The Glen Capri Inn & Suites from “The Good Girl”

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A few weeks ago, I dragged the Grim Cheaper out to stalk the Glen Capri Inn & Suites – a historic and oft-filmed Glendale-area motel that has appeared in over twenty movie and television productions in the past six years alone.  I was most interested in stalking the property due to its appearance in the 2002 flick The Good Girl, which starred my girl Jen Aniston.  And even though I didn’t like The Good Girl AT ALL (it was just far too dark and depressing for my taste), because JA had filmed there, I was dying to see the motel which was featured in it in person.

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The Glen Capri is famous not only for its vast motion picture history, but for its distinct architectural style, as well.  The property was originally built in 1949 by Louis Armet and Eldon Davis, the architectural team who, according to an August 1999 Los Angeles Times article written by Ed Leibowitz, “defined ‘50s Googie architecture” – Googie being the unique mid-century modern-style of design which had its roots in the now-defunct, John Lautner-constructed Googies Coffee Shop.  At the time of its grand opening, the Glen Capri Inn & Suites was called simply the Glen Capri Motel.  In 2000, the interior of the property underwent an extensive remodel at which point it was given its more upscale-sounding moniker.  Fortunately, the exterior of the property was left intact during the recent remodel and looks almost exactly the same today as it did when it was first built over six decades ago.  It is thanks to the motel’s historic facade and authentic 60’s neon signage that location scouts have returned to film there time and time again.

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Before arriving at the Glen Capri Inn & Suites, I was a little nervous that the place would not be very stalker-friendly and that taking photographs of the premises would be a big no-no.  As it turns out, though, I needn’t have worried.  The man working at the front desk was very nice and said that we could take all of the pictures that we wanted.  AND there was even a “Wall of Fame” located in the main office, with signed headshots of all of the actors who had filmed at the motel on display.

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As you can imagine, I just about died when I saw my girl Jen’s autographed picture hanging on the wall.  SO INCREDIBLY COOL!

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In The Good Girl, the Glen Capri stood in for the Texas-area motel where Justine Last (aka Jennifer Aniston) and Holden Worther (aka Jake Gyllenhaal) conducted their on-going affair.

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Both the main office .  . .

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. . . and Room 8 were used in the flick.  I don’t want to give away the ending, but Room 8 also featured significantly in the movie’s climactic finale.  On a Good Girl side note – Mike, from MovieShotsLA, recently stalked Retail Rodeo, the discount store where Justine and Holden worked in the movie.  You can see pics of it on his site here.

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In 2004’s Raising Helen, the Glen Capri stood in for the New York-area motel where Helen Harris (aka Kate Hudson) and Jenny Portman (aka Joan Cusack) catch their underage niece Audrey Davis (aka Hayden Panettiere) on prom night.  Audrey’s room was number 205.

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In the 2004 teen comedy The Girl Next Door, Matthew Kidman (aka Emile Hirsch) took Danielle (aka Elisha Cuthbert) to the Glen Capri with the hopes of seducing her while there.

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Ironically enough, Emile Hirsch returned to the Glen Capri two years later to film a scene for the 2006 drama Alpha Dog. In the flick, the Glen Capri stood in for the Albuquerque motel where Johnny Truelove and his girlfriend Angela Holden (aka Olivia Wilde) hid out after police had discovered the body of Zack Mazursky (aka Anton Yelchin).

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In 2007’s Georgia Rule, the Glen Capri stood in for the Hull, Ohio-area motel where Arnold (aka Cary Elwes) stays while in town visiting his wife, Lily (aka Felicity Huffman), and his step-daughter, Rachel Wilcox (aka Lindsay Lohan).  In the movie, Arnold stays in Room 206.

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Other movies that have filmed at the Glen Capri include The Country Bears, Diamonds & Guns, and Janky Promoters. Episodes of Without a Trace, Parks and Recreation, Cold Case, Saving Grace, Night Stalker, Close to Home, Day Break, Windfall, Lovespring International, Mad Men, and Nip/Tuck have also been shot at the Glen Capri.  You can check out the hotel’s very thorough filming page, which chronicles all of the productions that have been filmed on the premises over the past ten years, on its website here.  Love it!  There are actually several different motels in the Glen Capri chain and the one located at 326 Colorado Street, also in Glendale, has been used for filming, as well.  It has appeared in episodes of Life and The Surreal Life and in a 2007 Smash Mouth music video.

