Tag: movies

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Aloha Waterworld!

My family and I arrived in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii yesterday afternoon for a little summer vacation. YAY! I keep pinching myself as I can’t even believe I am really here!!! Anyway, during the flight I made a list of a few places to stalk while in Hawaii. But today I thought I’d do a post on one of the most famous movies ever filmed on the Big Island – Waterworld. When I was a little girl my family spent every summer vacationing in Kona and I was actually here in the summer of 1994, the year Waterworld was filmed. I was quite the little stalker even back then and I dragged both of my parents down to Kawaihae Harbor during filming to see the Waterworld set in person. 🙂 The atoll set was extremely odd looking and I remember thinking “What the heck is this movie going to be about??” Weird as the set was, it was still very cool to see be there to see it in person. And since Hawaii is such a laid back place, even when a movie is being filmed, pretty much anyone could walk right up to the set and snap some pictures. The pic above is one my dad took that summer in 1994.

The town of Kona was pretty much all abuzz with excitement over the filming that summer. The producers of Waterworld even chose to use numerous locals both behind the scenes and in front of the camera during filming. One of our family friends, Harry, portrayed one of the “Smokers” in the movie, and, knowing what a little stalker I was, snapped some pics of himself on the set to give to me. 🙂 Harry also gave me one of the bullets from the inside of the bullet belt he wore around his neck during filming.

Because Waterworld was filmed over 14 years ago, the set is, of course, long gone. Rumor has it that part of the atoll was actually sunk during the filming of the movie, and that producers simply left it at the bottom of the ocean despite demands from the city to retrieve it. Perhaps I need to do some underwater stalking this summer and take a little scuba diving recognisance mission to see if the sunken set is still there. 🙂 While you can no longer see the set above sea level, you can still visit the harbor where the movie was filmed. It is not too far from downtown Kailua Kona.

Remnants of the filming can still be found around Kona, though, even 14 years later. There is a picture of Kevin Costner prominently displayed to this day on the wall at Drysdale’s Two Restaurant in Kona. Apparently several Drysdale waitresses were slightly obsessed with Mr. Costner and would go down to the Harbor to watch filming every day dressed in their Drysdale’s uniforms. One day they were lucky enough to get a picture with Kevin, which they later had him autograph, and then displayed on the wall. Drysdale’s restaurant used to be owned by baseball great Don Drysdale. Rumor has it his wife got the restaurant in their divorce settlement, though, and I believe she still owns it to this day. Drysdale’s is defintely a Kona staple and I highly recommend stalking it, even if you are not a Kevin Costner or a Don Drysdale fan.

Until next time, Aloha and Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: To reach Kawaihae Harbor from Kailua-Kona, take Highway 19 north until it turns into Highway 270, past Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site. The Harbor will be on the left hand side. Drysdale’s Two Restaurant is located at 78-6831 Alii Drive in Kailua Kona. Be sure to order their saimen and the Fowl Ball sandwich – two of my favorites!!! 🙂

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The World’s Largest Collection of MM Memorabilia and . . . A New Fiance?

Last week, while stalking in Hollywood, I dragged my mom to the Hollywood Museum, which is currently exhibiting one of the largest collections of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia in the entire world. The entire drive there I could barely sit still in my seat I was so absolutely floored to see the exhibit, and I must say that when I got there I was not disappointed in the slightest. I literally could have spent the whole day just at the Marilyn exhibit – there was so much to see and read. One display was a stalker’s dream come true as it listed the address of every single residence ever occupied by Miss Marilyn! This stalker definitely has her work cut out for her now! 🙂

The Marilyn exhibit contains countless one of a kind MM items, including her personal scripts from almost every single movie she ever starred in. As an actress it was fascinating to see the scripts with all of Marilyn’s lines circled and side notes written in her own hand. In one of the scripts she had marked all of her character’s lines with a red lip liner! So Marilyn – I love it!!!! 🙂 The costumes were amazing to see, as well – included were dresses from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Some Like It Hot, How to Marry a Millionaire and many, many more. The exhibit also featured numerous clothing items from Marilyn’s personal collection and even furniture from her last home. Also on display were personal letters, bank checks, and photographs of the starlet. All in all, I had a blast being there and I highly recommend stalking the museum, even if the Marilyn exhibit is the only one you visit.

