Year: 2008

The Producers’ Guild Awards!

Last night my boyfriend and I set out to have a drink at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills and ended up walking into a stalker’s paradise! The Producers’ Guild Awards were being held in the International Ballroom of the hotel, and producers, movie stars and paparazzi were everywhere! We had a great view of the red carpet from the front of the hotel, until hotel security made us move. We ended up eating dinner and hanging out in the lobby bar, which was the perfect vantage point for the red carpet area of the event. We got to see Kathy Griffin (who is super tiny in person!), Teri Polo, and Christina Applegate. Ali Larter and Ellen Page were also there, but unfortunately I missed them. 🙁 While eating, I made friends with an editor for a photography company, who happened to be sitting at the table next to us. He was uploading pictures in real time as they were wirelessly sent to him from the photographers stationed on the red carpet a few feet away. It was very interesting to watch.

Apparently the Beverly Hilton Hotel is home to over 200 star-studded red carpet events each year! The hotel also holds a special place in my heart as it was the location of one of my very first on-camera experiences. When I first moved to Los Angeles, I joined Central Casting, the premiere extras casting agency in LA. One of my very first jobs as an extra was playing the part of a guest at Donna and David’s wedding on the very last episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. Their reception took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel! 🙂 As obsessed as I was with 90210 in high school, it was a pretty incredible experience to be a part of Donna and David’s wedding. 🙂

Me on the red carpet! Unfortunately, the cameramen had already left. 🙁

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Beverly Hilton Hotel is located at 9876 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Within walking distance of Rodeo Drive, the hotel is the perfect place to stay for out of town visitors who want to be in the heart of Beverly Hills. The hotel lobby bar is a fun place to sit and have a drink, but apparently the pool bar is where all the action is, with live entertainment and dancing nightly. Donna and David’s wedding reception on 90210 took place in the former “Coconut Club,” which, unfortunately, was shut down in 2002. The “Coconut Club” is now a conference room called the “Beverly Hills Ballroom.”

February 3, 2008
Brad and Angie’s Gate!

After Brad Pitt left Jen Aniston for Angelina Jolie – that jerk! – he purchased a beach front home on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. Brad and Angie lived at the house on and off for about a year. Although Brad still owns the home, the two have not stayed there in quite some time and rumor has it that he is trying to sell it. I’ve heard that the house is kind of shabby and pretty run down inside! LOL That’s what he gets for ditching Jen!

As far as stalking Brangelina’s house goes, I wouldn’t really recommend it. The only part of the house you can see from Pacific Coast Highway is a very nice, modern style gate. I would recommend stalking on Zillow instead – you get to see a lot more. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Brangelina’s Malibu house is located at 32316 Pacific Coast Highway, about two miles north of Trancas Canyon Road. On the way to stalk Brad and Angelina, stop in at the Trancas Center Starbucks where Kevin Dillon is a regular or at Hows Trancas Market, where I happened to see Cheech of Cheech and Chong fame.

February 2, 2008
“Tower, This is Ghostrider Requesting A Fly-by”

When I was in high school, back before he totally went off his rocker and started jumping on couches, I was head over heels in love with Tom Cruise! I thought he was the dreamiest! And I didn’t think there could ever be a better movie than Top Gun! Still love Top Gun, but I’ve pretty much lost that loving feeling for Tom.

During my college years, when I was just an amateur stalker, one of my friends happened to know the location of Kelly McGillis’ house from Top Gun, so, of course, I had to stalk it! Since I had yet to meet my boyfriend at that time, I had to drag my parents to this filming location. The house is located in Oceanside, near San Diego, and is an adorable little beach house. The citizens of Oceanside have been fighting for years to stop a hotel development company from tearing the house down – so if you are a Top Gun fan, you better stalk it while you still can!

Paying homage to their San Diego filming location, Maverick’s helmet, dog tags and a few other Top Gun memorabilia items are enshrined in a case at the Hard Rock Cafe, located just a few miles away in La Jolla.

The restaurant from Top Gun is also located in San Diego, but I will save that location for a future post. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Top Gun house is located in Oceanside, about 30 miles north of San Diego, at 102 Pacific Drive, overlooking the beach. The Hard Rock Cafe – La Jolla can be found at 909 Prospect Avenue, #100, at the corner of Prospect and Fay.

January 31, 2008
My So-Called Weekend, Part II

This weekend, thanks to a few tips from my new stalking buddy Andrew (who posted a comment on my first MSCL post), I set out to do some more My So-Called Life stalking. The first location I stalked was the Burlington Arcade, a covered shopping colonnade located just off Lake Avenue in Pasadena. I knew from IMDB that MSCL had filmed on the Arcade, but I was unsure which scene was filmed there.

Andrew pointed me to this YouTube video – and sure enough there it was in the very first scene of the pilot episode in which Angela and Rayanne ask random strangers for change in front of a red phone booth. The phone booth is there in real life and the Arcade looks much the same as it did in the pilot episode. The street the girls run down at the end of the scene is Lake Avenue.

