Runyon Canyon Park from “The Hills”

P1030749

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

P1030753 P1030760

P1030757 P1030758

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

P1030754 P1030755

P1030762 P1030766

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

[ad]

ScreenShot3836 ScreenShot3837

ScreenShot3838 ScreenShot3841

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

ScreenShot3821 ScreenShot3823

ScreenShot3824 ScreenShot3825

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

ScreenShot3832 ScreenShot3833

ScreenShot3834 ScreenShot3835

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

ScreenShot3826 ScreenShot3827

ScreenShot3828 ScreenShot3830

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

ScreenShot3842 ScreenShot3844

ScreenShot3847 ScreenShot3848

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

P1030748

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

P1030764

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

P1030767

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

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

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

The Magic Castle Hotel from “The Hills”

IMG_0037

If I had a nickel for every time one of my fellow stalkers asked me for a reasonably-priced Hollywood area hotel recommendation . . . well, let’s just say that I’d have a lot more Louis Vuitton in my life than I do right now.  😉  And I never really had a solid answer to the query until I met fellow stalker Lavonna, who hails from Cincinnati, Ohio, this past November.  Lavonna makes a stalking pilgrimage to the L.A. area at least once a year and, without fail, she always books a room at the very same place – the Magic Castle Hotel on Franklin Avenue right in the heart of Hollywood.  Lavonna has been singing the Magic Castle’s praises so loudly ever since I’ve known her that I couldn’t help but sit up and take notice.  So, when she came to town this past week, along with her daughter, Melissa, and her good friend, Debbie, and invited me to stop by her temporary digs, I jumped at the chance to see the place for myself.  Especially after Lavonna told me that the hotel had appeared in a Season 3 episode of The Hills!  A fabulous hotel that’s also a filming location?  What more could a visiting stalker ask for?  😉  So, even though I’ve never stayed there myself, now that I’ve seen the place in person, I can honestly say that for reasonably-priced accommodations in Hollywood, look no further than the Magic Castle Hotel. 

 IMG_0017

IMG_0032

The 40-room Magic Castle Hotel is located right in the heart of Hollywood and within walking distance of all of the major Boulevard attractions.  From the outside, the place almost looks like an old-school apartment complex, which I believe it actually was back in the early days of Hollywood.  As I mentioned above, the boutique-style hotel, which was completely remodeled in 2004, is very reasonably priced (rates average $100 to $215 per night, depending on the time of year and size of the room), especially by Southern California standards, and the staff’s main focus is service, service, service.   The Magic Castle website states, “A lot of hotels talk about their customer service.  Here at the Magic Castle Hotel, we live it.  We’re not about stuffy ambience and rigid policy – rather, we strive to offer the friendliest, most personalized and accommodating service to every one of our customers.”  And I am very happy to report that they have succeeded in achieving that goal – with flying colors!  In fact, I’ve never seen anything quite like the Magic Castle Hotel when it comes to their level of personalized customer service.  First of all, their mini-bar, which includes over forty snack items – everything from Peanut M&M’s to microwave popcorn – is absolutely FREE.  I’m not joking!  I mean, have you ever even heard of such a thing?  Oh, and if you want something that’s not listed on the menu, don’t worry, they’ll go out and get it for you!  During Lavonna’s first stay at the Magic Castle Hotel, she called down to the front desk to inquire if they had Mountain Dew, her favorite soft-drink.  They didn’t, but they actually went out later that day and purchased some for her!  Then when she checked into the hotel during her next visit, not only had Mountain Dew been added to the mini-bar menu, but there was a twelve pack of it waiting for her in her room!  How incredibly cool is that?

IMG_0020

[ad]

 IMG_0023

Other freebies include wireless internet access, which is available in every room, daily continental breakfast, over one hundred DVD titles available from the front desk (each room comes equipped with a DVD player), and popsicles and “ice-cold towels infused with lavender and mint” which attendants serve every hour on the hour to those guests laying by the pool.  But the Magic Castle’s special level of service goes far beyond freebies.  When Lavonna and friends checked into their room this past week, there was a bottle of champagne and a huge bunch of balloons waiting for them in honor of Debbie’s 50th birthday, which they were in town to celebrate.  There was also a handmade card with a picture of Ellen DeGeneres on the front (Lavonna is a huge Ellen fan) which read “Ellen and the Magic Castle Hotel welcome you back to Hollywood!”  Then, when they returned to the hotel after dinner that evening, they were a dozen Sprinkles cupcakes awaiting them.  A woman on the staff had remembered that Lavonna was a big fan of the cupcake chain and had driven out to Beverly Hills to pick some up for her earlier that morning.  I’m really not kidding!  I mean, have you ever heard of this kind of personalized service at a hotel?  It’s beyond incredible!  I had the pleasure of meeting the Magic Castle’s Chief Operating Officer, Darren Ross, while I was stalking the hotel and he honestly could NOT have been nicer.  As a matter of fact, the entire staff was insanely nice.  When we left to go out stalking for the day, the manager even went so far as to pack up a HUGE bag filled with snacks and drinks for us to take on the road.  Amazing!  Oh, and, during their stay, all hotel guests are also given access to the ultra-exclusive, members-only Magic Castle club and restaurant, a place that I have been DYING to get into ever since I moved to L.A.

