Year: 2019

The Filming Locations of “Big Little Lies” Season 2 – “The End of the World”

Not much changes with the women of Monterey in the third episode of Big Little Lies’ second season, “The End of the World.” Renata Klein (Laura Dern) is still on a tear, Bonnie Carlson (Zoë Kravitz) continues to “mope-a-dope” around, and Mary Louise Wright (Meryl Streep) just refuses to let anything go. And I’ve compiled a list of where it all happens! Read on for the complete locations guide to “The End of the World.” (Note – as was the case with my posts about the locales from episode 1 and episode 2, since I have already extensively detailed BLL’s inaugural season, I will not be covering flashbacks. And places that appear in multiple episodes will be mentioned as such, so some crossover should be expected.)

[ad]

1. Bonnie and Nathan’s House (636 Crater Camp Drive, Calabasas) – In “The End of the World,” Bonnie continues to make do with her mother Elizabeth Howard’s (Crystal Ryan) unwelcome visit to the secluded “Central Coast” home she shares with husband, Nathan (James Tupper). In reality, the pad, which also appeared in Season 1, cannot be found in Monterey, but on a sleepy street in Calabasas. Both the interior and exterior are featured fairly extensively on the show.

2. Bonnie’s Beach Walk (Carmel River State Beach, Carmelo Street and Scenic Road, Carmel) – A tormented Bonnie strolls along Carmel River State Beach – and straight into the water, fully clothed – while reminiscing about the childhood abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother. The beach’s parking lot was also used in an establishing shot of the spot where the Monterey 5 discuss Perry Wright’s (Alexander Skarsgård) murder case in “What Have They Done?”

3. Bonnie’s Childhood Pool (Maple Hill Family YMCA, 1673 Maple Hill Road, Diamond Bar) – During her walk, Bonnie flashes back to a traumatic swimming experience from her youth. The brief segment, in which a young Elizabeth (Khalilah Joi) dunks childhood Bonnie (Mykal-Michelle Harris) underwater, was shot at the Maple Hill Family YMCA in Diamond Bar.

4. Madeline and Celeste’s Beach Talk (Point Lobos State Reserve Parking, Cannery Point, Carmel) – I never thought I’d describe a parking lot as “gorgeous,” but that word perfectly encapsulates the oceanfront spot where Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon) tells Celeste Wright (Nicole Kidman) about her father’s affair. It is so arresting, in fact, that it was the number one spot I wanted to find upon first viewing the episode. Filming of the scene took place in the parking area of Whaler’s Cove at Point Lobos State Reserve. Madeline also apologizes to Celeste for not recognizing the signs of her abuse in the same parking lot later in the episode.

5. Monterey Bay Aquarium Skyway (886 Cannery Row, Monterey) – Mary Louise confronts Jane Chapman (Shailene Woodley) on a skyway connecting two buildings at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and asks her to submit her son, Ziggy (Iain Armitage), to a paternity test. As a surprise to no one, Jane’s answer is a hard no. I do not believe the footbridge used in the scene, which runs over Cannery Row, is publicly accessible in real life, so how Mary Louise gained access to it is one of the show’s many mysteries.

6. Otter Bay Elementary School (Kenter Canyon Elementary School, 645 North Kenter Avenue, Brentwood) – Kenter Canyon, the Brentwood site that stands in for the elementary school attended by the Monterey 5’s kids, is the real star of “The End of the World.” It is there that all of the shenanigans from episode 3 take place. Mr. Perkins (Mo McRae) teaches his second grade students that Charlotte’s Web is about sustainability in one of Kenter Canyon’s classrooms, sending little Amabella Klein (Ivy George) straight to the ER with an anxiety attack.

The school’s office is where Renata – the “f*cking Medusa of Monterey” – has an epic meltdown at Mr. Perkins and Principal Warren Nippal (P.J. Byrne), which you can watch here (warning, as is the case with most of Renata’s rants, this one is most definitely NSFW!).

And Madeline gives her heartbreaking Rainbow Connection speech in Kenter Canyon’s auditorium.

7. Cypress Community Hospital (Lanterman Developmental Center, 3530 Pomona Boulevard, Pomona) – The former Lanterman Developmental Center, which closed in 2014 and currently sits vacant, serves as the hospital where Amabella is taken post anxiety attack. The sprawling 309-acre site also pops up several times in the episodes that follow. (Big THANK YOU to my friend Owen for identifying this location! )

8. Madeline and Ed’s House (30760 Broad Beach Road, Malibu) – The charming Cape Cod belonging to Madeline and her husband, Ed Mackenzie (Adam Scott), on the show is located in Malibu. You can check out an in-depth post I wrote on the home, my favorite from the series, here. (Bonus – it’s a vacation rental in real life!) Both the interior and exterior of the sprawling pad are featured in “The End of the World,” as well as in pretty much every other episode of the series.