That being said, there are countless other movie star exhibits to stalk at the museum. The Hollywood Museum used to be known as the Max Factor Museum and is actually housed in the former Max Factor Building, where Max Factor himself gave makeovers to the stars during the hey-dey of Old Hollywood. The building is four full floors and a whopping 38,000 square feet chock full of movie memorabilia! They literally have something for everyone, including Rocky’s boxing gloves, the shoes George Clooney, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt wore during their handprint ceremony at Grauman’s, costumes from the movie The Flinstones in Viva Rock Vegas, Hannibal Lector’s jail cell from Silence of the Lambs, Cary Grant’s Rolls Royce, Roddy McDowall’s actual bathroom, Pee Wee Herman’s bike, and Leo Dicaprio’s (sigh!) wedding suit and Claire Danes’ pajamas from Romeo & Juliet, just to name a few. In fact, the building itself has even been used as a filming location. The exterior of the museum was used in the filming of Beverly Hills Cop II as the jewelry store Adriano’s which ends up getting robbed by Brigitte Nielsen.

The only thing I did not like about the museum was that they did not allow photographs of any kind inside the building. In fact, I had to check my camera at the door. 🙁 I was so looking forward to taking pictures of all things Marilyn and was completely bummed when I found out I couldn’t. I did however get my mom to snap one cell phone pic of me standing in front of the “For Blondes Only” sign at the Max Factor exhibit. I am a total blonde, and so was Marilyn, so I just had to get a pic in front of that sign. 🙂 You should have seen my mom and I trying to get that picture on the down-low. LOL The pic didn’t come out very well, but at least I got it. As Marilyn herself said, “If I had observed all of the rules, I’d never have gotten anywhere.” 🙂

The museum staff is extremely friendly, especially Doug, the security guard who was dressed up in full Indiana Jones regalia. Not only did Doug fill me in on all sorts of movie star gossip, but by the end of the afternoon he had actually proposed to me! LOL I told him that if he let me take pics in front of some of the Marilyn Monroe items, he had himself a deal! Unfortunately he didn’t go for it. We instead settled for taking a picture outside of the museum together. 🙂 If you visit the museum, be sure to ask for Doug (or “Indy” as I like to call him) as he is super friendly and loves to trade Hollywood gossip.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Hollywood Museum is located at 1660 N. Highland Avenue, directly kitty-corner from the Hollywood & Highland Center, behind the Guinness Book of World Records Museum. Get there fast though, as the Marilyn exhibit leaves for Japan at the end of August. If you miss it this time around, the entire collection will be back in June of ’09. Tickets are $15 per adult, $12 for seniors and students, and $5 for children under 5. The museum is only open from Thursday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm. For more up-to-date information, you can visit the museum’s website here.

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That Thing You Stalk!

That Thing You Do has always been one of my very favorite movies. Liv Tyler could not have been more adorable in that movie! The scene where she is running down the street screaming with joy while listening to the Oneders song on the radio for the first time is one of my favorite scenes in all of moviedom! And I do love me some Tom Everett Scott, too. 🙂 So when I read on Pasadena’s Filming Website that a house on Prospect Boulevard in Pasadena was used in That Thing You Do, I, of course, ran right out to stalk it.

I must say that working backwards, or stalking backwards I should say, ie. trying to find the scene in a movie where a certain home or place was featured, proved to be almost as difficult as normal stalking. I had to fast-forward through That Thing You Do twice before I spotted the house in a scene. In actuality only the garage of the home was used, and it was only used briefly in the very beginning of the movie. The home was featured in the scene when Guy Patterson practices with the rest of the band for the first time. It is in this scene that Liv Tyler comes up with the name for the band – “The Oneders”.

I actually had to go back and stalk this house a second time, as the first time I stalked it I didn’t get a photo of the garage, which was the only part of the house used in the movie. The front of the home is never actually shown. The clapboard-style residence is super cute in person and was very reminiscent of the Father of the Bride house, but on a slightly smaller scale. I am actually very surprised the front of the house was not shown in the movie. You’d think that since they were already there filming in the garage, they would have taken some stock footage of the front of the house to use in the movie.

