Venice – IAMNOTASTALKER

January 23, 2019January 23, 2019

The Firehouse Restaurant from “Speed”

Pop quiz, hotshot! You’re hanging around Venice Beach, in dire need of a latte, and you happen to pass by The Firehouse Restaurant from the 1994 action hit Speed. What do you do? What do you do? Why, you head in for some stalking and a cup of joe, of course! I’m really reaching into my reserves with this particular post because I actually visited the landmark café waaaay back in September 2009 (I wasn’t even married yet!) and then somehow promptly forgot about it until doing some research on the Venice area last week. It was such an ancient stalk, in fact, that I had to practically do an archeological dig through the Grim Cheaper’s computer to find the photos I took there. Talk about delving into the archives!

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As the name suggests, the Firehouse is situated inside of an actual former fire station located on the corner of Main Street and Rose Avenue, just a few short blocks from the beach. Known as the Ocean Park Firehouse, it served as the home of Engine Co. #62 from the time it was built in either 1902, 1904, 1907 or 1909, depending on which report you happen to be reading, until it was decommissioned in the ‘50s. You can see what it looked like when it was still in operation here and here.

The building housed several different entities in the years that followed including an antique store, an art studio and a lingerie shop. Finally, in 1986, it was taken over by Leiko Hamada and transformed into The Firehouse Restaurant. With its hearty breakfasts, the site initially catered to the body builders who worked out in the sand at nearby Muscle Beach, but soon became popular with locals and tourists alike. It remains a neighborhood favorite today, more than thirty years after opening.

The Firehouse pops up briefly at the beginning of Speed as the spot where Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) picks up a morning coffee moments before being unexpectedly looped into a deadly game with Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper).

Though some changes have been made to the interior in the 25 years since filming took place, the restaurant is largely recognizable from its cameo. (Love, love, love the ladder hanging from the ceiling above the counter.) And yes, I realize that my photos are almost ten years old, but per images featured on Yelp, not much has been altered since my visit.

It is directly kitty-corner from The Firehouse, in front of LADOT Parking Lot 740, that the bus explodes in the scene.

And it is directly across from the explosion site that Jack receives the ominous call from Howard alerting him that there is a second bomb on a different city bus.

The payphones featured in the scene were not real, but set pieces placed pretty much exactly where the bus stop is situated today.

Fellow stalker/Emergency! expert Richard Yokley (you may remember him from this post and this post) informed me that Wick Lobo (cutie Christian Kane) and his team also popped by The Firehouse in the Season 1 episode of Rescue 77 titled “Remember Me: Part 1,” which aired in 1999.

The GC and I didn’t eat at The Firehouse that day in 2009 – I made like Keanu Reeves and just grabbed a coffee – so I can’t really attest to the quality of the food, but the place is adorable and I highly recommend stopping by for a visit.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Firehouse Restaurant, from Speed, is located at 213 Rose Avenue in Venice. You can visit the eatery’s official website here. In the movie, the bus explodes kitty-corner from The Firehouse, on Main Street just south of Rose Avenue in front of LADOT Parking Lot 740. The payphones were set up directly across the street from the parking lot on the opposite side of Main in the area where the bus stop now stands.

January 22, 2018January 21, 2018

SPARCinLA from “Beverly Hills, 90210”

The Grim Cheaper and I are moving in a couple of days (we bought a house out here in the desert – our first house!) and while packing last week I informed him that as soon as we got settled we would be taking a trip to Los Angeles as I “have nothing to blog about.” His response? “Yeah, just like you have nothing in your closet to wear!” He’s right, of course. My stalking backlog is ridiculously long. There are locales in my stockpile (pun intended) dating back almost a decade that I have yet to write about! Case in point –SPARCinLA, aka the former Venice Division of the Los Angeles Police Department, which Mike, from MovieShotsLA, alerted me to during a stalking adventure way back in July 2009. As I’ve mentioned many times before, Mike is like a walking/talking encyclopedia of the city. It is always such a treat driving around L.A. with him and watching him point out various spots and their respective filming resumes. That particular 2009 day, while journeying down Venice Boulevard, Mike happened to identify a small Art Deco-style structure on our right, explaining that it was the jail where Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley) was taken after getting arrested in the Season 1 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “B.Y.O.B.” We decided to pull over to snap some pics and were thrilled to discover that the building was open to the public! (For reasons I no longer remember, I did not take any photos that day – I am guessing my camera was dead by the time we got to the station. So Mike was generous enough to share his for me to post here.)

