The “Some Kind of Wonderful” Party House

While I was stalking Steff’s mansion from Pretty in Pink, which I blogged about last Thursday, fellow stalker Mike, from MovieShotsLA, texted me to let me know that the party house from another classic John Hughes-penned ‘80s movie, 1987’s Some Kind of Wonderful, was located literally just around the corner on Hudson Avenue. So I, of course, dragged the Grim Cheaper right on over there to stalk the place. I have to admit that I had actually not seen Some Kind of Wonderful in years, so as soon as the GC and I got home that evening, I popped in my DVD of the flick and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I had completely forgotten what a cute movie it is.

In Some Kind of Wonderful, Keith Nelson (Eric Stoltz) takes his dream girl, Amanda Jones (Lea Thompson), on an uber-date all over the city of Los Angeles. One of their stops is the mansion belonging to Amanda’s former boyfriend, mean-boy Hardy Jenns (Craig Sheffer), where a high school party is being held.

I am fairly certain that the real life interior of the home was used in the filming of the party scene, as well, but I was unable to find any photographs of the place online with which to verify that hunch.

In real life, the Some Kind of Wonderful party house, which was originally built in 1925, boasts seven bedrooms, six baths, 6,488 square feet, and almost half an acre of land. As you can see below, the Tudor-style mansion is quite spectacular in person. While the GC and I were outside snapping pics of the place, the owners happened to pull out of their driveway and, when they saw us, they waved with a look on their face which suggested that fans stalking their home was a regular occurrence. Love it!

As it turns out, Some Kind of Wonderful and Pretty in Pink share more in common than their writer, director (Howard Deutch), and Hancock Park filming locations. According to IMDB’s Pretty in Pink trivia page, the original ending of the flick had Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald) and Duckie (Jon Cryer) winding up together. After a poor reaction from test audiences, though, the studio forced John Hughes to write a new ending in which Andie would choose Blaine McDonnagh (Andrew McCarthy). Hughes never apparently liked the way the flick turned out and, in response, wrote an almost identical story the following year, but with the ending he wanted. That story turned out to be Some Kind of Wonderful. While re-watching the flick, I was amazed at the many similarities it had to Pretty in Pink. Excluding the ending, the two movies are virtually one and the same. In another interesting twist, Hughes wanted Molly Ringwald to play Amanda Jones in Some Kind of Wonderful (a role that ultimately went to Lea Thompson), but, hoping to branch out from her teen princess roles, she turned down the part and Molly and Hughes did not speak for the next twenty years.

My friend Owen let me know that the very same pad also portrayed the residence of Dr. Russell Oakes (Jason Robards) in the 1983 made-for-television movie The Day After.

On a stalking side-note – my good friend Nat set up an IAMNOTASTALKER Facebook page for me a few years back, but, for whatever reason, I never really did anything with it. Well, all that is about to change! I finally added a cover photo and will be regularly updating my News Feed. So, if you get a chance, be sure to head on over there and gimme a “Like”. You can also “friend” me on Facebook page here. I just created an IAMNOTASTALKER About Me page, as well, which you can check out here. And if you are not already following me on Twitter, you can do so here. Yes, my fellow stalkers, IAMNOTASTALKER is finally taking it to the next level! Woot woot!

And on another stalking side-note – while watching Extra being taped last Thursday afternoon at The Grove, I got picked to ask actor Colin Egglesfield an on-air question. That is me with host Renee Bargh and Colin below. Big THANK YOU to my girl, Miss Pinky Lovejoy, of the Thinking Pink blog, for snapping the pics! The episode should be airing sometime this week, so keep your eyes peeled! I have been watching Extra over the past couple of days, though, and it does not seem as if the fan questions ever actually air, but fingers crossed that mine will!

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Some Kind of Wonderful party house is located at 516 South Hudson Avenue in Hancock Park. Liam Court’s (cutie Matt Lanter – sigh!) house from fave show 90210 is located just up the street at 401 South Hudson Avenue. Steff’s mansion from Pretty in Pink is located right around the corner at 366 South June Street in Hancock Park. The Erle M. Leaf House, aka the Residence of the Los Angeles British Consuls-General where Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, stayed in July 2011, is also located right around the corner at 450 South June Street.

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