The Prospect Historic District of Pasadena, where the That Thing You Do home is located, is a beautiful neighborhood with absolutely gorgeous homes on tree covered streets. The neighborhood, which was started in the year 1906, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. One of the homes on Prospect, number 657, is known as the Bentz House and was built by the famous architects Greene & Greene, with whom Craftsman style architecture is most commonly associated. Greene & Greene built the Bentz House in 1906 and it still stands today. Jennifer Lopez’ dream house from the movie Enough can also be found in the Prospect Historic District. It is pictured to the left. According to Pasadena’s Filming Website the Enough house was also used in That Thing You Do, but I never saw it. Quite possibly only the interior of the house was used, and therefore I didn’t recognize it, or, also quite possible, the Pasadena website just got it wrong.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The That Thing You Do house is located at 490 Prospect Boulevard. The garage that was used in the movie is to the left rear of the house and is very visible from the street. JLo’s house from Enough is located right around the corner at 445 Prospect Square. The most famous Greene & Greene home, the Gamble House, is located just off of Prospect Square at 4 Westmoreland Place. The Gamble House was used as Doc Brown’s home in the movie Back to the Future, but I’ll save that one for a future post. 🙂

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Big Day in Hollywood!

Yesterday I dragged my poor mom out, yet again, to do some more Hollywood stalking! We ran out of time stalking last week, so yesterday it was Hollywood here we come! As we pulled up to Hollywood Boulevard, we were both extremely excited to see a huge red carpet being rolled out for The X Files: I Want To Believe movie premiere! I must say that I LOVE me some Fox Mulder!!!!! Anyway, the new X Files movie premiered last night at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre at around 6pm. While we didn’t stick around long enough to see the stars arrive, it was still pretty cool to watch the premiere being set-up. I have to say that, more often than not, when I have visited the Chinese Theatre there has either been a movie premiere or some sort of special event taking place. So if you are in the Hollywood area and want to see a red carpet up close and personal, I definitely recommend stalking Grauman’s!

After stalking the X-Files premiere, my mom and I headed over to Hollywood & Highland Shopping Center, where lo and behold, a camera crew was filming the TLC show Ten Years Younger . The crew happened to be looking for people to do on-camera interviews about the contestant post-makeover and of course, I said SIGN ME UP! 🙂 I was interviewed by the host of the show who asked me a couple of questions about how old I thought the contestant looked. SO EXCITING! 🙂 Hopefully you will be able to see me in the episode and I won’t end up on the cutting room floor! LOL

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: For the best chance of seeing a movie premiere in person, I recommend stalking Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on a weekday in the late afternoon. Grauman’s Theatre is located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. Ten Years Younger is holding all of its “Man on the Street” type interviews at Hollywood & Highland Shopping Center this season, so if you’re at the mall, chances are you could wind up on TV! The shopping center is located right on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in Hollywood. Ten Years Younger airs Fridays at 10/9 Central on TLC. I am on the 11th episode of the season, which should air in about 7 to 8 weeks.

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The Best Place to View the Hollywood Sign!

There is one site in Los Angeles that I absolutely never get tired of, no matter how many times I see it. Even though I can now officially call myself a native Angeleno, I am not ashamed to admit that I still get a little jolt of butterflies in my stomach every time I see the Hollywood Sign in person. All of my hopes and dreams are represented in those big white letters and the sign is probably my favorite landmark in all of LA. Every time I am on the freeway or in Hollywood and the sign comes into view, I am reminded of why I moved to Los Angeles.

A few years ago, in my fave Hollywood tour book, I found directions to a spot with a view of the sign like no other. High atop a hill in Burbank on Canyon Lake Drive, one can view the Hollywood Sign up close and personal. Driving up there, I am always amazed at the sheer size of the individual letters, which become absolutely ginormous the closer you get to them, in a way that almost feels eerie. From Canyon Lake Drive you can also see incredible views of Lake Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles’ skyline. I highly recommend stalking the sign from Canyon Lake, even if you have lived in Los Angeles for years and have seen the Hollywood sign more times than you can count, as I can pretty safely guarantee that you’ve never seen it like this!