IMG_0024

IMG_0021

I realize this post must sound like one big Magic Castle Hotel advertisement, but I was just so impressed with the place that I had to blog about it.  And while the hotel is by no means fancy or luxurious – if you’re looking for those kinds of accommodations, I’d suggest the Roosevelt Hotel or the new W, but believe me, you’ll pay up the wazoo for each of them – it’s an extremely nice place, especially for the price and I’d stay there in a heartbeat!

ScreenShot4245 

IMG_0039

And, as I mentioned above, the hotel is also a filming location!  The Magic Castle appeared in the Season 3 episode of The Hills entitled “For Better or Worse”, in the scene in which Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port meet up with the band Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (that’s honestly their name!) to do a wardrobe fitting prior to a Teen Vogue photo shoot.

ScreenShot4246 

IMG_0038

Quite a few areas of the hotel appeared in the episode, including the front parking lot;

ScreenShot4247 

IMG_0036

the main entrance;

ScreenShot4248 

IMG_0035

and Room 215, where the band was staying.

 ScreenShot4249

 ScreenShot4250

  ScreenShot4251 

The interior of Room 215 was also shown in the episode, but unfortunately I didn’t get to stalk it while I was there.  I so would have loved to have seen it, though! 

Big THANK YOU to Lavonna for telling me about this location and for allowing me stalk her room.  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The Magic Castle Hotel is located at 7025 Franklin Avenue in Hollywood.  You can visit their website here.  The “For Better of Worse” episode of The Hills was filmed in Room 215.

Whitney Port’s Apartment from “The City”

Whitney-Ports-Fake-Apartment-The-City-9

As fate would have it, last year’s New York vacation ended just a few weeks prior to the series premiere of the MTV Hills spin-off entitled The City.  That, of course, meant that I had to wait almost an entire year to stalk any of the locations featured on the new show.  🙁  And, while I have to admit that I don’t even really like the series all that much, at the top of this year’s NYC stalking list were quite a few locales used on it.  One of the locations I most wanted to stalk was the building where series’ heroine/burgeoning fashion designer Whitney Port supposedly lived during Season One.  But, of course, as is often the case on The City, things weren’t quite as cut and dry as they seemed.  Thanks to fellow stalker Virginie, who posted a comment on my site back in January with a link to this article from the blog Curbed, I found out that the building shown as Whitney’s on the show isn’t where the reality starlet actually lived.   So much for The City being a “reality” show.  LOL  But even though Whitney didn’t actually live in the building featured on the series, because the place is a filming location, I, of course, still had to stalk it!  🙂 

ScreenShot2476

Whitney-Ports-Fake-Apartment-The-City-3

The building where “Whit” supposedly lived on The City is ultra-tall, ultra-modern, ultra-luxurious, and just oh-so-New-York!  And, thanks to the dwelling’s quintessential New York feel, it’s not very hard to see why producers chose to use it as the residence of the girl Page Six Magazine dubbed as “The New Carrie Bradshaw”.  The building is the ideal home for a modern-girl-about-town.  And I would just about give my left foot to live there!  🙂  

ScreenShot2465

Whitney-Ports-Fake-Apartment-The-City-2

Ironically enough, though, Whitney wasn’t too keen on the place when she first toured it with then-boyfriend Jay Lyons in the Season One episode entitled “The L Word”.  Upon first seeing the apartment, Whitney said, “I kind of envisioned myself whenever I moved here that I would be, like, in one of those shorter brick buildings.”  Um, you mean, like, a brownstone, Whitney?  LOL LOL LOL  Boyfriend Jay changed her mind, though, and later in that same episode Whit became a resident of the building, where she remained through the show’s first season.  Or so MTV would have you believe.  But we know different, don’t we?  🙂