9. Renata and Gordon’s House (27326 Winding Way, Malibu) – “Dr. Peep” (Kerri Kenney) – a children’s therapist who dresses as Little Bo Peep – meets with Amabella at the palatial home she shares with her parents to discuss her anxiety over climate change. Like Madeline’s, this residence can be found in Malibu. While the actual interior of the dwelling is utilized in the segment, as well as in countless other scenes from both Season 1 and 2, I believe Gordon’s (Jeffrey Nordling) mancave was just a set.

10. Jane and Corey’s Date (The Stage, 546 South San Fernando Boulevard, Burbank) – It is at Burbank’s gorgeous The Stage California Fusion Restaurant and Café that Corey Brockfield (Douglas Smith) finally takes Jane on a date – and teaches her all about land-based vs. net-pen raised seafood. The rather awkward rendezvous was shot in the eatery’s idyllic main courtyard. Though easily one of L.A.’s prettiest spots, oddly very little of it can be seen in the episode. But don’t worry – I took plenty of pics when I stalked it earlier this year.

11. Jane and Corey’s Non-Kiss (600 Block of Lighthouse Avenue, Monterey) – Following dinner, Jane and Corey’s date continues – a good 300 miles away from where it started – with a walk along Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey. It is in front of the Cat’s Meow clothing store (601 Lighthouse Avenue) that Corey unsuccessfully attempts to kiss Jane, causing her to caution him that she’s “gotta idle in neutral for a little bit.”

12. Celeste’s House (40 Yankee Point Drive, Carmel) – Celeste’s gorgeous cliffside estate, featured in both Seasons 1 and 2, is actually located on the Central Coast – in Carmel, to be exact. The home’s real living room and back patio appear in “The End of the World,” though the twins’ room, I believe, was just a studio-built set.

13. Jane’s New Apartment (Ocean Harbor, 125 Surf Way, Monterey) – Mary Louise creeps on Jane and Ziggy in the parking lot of their new apartment complex, Ocean Harbor. Though the interior of their place is shown in previous episodes, “The End of the World” gives us our first look at the exterior. The parking lot is also where Jane and Corey share an impromptu slow dance at the end of the episode.

14. Blissful Drip Café (Lovers Point Park, 631 Ocean View Boulevard, Pacific Grove) – Mary Louise tells Jane that she wants to be in Ziggy’s life – and then shoots herself in the foot by calling Perry, her son/Jane’s rapist, “gentle” and “tender” – at Blissful Drip Café, one of the gang’s regular Season 2 hangouts. Sadly, the bohemian-style eatery is not real, but was a set constructed for the Big Little Lies shoot in Monterey’s Lovers Point Park. Not much of the space is shown in “The End of the World,” but other episodes from the season afford us a better look at it. You can check out a post I wrote about the fictional coffee shop here.

15. Café Descanso (Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Canada Flintridge) – Madeline happens upon Ed having coffee with Bonnie at Café Descanso, the ladies’ other Season 2 hangout. Unlike Blissful Drip, this spot is a real place, located on the grounds of Descanso Gardens. Situated outside of the entrance gates, admittance tickets are not required to dine there.

16. Madeline’s Real Estate Office (Deasy Penner Podley, 30 North Baldwin Avenue, Sierra Madre) – Renata heads to Madeline’s “Monterey” real estate office to vent about Principal Nippal and winds up having an awkward encounter with Mary Louise. Filming of the scene took place at the Sierra Madre outpost of Deasy Penner Podley, which also made a cameo in “What Have They Done?” You can check out a post I dedicated to the site here.

17. Ziggy’s Surf Lesson (Del Monte Beach, 653 Del Monte Avenue, Monterey) – Corey gives Ziggy a surf lesson while Jane and Bonnie watch at Monterey’s scenic Del Monte Beach. This is the same spot where Jane runs into Corey in “What Have They Done?”

Be sure to check back Monday for a round-up of sites from episode 4, “She Knows.”