The Hollywood sign, which originally spelled out “Hollywoodland”, was erected in 1923 as a real estate advertisement for a housing development known as Hollywoodland. The sign was deeded to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in 1945 and the “land” part was subsequently removed so that the sign would be a more accurate representation of the city it sat above. The original letters measured 50 feet in height and 30 feet in width. Over the years the sign became more and more dilapidated, with no one stepping in to repair it. At one point in time, half of the first “O” had fallen off along with the entire third “O” so that the sign read “HuLLYWO D”. In 1978, rock star Alice Cooper spearheaded a campaign to repair the sign, rallying huge donations from celebrities including Hugh Hefner, Gene Autry, and Les Kelly, creator of the Kelly Blue Book. The old sign was taken down and a new one was completed in November of 1978, with letters measuring 45 feet high and 31 to 39 feet wide, and a combined total weight of a whopping 480,000 pounds. The original sign sat in storage for over 20 years until 2005 when it was sold on EBay to an artist named Bill Mack, who is currently creating a piece of artwork out of the letters. You can read an article here about Bill’s artistic renovation of the sign, which includes painting old Hollywood legends onto each letter, including Rita Hayworth, James Dean, Greta Garbo, and my favorite, Marilyn Monroe. Something of a stalker himself, Bill also owns Marilyn Monroe’s bed and the original gate to her home. Sigh!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: For the best views of the Hollywood sign, take Lake Hollywood Road off of Barham Boulevard. Follow Lake Hollywood for quite a while until you come to Lake Tahoe Drive. Make a left there. Follow Lake Tahoe to Canyon Lake Drive and make a right. You will see the looming sign on your left hand side. If you follow Canyon Lake past the large park on the left, you will see a little dirt look-out area with amazing views of Downtown LA and Lake Hollywood.

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All Marilyn, All the Time!

I dragged my mom to Hollywood last Friday to do a little Marilyn stalking. She wasn’t too keen on the idea, but I was absolutely dying to do something I had yet to do in all the years I have lived in LA – I wanted to put my hands in Marilyn Monroe’s handprints outside of the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. I can’t tell you the number of times I have been to Grauman’s Theatre, but never once had I put my hands in her handprints or even made it a point to go look at them. I was so excited to be there on Friday, that I actually walked right past Michael Caine’s freshly made handprints on prominent display in front of the theatre without so much as even taking a picture for the blog. LOL I am kicking myself now for not taking a picture as it was very cool to see how the handprints looked in an unfinished state. But what can I say, I was just too excited to see Marilyn. 🙂

Grauman’s Theatre has long been an iconic Hollywood symbol – almost a celebrity in and of itself. Grauman’s Chinese Theatre opened its doors on May 18, 1927. The Theatre was the brainchild of movie theatre owner Sid Grauman, who in 1922 built Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre, and his partners Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Grauman, who passed away in 1950, now has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (near 6379 Hollywood Boulevard), and he was also one of the original founding members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Chinese theatre was purchased by the Mann’s Movie Theatre chain in 1973 and the name was changed to Mann’s Chinese Theatre. But in 2001 the original name was reinstated and the theatre is once again officially known as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

The handprint tradition began one day in 1927 while the Chinese Theatre was still being built. Sid accidentally stepped into some fresh cement in front of the theatre, leaving his footprints behind which sparked a magical idea. He says he immediately ran to get his two partners, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, who did the same with their feet. The rest as they say is history. There are currently over 200 stars’ handprints and footprints immortalized in cement at the entrance to Grauman’s, including Tom Cruise, Betty Grable, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford and even R2D2 and Donald Duck.

It is interesting to note that Marilyn’s handprints are absolutely black with dirt, one hundred times dirtier than any of the other handprints at the Theatre. (You can see the dirt in the picture to the left.) Seeing that, it becomes quite apparent just how many fans come on a daily basis to place their hands in Marilyn’s famous handprints. Marilyn’s handprint ceremony took place along with Jane Russell on June 26, 1953 during the promotion of their movie Gentleman Prefer Blondes. You can watch their handprint ceremony here. If you look closely at the dot in the “i” of Marilyn’s name, you can see that it looks a bit odd. Marilyn had wanted to put a real diamond in the cement to mark the dot of the “i” in her name in honor of the song “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” which she sings in the movie. The studio refused out of fear of it being stolen, but Marilyn was allowed to use a rhinestone instead. Apparently less than three days after the handprint ceremony that rhinestone was indeed stolen, so the theatre replaced it with a glass bead which has remained embedded in the cement ever since.