ScreenShot2475

As you can see in the above screen capture, the balcony of Whitney’s apartment doesn’t look at all like the balconies of the building shown in the show’s exterior shots, which is how the bloggers over at Curbed were able to figure out that MTV was trying to pull the wool over its viewers eyes.  The building Whitney actually lived in is located less than a mile away from her “fake” building and is called the Elektra.  Sadly, I was not able to stalk that location during this year’s trip, though.  🙁  And, as fate would have it, during The City’s Second Season, which just premiered last month, Whitney moved out of her hi-rise digs and into a “shorter, brick building” somewhere in Greenwich Village.  And while I have not figured out the exact location of that spot yet, I definitely plan to stalk it during next year’s New York trip.   🙂

ScreenShot2467

Whitney-Ports-Fake-Apartment-The-City-6 

  Whitney’s “fake” building, which was designed by architect Stephen B. Jacobs, is fairly new to the New York skyline.  The property was just recently completed in 2006 and is comprised of 390,000 square feet of living space which is divided into 250 individual condominium units.  The building features a 24-hour doorman, a concierge, a lobby, a garage, a business center, a gym, a yoga room, a massage room (and here I don’t even know what a massage room is!), a sauna, a residents’ lounge complete with fireplace, a children’s playroom, a conference room, and an indoor pool and spa.  Individual apartments in the building boast floor to ceiling windows, marble baths, hardwood floors, sweeping views, and private balconies.

[ad]

Whitney-Ports-Fake-Apartment-The-City-4

A side note about my photographs – I accidentally took the above pictures from the opposite end of Fifth Avenue from where the The City’s set-up shots were taken.  If you want to snap a pic from the exact spot where the screen captures were taken, head over to the corner of Fifth Avenue and West 32nd Street.  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Whitney Port’s “fake” apartment building from The City is located at 325 Fifth Avenue.  In reality, Whitney lived at a building named The Elektra, which is located at 290 Third Avenue.

Vibiana

img_1179-800

A couple of weeks ago, while spending the weekend at the Hilton Checkers Hotel, I stumbled upon a filming location I had been meaning to stalk for quite some time – a former cathedral named Vibiana located in Downtown Los Angeles.   While walking back to the hotel after grabbing a Starbucks :), I saw what looked like a wedding being set up outside of a church.  And I just about fell over when a woman stopped me and said “Are you here for Vibiana?”   It was at that point that I realized I wasn’t standing outside of a church at all, but a filming location that had appeared on my fave show The Hills.   I had actually found Vibiana’s location a few weeks back, but had yet to stalk it for some odd reason.   So, I was pretty much jumping up and down with excitement when I realized what I had stumbled upon.  The woman who had stopped me was extremely amused at my thrill over seeing Vibiana in person and was nice enough to let me step inside to take a peek at the former church and snap some photos. 

img_1187-800

The Cathedral of Saint Vibiana was built in 1876 by Ezra F. Kyson, the very same architect who designed the Pico House.   The Baroque style church could seat 1200 parishioners, which at the time was one tenth of the city’s population.  For many years St. Vibiana’s enjoyed the prestige of being the mother church cathedral parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.  Sadly, the building was badly damaged during 1994’s Northridge Earthquake, and since the archdiocese had since outgrown the structure, they set their sights on demolishing it to build something bigger.   Thankfully, preservationists stepped in and literally stopped the wrecking ball mid-swing.  After a time consuming and much heated debate between the city, the archdiocese, and preservationists, the city decided to give the archdiocese a larger piece of land in exchange for the damaged church.  In 1999, the city sold the property to real estate developer Tom Gilmore, who spent the next seven years and over $8 million restoring the building to its former grandeur.  Today, the former cathedral is used as an events venue, hosting everything from weddings to corporate parties.  In February of 2008, former American Idol Katharine McPhee held her wedding reception at Vibiana.

p1010078-800

screenshot750 

img_1184-800

screenshot747

And, of course, there’s also the filming!  🙂  Vibiana’s showed up in two Season 3 episodes of The Hills. In the first episode, entitled “Stress and the City”, Teen Vogue intern Whitney Port is delegated the task of choosing a venue for the upcoming Young Hollywood Party.   Whitney chooses the former cathedral and suggests running a long carpet down the aisle to be used as the fashion show runway and setting up photo booths in the confessionals.  The following episode, entitled “Young Hollywood”, centers around Lauren and Whitney setting up for and running the Young Hollywood Party.  Since the name of the church was written right across the screen in both episodes, finding this location was a snap.  🙂  

