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Showing posts with label Los Angeles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Los Angeles. Show all posts

Wednesday 10 June 2015

Flying Gremlin Attack

It's one of them!

Location: Burbank, California, USA
Address: 3400 West Riverside Drive
Date: Feb 2014
Website:  vipstudiotour.warnerbros.com

  In Gremlins 2 there are all sorts of gremlins loose in a science lab.  The poor Futtermans, who surprisingly survived the first movie, are in New York visiting Billy & Kate.  Once again they find themselves in a situation with one of the creatures.  As a result of one gremlin becoming mixed with a bat and some genetic sunblock it flies out into the city.  The Futtermans are standing in front of  the Cathedral of Saint Eva Marie when it swoops down from the sky.  The joke here is that Eva Marie Saint is an Academy Award winning actress for her work in On The Waterfront.

Greek food and Gremlins.

  This scene was filmed on New York Street at Warner Brothers Studios.  The gremlin flies down and attacks Mr. Futterman in front of A Taste Of Greece restaurant.  This was located just to the right of the awning in the photo above.  He struggles with the gremlin as they move down the sidewalk past two big store windows.  He finally manages to get the better of the gremlin and dunks him into some freshly poured concrete.  This happens at the end of the block in front of the entrance to the building below and just behind the pillar on the left.  The gremlin gets covered in concrete but still manages to fly up and land back on the church before the concrete finally hardens and he becomes a permanent gargoyle.  Concrete?  Reviewing our gremlin rules we know that you never want to get them wet or they will multiply.  We also know that concrete is a mixture of water and cement.  This scene could have ended quite differently. 

From Gremlin to Gargoyle.

    The front of this building may already be familiar to fans of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.  It served as the Daily Planet newspaper building, but in the picture above it is missing it's giant metal globe.  The stars of the show were a pre-Desperate Housewives Teri Hatcher as Lois and Dean Cain as Superman. 


See more locations from the Warner Bros. Studio Backlot.

Map of Our World
Flying Gremlin Attack

Post # 56

Friday 10 April 2015

Deagle / Seaver House

Deagle, Deagle, Deagle!

Location: Burbank, California, USA
Address: 3400 West Riverside Drive
Date: Feb 2014
Website:  vipstudiotour.warnerbros.com

  While taking the Warner Brothers VIP Studio Tour our golf cart stopped right in front of the last house on Midwest Street.  Our guide let us know that this house was featured in the movie Gremlins, as well as on the TV show Growing Pains.  The house has changed a bit through the years as the extended front porch has been removed.  In Gremlins, the house belonged to mean Mrs. Deagle.  Mrs. Deagle was the owner of the Kingston Falls bank and was generally disliked.  Gremlins arrive at her front door and sing her some Christmas carols while one of them sabotages her electric stair chair.  She climbs into her chair and it runs out of control, speeds up the stairs and hurls her out the top floor window.

My God Frye. That was Mrs. Deagle.

  According to our Official Collector's Edition Gremlins Magazine, Bob MacDonald Sr. (Special Effects Supervisor) explains the troubles they encountered filming the scene.  "The first time we fired it, the dummy went clear across the street and landed on the porch of the house across the street".  That means the fake Mrs. Deagle ended up in front of this house (below), where a few years later Ross would almost take Rachel to the prom.

Here comes your knight in shining.....

  Gremlins hit theatres in June of 1984 and the following year Growing Pains first appeared on TV in September.  So it would have been just over a year from the time Mrs. Deagle abruptly moved out and the Seaver family moved in.  The house was only really featured during the Growing Pains opening credits when the family stands out front for a group shot and then they all turn and head inside.  Alan Thicke stays out front the longest as he enjoys being on camera.

Show me that smile again. Show me that smile.

  Anther appearance of this home is in The Lost Boys.  The two Coreys (Haim and Feldman) ride their bikes past as they head to church to get some holy water for their vampire problem.  The little white church is also situated on the Warner Brothers back lot.  The photo below was taken from just outside of what we affectionately refer to as the Deagle / Seaver house.

Little white church.


See more locations from the Warner Bros. Studio Backlot.