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Built in 1929, the two-story reinforced concrete structure that now houses SPARCinLA served as Venice Police Station Division 14 through March 1973, when the department moved to its current home, the Pacific Area Community Police Station at 12312 Culver Boulevard in Del Rey.

SPARCinLA, aka the Social and Public Art Resource Center, took over the building in 1977, transforming it into a community cultural center comprised of an art gallery, exhibition space, special collections, a mural lab, archives, a darkroom, offices, and studios.

Miraculously, much of the site’s original detailing and furnishings were left intact. SPARCinLA is essentially a museum housed inside the confines of a former working police station and jail. It definitely makes for a unique environment to peruse art.

In fact, the setting is like a work of art in and of itself.

I absolutely love the view of the palm trees framed through the windows below.

Because so many of the original elements have not been altered or touched, stepping into the space feels very much like stepping into a police station from the 1950s – which makes it prime for filming. And Hollywood has definitely taken note.

In the “B.Y.O.B.” episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, which aired in 1991, Brandon spends the night at the former Venice station after getting arrested for drunk driving following a car accident.

SPARCinLA only appears in exterior shots of the jail in the episode. Though the interior of the site is used regularly for filming (as you will see when you read further), Mike and I looked all over for Brandon’s cell and the visiting room where Jim and Cindy Walsh (James Eckhouse and Carol Potter, respectively) waited for him, but couldn’t find them anywhere. I am unsure where interior footage was lensed, but, as you can see below, it does look to have been an actual prison of some sort and not a set. Because of that, I am guessing that the exterior shots were likely re-used footage from another Aaron Spelling series. I highly doubt that production went all the way to the former Venice station to film exteriors and then to a different jail location for interiors, when they could have just shot interiors onsite. Strange things happen all the time during shoots, though, especially location-wise, so who knows?

That didn’t stop me from doing a little re-creation of Brandon’s stint behind bars. Winking smile

In the 1976 crime comedy Moving Violation, Division 14 portrays the jail where Alex Warren (Eddie Albert) discusses the surrender of his clients Eddie Moore (Stephen McHattie) and Cam Johnson (Kay Lenz).

The exterior of the building pops up as the exterior of the Anderson Police Station in Assault on Precinct 13, which was also released in 1976.

Only the outside of the structure is shown in the film. The interior of the Anderson station was just a soundstage-built set.

Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) is sent to the former Venice jail after getting arrested for crashing into several cars in a parking lot and then subsequently ripping up his driver’s license in front of a cop – he has a “terrific problem with authority,” after all – in the 1977 comedy Annie Hall.

The station’s interior was also seen briefly in the film.

In the 1980 drama The Jazz Singer, Jess Robin (Neil Diamond) and his bandmates wind up in jail at Division 14 after a fight breaks out during one of their gigs.

SPARCinLA portrays Santa Monica Police Station #4, where Frances Farmer (Jessica Lange) is taken after one of her arrests, in Frances. The building’s exterior . . .

. . . lobby . . .

. . . and jail area all appear in the 1982 biopic.

In 1984’s The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (and I thought Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death was a terrible name for a movie!), the site plays the role of the New Brunswick Police Station . . .

. . . where Penny Priddy (Ellen Barkin) is imprisoned.

Angela Bennett (Sandra Bullock) is taken there after her arrest following a car chase with the police in The Net. The 1995 thriller made use of the building’s lobby . . .

. . . and jail area.

SPARCinLA is one of three locations that masquerades as the Hollywood Police Station in the 1997 drama L.A. Confidential. While the Pacific Electric Building in downtown L.A. appears in all of the bullpen and office scenes and the abandoned Lincoln Heights Jail pops up in the prison sequences, Division 14 is featured in the lobby bits.

In the 2000 comedy Nurse Betty, Betty Sizemore (Renée Zellweger) is taken to the former Venice police station to be evaluated by a psychologist after witnessing her husband’s murder.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for telling me about this location and for providing all of the photos that appear in this post. Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: SPARCinLA, aka the former Venice Police Station Division 14 from the “B.Y.O.B.” episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, is located at 685 Venice Boulevard in Venice. You can visit the center’s official website here. The property is open to the public every Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m. when exhibitions are being held.