[ad]

screenshot751

screenshot752 

The former church also showed up very briefly in a controversial scene in the pilot episode of the David Duchovny series Californication.  Only the interiors of Vibiana were used for that scene, though.  The exteriors were filmed about ten miles away at  Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

img_1180-800

img_1181-800

I highly recommend stalking Vibiana as it is absolutely gorgeous inside!  I would so love to have a wedding there!  Although the property is not currently open to the public, you can stalk the exterior and maybe someone will be nice enough to let you take a peek inside.  You can also cyberstalk the building here.  If you are interested in hosting an event at the former church, you can contact the events coordinator here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Vibiana is located at 210 South Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles. 

Watching The Hills Be Filmed!

Got one of the most exciting phone calls of my life on Tuesday! A good friend who has an in at the Project Beach House in Malibu called to invite me to a little shindig being held there yesterday, which would have been exciting news in and of itself. But what she said next almost gave me a heart attack – the event at the beach house was actually being held for a taping of The Hills!!!!! I swear I screamed so loud after hearing the news I am surprised my neighbors didn’t complain! LOL

So yesterday afternoon I headed out to Malibu to party at the Project Beach House. 🙂 In case you don’t read US Magazine, Beverly Hills PR firm Fingerprint Communications’ sponsored Project Beach House joined the ranks of other corporate sponsored celeb party houses in Malibu – ie. the Polaroid Beach House and the Silver Spoon Beach House. The Project Beach House is a $25 million six bedroom home, which was built by Frank Lloyd Wright, and sits on over four acres of land on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and El Matador State Beach in Malibu. The mansion has huge sprawling lawns, a koi pond, tennis court, pool, and even a helicopter landing pad! Not to mention a great view of Brad and Angie’s Malibu home, which is located right next door, but I’ll save those pics for a future post. 🙂

When we arrived there were huge luxury double size chaise lounges set up (which might as well have been outdoor beds, they were so comfy), models walking around in bathing suits and really high heels, a ton of really cool freebies, a Garnier Fructis facial station, a poolside hair styling station, a DJ spinning records, waitresses walking around serving delicious fresh baked appetizers, and two full bars. Just being at the Project Beach House would have been exciting enough for this stalker – the whole time I was literally thinking “How in the heck am I here??” I mean, who am I to be hanging out at the PROJECT BEACH HOUSE??? 🙂 So cool!

At around 3:30PM, in walked Lauren and Whitney and I just about DIED! You can see them in the above pic – they are on the very left. Lauren was not as thin as I expected her to be, but she was just as cute in person as she seems on TV. I was kinda bummed out, though, as she did not seem very friendly at all. I hardly saw her smile at all during the filming. After they arrived, Whitney and Lauren kind of hung out off to the side of the house waiting for the camera crew to get set up. The Hills is taped with three cameras set up on tripods that are actually set pretty far back from where the action is taking place. I was really surprised at how far away the cameras actually were. I always pictured the cameramen to be using handheld cameras and to kind of be right in the girls’ faces, but they weren’t. Taping of the sound is done wirelessly with the cast wearing wireless mikes, so the sound guy also stands pretty far away from the girls.

I must say that the entire experience was absolutely BIZARRE. I can’t put my finger on what exactly made the taping so surreal, but it was definitely wierd. Prior to the taping, I had always believed that the show was not really a “reality” show. I was convinced it was scripted and heavy influenced by producers. However, that wasn’t actually the case. But while the show is real, it is more of an altered reality, which is, I think, what made the whole experience so strange.

To start off with, producers picked the exact spot where they wanted Lauren and the gang to sit well before Lauren actually arrived. The spot they chose was actually the chaise my friend and I had been sitting on all afternoon and they made us move shortly before Lauren and Whitney arrived. I guess we had chosen the best seats in the house. LOL

To further the altered reality, the premise of the episode is that Lauren and Whitney attend a fashion event for a clothing company called “Tt”. While there was sort of a fashion event/party going on at the beach house, the whole thing was pretty much just set up so that The Hills could be filmed. I seriously doubt there would have been any party going on had The Hills not wanted to film at the Beach House yesterday. One of the party guests actually asked a worker at the house if there was a fashion show scheduled since so many models were walking around. The worker replied “Well, it’s sort of a fake fashion show.” LOL Everyone at the “party” also had to sign releases to be on camera.