Map of Our World
Deagle / Seaver House

Post # 45

Wednesday 25 February 2015

General Hospital

Dr. Drake to surgery please.  Dr. Patrick Drake to surgery.

Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Address: 1983 Marengo St.
Date: Feb 2014
Website:  www.lacusc.org

  As you head north through Los Angeles on the I-5, just after the exit to the I-10 to San Bernadino, and as you continue north towards Sacramento, there is a familiar sight for soap opera fans.  Get into the right hand lane, roll down your windows and get your cameras ready.  Then as the traffic coming off of the I-10 merges with the I-5 point your cameras north-east and fire away.  This is how it worked for us, but if you are lucky enough to be stuck in a Los Angeles highway traffic jam then you may have plenty of time to view General Hospital.   
  General Hospital is currently the third longest running soap opera on television.  Only Guiding Light and As The World Turns have had more episodes, but both are no longer on the air.  General Hospital first aired in 1963 and recently celebrated 50 years.  The show takes place in the fictional town of Port Charles and never actually filmed inside of the hospital, (pictured above) but the hospital was featured in the opening credits.  In reality it is the LAC + USC Medical Center which is short for Los Angeles County and University of Southern California Medical Center.  The show is filmed at The Prospect Studios in the Los Feliz neighbourhood of LA.  Most of the characters on the show either work at General Hospital or have been a patient there for one reason or another.  They have given birth, emerged from comas, or recovered from numerous shootings, poisonings and car accidents.
  Even though the Medical Center is only seen in the opening credits, it has still been part of the show almost every weekday for the past few decades.  It is always fun to see the real world location.  On a previous trip to Los Angeles we also spotted actor Michael Easton in a North Hollywood Rite-Aid looking for help buying bottled water.  He played both John McBain and more recently Dr. Silas Clay on the show.  So always have your camera ready while you are in LA as there is either a television star or a filming location just up ahead.


Map of Our World
General Hospital

Post # 40

Thursday 26 June 2014

Warner Bros Studio VIP Tour

What's up Doc? How you doin'?

Location: Burbank, California, USA
Address: 3400 West Riverside Drive
Date: Feb 2014
Website:  vipstudiotour.warnerbros.com

 The Warner Bros. Studio Tour is a must for any TV or movie fan.  Since we are both big TV and movie fans we had to pay the studios a visit.  We went on a Sunday afternoon and not much was happening as far as productions on the lot, but we had the opportunity to see many of the places from productions in the past.

Warner Bros. Tour cart.

  You go around the studios in small groups riding in a cart like the one pictured above.  The tour guides don't follow any set pattern around the grounds so they can customize the tour based on your group's interests.  Be sure to talk to them and let them know what you like.  The highlights of our tour included a trip around the Backlot, some time to explore the Warner Museum and Picture Car Collection, a visit to the retired Central Perk set from Friends, a drive through The Mill and a visit to The Big Bang Theory and Pretty Little Liars sets.

I don't think anybody is home.

  You get a glimpse of just how fake everything is, because movies are always just concerned with what you see on screen.   Our guide was telling us how they use pull ties to put branches on the trees depending on what season they need it to be.  It is interesting to see how this all comes together in the finished product.  Even more exciting is knowing that you have been in the same exact spot where your favourite shows and films were created.

To see more of our trip to Warner Brothers, check out this permanent page of
Productions filmed on the Warner Bros. Backlot.

The Warner Brothers Water Tower.


Map of Our World
Warner Bros Studio VIP Tour

Post # 14

Thursday 17 April 2014

The Price Is Right

"A new car!"

Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Address: 7800 Beverly Blvd.
Date: Feb 2014
Website:  www.priceisright.com

"Whatever your name is! Come on down! You're the next contestant on The Price Is Right!"

  If you have ever wanted to hear your name called on The Price is Right, then this post is for you.  We attended the second  taping on  Feb 24th and the episode airs April 17th.  It is episode 6704.

Get Tickets
 The first thing to do is go online and get tickets.  We had thought about going and one night we went to The Price is Right website and there were some Priority Tickets available.  We booked it and then planned the rest of our trip around this date. This was about 2 months before the actual taping.  Priority Tickets allow you to show up and walk right in, seats guaranteed.  The next level is General Ticket and this means you have to line up and you should get in if you are early enough. On the day we went it looked like everyone who lined up made it into the show.