March 20, 2017March 14, 2017

Palindrome Healing Center from “Flaked”

Some images just stay with you. When I came across these MLS photos of a Venice Beach home on Curbed Los Angeles back in 2008, I practically started drooling and the words “real estate porn” immediately came to mind. The pictures of the dramatically unique Moroccan-inspired dwelling, especially the ones of the meandering pool, seared themselves into my brain. So I was thrilled to spot the pad when scanning through episodes of Flaked early last year while writing this Los Angeles magazine post about the Netflix series’ locations. Though I added the abode to my To-Stalk List right then and there, it was not until just recently that I was finally able to get out to Venice to see it in person.

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The residence’s flat, boxy, concrete exterior belies nothing of its interior beauty. From the outside, the place almost looks like a warehouse.

But hidden behind the dwelling’s drab exterior walls is a magical Moorish- and Moroccan-style oasis, marked by lush greenery, rooms that traverse both indoor and outdoor space, a meandering pool that moves throughout the property, and sleek, sharp lines. (Pictured below are two of the MLS images from Curbed that so enthralled me. You can see some more fabulous photos of the home’s interior here and here.)

Thanks to Curbed commenter spinsLPs, I learned that the extraordinary residence belongs to Phillip Dixon. The prolific photographer purchased the site in 1978, when it consisted solely of a wooden cottage and a vacant former market that Phillip turned into his studio. He eventually tore down the house, leaving the studio intact, and, per spinsLPs, commissioned architect Brian Murphy of BAM Construction/Design, Inc. to build a modern residence in its in place. You can see what that structure looked like here. In 1993, the pad was re-designed once more, this time by Dixon himself, as well as (and this is once again per spinsLPs) architect Charles Ward. Of the design, Dixon said in a C Home article, “In architecture, everything designs itself based on what you want. You have to look at where the light comes from; you have to look where the wind comes from. And then you have to know how you want to live. And the way I wanted to live was with the pool and the garden and the house all incorporated into one.”

I’d say Dixon achieved his goal. The residence seamlessly meshes indoor and outdoor space to the point that, when looking at pictures, you almost don’t know which is which.

Philip also designed all of the home’s furniture and furnishings, which are built-in. Of the artful concept, Philip said, “For me, normal furniture and paintings and all of that stuff is just jewelry. When a place is done, you shouldn’t have to put anything in it or on the walls. It’s already decorated; it’s already furnished. And also, it flows. So you have the seats, the tables, everything works together. And you just put the cushion on it and it’s easy maintenance.” The result of his efforts is an aesthetic that is both minimalist and baroque at the same time. Or as a different Curbed commenter described it, “Tatooine chic.” (If you don’t get the reference, Google it. )

I mean, even the garage is spectacular!

The 4,380-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 3-bath property was put up for sale in January 2008 for a cool $13 million, but there were apparently no bites as the price was dropped to $10 million in May of that year and then slashed again to $8.295 million in July before being taken off the market altogether. The home has since been the site of numerous special events, as well as filmings.

In the Season 1 episode of Flaked titled “Palms,” the residence masked as Palindrome Healing Center, the Palm Springs-area holistic spa that Chip (Will Arnett), London (Ruth Kearney), Dennis (David Sullivan), and Jackie (Kirstie Alley) visited.

Several areas of the home were featured in the episode . . .

. . . but it is the pool that was showcased most beautifully. I mean, can you even imagine this being your actual residence?

The property also portrayed the Los Angeles home where Jackie Q (Rose Byrne) lived in the 2010 comedy Get Him to the Greek.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The fictional Palindrome Healing Center from Flaked is actually a private home located at 418 Westminster Avenue in Venice.

December 3, 2015November 23, 2015

New “L.A.” Mag Post – “The Real World: Los Angeles” House

Be sure to check out today’s Scene it Before post for Los Angeles magazine about The Real World: Los Angeles house. My articles typically get published in the early afternoon hours.

January 12, 2015January 11, 2015

Big Red Sun from “Chef”

Spoiler alert! If you have not yet seen Chef (and if not, what’s the hold up? I told y’all on Friday that it was one of my favorite movies of 2014!), you might not want to read today’s post as I will definitely be spoiling the ending. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Anyhow, at the conclusion of Chef, Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) is approached by his food critic nemesis, Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt), who informs him that he would like to financially back him in the opening of a new restaurant. Ramsey says that he has already secured a space for the venture on “Rose Avenue in Venice.” The movie then flashes six months into the future to a scene in which Carl is show re-marrying his ex-wife, Inez (Sofia Vergara), inside of his new eatery named El Jefe. Well, once I managed to track down Inez’s house from the flick, I immediately set about finding El Jefe. Thankfully, it was not that difficult of an undertaking.

