Month: July 2012

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A Free View of Universal Studio’s “War of the Worlds” Set!

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Many moons ago, shortly after we first met, Mike, from MovieShotsLA, took me to a place that quickly became one of my very favorite “only in L.A.” spots –  a residential street from which the Universal Studios War of the Worlds plane crash set is visible.  And even though I always make it a point to take visiting friends to the site (which is located on the 3400 block of Blair Drive in the hills just south of Burbank), I somehow forgot to add it to My Los Angeles Must-Stalk List back in May.  I have since corrected the problem and figured that now was as good a time as any to blog about the location.  (I also just turned My Must-Stalk List into a page on my site in order to make it more accessible to my fellow stalkers.  I will be adding to the list as I discover more must-stalk locations, so check back regularly.  Smile)

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When Mike first took me to the 3400 block of Blair Drive, I was absolutely aghast at both the fact that such an amazing set piece was so openly visible from a residential street and that it had not, for whatever reason, ever been written about in any of my L.A. guide books.  That is the beauty of going stalking with someone born and raised in L.A., as Mike was.  He knows the city – and all of its little hidden treasures – like the back of his hand.  Mike had actually discovered this location back in the early ‘90s, before the War of the Worlds set even existed, while working for the radio station Power 106.  When he first began his DJing job, the station moved him into a hill-top house with several other DJ’s.  That house happened to be located on Blair Drive, directly across the street from what was then the site of Falls Lake – a 2.7-million-gallon water tank and green screen in the Psycho Flats area of Universal Studios.  (Falls Lake was moved a few hundred feet west in 2004 to make way for the War of the Worlds set, but you can still see it in the background of the pictures below).

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According to the fabulous The Studio Tour website, the War of The Worlds plane crash shoot took place on January 5th, 6th, and 7th of 2005 and the set was then left, virtually untouched, to be featured as one of Universal Studios’ backlot attractions.  The only changes made to the set after the filming were the relocation of a few of the houses and the removal of some debris in order to provide a pathway for the tram to pass through during tours.  Otherwise, though, the scene appears pretty much exactly the same as it did onscreen.  SO INCREDIBLY COOL!  On a side-note, one of my favorite movie lines ever was uttered in War of the Worlds.  When Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise – and I canNOT believe that he and Katie Holmes are getting a divorce!) begins making peanut butter sandwiches for dinner, his daughter, Rachel Ferrier (Dakota Fanning), informs him, “I’m allergic to peanut butter!”, causing Ray to laugh and say, “Since when?”, to which Rachel states, “Birth!” LOL LOL LOL

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The War of the Worlds plane crash set is so realistic, it is almost unbelievable!  I cannot even imagine living on Blair Drive back in 2005 during the filming and getting to witness not only the construction of the massive set, but the actual shoot.  How incredibly cool would that have been?!?

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It is actually quite surprising that I like this location as much as I do being that I am absolutely petrified of flying, but I guess that is the magic of the movies!

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As you can see below, when the Universal Studios tour tram passes through the crash set, smoke begins to rise from several of the props.

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The set features an actual Boeing 747 airplane that the production team cut up and distressed.  Supposedly it cost $2 million in transportation fees alone to get the aircraft to the studio.

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I visited Universal Studios way back in June of 2008 (you can read my post here) and snapped the below close-up photographs of the War of the Worlds plane crash set.  As you can see, it is nothing short of incredible – no matter which vantage point you view it from!

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From the 3400 block of Blair Drive, you can also catch a glimpse of one of the Whoville sets from the 2000 movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas;

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the back of the house where Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) lived in the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho;

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the Old Mexico and Six Points Texas backlot areas;

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and the Falls Lake green screen/backdrop.

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Which I decided to have a little bit of fun with.  Winking smile

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Be sure to “Like” IAMNOTASTALKER on Facebook here and “Friend” me on my personal page here.  You can also check out the IAMNOTASTALKER About Me page here and you can follow me on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And don’t forget to check out my new blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for telling me about this location!  Smile

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The War of the Worlds plane crash set at Universal Studios can be viewed from the 3400 block of Blair Drive, just off of Barham Boulevard, in Los Angeles.