Arrive at the Studios
  The Price is Right is recorded at CBS Television City.  Just south of the studios is The Grove.   The Grove is an outdoor shopping center with a Farmer's Market attached.  This is where we enjoyed a meal both before and after the taping.  We needed to arrive at noon for the 4PM taping so we were prepared for a long day ahead.

Forms, Name tags and Pictures
  Once you arrive at the studios you go past the security into a covered outdoor area. This is where you get a number and fill out all the legal forms.  Be sure to have your social security number and for Canadians bring your SIN.  At this point you will also get your name tags shaped like a price tag.  We were impressed by the skill of the name tag writer who managed to fit a 9 letter first name onto the tag and still make it legible.  He laughed when we commented and proceeded to show us a picture from his phone of a 27 letter first name that was written over 3 different tags.  After getting tagged we then stood in front of a green screen and whooped as if we had just won a big prize. Later we had the opportunity to buy this picture for $20.00 with the big wheel stuck in behind us.

Waiting and Interviews
  The next part involves waiting your turn as audience members are interviewed in groups of 10 to decide who might be a good contestant.  Some people chose to use this time running around and trying to draw attention to themselves.  We were lucky enough to be seated beside a nice couple from Lompoc and their mother / mother-in-law.  We spent most of our time chatting and the time went rather quickly.  Finally it was our turn to be interviewed, and we were asked what we do for a living and a couple of other questions.

The Chosen Ones
  It seems that in order to be chosen, you need to be one of the following.
A) In a large group all wearing the same t-shirt and go to the taping on one member of your party's birthday.
B) Have served in the army, navy. air force, marines.
C) It also seems they tend to choose an equal amount of men and women so your chance should be 50/50 there.
D) Lastly they tend to like loud over-animated people.  We would best describe these people as a celebrity on a talk show.  You know how the host may make a joke and the guest would slap their knees and fall out of their seat, when a normal person might just politely chuckle.  Very exhausting to maintain.
Anyway we had the man and woman area covered, but did not get chosen as contestants for the show.

Entering the Studio
  Next we went through a metal detector to one last outside waiting area where food and drinks ($$) were offered, while they lasted.  Some people further back in the line either missed out on the chance to buy food or had the opportunity to wolf it down quickly as the studio doors opened.  At this point all cellphones/cameras were taken away and we were given a ticket to retrieve them later.  You can bring in purses and sweaters etc. and just keep them at your seat during the show.

The Taping
  Finally we entered the studio and were directed to two seats.  During the show George and Drew entertain the crowd during any pauses and the rest of the time it is very loud in there.  A stagehand stands off camera waves and gestures numbers to get the crowd going when the contestants are playing.  We were shouting out all kinds of random numbers as we lost track of what was going on.  When it came time to spin the big wheel and decide who is in the showcase and Drew asks if the contestant would like to say hi to anyone we could not hear a thing.  Except for the cheering and yelling that all blended into one big noise.  We look forward to watching the taping to see if anyone said hi to their mother who really wanted to be there but couldn't make it, or all their friends back in Wisconsin.

The End
  After the show ended, they called one more contestant to "Come on down!" and get a small prize.   This was not part of the taping so it was kind of odd and would be difficult for the chosen person to explain. "No I wasn't on TV but I was in the studio and they did call my name and I ran down... No. I didn't get to bid on anything but...  No. Drew Carey had already left..."
We had a good time and the day went by quicker than expected.  We recommend the experience.   Remember to have your pets spayed or neutered and we will see you next time on The Price is Right!