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Because Ramsey had mentioned Rose Avenue when talking to Carl about the restaurant, I decided to begin my search there and, sure enough, found the El Jefe space at 560 Rose, just a few blocks west of Lincoln Boulevard. In real life, the space does not house an eatery, but a gift shop named Big Red Sun.

Actually to call the place a gift shop would be oversimplifying. In reality, Big Red Sun is a boutique, a nursery and a special events venue all rolled into one. The store was originally founded by landscape artist Selena Souders in 2008. Selena had first opened a Big Red Sun in Austin, Texas in 1994. She would often travel to Los Angeles to purchase succulent plants and other goods to sell there and soon was dreaming of opening a West Coast outpost. She acquired an adorable little cottage in 2007, painted it royal blue and repurposed it into a retail space. Big Red Sun: Venice was opened the following year. (The Texas outpost is still in operation, as well.) Because the site is so unique, Selena also decided to offer it up to host special events. You can check out some photographs of a wedding held on the premises here. (Notice the pics of David Foster at the top of the page! Loves it!)

I fell in love with Big Red Sun upon first glance. The shop sells some of the most unique items for the home that I have ever seen. I ended up purchasing the really cool coconut shell-looking planter pictured below to put in the Grim Cheaper’s advent calendar. (He is a major green thumb.) The site sells many nursery-type materials, but also stocks specialty gifts and home décor items. Had I had more time to spend there, I am sure I would have purchased countless other goodies.

I so wanted to come home with the amazing succulent garden pictured below, but I am pretty sure the GC would have killed me.

Chef made extensive use of the Big Red Sun property . . .

. . . and featured several areas of the store, including the front exterior.

In the movie, the El Jefe sign was placed where the Big Red Sun signage is in real life.

The interior was also used in Chef. For the shoot, all of the shop’s shelving and display pieces were removed to make the space look more like a restaurant. Despite that fact, though, it is still very recognizable from its onscreen appearance. I did not take any photos of the inside of the store as a large shipment of products had just been delivered and there were countless boxes scattered about the center of the room. Wish I could have stuck around to peruse what was in those boxes, because, as I said, the merchandise I did see was amazing. You can check out some photographs of the inside of Big Red Sun on Apartment Therapy here.

The store’s gorgeous backyard was also featured in the movie.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Big Red Sun, aka El Jefe restaurant from Chef, is located at 560 Rose Avenue in Venice. You can visit the shop’s official website here.

December 15, 2014December 12, 2014

Chaya Venice from “The Holiday”

It’s finally that time of year again, folks! Time for some Christmas-themed posts! And I could NOT be more excited. First up is a locale that I had been searching for for years – the sushi restaurant where Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) and Miles (Jack Black) dined towards the end of The Holiday. During my lengthy search for the eatery, I spent countless hours inputting terms like “sushi restaurant,” “The Holiday” and “filming” into Google, but always came up empty-handed. Then, this year, I decided to ask for some help and called in my friend Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, to see if he could work his magic in finding it. Sure enough, he did! After numerous Google inquiries using, as he stated, “Soooooooo many combinations and permutations” of terms, he sent an email to The Holiday’s production manager who got back to him right away and informed him that the restaurant was in Venice. Adding “Venice” to his search terms led him to a Yelp review of Chaya Venice, in which a patron named Hayley M. mentioned that the place had appeared in The Holiday. Yahoo! So I ran right on over there for lunch while I was in L.A. a couple of weeks ago.

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Chaya Venice was originally founded by the Tsunoda family in 1990. The Tsunodas’ tenure in the culinary field is an extensive one that has lasted almost forty decades. Yes, you read that right – forty decades! About 390 years ago, the family set up shop, so to speak, under a large tree in Hayama, Japan, where they served tea and snacks to travelers on horseback who happened to pass by. At some point thereafter, they opened an inn on the site, which was eventually transformed into a Japanese restaurant that they named “Hikage Chaya.” (Chaya means “teahouse” in Japanese.) It is still open today. A second restaurant, La Maree de Chaya, which served French food, soon followed.

In the 1980s, the Tsunodas migrated to the United States and, in 1984, opened Chaya Brasserie in Beverly Hills. It, too, is still in operation today. Sister restaurants, including Chaya Venice, soon began to pop up and there are currently four Chaya outposts located throughout California. The eateries, which serve French/Japanese cuisine, are headed by executive chef Shigefumi Tachibe, who just so happens to be the inventor of tuna tartare. He created the dish at Chaya Brasserie the same year that the eatery opened, after a patron requested an alternative to the steak tartare that was then being offered on the prix-fixe menu. The rest, as they say, is history.