August 9, 2019
The Filming Locations of “Big Little Lies” Season 2 – “Tell-Tale Hearts”

“Tell-Tale Hearts,” the second episode of Big Little Lies’ second season, boasts some of the series’ most quotable, meme-worthy moments, largely thanks to the inimitable Renata Klein (Laura Dern) – “Will somebody give a woman a moment??” It also features some of the show’s most memorable locales [the forest where Bonnie Carlson (Zoë Kravitz) hikes with her mom, amirite?], the majority of which are detailed below. (I am still missing a few, which I will add in as they are found.) As was the case with Monday’s post about sites from episode 1, “What Have They Done?”, since I have already chronicled filming of BLL’s inaugural season extensively, I will not be covering flashbacks. And places that appear in multiple episodes will be mentioned as such, so expect some crossover.

[ad]

1. Celeste’s Accident (Skyline Drive, just west of Mar Vista Drive, Monterey) – In the episode’s opener, Celeste Wright (Nicole Kidman) gets into an Ambien- induced accident on a tree-lined span of Skyline Drive in Monterey and has to be rescued by Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon).

As they drive away from the accident, Celeste and Madeline run into Bonnie, out for an early morning hike, on Skyline Road, a bit north of where it intersects with Shepherds Place.

2. Gordon’s Arrest (Malibu Country Mart, 3835 Cross Creek Road, Malibu) – Life starts to fall apart for Renata and her husband, Gordon Klein (Jeffrey Nordling), at the top of “Tell-Tale Hearts,” shortly after the two grab a beverage at SunLife Organics juice bar in the Malibu Country Mart.

While walking to their car, drinks in hand, Gordon is approached by the FBI and arrested for securities fraud outside of Kron Chocolatier. Both shops featured in the segment are situated in the center of the plaza, on Cross Creek Road in between Civic Center Way and the Pacific Coast Highway – though it took me a beat to figure that out. The Country Mart bears such an uncanny resemblance to Monterey’s Del Monte Shopping Center that at first blush I was convinced the shoot had taken place on the Central Coast. It was not until I took a closer look that I realized filming actually occurred in the ‘Bu.

3. Celeste’s House (40 Yankee Point Drive, Carmel) – The gorgeous home where Celeste lives, featured throughout both Seasons 1 and 2, is an actual Monterey residence. In “Tell-Tale Hearts,” the front of the property, garage, driveway, kitchen, dining room, rear patio and living room all appear.

4. Monterey Bay Aquarium (886 Cannery Row, Monterey) – While on their lunch break at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Corey Brockfield (Douglas Smith) asks Jane Chapman (Shailene Woodley) out on a “practice date.” Spoiler – she shuts him down due to the fact that he is “very strange.” [Couldn’t agree more, Jane! Bring back Tom (Joseph Cross)!] Per the aquatic museum’s website, one of the facility’s actual employee lounges was used for the scene.

5. Gordon’s Jail (Spring Street Courthouse, 312 North Spring Street, downtown Los Angeles) – Renata visits Gordon in jail, gets held up by a metal detector, spews some choice epithets at a security guard, and famously proclaims “I will not NOT be rich!” at downtown L.A.’s Spring Street Courthouse.

Comically, while the scene was supposed to take place in Monterey, a sign reading “Los A . . . “ (I can only assume the rest of it spells out “ngeles”), is visible in the background, giving away the site’s true location.

Gordon’s hearing is also held at the Spring Street Courthouse later in the episode.

6. Liberation Yoga (124 South La Brea Avenue, Hancock Park) – Bonnie receives a surprise – and unwelcome – visit from her mother, Elizabeth Howard (Crystal Fox), at the supposed Monterey-area yoga studio she owns. Filming actually took place in Hancock Park, at Liberation Yoga, the same spot used as Bonnie’s studio in Season 1.

7. Bonnie and Nathan’s House (636 Crater Camp Drive, Calabasas) – Bonnie and Nathan Carlson (James Tupper) argue about Elizabeth’s stay in the backyard of their supposed Central Coast home, which, in reality, can be found a good 300 miles south of Monterey in Calabasas. The same idyllic spot also portrayed the couple’s residence in Season 1.

8. Café Descanso (Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge – Renata spills the tea about her money troubles to Madeline at Café Descanso, the women’s regular Season 2 hangout.

Nathan also challenges Ed Mackenzie (Adam Scott) to a fight at the eatery, which is located on the grounds of Descanso Gardens, later in the episode. You can read an in-depth post I wrote on the location here.

