The “Say Anything . . . ” Amphitheatre

Sorry to have been MIA the past couple of days.  The Grim Cheaper surprised me on Sunday morning with a two-night trip to Big Bear to play in the snow.  We had an absolute blast scurrying around in the frost and even managed to get some stalking in!  I will be blogging about those locations soon, but in the meantime, on with today’s post!  My recent Say Anything . . . kick is showing no signs of waning.  As of late, I have been working with an awesome guy named Greg, who runs The Uncool, Cameron Crowe’s official website, to try to track down some of the 1989 movie’s unknown locales.  He has proved invaluable and recently figured out that the graduation scene was lensed at Santa Monica College’s amphitheatre.  I had been on the hunt for that darn amphitheatre for what seemed like eons!  It was one location (of many) that constantly lingered at the back of my mind, always begging me to find it.  I cannot tell you how many Google searches I did for “amphitheatre” and “Los Angeles.”  I even thought I had found the right spot a few years back when I happened to walk by Blair High School in Pasadena and spotted its large outdoor theatre.  Upon arriving home later that day and comparing photos I snapped to screen caps from Say Anything . . . , I realized it was not the right place.  So when Greg informed me that he had found it, I was ecstatic!  That happiness didn’t last long, though.

Late last year, I recruited fellow stalker Michael, of The Golden Spoon Café and Downtown Christmas Shopping District from The Brady Bunch fame, to assist in the search for missing Say Anything . . . locations, so when I received the fabulous news from Greg regarding the amphitheatre, I immediately let Michael know.  He quickly shot me an email back, though, that quelled my excitement.  While doing some preliminary research on the amphitheatre, Michael discovered that the venue had been torn down.  More heartbreaking still was the fact that it was only just razed in 2009!  Had I only found it a few years earlier, I could have seen it in person.  Despite my dismay over the demolition, I decided it was still a blog-worthy locale and recently set out to stalk where it once stood.

Thanks to a 2007 aerial view of Santa Monica College provided by Michael, I knew that the amphitheatre was formerly situated in the northeast section of the campus . . .

. . . just beyond the wall pictured below.

That area is currently a construction zone (hence the wall surrounding it), but will eventually be the site of a new student services building.

Michael also tracked down the photograph of the amphitheatre that appears below (he seriously did all of my legwork for me – thank you, Michael!), which was featured in a study of the college’s renovation performed by Christopher A. Joseph & Associates.

In Say Anything . . . , the Santa Monica College amphitheatre masked as the outdoor theatre where the supposed Seattle-area Lakewood High School graduation ceremony took place.  As you can see, the venue that appeared in the scene is a direct match to the amphitheatre pictured in the image above.  Oh, how I wish I had gotten to see it in person!

The amphitheatre was only featured briefly in the graduation scene and was the site of Diane Court’s (Ione Skye) famous “I’ve glimpsed our future and all I can say is ‘Go back!’” valedictorian speech.

The scene that takes place immediately following the graduation ceremony was filmed elsewhere, at a park-like location that I am as yet unsure of.

Santa Monica College was originally established in 1929 and at the time was known as Santa Monica Junior College.  It was renamed Santa Monica City College in 1945 and then, in 1970, it underwent yet another name change when “City” was dropped from its title.  Today, it is known simply as Santa Monica College.

The campus’ 1,500-seat amphitheatre, which was funded by the Associated Students, was built in 1967.

Besides its appearance in Say Anything . . ., the school has another show biz connection – it boasts many famous alumni, including Dustin Hoffman, James Dean, Hilary Swank, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nia Long, Laila Ali, Penn Badgley, Cam Gigandet, David Geffen, Alison Lohman, Sean Penn, Ryan Seacrest, Gloria Stuart, Buzz Aldrin, and Kristine Sutherland.

Santa Monica College is quite beautiful and, while I figured that it had to have been featured in other productions over the years, try as I might I could not find any information verifying that.

Big THANK YOU to Greg, of The Uncool website, for finding this location and to fellow stalker Michael for his instrumental help in researching it! 

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Santa Monica College is located at 1900 Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica.  The amphitheatre that appeared in Say Anything . . . was formerly located in the northeast corner of the campus, just north of the Art Complex and northeast of the Theatre Arts building, in the area denoted with a pink arrow below.

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