From the Burlington Arcade, I headed to the west side of LA – Santa Monica to be exact – to Claire Danes’ former condo. This is the condo she lived in before permanently relocating to Wooster Street in Manhattan.

My final MSCL location (at least for this post!) is Claire’s parents’ Santa Monica home. When Claire first landed MSCL, her parents moved from New York to Santa Monica. The home they lived in at the time is located on Marine Street in a very funky, hip, bohemian part of town. It’s easy to imagine Claire living in this neighborhood! Her house is extremely tiny. But don’t go thinking you can pick it up for a bargain – according to Zillow, this 758 square foot home is worth $968,000!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Burlington Arcade is located at 380 South Lake Avenue in Pasadena, in between Del Mar Blvd. and California Blvd. Lake Avenue is a local favorite – a great place to shop and eat! Claire’s Santa Monica condo is located at 1011 Euclid Avenue, in between Washington and California Avenues. Claire’s childhood home can be found at 601 Marine Street, also in Santa Monica.

January 30, 2008
Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!

Being that I am completely obsessed with Josh Duhamel, one of my favorite movies of all time is (don’t laugh!) Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! In all honesty, the only thing I don’t like about Win A Date is the ending – Kate Bosworth so should have chosen Josh over Topher! 🙂 Otherwise it is a classic!

Sadly, most of Win A Date was filmed out of stalking range in Frazier’s Bottom, West Virginia, but I was absolutely floored to learn from IMDB that one scene was filmed right here in L.A.- at a little restaurant called Rae’s. Not ten minutes after finding out, I dragged my ever-patient boyfriend to Rae’s for a little stalking. We even sat in the same booth used in the movie!

Rae’s was used as the diner where Tad takes Rosalie to lunch when he first shows up in Frazier’s Bottom.

Rae’s serves really GREAT food at even more amazing prices. My boyfriend and I both ordered full meals and our check was less than $10.00! Rae’s certainly was a find and we have returned there time and time again!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Rae’s Restaurant is located at 2901 Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica. They serve great comfort food at incredible prices! Make sure you bring cash, though, as Rae’s does not accept credit cards. Rae’s has been featured in many movies, including Bowfinger, Lords of Dogtown, Book of Love and True Romance.

January 29, 2008
Britney Spears’ Former Santa Monica Condo

Got a comment from Kayli today, who challenged me to find Britney Spears’ house. Since Britney’s current home is located far from public view in a gated community, I thought I’d instead blog about a past residence of Ms. Spears. While Brit did not call this condo home during any of her recent mental breakdowns, it is the very spot where she lived when her romance with Kevin Federline blossomed.

Long before there was a Sean Preston or a Jayden James, Britney Spears lived in an ocean front condominium in Santa Monica, California. Before her marriage to KFed, the two spent a lot of quality time at the 1221 Ocean Condominiums – most of it outside on her balcony smoking cigarettes.

I found this location thanks to my boyfriend, who used to work in Santa Monica. Everyday he’d drive by this building and wonder why hundreds of men with cameras would be standing outside, until it finally dawned on him who lived there.

Britney Spears still owns this condo, and rumor has it that her brother Bryan Spears currently lives there.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Britney Spears’ Santa Monica condo is located at 1221 Ocean Avenue. Just down the street, at 202 Wilshire Blvd., is Houston’s Restaurant, where KFed’s bachelor party was held before he married BritBrit. After their respective bachelor/bachelorette parties, KFed and Britney spent the night at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel at 101 Wilshire Blvd. In the movie Fracture, the Fairmont Miramar served as the hotel where Anthony Hopkins’ wife had her affair.

January 28, 2008
Rainy Day Stalking at Jennifer Aniston’s Former Beach House!

I am still reeling over the fact that I got to meet Kristin Cavallari last night! I am still pinching myself! Anyway, I digress . . .

In honor of today’s rain storm, I thought I’d blog about a rainy day stalking adventure I had a few years back – the day I found Jennifer Aniston’s Malibu beach house. Jen rented this beach house shortly after her separation from Brad Pitt. Sad to say, this location was a very hard one for me to find. I had been looking for it for quite some time, being that I am totally and completely obsessed with all things Jen, and I knew from several blogs that it was located on a stretch of beach known as Carbon Beach – but I still could not seem to locate it!

Then one VERY rainy day, US Magazine published a really good picture of Jen’s beach house and I knew that, using the picture as a resource, I would most likely find the house! So, as usual, I dragged my poor boyfriend to Malibu – in the pouring rain – to do some stalking. We spotted the house right away while we were driving along Pacific Coast Highway and then parked to get a beachfront look. Thankfully Jen’s house is fairly close to the public beach access for Carbon Beach, so we didn’t get completely drenched walking in the rain to her house.