Map of Our World
The Price is Right
The Grove

Post # 9

Saturday 29 March 2014

Brady Bunch House

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Address: 11222 Dilling Street
Date: Feb 2014

Here's the story of a lovely house, that was home to three very lovely girls, and their mother.  It was also the home of a man called Brady and three boys of his own.  Oh, and let's not forget about Alice.  Some of you probably have a hunch we are talking about the house from The Brady Bunch.
This is the house that was used for the exterior shots of the Brady home.  The trees out front are a little taller, and the second floor window is missing.  After doing some research we discovered the reason why.  The Brady set had that long staircase going up from the living room, and this home had no second floor, so the show added the window before filming.  Instant second floor!
When we went to Los Angeles for the first time, we found out upon our return that from our hotel on Vineland Ave. we had been just a short walk away from the Brady house.  This time we made sure to stop by for a visit.  Carol, Mike, Greg, Marcia, Peter, Jan, Bobby, Cindy, Tiger and Alice don't live here any more, but we will always remember how this group somehow formed a family and became the Brady Bunch.


Map of Our World
Brady Bunch House

Post # 7

Thursday 20 March 2014

Cathedral Mausoleum (Talking Bad)

Respect the Chemistry


Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Address: 6000 Santa Monica Blvd.
Date: Feb 2014
Website: www.hollywoodforever.com

Breaking Bad is one of the greatest television dramas of all time.  During its final season there was an after show where celebrities and cast members would discuss the episode they had just watched.  This show was called Talking Bad.  The final Breaking Bad episode was aired before fans and then the final Talking Bad installment took place at the Cathedral Mausoleum in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.  Hollywood Forever is an unusual cemetery that often holds movie screenings and concerts on its grounds.

 Check out more about Hollywood Forever Cemetery


Map of Our World
Cathedral Mausoleum

Post # 5

Sunday 16 March 2014

Bronson Caves (aka The Batcave)


Bronson Caves

Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Address: Canyon Dr., Griffith Park
Date: Feb 2014


"Atomic batteries to power. Turbines to speed."
"Roger. Ready to move out."

  Fans of the 60s TV show Batman will want to see this location when visiting Griffith Park.  It is located not on any road that leads to the Griffith Observatory but further (Adam) West on Canyon Road.  We parked in a gravel parking lot and then entered the trail heading south.  We did notice the sign warning that there were rattlesnakes in the area but we had no intention of running off into the bushes or turning over rocks.  We stayed on the dirt road that was wide enough to drive a truck full of camera gear or a Batmobile through.

Holy hole in a donut.

  Just a short way up the trail and there on the left we spotted it.  In fact we looked straight through it.  It was missing some vegetation and there was no little red and white road barrier, but we knew we had reached our destination.  The caves had been created by a quarry that operated in the early 1900's and since then many film and television productions have used the site.  None has done so quite as famously as the Batman television series.
Now how do we get back from here?  I believe it is about 14 miles to Gotham City.

The Batcave


Map of Our World
Bronson Caves

Post # 2

Saturday 15 March 2014

Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Forever Peacocks

Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Address: 6000 Santa Monica Blvd.
Date: Feb 2014
Website: www.hollywoodforever.com

Right in the middle of Hollywood is a cemetery that is worth visiting.  The beautifully maintained grounds are a great place for a relaxing stroll.  There are many famous people who have chosen this as their final resting place.  A few notables we visited were Don Adams of Get Smart fame, and Johnny Ramone of The Ramones, whose bust rises out of his gravestone to forever strum away.

Rock n Roll Grave Stone
Would You Believe...

 One grave we had planned to visit was that of Mel Blanc, best known for being just about every voice you hear in the Looney Tunes cartoons.  We had expected to find him in "The Garden of Legends" so we wandered around the pond checking each grave in hopes the next was his.  Eventually we gave in and asked a groundskeeper for assistance.  He did not know where to find Mel, but did let us know that the flower shop has maps available.  Off to the flower shop where just a quick look at a map and we were on to plot #34.

Garden Of Legends

This took us back to "The Garden of Legends" which was still looking lovely with the sun shining and geese swimming in the waters.  Some time passed and again it was back to the flower shop, where maps cost $5.00. G. Mel Blanc resides in plot #84 (you see how that happened?) and has a simple gravestone that states That's All Folks.

That's All Folks

 We also had to say goodbye to the peacocks and the palm trees and headed out the cemetery gates straight towards the Hollywood sign.

Hollywood Forever


Map of Our World
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Mel Blanc , Johnny Ramone , Don Adams

Post # 1