I absolutely loved my experience at Chaya Venice! While I am not a fan of sushi (I do not like most fish), I opted for some veggie rolls and they were delish! The staff also could not have been nicer to me and answered all of my silly little questions about the filming of The Holiday. The atmosphere of the place is quite beautiful, too. It is not very hard to see why Chaya Venice wound up being featured on the silver screen.

I was particularly obsessed with the restaurant’s painted ceiling. Gorgeous!

In The Holiday, Chaya Venice was where Miles and Iris were eating lunch when Miles’ ex-girlfriend, Maggie (Shannyn Sossamon), called to tell him she wanted him back.

As you can see, the place looks much the same in person as it did onscreen.

“Accidental boob graze!”

The Holiday is not the only production to have been lensed at Chaya Venice. In the Season 5 episode of The Hills titled “Mess with Me, I Mess With You,” which was filmed in 2009, Stephanie Pratt and Audrina Patridge grabbed lunch at the eatery and discussed Kristin Cavallari and Justin Bobby’s burgeoning relationship.

And in the Season 5 episode of Californication titled “The Ride-Along,” which aired in 2012, Chaya Venice was where Richard Bates (Jason Beghe) got naked while standing on a sushi bar.

The entrance to Chaya Venice also appeared in the episode.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online.

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Owen, from the When Write Is Wrong blog, for finding this location! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Chaya Venice, from The Holiday, is located at 110 Navy Street in Venice. You can visit the eatery’s official website here.

February 11, 2014February 11, 2014

Reed’s House from “Valentine’s Day”

Many moons ago (July 2012 to be exact), Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I ventured out to Venice for a day of stalking. Most of our time was spent at the Venice Canals (the history of which you can read here), one of my favorite spots in all of Los Angeles. As I mentioned in my previous posts about the area, while there, Mike continuously pointed out filming locations as we walked by (the site is chock full of them!). One locale he identified that I was particularly interested in was the residence where Reed Bennett (Ashton Kutcher) lived in the 2010 romantic comedy Valentine’s Day. So, since the holiday of love is fastly approaching, I figured what better time than now to finally blog about the place.

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Reed’s clapboard residence, which sits overlooking the Grand Canal, is absolutely idyllic, as you can see below. From what I’ve been able to discern from Zillow, the 0.06-acre plot of land where the home now stands was purchased in November 1975 for $10,000. Construction on the dwelling was completed in 1978 and it has not changed hands since – understandably! If I owned that place, I’d never sell it either!

The property looks exactly the same in person as it did onscreen in Valentine’s Day – minus the wetsuits that were seen hanging from the balcony in the movie.

In real life, the two-story dwelling boasts three bedrooms, three baths, and 2,216 square feet of living space.

Because it was seen only briefly, I believe that the home’s actual interior was also used in the filming, but, unfortunately, I could not find any photographs of the inside of the place to verify that hunch.

The bridge that appeared throughout the film is located directly in front of Reed’s house and crosses over Grand Canal.

Because of what takes place there at the end of Valentine’s Day (I won’t spoil it for those of you who have yet to see the movie), I was actually more excited to pose for a picture on the bridge than I was in front of Reed’s house.

Thanks to the Simon and Simon website, I learned that Reed’s residence was also used as the home where A.J. Simon (Jameson Parker) lived on Simon & Simon. At the time that the series was filmed in the 1980s, the property looked quite a bit different than it does today and the lot next door to it was also vacant. (The yellow house seen in the photographs above was not built until 1988.)

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Reed’s house from Valentine’s Day is located at 2604 Grand Canal in Venice.