Jen’s house was absolutely adorable!! One of the most darling houses I have ever seen! It is a fairly small, two story, brown shingled home, and it just looks so Jen! I loved it! Sadly, Jen no longer rents this house, which is owned by Oracle C.E.O. Larry Ellison. She has permanently moved to a new Hal Levitt designed home in Beverly Hills. But I’ll save that one for a future post!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Jen’s former Malibu beach house is located at 22164 Pacific Coast Highway. Just a few houses south of Jen, at 22126 Pacific Coast Highway, is the ginormous beach house of David Geffen. Don’t get too close to Geffen’s house, though, as he is not too keen on sharing his beach with the public. Remember, these houses are private residences, so don’t trespass or disturb the owners! After stalking Jen’s house, head to the Malibu Country Mart, located at the corner of Cross Creek Road and PCH, for some star studded shopping and dining. Nobu, one of Jen Aniston’s favorite restaurants, and Britney’s preferred Starbucks, are both located there.

January 27, 2008
Go Team Kristen!

Ever since Laguna Beach: The Real O.C. first came on the air, I have been a HUGE fan of Kristin Cavallari. So LOVE her!!! And tonight I actually got to meet her!!! I am still pinching myself! My boyfriend and I headed to Hollywood today because I was completely intent on going to celeb hot spot the Tropicana Bar at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Pool for a drink. This is the very same bar and pool where all the stars go to get their drink on and their swim on. The episode of The Hills, when Brodi tells Lauren that Spencer “broke up” with him, was filmed at the pool, along with countless other productions.

Due to the rain the Tropicana Bar was pretty much empty, except for a group of three girls sitting in a corner. We ended up sitting fairly close to them and I almost fell out of my lounge chair when I realized one of them was Kristin Cavallari. She got up to leave right as we were ordering our drinks and I knew I just had to say something to her. I mean I own a “Team Kristin” shirt for God’s sake! I couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by! So I went up to her and (dork that I am) blurted out “I love you!” LOL! Kristin could not have been sweeter! She shook my hand and told me that she “really appreciates” that I took the time to come up to her and “it means a lot” that I am such a fan. She was completely genuine and nice and I am an even bigger fan now than I was before! Sadly I did not get a picture as my boyfriend, who was absolutely convinced it wasn’t really her, stayed behind with the camera while I went to talk to her.

Stalk It: The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is located at 7000 Hollywood Blvd., at the corner of Hollywood and N. Orange Drive. The Tropicana Bar and hotel pool is located directly off the lobby. Even after it started pouring rain, and we had to move to the covered part of the bar, it was still a really nice place to sit and have a drink. But, while the Tropicana Bar has some great food, if you are hungry, I would actually recommend going to the restaurant Twenty-Five Degrees, also located in the hotel, for a bite to eat instead. They make amazing burgers and hot-dogs and don’t even get me started on the fries! While the restaurant is pricey, it is well worth it! And if you happen to see a celeb while you are out and about in Hollywood, go up and tell them what a fan you are! You only live once, and I have found that, way more often than not, they sincerely appreciate meeting their fans.

January 26, 2008
Melrose (aka Greenwood) Place

The apartment building used as the exterior of the fictional apartment complex “Melrose Place” on the TV show of the same name cannot actually be found on, or anywhere near, the real Melrose Avenue. In real life, the complex is called the “El Pueblo Apartments” and is located on Greenwood Place in Los Feliz, a short distance from Hollywood.

This location I found in my fave stalking book “The Ultimate Hollywood Tour Book“, which described the “El Pueblo” as “dumpy” in person. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I visited the apartments, because I found them to be adorable! I would love to live there! The “El Pueblo” looks very much as it did on Melrose Place and I swear I could almost envision Amanda and Billy conversing at the mailboxes at the entrance to the building.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The real “Melrose Place” is located at 4616 Greenwood Place in Los Feliz. While it looks pretty much the same as it did when it was depicted the show, don’t go looking for the interior courtyard pool. Sadly, that only existed on a soundstage. 🙁 If you would like to stalk Melrose Avenue – the neighborhood where the Melrose Placers supposedly lived – hit the stretch of Melrose between Fairfax and La Brea. There are many cute – and a few very odd – shops and restaurants located in that area. For more upscale stalking, head west of Fairfax, where you can find shopping mecca Fred Segal, Agent Provocateur and countless others.

January 25, 2008
Bolthouse Productions – Where Heidi "Works"

On The Hills, Heidi supposedly works at the event planning company Bolthouse Productions. I say “supposedly” not because I doubt that she actually works there, but because I doubt that she actually does any work. It seems the only two things Heidi ever does while at “work” are gossip with various co-workers about her many problems with Spencer and gossip with various co-workers about her many problems with Lauren.

Even so, I just had to stalk the location of Bolthouse Productions. The location was easy enough to find with a simple google search. After snapping a picture out in front of the building, I had to sneak around back to see the spot where Spencer told Heidi “Sweet! My answer is get out of my car!” 🙂

On a side note, thanks to a comment from E.J. and his stalking website, I found a link to a GREAT map with tons of Hills filming locations! You can view the map here. Looks like I have some more stalking to do!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It:Bolthouse Productions is located at 7966 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles, not too far from Speidi’s apartment complex. You’ll recognize the building right away by the “sbe” sign located near the roof. There is plenty of street parking, so you can get out and snap a quick picture. Be sure not to bother Heidi at work, though, as I am sure Brent Bolthouse is not too appreciative when Heidi gets distracted from her many daily event planning duties. 🙂

January 24, 2008