Bowfinger International Pictures from “Bowfinger”

I am a sucker for any movie about Los Angeles.  Coincidentally (or perhaps no so coincidentally), Steve Martin has written and starred in two of my favorites – L.A. Story and Bowfinger.  Two completely different takes on life in LaLaLand, but both equally valid and poignant.  Because I originally moved to Southern California to pursue an acting career, Bowfinger really hit home for me.  Especially the scene in which wannabe actress Daisy (Heather Graham) jumped off the bus that transported her from Ohio to Hollywood, suitcase in hand, and asked of random passersby, “Where do I go to be an actress?”  That was so me when I moved to SoCal – bright-eyed, full of dreams and so, so naïve.  Who am I kidding, that is still so me – the dreams have just shifted a bit.  So when Mike, from MovieShotsLA, told me years back that he had tracked down the bungalow that served as both the residence of Robert K. Bowfinger (Martin) and the headquarters of Bowfinger International Pictures in the flick, I immediately added it to my To-Stalk list.  Somehow, though, I did not make it over there until a couple of weeks ago.

Sadly, the house has changed considerably since filming took place.  While the columned portico stationed around the front door was a set piece added for the filming and never an actual fixture of the property, the front door itself used to be in the same spot it was shown to be in Bowfinger, but has since been moved.

Mike took some photographs of the residence a couple of years ago and, as you can see, the location of the front door at that time matched what appeared onscreen.  You can check out some other pictures of what the front door originally looked like here and here.

The door has since been covered over and moved to the side of the dwelling, as you can see in the image below (which I got off of the Yelp page for the FunHouse 420 Café and Lounge which was formerly housed in the bungalow).

Oddly enough, though, while taking a closer look at Bowfinger I noticed that an opening in that area was visible, so it seems that the home used to have two front doors.

Despite the front door alteration, the dwelling is still recognizable from the movie.

The area surrounding it is not, though.  While the neighborhood used to be chock full of bungalows and apartment buildings, it now consists mainly of parking lots.  The Bowfinger house is pretty much the only home in the vicinity still standing.  And, sadly, it does not look like it will remain so for long.  The land the residence is located on is currently being offered for sale (for $5million!) for the purpose of building a high-tech storage facility.

I am fairly certain that the interior of Bowfinger International Pictures was a set and not the bungalow’s actual interior, which you can see some photographs of here.

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 finding this location and for loaning me the picture that appears in this post!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Bowfinger International Pictures from Bowfinger is located at 1621 Vista Del Mar Avenue in Hollywood.

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