Once the camera crew got set up, they let Lauren and Whitney walk on screen. The girls walked to the pool area and went straight to the producer-chosen chaise lounge. And then they pretty much just sat there. And sat there. And sat there. The whole time my friend and I were wondering when they were going to start filming and then we realized that they HAD BEEN filming the whole time! I’ve been on a few movie sets and usually during filming there is some sort of action taking place, SOMETHING is happening, but not in this case. At some points Lauren and Whitney were just kind of looking around the party, not even talking to each other. So in that sense, the show is truly “reality” – Lauren and Whitney really were just sitting and hanging out at a party. I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised at their inaction, as not much else occurs on The Hills besides a lot of sitting around and talking. LOL After about 25 minutes or so, She-Pratt and her new boyfriend came out to the pool to hang out with LC and Whitney. Stephanie was surprisingly really pretty in person – she has amazing blue eyes!

The Hills crew was super laid back and I was floored when I found out that they were allowing pictures to be taken of the filming. At first I was totally trying to take pictures on the down low, as cameras are usually not allowed on most movie and TV sets. But once I realized that it was OK to take pictures, I moved in closer to get some better shots. 🙂 And when I did so, I noticed Audrina standing off to the side of the house. She had apparently been there the whole time, but had to wait for the producer’s go ahead before entering the filming area. SO STRANGE. The same thing occured with Frankie Delgado and his friends. I am not sure what the reasoning on that was. I am guessing that the producers were waiting for things to get boring with Lauren and Whitney before letting other characters enter the scene.

What I was very surprised about, though, was how hands off the producers were. I was convinced they would be yelling “Cut!” and having the stars constantly repeat dialog, but that was not the case. A producer only interfered with filming once, and it was to tell Whitney, who had been laying down on a chaise, to sit up as they couldn’t see her through the camera. The producers also pretty much left the party-goers alone. I thought for sure we would be cordoned off and not allowed to get near the stars or the filming area, but nothing like that occurred. People were walking freely all over the place – in front of the camera, around the stars, etc. That was another thing that made the situation really strange. At one point my friend’s husband was standing right next to LC while she waited in line at the bar – and yes, I swear, she actually waited in line!

I am convinced, though, that some of the partiers were actually paid extras. There were two people, especially, whom the producers kept talking to and moving around, and I know they had to be extras. At certain times, too, the producers would tell partygoers to move around in the background or to go sit on the chaises near Lauren, JUST LIKE on a movie set. I guess there wasn’t enough going on in the background to make the party look realistic enough. More of that altered reality. Producers also asked the Tt models (clad in teeny tiny bathing suits) to play a little “impromptu” soccer game behind LC and friends during filming -and they looked absolutely ridiculous doing so! And not at all realistic.

Another thing I found strange was that while I was absolutely FLOORED to be there and it was one of the most exciting days EVER – I was also completely bored during the filming. As I said before, the cast wasn’t very interesting to watch at all – they pretty much just sat there for about three hours not really doing a whole lot. Audrina and her friends jumped into the pool for a bit and sat around drinking in there, but that was the only real action that took place. LOL I read an article yesterday, though, that said it takes Hills editors FOUR TO SIX WEEKS to sift through enough of the footage of Lauren’s daily life to put together ONE episode. So they must not really be all that exciting. LOL

The whole party had kind of a weird vibe, too. It seemed more like a Hills viewing party than anything else as everyone was literally sitting around JUST watching Lauren and the gang film. It was very obvious that most party-goers were there for the sole purpose of seeing The Hills stars live and in person. Like I said, it was bizarre. I must say, though, that I had a BLAST at the party and just being there would have been excitement enough for me for one day – but seeing The Hills cast in person and watching them film was truly the icing on the cake. I can die a happy woman now! LOL

The Hills new season premieres this Monday night on MTV. I am not sure when the Project Beach House episode will air, but I am guessing in about 6-8 weeks. I CANNOT wait to see it! All in all, the entire cast was there during the shoot, minus Speidi (who I would have loved to have seen!), Lo, and Brody Jenner. Otherwise the rest of the group was present – LC, Stephanie Pratt and what seemed to be her new boyfriend, Audrina and a new guy she was cuddling up with, Audrina’s tattooed sister and her boyfriend, Whitney Port, and Frankie Delgado. And even though the whole thing was a bizarre experience to watch, I still absolutely love The Hills. In fact I think I like it even more now. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Project Beach House is located at 32340 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. But sadly yesterday was the final day and the final party (until next summer, of course!) for the Project Beach House. I hear permanent residents are moving into the house next week.