Several movies and TV shows have also been filmed outside the theatre, including Hollywood Homicide, I Love Lucy, The Beverly Hillbillies, Forest Gump, Blazing Saddles, Mighty Joe Young, Rush Hour, Borat, Goldmember, Earthquake, and A Star is Born. Although the theatre is a complete tourist trap and is always crowded with hordes of people, I highly recommend stalking it if you have not yet had the chance to do so. Grauman’s is a true Hollywood icon and a place everyone should see in person at least once in their lives. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Marilyn’s handprints can be found in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, which is located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard, right in the heart of Hollywood. Her handprints are close to the doors of the Theatre, on the left hand side as you face the front of it. If you can’t find them, there are many theatre ushers standing around who can direct you to the right spot. You can still catch a movie at Grauman’s and I highly recommend doing so, as the theatre has recently been restored to its original grandeur and the interior is quite a sight to see.

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A Joint Stalking Adventure

This past weekend, I finally had the pleasure of meeting Mike from MovieShotsLA in person! Mike and I decided to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, by getting some stalking in during our meeting. 🙂 So we met up on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica to grab some coffee and to stalk the Owen Wilson movie Drillbit Taylor. Drillbit Taylor was filmed all over Santa Monica, and the Third Street Promenade, an outdoor shopping district, was featured frequently in the movie, so it was the perfect place to meet. My boyfriend and I had a great time hanging out with Mike and his fiance and as Bogart once said, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. 🙂

About two years ago, I actually saw Drillbit Taylor being filmed inside the Johnny Rockets on the Promenade. Johnny Rockets was used for the scene where Drillbit meets the boys for lunch and makes them pick up the tab. They sit at the table near the door in front of the window. Besides Johnny Rockets, the outside of the Promenade’s Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf was used several times in the movie, although producers added a lot of foliage to the exterior so it looks quite different in person. For interior shots of the coffee house, I believe they used a different Santa Monica Coffee Bean location – the one located on Ocean Park Boulevard.

On a side note, Adam Ho who played the “Hendrix Kid”, the guitar playing boy in Drillbit Taylor, actually grew up playing guitar on the Third Street Promenade. For those who have never been there, the Promenade has long been a haven for street performers. My boyfriend, who used to work nearby, often saw Adam as a young child playing the guitar on the Promenade. How ironic that he’d one day end up in a movie which was filmed in the very spot where he got his start. You can see pictures of Adam performing on the Promenade here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Johnny Rockets from Drillbit Taylor is located on the Third Street Promenade, at 1322 Third Street, in Santa Monica. The Coffee Bean that was used for exterior shots can be found just down the block from Johnny Rockets at 1312 Third Street. The Third Street Promenade was also featured in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure as the location where Pee Wee’s beloved bike was stolen and in the movie Freaky Friday as the street where Jamie Lee Curtis goes shopping. The Coffee Bean used for interior shots in Drillbit Taylor can be found at 3150 Ocean Park Boulevard in Santa Monica, right near 31st Street.

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The Millennium Biltmore Hotel

One of my favorite places to visit in all of LA is the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, located in Downtown Los Angeles. The hotel is also a favorite of film producers and it has been used in more productions than I can blog about. The hotel was built in 1923 and at the time was simply called The Biltmore. The building is absolutely gorgeous inside and out and definitely looks like it came out of a different era. Besides being a popular filming location, the hotel has played host to the Academy Awards on eight separate occasions between the years of 1931 and 1942. The hallway on the way to the hotel pool has many framed photographs of old time Hollywood celebrities who stayed at the Biltmore.

Movie buffs will probably most easily recognize the Biltmore from the first Beverly Hills Cop movie where it was used as the hotel where Eddie Murphy sets up camp during his stay in Beverly Hills. Molly Ringwald’s prom from Pretty in Pink was held in the hotel’s Crystal Ballroom, a room which was also used in Rocky III, The Sting, Ghostbusters, Alien Nation and The Fabulous Baker Boys. The Biltmore’s indoor art deco style pool was the pool where Ryan Phillipe and Reese Witherspoon take a midnight dip in the movie Cruel Intentions. The pool was also used in Bugsy and The Fan.

The movie Bachelor Party also filmed extensively at the Biltmore where it was used as the location of Tom Hanks’ wild bachelor party. And yes, they really did put a live donkey in the hotel’s elevator during the filming! Both Bachelor Party and Beverly Hills Cop were filmed in the Biltmore’s former lobby. Currently that room is a part of the hotel’s Smeraldi’s restaurant and is used for high tea and dinner. Today, the lobby is located in the hotel’s former Music Room, which was used in 1960 by JFK as the location of his official campaign headquarters. The Music Room’s ornate glass and wrought-iron ceiling (pictured below next to the “Stalk It” paragraph) was the model for the dining room ceiling of the ship in The Poseidon Adventure.