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Villa d’Este – The “Under the Yum Yum Tree” Apartment Building

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Thank you to all of my fellow stalkers for putting up with my two recent – and much-needed – blogging hiatuses.  It felt so good to relax and recharge and I will now be back with a vengeance.  Winking smile And now, on with the post!  A couple of months ago, after stalking Romanesque Villa, my girl Marilyn Monroe’s former West Hollywood pad (which I blogged about back in early May), I dragged the Grim Cheaper a few blocks east to Villa d’Este, the idyllic and picturesque apartment building featured in the 1963 film Under the Yum Yum Tree.  I found out about this location thanks to fave stalking book Hollywood: The Movie Lover’s Guide by travel writer Richard Alleman.  And while I had yet to see Under the Yum Yum Tree at the time (nor had I ever even heard of it), since the place was right around the corner from Marilyn’s former building, I figured I might as well stalk it.  And I am so glad that I did because Villa d’Este is nothing short of majestic!  Under the Yum Yum Tree, however, which I finally sat down to watch last week, left quite a lot to be desired.  I found it just a wee bit boring and silly, and I still have yet to figure out what in the heck its odd title means.

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But the cat in the movie was awesome, as you can see below, so I guess there’s that.  Winking smile

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Anyway, because Villa d’Este is such a magical place, I decided it was most-definitely blog-worthy.  The property, which was constructed in 1928 and was originally called the “Court of the Fountains”, was designed by brothers F. Pierpont and Walter S. Davis – the so-called “founding fathers of the L.A. courtyard apartment” who also designed the Roman Gardens Apartments in Hollywood, the since-demolished French Village at what is now the entrance to the Cahuenga Pass, and St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral near Exposition Park.  The two-story Italian Renaissance-style building was inspired by the legendary 16th-century villa and gardens of the same name in Tivoli, Italy.

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As you can see below, the detailing of Villa d’Este is nothing short of incredible.  Oh, what I wouldn’t give to live in a place like that!

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Sadly, the building is gated and off-limits to the public, so we were not able to view the interior courtyard.  We did catch a tiny glimpse of it through the front gate, though, and it is simply breathtaking!  I can only imagine how perfect and peaceful it would be to sit there with my laptop, blogging the day away, with no sounds to distract me but the flow of water from the many nearby fountains.  Sigh!

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In a cool twist, Lou Ferrigno’s house from I Love You, Man, which I blogged about here, is visible from the street out in front of the property.

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As is the world-famous Laugh Factory Comedy Club.

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In Under the Yum Yum Tree, Villa d’Este stands in for the Centaur Apartments, where a skirt-chasing landlord named Hogan (Jack Lemmon) rents units to young, naïve, female coeds in the hopes of bedding them.  Only the exterior of the building was used in the movie.

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The lush, tiered interior courtyard that appeared in the flick was just a set – an amazingly huge and detailed set, but a set nonetheless.  I actually almost prefer the onscreen courtyard to its real life counterpart.  It is amazing to me that set design was that advanced back in 1963 when Under the Yum Yum Tree was filmed!  I mean, the faux courtyard pictured below is even more realistic and beautiful than the one that was featured on Melrose Place almost thirty years later!

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The red-hued apartment that Hogan called home was also just a set.

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As was the adorable apartment where Robin Austin (Carol Lynley) and her fiancé, Dave Manning (Dean Jones), lived.  You can check out what the interior of an actual Villa d’Este apartment looks like on fave website CurbedLA here.  Talk about character!  The place just oozes charm!  Back in 2008, when the CurbedLA article was written, a one-bedroom Villa d’Este apartment rented for a cool $3,450 a month, while a two-bedroom went for $4,500.  Yikes!

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Besides being a filming location, Villa d’Este has also been home to countless celebrities over the years, especially during the heyday of Hollywood.  According to my buddy E.J. over at The Movieland Directory website, just a few of the luminaries who have lived there include silent film actresses Pola Negri, Theda Bara, Priscilla Dean, Jetta Goudal, and Mabel Normand, voiceover actor Charles Judels, and legendary director Cecil B. DeMille.

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I mentioned in last Monday’s post that I was about to begin a new project that I was very excited about.  Well, that project is finally off the ground and I would like to share it with my fellow stalkers.  I just started a diabetes blog (because I have so much extra time – ha! Winking smile) called The Well-Heeled Diabetic.  I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes seven years ago and, since that time, have learned a lot about the disease and think I might be able to help others who are afflicted.  If you would like to check it out, you can do so at www.wellheeleddiabetic.com.  And if you happen to know someone who is diabetic, please pass the site along to them.  Smile

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Be sure to “Like” IAMNOTASTALKER on Facebook here and “Friend” me on my personal page here.  You can also check out the IAMNOTASTALKER About Me page here.  And you can follow me on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Villa d’Este, aka the Centaur Apartments from Under the Yum Yum Tree, is located at 1355 North Laurel Avenue in West Hollywood.   You can visit the building’s official website here.