household.  He LOVES to cook – says it calms him after a long day at work – and, really, who am I to argue?  😉  What can I say, he’s the perfect guy – he not only brings home the bacon, but cooks it, too!   Anyway, amazingly enough, I ended up absolutely ADORING Julie & Julia.  I pretty much loved EVERYTHING about the movie – both Meryl Streep and Amy Adam’s performances, the love both women had for their husbands, the amazing life story of the famous chef and how she inspired a young government worker to spend an entire year cooking out of one of her cookbooks and then writing a blog based on her experiences.  But what I loved the most about Julie & Julia is the fact that it is the very first movie ever to be based on a blog.  Now I just need someone to create a movie based on my blog and I’d be one happy camper!  🙂  Amazingly enough, the movie also inspired me, rice-ruining Lindsay, to cook!  I have never in my life had a desire to cook anything – ever.  But after watching Julie & Julia, I immediately ran right out and bought my very first cookbook, written by Julia Child, of course.  I opted to purchase The Way To Cook, instead of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which is the tome Julie Powell conquered in the movie, because the former is geared toward people with “little to no cooking experience”, which, let’s face it, describes me to a T!  🙂  But more on that later.  Anyway, while watching Julie & Julia, I was shocked to find out that Julia Child actually grew up in Pasadena – the same city which I now call home!  So, after watching the movie, I went on a cyberstalking mission to find her childhood house and almost immediately came across a website called Pasadena Daily Photo, which spelled it all out for me!  Thank you, Pasadena Daily Photo!  🙂  So, the next morning, I dragged my dad right out to stalk the place.

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As the daughter of John McWilliams, Jr., a successful landowner, and Julia Carolyn Weston, heir to the Weston Paper Company fortune, Julia Child grew up very wealthy.   The Colonial-style home pictured above was built for her parents in 1912 by architect Reginald Johnson, who was also responsible for designing Pasadena’s All Saints’ Church and Santa Barbara’s Biltmore Hotel, among numerous other prominent Southern California structures.  The home, which boasts five bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a whopping 4,210 square feet of living space, is truly ginormous and beautiful in person and it definitely has that Old Pasadena feel to it!  It was so fascinating to be standing there decades later, imaging Julia Child as a little girl playing in the front yard, looking out the blue-shuttered windows, and walking in and out of the front door.   While living in this house, Julia attended the prominent Westridge School for Girls, which is also located in Pasadena.  While doing a bit of research on the world-famous chef, I found out that while growing up Julia’s family not only employed full-time drivers, gardeners and housekeepers, but chefs, as well.  Ironic, dontcha think?  😉    And, her parents also honeymooned at San Diego’s Hotel Del Coronado, an oft-used filming location which I blogged about last summer.  🙂   So cool!!! 

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Taking a page from Julie Powell, I decided to not only cook a Julia Child meal this past Friday night, but to also blog about my experiences, as well.  Like a dolt, though, I completely forgot to take photographs of the finished feast, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that it turned out beautifully.  🙂  For the meal I decided to cook Julia’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, Broccoli-Sauced Broccoli, and Chicken Breasts Meuniere: Sautéed in Butter.  And while the chicken and soup turned out simply AMAZING – so amazing that I am still finding it difficult to believe I actually cooked them – the broccoli left a bit to be desired.  But I am fairly certain that was due to me either leaving out an ingredient or misreading an instruction somewhere along the way, because the finished product did not look anything like its photograph in the book.  When I realized I had messed up the dish, I had visions of Rachel Green after she completed her English Trifle/Mincemeat Pie desert in “The One Where Ross Got High” episode of Friends.  🙂  Anyway, I’d like to share a few things that I learned while cooking on Friday.  One – my fiancé and I do not own a set of measuring spoons.  How that’s even possible I’m not sure!  Two – simmer does not mean low heat, as I had previously believed.  It actually refers to a temperature just below boiling.  And three – cooking is HARD WORK!  It’s enjoyable work, don’t get me wrong, but, wow, it’s WORK!  I had no idea how hard it was.  I truly felt like I needed a nap afterwards.  🙂  But it was also extremely fun and I am already looking forward to my next go at it.  I swear, if you had told me two weeks ago that I’d actually be able to enjoy the act of cooking in the near future, I never would have believed you in a million years.   

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Julia Child’s childhood home is located at 625 Magnolia Avenue in Pasadena.