Alfred Hitchcock used the Biltmore’s 11 story high back staircase for the vertigo sequences in his 1958 movie of the same name. Hang over the ledge of the staircase on the 11th floor and you might catch a bit of vertigo yourself! In all, over 300 productions have been filmed at the hotel, including Species, The Nutty Professor, Independence Day, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, True Lies, The American President, In the Line of Fire, Mother, and the short lived TV show Vanished. Britney Spear’s Overprotected video was filmed in a large hallway just off the lobby of the hotel. You can watch that video here. Once you’ve visited the Biltmore, you will recognize it popping up all over the big and small screens.

The Gallery Bar is one of my favorite spots at the Biltmore. It is dark and quiet and definitely evokes an aura of Old Time Hollywood. The Bar was most recently used in National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets as the location of Abigal’s date at the beginning of the movie. But the Gallery Bar’s main claim to fame is its signature drink – the Black Dhalia Martini, named for one of LA’s most famous unsolved murder cases. Actress Elizabeth Short, whose nickname was the Black Dhalia, walked out the Biltmore Hotel doors on January 9, 1947 at approximately 6:30pm. She was never seen again. Her mutilated body was found six days later in an abandoned field. The last person to ever see the Black Dhalia alive was the Biltmore doorman who tipped his hat to her as she walked south down Olive Avenue. Although garnering widespread media attention and public fascination that exists even to this day, the case has yet to be solved.

The last time I stayed at the Biltmore, there were FIVE separate productions being filmed in and around the hotel – a car commercial, a fitness water commercial, the TV shows Alias and Standoff, and the pilot episode of Capitol Law with Joshua Jackson. I was especially excited to see Josh because Pacey was always my favorite Dawson’s Creek character. I so heart Josh! The grainy photo to the left is one I snapped of him during filming. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Millennium Biltmore Hotel is located in Downtown Los Angeles at 506 South Grand Avenue. I highly recommend staying there if you find yourself in the LA area. The rooms are exquisite and extremely reasonable. Be sure to ask the hotel’s concierge about the Biltmore’s filming history – they usually have some great stories to share and they will also give you a print out of every single production ever filmed at the hotel.

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Hotel Del Coronado

Ever since I was a little girl, my family has been vacationing at Hotel Del Coronado on the island of Coronado. Hotel Del is a truly magical place – like no other hotel I have ever seen. Stepping inside it is literally like stepping back in time a hundred years to a completely different era. Completed in 1888 for the cost of one million dollars, the Victorian style hotel is one of the oldest and last remaining buildings made entirely of wood. It’s hard to believe, but not one single nail was used in the building of the hotel, instead the workers used wooden pegs to fasten and secure. Hotel Del Coronado was named a historical landmark in 1977 and it truly is a marvel to see in person. The lobby is covered in dark wood paneling and looks like it was taken right out of the set of James Cameron’s Titanic.

The hotel has undergone many changes in the past decade, including a $57 million renovation. Ironically I preferred the hotel in its pre-renovation days, as many of the original areas of the Del are now gone. When I was a little girl, the original men’s cigar room was still intact, but it was gutted a few years ago and is now a restaurant. The lobby piano bar was a favorite of my parents, but it was recently turned into a gift shop. The hotel’s original dining room, the Crown Room, used to be a magnificent 156 foot long restaurant with 30 foot high arched ceilings made entirely of Oregon Sugar Pine, but it is no longer open to the public and is now only used for special events. My parents actually threw me a surprise 21st birthday party in the Crown Room, so it holds a special place in my heart. While the hotel truly is still a magical place, sadly it was much more enchanting in years past.

Hotel Del is now and has always been a celebrity mecca. Hundreds of celebrities, dignitaries, authors, and almost every single American president of the past 20 years have all been guests of the hotel. Thomas Edison, George Burns, Harry Truman, Charlie Chaplin, Babe Ruth, Charles Lindbergh, Lucille Ball, and Frank Sinatra all stayed at the Del at one time or another. L. Frank Baum, who lived on Coronado, was a frequent guest of the hotel, and it is rumored that the Del was his inspiration for Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz. He also designed the crown chandeliers that still hang to this day in the Crown Room.