December 17, 2009December 16, 2009

The Venice Christmas Show

This past weekend, my good friend and fellow stalker Kerry and her husband flew out to California for a little Winter stalking visit. The main purpose of their trip was to attend a Christmas concert on Saturday night put on by a local band named Venice. Kerry has been a fan of Venice since she was in her teens and actually used to know a few members of the group personally. And even though I was not familiar with the band, when she invited my fiancé and I to tag along with her to the show, I jumped at the opportunity. I’m always up for anything having to do with Christmas. 🙂 Venice first started out back in 1977 and is comprised of four members – brothers Mike and Mark Lennon and their cousins, brothers Kipp and Pat Lennon – all of whom grew up in the Venice area, hence their name. Kipp and Pat are the younger siblings of Lawrence Welk Show regulars The Lennon Sisters, so I think it’s pretty safe to say that this is one VERY musical family. 🙂 Even though Venice usually plays smaller venues, as was the case this part Saturday night, they are an extremely popular group and have been featured on such shows as Entertainment Tonight, Live With Regis and Kathie Lee, E! News Daily, CNN’s Showbiz Today, as well as countless others. They have also appeared onstage or collaborated with such musical legends as Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Phil Collins, Bon Jovi, Dolly Parton, The Beach Boys, and The Doobie Brothers, among many, many others. And while Venice has enjoyed much success in America, their biggest fan base is actually located in the Netherlands where they perform several shows each year. But after seeing the show this past Saturday night, I think it’s safe to say that their American fan club has a new member because I absolutely fell in love with the foursome. In fact, their “Christmas With Venice” CD is quickly becoming one of my holiday favorites! 🙂

And while the three hour plus concert was absolutely phenomenal – Venice even played some Jackson 5! – the highlight of the evening for me had to be when Kerry and I got to meet actress Teri Polo, of Meet The Parents fame. One of Kerry’s friends, who we met up with before the concert began, knew about my blog and my penchant for celebrities and told me to keep my eyes open during the performance as Teri might just make an appearance. As it turns out, Teri is the long time girlfriend of Venice’s drummer, Jamie Wollam. It is here that I should mention that a Venice concert is not your average, everyday concert event. Even though the Lennons are very well-known in the music industry, they are all extremely laid back and approachable. Apparently, a few years back, Mike Lennon invited an entire audience over to HIS HOUSE for a pancake breakfast the morning following one of their shows!! How incredibly cool is that??? Anyway, the concert venue was very intimate and instead of amphitheatre-style seating, regular tables and chairs were set up, complete with homemade Chex Mix laid out for all of the guests. Seating was not based on price, but rather on when tickets were purchased and each seat was then marked with a tag denoting the audience member’s last name. Because Kerry’s husband was one of the very first to book seats, we were situated FRONT and CENTER. Literally, I think we had the best seats in the entire house! 🙂 Anyway, once I heard that Teri Polo might be in attendance, I spent the next twenty minutes or so scanning the name cards to see where she might be sitting! LOL No, I’m not a stalker, really!!!! 😉

I really needn’t have wasted all that time scoping out the tables, though, because once Teri walked in the door, I spotted her immediately! Even though it was fairly dark inside, she was pretty hard to miss. Teri is absolutely striking in person, with a long, long mane of shiny blonde hair. Once Teri got herself seated, Kerry and I immediately approached her to ask her if she wouldn’t mind taking a photograph with us. I have to admit I was a little nervous to do so after the whole Bruce Willis/”Doubtful” incident, but Teri honestly could NOT have been nicer. In fact, she is hands down one of the NICEST celebs I have ever met. Teri spoke with Kerry and me for a good ten minutes or so and once she heard that Kerry was visiting from Washington State, started talking about the time she spent there while filming the television series Northern Exposure. And get this, even though it has been a good 15 years since she acted on the show, she remembered some of its filming locations! LOVE IT! 🙂 While we were talking with Teri, my fiancé walked up and mentioned that he had seen a film crew setting up for the Meet the Fockers sequel while working in Downtown L.A. a few weeks ago, to which Teri said “Oh, I’m sorry, I hope we didn’t cause too much trouble for you while we were there!” See, what I mean, how nice is that??? LOVE HER!! Please excuse my hair in the above photograph – I was having major issues that day due to the rain and humidity in Santa Monica.

After the show, all of the band members came into the audience to sign autographs and pose for pictures. SO LOVE IT! Kerry was lucky enough to get photos with each member of the group, including Kipp;

Pat;

Mike;

and Mark.

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Mark was the nicest out of the whole group and, let me tell you, I just about fell over when he recognized Kerry almost immediately after she walked up to him, even though he had not seen her in over twenty years and had no idea she would be attending the concert that night. SO DARN COOL!