9. Otter Bay Elementary School (Kenter Canyon Elementary School, 645 North Kenter Avenue, Brentwood) – Kenter Canyon Elementary pops up as Otter Bay, the school attended by the Monterey 5’s children, in virtually every episode of Season 1 and 2. In “Tell-Tale Hearts,” the facility’s front entrance, a classroom and main quad all appear.

10. Bonnie and Elizabeth’s Hike (Old Coast Road, south of Bixby Creek Bridge, Big Sur) – Elizabeth attempts to have a heart-to-heart with Bonnie on a majestic wooded stretch of Old Coast Road in Big Sur. The absolutely magical spot is also where Bonnie runs in episode 1, “What Have They Done?”

11. Celeste and Perry’s Date Flashback (Melrose Umbrella Co., 7465 Melrose Avenue, Fairfax) – In “Tell-Tale Hearts,” a grieving Celeste reminisces about happier times with Perry Wright (Alexander Skarsgård), more specifically one of their early dates in which they discuss their families. Though virtually none of the date restaurant can be seen, the tiered booth edge visible behind Celeste is a giveaway that the segment was shot at Melrose Umbrella Co.

12. Madeline and Ed’s House (30760 Broad Beach Road, Malibu) – The Cape Cod-style residence where Madeline and Ed live makes its first Season 2 appearance in “Tell-Tale Hearts.” Interestingly, the locale is a mash-up of a couple different places. The interior and backyard are part of a sprawling Malibu retreat, which you, too, can call home! Well, for a night or two, at least – the property operates as a vacation rental in real life. (I wrote a full-length post on it here.) The front of the house (seen in “She Knows,” as well as a few S1 episodes) is on the Central Coast at 2830 14th Avenue in Carmel.

13. Jane’s Apartment (Ocean Harbor, 125 Surf Way, Monterey) – Jane tells Ziggy Chapman (Iain Armitage) the truth about his father and later invites Celeste and the twins, Josh (Cameron Crovetti) and Max (Nicholas Crovetti), over for a family gettogether at her new Ocean Harbor apartment in “Tell-Tale Hearts.” Only the interior of the space (which I believe was a set) appears in the episode. The exterior of the complex is not shown until episode 3, “The End of the World.”

14. Blissful Drip Café (Lovers Point Park, 631 Ocean View Boulevard, Pacific Grove) – Jane and Celeste meet to discuss the newfound complications of their children’s relationship at Blissful Drip Café, which, along with Café Descanso, serves as a regular hangout in Season 2. As I documented here, the open air coffee shop is not a real place, but was a temporary set constructed solely for the series at Lovers Point Park.

15. Renata Ditches Gordon (General Jim Moore Boulevard, Seaside) – In what has to be my favorite scene from the season, Renata blows her top at Gordon while driving him home from prison and winds up leaving him by the side of a hilly, lush road, her hand lifted through the sunroof in a not-so-subtle gesture. The hilarious segment (which you can watch here – warning, it is definitely NSFW!) was lensed on General Jim Moore Boulevard, slightly north of Hilby Road, in Seaside.

Be sure to check back Friday for locales from episode 3, “The End of the World.”

August 7, 2019
The Filming Locations of “Big Little Lies” Season 2 – “What Have They Done”

I’ve made no secret of my apathy for the second season of Big Little Lies. But I was, of course, still entranced by its locations, which I’ve been obsessively IDing ever since episode 1 aired in early June. So I figure it is only appropriate to follow up my complete guide to the locales from Season 1 by doing the same for S2. Because a great deal more sites were featured this time around (S1 utilized 25 spots total, while S2 boasted 18 in its premiere alone!), an episode-by-episode breakdown seems to make the most sense here. I apologize in advance to the non-Big Little Lies fans out there! (A couple of notes – since I have already covered Season 1 extensively, I will not be including any flashback scenes. Places that appear in multiple episodes will be mentioned as such, so there will be some crossover and repetition in the various posts. And I am also missing a few locales, but will add them in as they are found.)

[ad]

And now, without further ado, I present all of the locations from Big Little Lies’ Season 2 premiere, “What Have They Done?”, in order of appearance.

1. Celeste’s House (40 Yankee Point Drive, Carmel) – All of the women’s Season 1 residences, aside from Jane Chapman’s (Shailene Woodley), are re-used in Season 2, including the modern cliffside manse where Celeste Wright (Nicole Kidman) lives with her boys, Josh (Cameron Crovetti) and Max (Nicholas Crovetti). In “What Have They Done?,” the pad’s actual front entrance, rear patio, living and dining rooms are featured (the latter is the site of that infamous scream!), but, as was the case with Season 1, the enormous master suite was just a soundstage-built set.