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On a Jennifer Aniston side note – my good friend and fellow stalker Kerry recently gifted me with the new Jennifer Aniston Perfume and I have to say that it is absolutely DIVINE.  It is honestly the best scented perfume that I’ve ever smelled in my entire life!  All of the literature written about it says that it has a “beachy” scent, but to me it seems to have more of a floral feel to it and is a bit reminiscent of Michael Kors signature fragrance, which I also love.  Jennifer Aniston perfume smells so amazing that I literally cannot stop smelling my wrists when I wear it – I wouldn’t be surprised if I subconsciously gnaw my arm off in the coming weeks.  😉  Because the perfume is only available at Harrods in London (contrary to what Jen reported during her most recent Chelsea Lately appearance, it cannot be shipped outside of the UK), Kerry had to go through hell and high water to get it for me.  So, I’ve had to resort to rationing it out in very small portions each day as I simply do not know WHAT I am going to do when I run out.  🙁  I am hoping that by that time it will be available in the US.  (Are you listening, Jen?)  Anyway, if you live in London or have plans to travel there, I HIGHLY recommend stopping by Harrods to pick up some JA perfume.  Take my word for it, you will NOT be disappointed.  And a HUGE thank you to Kerry for getting it for me!  🙂

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Glen Capri Inn & Suites is located at 6700 San Fernando Road in Glendale.  You can visit the hotel’s official website hereThe Good Girl was filmed in the main office and in Room 8; Raising Helen also used the main office and Room 205; and Georgia Rule was filmed in Room 206.

The Girl Next Door Houses

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Located just a block away from the Beethoven house, which I blogged about yesterday, are the two main homes used in the 2004 movie The Girl Next Door.  Mike, from MovieShotsLA, took me by this location on the same day that we stalked the Beethoven house a few months back.  And, even though I had never seen The Girl Next Door, I was still extremely excited to be stalking the homes.  So excited, in fact, that I went right out that night and rented the movie.  And, let me tell you what a disappointment that turned out to be!  LOL  The Girl Next Door  is absolutely horrible – I was so bored that I didn’t even get through the first thirty minutes before turning it off.  LOL  The movie is, for lack of a better word, just plain “dumb”!    But, since I did really like the houses featured in it, I decided they were worth a blog post.  You know I have a serious stalking problem when I not only stalk, but also blog about, locations from a movie that I didn’t even like – or finish watching, for that matter!  🙂

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The Girl Next Door  centers around nerdy high school senior Emile Hirsch whose life changes dramatically when a beautiful girl, played by Elisha Cuthbert, moves in next door to his family’s home.  The two, of course, become romantically involved, but trouble ensues when Emile discovers that the girl he has fallen in love with is actually an adult film star.  Nice premise for a movie, huh?  LOL  Roger Ebert pretty much hit the nail on the head in his review when he said that the movie tried – but failed miserably – to imitate fave flick Risky Business.  LOL  You can read Roger’s entire Girl Next Door review here.

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The two houses from the movie are, obviously, located right next door to each other.  Emile Hirsch’s house is shown several times through the flick and is vaguely reminiscent of the house featured in the 1970’s television series Family – which is ironic, being that that house is located just up the street! 

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The house belonging to Elisha Cuthbert in the movie is never actually shown in full view, which is odd being that it is a very beautiful home, as you can see in the above photograph. 

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Milan Avenue is actually chock full of beautiful homes and is, not surprisingly, one of South Pasadena’s most oft-filmed streets.   My good friend and fellow stalker E.J. over at The Movieland Directory emailed me this morning to let me know of two other noteworthy Milan Avenue locations.   The first is one of the homes that Jason Biggs and his friends paint while on vacation in “Grand Harbor, Michigan” in the teen comedy American Pie 2.

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The second is the former residence of famed architect Norman Marsh, who designed the vast majority of prominent buildings in Venice, California.  Marsh’s former home is an absolutely adorable little Craftsman abode that looks like it belongs on a lake back East somewhere.  So cute!  🙂

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Milan Avenue is absolutely beautiful in person and I highly recommend stalking it.  One drive down the tree-lined street and you’ll understand why filmmakers have returned to film there again and again. 

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: In The Girl Next Door  Emile Hirsch lived at 1504 Milan Avenue in South Pasadena.  Elisha Cuthbert lived next door at 1500 Milan Avenue.  The house from the 1970’s television series Family  is located just up the road at 1230 Milan, the house from the movie Beethoven is located at 1405 Milan, the American Pie 2 house can be found at 820 Milan, and Norman Marsh’s former residence is at 1934.