And, of course, Kerry and I both just had to get a picture with Teri Polo’s boyfriend, drummer Jamie Wollam. Jamie spent about fifteen minutes speaking with us and – just like his girlfriend – truly could NOT have been nicer!!!! He didn’t even get annoyed when BOTH Kerry and I had flash trouble with our cameras. It took several minutes before we figured out why our flashes weren’t working, at which point I think even I would have been annoyed with us. 😉 But Jamie took everything in stride and was extremely gracious about the whole thing, even joking that the flash malfunction had to do with the fact that he was actually a vampire. 🙂 After meeting Jamie, it’s not at all hard to see why he is going out with Teri Polo – they are easily two of the nicest celebrities that I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting! 🙂

Randomly enough, the Venice Christmas Show was held in the Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club, which, like most venues in the L.A. area, also happens to be a common filming location! The woman I spoke with was not sure what productions the hall has been used in over the years, but I did some digging and was able to find out that it will be featured in the yet-to-be-released movie The Social Network, based on the life story of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. And while I didn’t get many photographs of the Woman’s Club interior, I definitely plan on re-stalking the place after The Social Network premieres. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Venice will be playing several California shows in the near future. You can find out more information on the official Venice website. The Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club is located at 1210 4th Street in Santa Monica. You can visit its official website here.

September 16, 2009September 16, 2009

The 13 Going On 30 Bar

Those of you who read my blog regularly know that the restaurant where Jennifer Garner hit on the 13-year-old boy in fave movie 13 Going On 30 has long been a thorn in my side. For whatever reason, it seems that no matter how hard I tried or how badly I wanted to stalk it, I just couldn’t seem to track the place down! I came fairly close last year, when Mike, from MovieShotsLA, managed to find what was used as the exterior of the restaurant on a cobblestone street in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. But, as fate would have it, the SoHo location turned out to be a clothing store that was used solely for exterior filming, while the interior scenes were shot at another location altogether. But where???? Finally, last week, I decided to enlist the help of fellow stalker Owen, who promised to track down a few of the 13 Going On 30 crew members and hopefully get an answer for me. Ironically enough, I had told Owen that time was of the essence in this particular stalking endeavor as I wanted to stalk the restaurant during my upcoming trip to New York. Well, come to find out, much like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, it turns out that the location I was searching for was right in my own backyard the whole time! 🙂 It wasn’t an hour later that I got a text back from Owen which read “Interested in hitting on 13-year-old boys? Head to Hal’s Bar at 1349 Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice”. Well, let me tell you I almost fell over right then and there! I could NOT believe that the this WHOLE TIME the restaurant had been in L.A., literally right under my nose! LOL So, of course, I immediately dragged my boyfriend right out to FINALLY stalk it. 🙂

For those who have never seen 13 Going On 30, the scene that takes place at Hal’s restaurant involves Jennifer Garner (as a 13-year-old stuck in a 30-year- old’s body) drinking some cocktails at a bar in New York with BFF Judy Greer. At one point, Judy leans over and whispers to Jennifer “Mr. Hottie behind you is totally scamming on you right now!” So, of course, Jennifer gets up to go talk to him, but instead of walking up to the older gentleman standing at the bar, she heads over to a 13-year-old boy sitting in a booth and tells him she thinks he is cute. Judy freaks out, grabs Jennifer, and says “What do you want to go to jail? I meant that guy!” to which Jennifer replies, “The man? Oh, gross!” LOL LOL LOL You can watch the entire scene here.

Amazingly enough, while the decor of the 13 Going On 30 restaurant is pretty much exactly the same in person as it was in the movie, I had a really hard time recognizing the place once there. In fact, even though I have been actively searching for this location for years, had I randomly eaten at Hal’s, I probably never would have recognized it as the 13 Going On 30 restaurant. LOL As you can see in the above screen captures and photographs, while most of the background paintings were changed for the filming, for the most part the restaurant looks very much the same in real life as it did onscreen. One of the things that threw me, though, was the fact that, in real life, Hal’s is a fairly large restaurant, but, because 13 Going On 30 only showed one small section of it, it appeared to be tiny in the movie. When I first walked in, I was shocked at how big the place actually was.

But the biggest shock for me was actually the lighting. In real life, Hal’s is extremely bright and open, with one wall made up almost entirely of windows. In the movie, though, the place seemed very dark and cozy, much like a real New York restaurant would be. As you can see in the above photograph and screen capture, producers actually had all of Hal’s front windows covered over for the shoot, which really made a difference in the look and feel of the restaurant. In fact, the entire time we were there, I kept saying to my boyfriend “This place is so bright, but it was dark in the movie!!!! I don’t get it!” LOL Ah, the magic of Hollywood!

In an ironic side note – While attempting to locate the restaurant, I had spent WEEKS trying to figure out what the sign behind Judy Greer in the above screen capture spelled out. Countless times, I had Googled the terms “New York” along with all sorts of different combinations of words ending with “–ECKAS” and the phrase “bar & grill” to try to figure it out – all to no avail. Which makes sense now, being that the sign was a fake put up for decoration at the New York location where exterior filming took place.