2. Jane’s New Apartment (Ocean Harbor, 125 Surf Way, Monterey) – Season 2 finds Jane and her son, Ziggy Chapman (Iain Armitage), living in an apartment in Ocean Harbor, the same waterfront complex where Celeste leased a unit at the end of S1. Though the inside of their new place (which I believe was a set) is featured in “What Have They Done?” . . .

. . . the exterior is not seen until episode 3, “The End of the World.”

3. Otter Bay Elementary School (Kenter Canyon Elementary School, 645 North Kenter Avenue, Brentwood) – At the outset of Season 2, the children of the Monterey 5 embark upon their second-grade year at Otter Bay, once again portrayed by Kenter Canyon Elementary School in Brentwood. In “What Have They Done?”, the front of the school, exterior hallways, parking lot, quad, and auditorium are all featured.

The park at the southern end of the school is also where the kids dance in the opening credits.

4. Madeline Gets Cut Off (Intersection of Esplanade Street and Ocean View Drive, Pacific Grove) – In a nod to the Season 1 premiere, while heading to grab coffee with Celeste, Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon) gets cut off by a fellow driver and then aggressively lays on her horn (because, as she explains, “Once I lean in, you know how I am!”) in the very same spot where she fell and rolled her ankle in “Somebody’s Dead.”

5. Blissful Drip Café (Lovers Point Park, 631 Ocean View Boulevard, Pacific Grove) – After dropping their kids off for their first day of school, Madeline and Celeste hit up their new java hangout, Blissful Drip Café, where Madeline has an unfortunate tête-à-tête with Mary Louise Wright (Meryl Streep). The bohemian outdoor eatery is not a real place, but was a temporary set constructed solely for the show in a grassy expanse of Lovers Point Park, as I documented in this post.

In the scene, the women park in front of the former Lattitudes at Lovers Point restaurant (631 Ocean View Drive), which currently sits vacant.

6. Ed and Tori’s Grocery Store Encounter (Whole Foods Market, 331 North Glendale Avenue, Glendale) – Ed Mackenzie (Adam Scott) runs into Tori Bachman (Sarah Sokolovic) – and her new, ahem, assets – at the Glendale outpost of Whole Foods Market. (Big THANK YOU to my friend/Brady Bunch aficionado Michael for IDing this location.)

7. Bonnie’s Run (Old Coast Road, south of Bixby Creek Bridge, Big Sur) – The bucolic forested path where Bonnie (Zoë Kravitz) runs – and relives Season 1’s murder – can be found on Old Coast Road in Big Sur. The same trail is also where Bonnie and her mom, Elizabeth Howard (Crystal Fox), hike in “Tell-Tale Hearts.”

8. Bonnie and Nathan’s House (636 Crater Camp Drive, Calabasas) – The same gorgeous Calabasas bungalow from Season 1 serves as the home of Bonnie and Nathan Carlson (James Tupper) in Season 2.

9. Monterey Bay Aquarium (886 Cannery Row, Monterey) – Jane inexplicably goes from being an accountant in Season 1 to a Monterey Bay Aquarium educator in Season 2. The popular aquatic museum plays itself in “What Have They Done?” (as well as in several other episodes), with Jane and her new co-worker/love interest Corey Brockfield (Douglas Smith) leading a class in one of the site’s Discovery Labs.

10. Café Descanso (Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge) – Unlike Blissful Drip, Season 2’s other new coffee shop hangout, Café Descanso, is a real place. It is at the picturesque site, located on the grounds of Descanso Gardens, that Nathan begs Ed to take Bonnie to lunch in “What Have They Done?” The eatery also pops up in “Tell-Tale Hearts,” “The End of the World,” and “She Knows.” You can read a more in-depth post on it here.

11. Renata’s House (27326 Winding Way, Malibu) – Renata Klein (Laura Dern) poses for a “Women in Power” photoshoot at the same palatial mansion that served as her residence in Season 1. While the exterior and interior are both seen in the premiere episode (as well as throughout the rest of S2), I am fairly certain that Gordon’s (Jeffrey Nordling) beloved man cave was just a set.