Countless TV and movie productions have been filmed at the Del – including My Blue Heaven, K-9, Mr. Wrong, The Stunt Man, The Married Virgin, Simon & Simon, Ghosts of California, Baywatch and, of course, the 1959 Marilyn Monroe classic Some Like It Hot , where it was used extensively as a Miami resort. Interestingly enough, Billy Wilder chose to shoot Some Like It Hot at the Del because at the time the hotel was in an economic decline so the owners let him film there for minimal costs. He also wanted to shoot at a place where Marilyn Monroe could stay on location – due to her numerous on-set antics, he did not want to take the risk of her not showing up to the set due to transporation problems. The picture to left is of the stage where Marilyn and “the girls” performed their concert in Miami. Also, the book Bid Time Return , on which the 1980 movie Somewhere In Time was based, was written about Hotel Del Coronado. However, producers chose to use the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan for the filming of the movie.

Movie memorabilia and photographs used to line the Del’s long hallways and as a little girl I would walk the corridors looking at all of the old time movie photographs, completely mesmerized. At the time, being at the Del was the closest I ever got to being on a movie set. Today, the memorabilia has been moved to the Coronado Museum of History and Art, just down the street from the Del. For a $4 admission fee, you can enter the museum and learn the history of the island and the hotel.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Hotel Del Coronado is located at 1500 Orange Avenue on Coronado Island in San Diego. You can visit the hotel’s website to book a room here. While at the hotel, be sure to visit the Est. 1888 gift shop – they sell photos and souvenirs from the many movies filmed at the Del. The Coronado Museum of History and Art is located at 1100 Orange Avenue. They are open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 5pm. You can visit their website here.

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Virginia City Stalking!

I am currently visiting my Grandma in the Reno area and today she took me to historic Virginia City to do some sightseeing. Anytime I am in a new town, I always stop into the local visitor’s center or bookstore to ask if any movies have been filmed in the area. What’s that old saying? – Wherever you go, there you are. 🙂 Anyway, I stopped into the Mark Twain Bookstore to inquire about movie locations and the woman behind the counter told me that while Virginia City has not been used as a filming location, the movie The Misfits starring Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe was filmed in nearby Dayton in the 1960s. She also told us that during the filming, Marilyn stayed just up the street from the bookstore at Edith Palmer’s Country Inn. So, of course, I had to drag my grandma to go stalk it. 🙂

The Inn, which was originally a private home built in 1863, was owned by Ellis Morton, a wealthy businessman, and his wife Margaret. They lived in the home and operated the Cider Factory, which was located on the property. The Cider Factory supplied the nearby area with cider and vinegar. Edith Palmer purchased the home from the Mortons in 1948 and opened an inn. Edith was an award winning chef and apparently originally opened the Inn to put up her dinner guests who didn’t feel like driving home. In 2000, a couple named Pat and Leisa Findley purchased the home and completely restored it along with adding additional homes and guest rooms. They also opened a restaurant in the former Cider Factory space.

Today you can stay in the very room Marylin stayed in. “The Marilyn Room” is a second floor room complete with a bathroom with a tub and shower. You can see photos of the room on the Inn’s website. According to the hotel website, Marilyn is quoted as saying “To Edith Palmer and her oasis in the desert and warm hospitality – may I always be a welcome guest.” Besides Marilyn Monroe, other famous guest of the Inn include Robert Goulet and Liberace.

The Misfits was sadly the last film for both Marylin Monroe and Clark Gable. Clark suffered a heart attack the day after filming was completed and passed away 11 days later. According to IMDB, on the last day of filming he reportedly said “Christ, I’m glad this picture’s finished. She [Monroe] almost damn near gave me a heart attack.” Marilyn died a year after filming was completed on The Misfits and although she did work on the movie Something’s Gotta Give, she was fired due to her erratic behavior and filming was never completed.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Edith Palmer’s Country Inn is located at 416 South B Street in Virginia City, Nevada. Supposedly if you visit the Inn, the proprietor Leisa will take you on a tour and fill you in on the history of the Inn, but sadly she was not in when we visited. You can visit the Inn’s website here. The Mark Twain Bookstore is located at 111 South C Street, also in Virginia City.