But what doesn’t make sense is that when I finally got to stalk the restaurant, I noticed that producers had used part of the Hal’s Bar & Grill logo for their fake sign in New York. You’ll notice in the above screen capture and photograph that the oddly-placed “S” in the Hal’s Bar & Grill logo is EXACTLY the same as the oddly-placed “S” in the fake restaurant sign that was at the New York location. I’m not sure why producers went to all the trouble of creating a fake name and a fake logo that incorporated a part of the real restaurant’s real logo. Why not just use the real thing??? LOL But that’s Hollywood for you! 🙂

And, as if getting to eat at the 13 Going On 30 restaurant was not excitement enough for one day, while walking to our car afterwards we happened upon Desperate Housewife Marcia Cross sitting on a bench outside of a nearby shop. Ironically enough, the only reason I noticed her at all was because, as I walked by, she looked up and gave me an absolutely ENORMOUS smile. I was a bit taken aback by that as people in L.A. don’t typically smile like that at strangers. And it was while smiling back at her that I all of a sudden realized she was Marcia Cross! I so wanted to ask her to take a picture with me, but, as it was an extremely busy afternoon on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, I didn’t want to attract a bunch of attention to her. But, after we walked across the street, I begged my fiancé to snap a quick paparazzi pic of her for my blog – for which she also smiled. 🙂 So cool!!!

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I cannot recommend stalking Hal’s Bar & Grill enough! The food is EXCELLENT – especially the burgers! – and I had an absolute blast being there.

Big THANK YOU to Owen for finding this location! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Hal’s Bar and Grill, aka the 13 Going On 30 bar, is located at 1349 Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice. You can visit their website here.

September 15, 2009September 15, 2009

Jason Segel’s I Love You, Man House

One location I have been wanting to stalk for what seems like forever now is Jason Segel’s (aka Sydney Fife’s) Venice Beach area house and “Man Cave’” from fave movie I Love You, Man. Fellow stalker Owen actually tracked down this location for me MONTHS ago, but since I rarely get out to the Venice area, I had yet to stalk it. So, last weekend, my fiancé and I – armed with a notebook full of Venice area locations – finally made the pilgrimage out to L.A.’s West Side to stalk Sydney’s house.

In I Love You, Man, Sydney Fife lives in an adorable little beach bungalow just a few steps away from the Venice Beach Boardwalk and the Pacific Ocean. And I absolutely fell in love with the place as soon as I laid eyes on it in the movie. But I am sad to report that the house actually looks much different in person than it did in I Love You, Man. In fact, even though it’s hardly been a year since filming took place, had Owen not given me the address, I could have easily walked right by the home without even recognizing it. 🙁

As you can see in the above photographs and screen captures, changes to the house include the paint color (which I actually think was a lot cuter in the movie), the addition of two sets of hedges and a new lawn to the front yard, and the removal of the cement walkway leading up to the home’s front door. I am guessing though, that before the movie was filmed, the house looked pretty much the same as it does today and that producers made all of the above mentioned alterations solely for the filming and then returned the home to its original state after the movie was wrapped. It sure seems like a whole bunch of work to go through, though, and makes me wonder why producers just didn’t find a different house that more closely fit their needs to use in the movie. But that’s Hollywood for you. 🙂

While stalking the house, my fiancé and I, of course, had to go around back to check out the garage area which housed Jason Segal’s “Man Cave” in the movie. Sadly, though, the garage has also changed considerably since the filming of I Love You, Man. Besides the change in paint color, a new garage door and side fence have been added since the movie was filmed.

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But here’s the good news! Apparently, in real life, Jason Segel’s I Love You, Man house is not really a home at all, but a fitness center and gym named Optimum Fitness. So, this is one stalking location that looks like it is – for the most part – open to the public! 🙂 And, best of all, if you sign up here, your first class there is free!! 🙂

On an “Only in L.A.” side note – According to Zillow, Sidney Fife’s one bedroom, one bath house measures only 666 square feet (that’s smaller than my apartment!), yet it sold for a whopping $1,125,000 in April of 2008! You gotta love L.A.! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Jason Segel’s house from I Love You, Man – aka Optimum Fitness gym – is located at 26 Rose Avenue in Venice. You can visit the Optimum Fitness website and sign up for a free class here.