12. Madeline’s House Showing (98 Yankee Point Drive, Carmel) – In Monterey, selling houses is “like printing money,” at least according to Madeline who has made the change from working in community theatre to peddling real estate. She is not very good at her job, though, as evidenced by the personal call she makes to Renata during a showing. The gorgeous seaside pad where she ignores her clients can be found right down the street from Celeste’s. A former real estate listing describes the place as being of “such innovative design, of such sheer drama that it vies for attention with the pounding Pacific Ocean itself.” You can see images of its interior here.

13. Sea Cliff High School (Ramona Convent Secondary School, 1701 West Ramona Road, Alhambra) – Abigail Carlson (Kathryn Newton) announces to Madeline and Nathan that she is not planning on attending college (which somehow results in a shoving match) during a parent/teacher conference at the fictional Sea Cliff High School. Filming took place at Ramona Convent Secondary, an all-girls Catholic preparatory in Alhambra.

14. Madeline’s Real Estate Office (Deasy Penner Podley, 30 North Baldwin Avenue, Sierra Madre) – The “Monterey” Sotheby’s office where Madeline works – and where she runs into Mary Louise in “What Have They Done?” – is the Sierra Madre branch of Deasy Penner Podley. I further detail the brokerage, which also appears in “The End of the World,” here.

15. Del Monte Beach (653 Del Monte Avenue, Monterey) – Jane’s solo shoreline dance is interrupted by Corey, who brashly asks about her involvement with the Monterey 5, at the Central Coast’s secluded Del Monte Beach. This spot is, coincidentally, just down the street from Jane’s new apartment.

16. Carmel River State Beach (Carmelo Street and Scenic Road, Carmel) – An establishing shot of the parking lot at Carmel River State Beach is shown in the scene in which the ladies discuss the latest developments in Perry Wright’s (Alexander Skarsgård) murder case.

I am fairly certain, though, that actual filming of the segment took place on Ocean View Boulevard near Lovers Point Park.

17. Side Door Café (Happy Trails Garden, 207 South Fair Oaks Avenue, Pasadena) – An oft-used locale from Season 1, Side Door Café only pops up once this time around. In “What Have They Done?” Celeste and Jane have a late-night meet-up there to discuss Perry’s estate. The striking space, formerly known as Happy Trails Garden, was sadly shuttered in early 2018 and currently sits vacant. You can read my 2017 post on it here.

18. Carmel-By-The-Sea Police Department (Junipero Avenue & 4th Avenue, Carmel) – In what becomes a regular occurrence throughout Season 2, Bonnie ventures over to the Carmel-By-The-Sea Police Department, which plays itself, at the end of “What Have They Done?”

Be sure to check out my look at episode 2, “Tell-Tale Hearts.”

August 5, 2019
Mawby’s Bar from “Flashdance” – An Update

Typically, when a vacant space is built out for a production, it is dismantled as soon as filming wraps – though sometimes stranger things, ahem, do happen. Take Gwinnett Place, for instance. A wing of the largely deserted Duluth, Georgia shopping center was transformed (with breathtaking attention to detail, I might add) into Hawkins, Indiana’s Starcourt Mall for the third season of Stranger Things. It is one of my favorite locations ever to be brought to life onscreen and, incredibly, was left completely dressed in its destroyed ‘80s state up until earlier this month – almost a year after filming took place! Atypical as that is, the same scenario appears to be true for Mawby’s Bar from Flashdance! As I chronicled in an August 2017 post, the supposed Pittsburgh nightclub was not a real place, but a set created especially for the 1983 movie at a vacant warehouse located at 229 Boyd Street in downtown L.A. While I assumed said set was disassembled following the shoot, fellow stalker Dave (you may remember his amazing research from this post) recently informed me that it popped up again two years later as Coyle’s Club & Cuff in Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment! Why producers (not to mention the building owner) chose to leave the bar space intact is beyond me, but I am so grateful they did! Due to the many changes the warehouse incurred in the three-plus decades since Flashdance was shot, it is not at all recognizable, so prior to writing my 2017 post I attempted to dig up additional footage of it from other productions lensed around the same time to further verify its use in the movie. I was unsuccessful, but, thankfully, Dave has now done the legwork for me! So I figure an update is in order!

[ad]

It is at Coyle’s Club & Cuff that the officers of the 16th Precinct regularly hang out in Police Academy 2. As Dave explained to me, the small octagonal windows flanking the bar’s front door, the larger one situated on the wall beside it, and the glass block framing perfectly match Mawby’s exterior from Flashdance, giving away its location as 229 Boyd Street, despite looking completely different today.

Dave went on to explain that in one scene, Tackleberry (David Graf) is shown walking inside Coyle’s and, as he enters, it becomes obvious from the octagonal window visible behind him (denoted with a blue arrow below) as well as the glass block framing above the doorway (denoted with a pink arrow) that the warehouse was used for both interiors and exteriors.

Those exact same elements are also apparent in Flashdance, which cements the fact that the inside of the building was utilized in that film, as well – something I hypothesized about in my 2017 post, but could not prove at the time.

As Dave scrutinized the two movies further, he discovered even more matching details! He called my attention to the two shots below, taken from practically the same angle, noting that although framing was built atop the bar for Police Academy 2 changing the look of it, the countertop was left untouched as were the doorway and hatch visible beyond it!

Seeing that doorway and hatch (denoted with pink and blue arrows below) gave me goosebumps! I could hardly believe my eyes, but, sure enough, right before me was proof that the Mawby’s set was left intact long after Flashdance wrapped.

A clearer view of the octagonal hatch is pictured below. (To quote Jake Peralta, “Literal goosebumps!”)

Thrilled at the new development, I excitedly began dissecting Flashdance and Police Academy 2 myself and dug up a few additional elements visible in both, including a vestibule with decorative wood paneling (shown from opposing angles below) situated just inside the front door of the two spaces.

A partition with seating that runs the length of the interiors is also apparent in both flicks.

The counter attached to said partition (shown from opposite angles below) boasts red siding in both productions, as well.

The lip of the bar and the tan and red paneling below it are also direct matches. Oh, how I wish that interior was still intact today!

During his research, Dave unearthed an even more unusual twist! Toward the middle of Police Academy 2, the outside of 229 Boyd appears in an undressed state in the scene in which Doug Fackler (Bruce Mahler) heads to a gas station looking for a public restroom. As Dave wrote to me, “So at some point during production, either before or after Fackler drives past the building, the set designers will have given it quite a makeover!” Though definitely odd, the segment provides a fabulous full view of what the property looked like in 1985 – which is pretty darn close to how it appeared in Flashdance (minus the Mawby’s accoutrements, of course)! Dave notes, “Even the HOTEL lettering is still intact!” Sadly, the location in its current state does not resemble its ‘80s self in the slightest.

As chronicled in my 2017 post, the warehouse pops up in a few other productions, as well, including 1984’s Night of the Comet. In the screen captures below, the Mawby’s site, located just beyond the stop sign, is denoted with a yellow arrow.

Harry Washello (Anthony Edwards) and Wilson (Mykelti Williamson) drive by the building in 1988’s Miracle Mile.

And a reused shot of it from Flashdance appeared as an establishing shot in the 1990 made-for-television movie Perry Mason: The Case of the Poisoned Pen, though no actual filming took place there.

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

HUGE thank you to fellow stalker Dave for figuring out this location’s Police Academy 2 connection.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The building that portrayed both Mawby’s Bar in Flashdance and Coyle’s Club and Cuff in Police Academy 2 can be found at 229 Boyd Street in downtown Los Angeles. The neighborhood where it is located is not the greatest, so please exercise caution when visiting.

August 2, 2019
Bean Town from “Big Little Lies”

Big Little Lies sure made use of Sierra Madre this season (in case you missed my other posts on the city’s BLL appearances, you can check them out here, here and here). And it is not very hard to see why. The San Gabriel Valley town, situated just east of Pasadena, is charming, picturesque and extremely evocative of the past. It is like Pleasantville come to life! The place is also very reminiscent of Carmel, where the show is set, though it is even more quaint than the Northern California hamlet if you can believe it. And the hit HBO series utilized pretty much every square inch of it, including Bean Town, the beloved coffee house at 45 North Baldwin Avenue, which stood in for a pizza parlor, of all things, in episode 4. Though I blogged about the café back in February 2009, due to its recent small screen cameo, I decided it was time for a redo.

[ad]

I learned about Bean Town’s appearance on Big Little Lies thanks to the employees at Mother Moo Creamery (situated just down the road at 17 Kersting Court), whom I spoke with while researching my article about locales from the series for the June issue of Los Angeles magazine. They informed me that the coffee shop was altered significantly for the shoot and, boy oh boy, was it ever! So much so that, even with the insider information, I had a heck of a time figuring out what was lensed on the premises.

It was not until I started scanning through the café’s Instagram feed that I figured things out. During the March 2018 shoot, Bean Town’s owners graciously posted several photos of the space dressed for the filming. The set of images showed the coffee shop decked out to look like an upscale Italian restaurant, with large pieces of art dotting the walls, autumn decorations splayed on tabletops, and garlic strands hanging from the ceiling. One look and I knew immediately that Bean Town was the spot where Mary Louise Wright (Meryl Streep) took grandsons Josh (Cameron Crovetti) and Max (Nicholas Crovetti) for “the beeeeesssst pizza in the wooooooorld!” in “She Knows.” Virtually none of the café is actually shown in the scene (which is surprising considering the energy apparently spent on decorating it). What you see below is the extent of its appearance.

Despite the scant footage, though, enough was visible for me to be able to positively identify the place. As you can see, the artwork, fall wreath and decorative plate positioned behind Mary Louise in the segment match the décor pictured in Bean Town’s Instagram photo of the café’s back wall perfectly.

In everyday life, that back wall looks considerably different.

Per Bean Town’s Instagram, the coffee shop was closed for a full four days for the shoot, from Tuesday, March 27th through Friday, March 30th, so it is fairly gobsmacking that its appearance amounted to exactly sixty seconds of screen time! Typically, a scene of that length would require about a half a day of filming. And while the set dressing was extensive . . .

. . . I just can’t imagine that it necessitated three and a half days of prep and strike time.

So where did all that extra time go? My guess is that several additional segments were shot at the pizza parlor, but that they, like so much of Season 2, wound up on the cutting room floor. Who knows for certain, but man, what I wouldn’t give to see director Andrea Arnold’s original cut!

The Big Little Lies shoot required Bean Town and the Starbucks down the block (the only two coffee shops in the area!) to be closed simultaneously (the horror!), so, in an amazing gesture, the former set up an outdoor kiosk and offered free java so the community would not be without! The café, which was originally established in the ‘80s, actually has a long history of goodwill. When a horrible wind storm hit the San Gabriel Valley in December 2011, owner Matt Krantz powered the eatery with three generators so that locals could still get their fix. As he explained to the Patch, “We lost some signage, we lost a light and the awning tore up a bit but other than that, we’re here. Bumps and bruises. I could sit at home and not do anything, but I’d rather be here trying to keep everybody together and keep the sense of community that Sierra Madre is basically founded on.” He also delivered coffee and baked goods to the city crews working to get the town back up and running. And, in 2013, when a beloved barista unexpectedly passed away, Krantz not only shuttered the place for two full days to give friends and family a place to gather and mourn, but he also held a fundraiser on the premises to help with funeral costs. Bean Town is a café with heart! Oh, and their coffee is darn good, to boot!

As I mentioned in my 2009 post, Bean Town also appeared numerous times throughout the 2005 comedy Kicking and Screaming . . .

. . . most notably in the scene in which Phil Weston (Will Ferrell) has a minor breakdown over a too-long line. (I’ve been there, Phil! I’ve been there!) You can check out the hilarious segment here.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Bean Town, aka the pizza restaurant from the “She Knows” episode of Big Little Lies, is located at 45 North Baldwin Avenue in Sierra Madre. You can visit the eatery’s official website here. Several other spots from Season 2 can be found on the same block. The Starbucks where Tori Bachman (Sarah Sokolovic) propositioned Ed Mackenzie (Adam Scott) in “The Bad Mother” and where Renata Klein (Laura Dern) lashed out at Mary Louise in “I Want to Know” is just down the road at 1 Kersting Court. Mother Moo Creamery, where Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon) threw an ice cream cone at Mary Louise in a scene that was ultimately cut, is a few doors away at 17 Kersting Court. Deasy Penner Podley, aka Madeline’s real estate office, is at 30 North Baldwin Avenue. And the fictional Seaside Coffee Shop seen on Reese’s Instagram was created in the storefront that now houses Capelli Court Salon at 26 North Baldwin Avenue.

July 29, 2019
Seaside Coffee Shop from “Big Little Lies”

My favorite filming location find from this season of Big Little Lies isn’t actually a filming location at all! Back on March 19th, 2018, shortly after shooting of S2 commenced, Reese Witherspoon posted an Instagram photo of herself sitting in front of the supposed Central Coast-area Seaside Coffee Shop with costar Laura Dern, captioning, “Watch out, Monterey, here we come! #BLL2.” Being that it was pretty much the first image of the season to be released, it naturally sent fans’ tongues wagging. I, for one, was practically drooling with anticipation upon seeing it! I also, of course, wanted to know exactly where the pic had been taken. I assumed (correctly) that Seaside Coffee Shop was not an actual eatery, but a mocked-up storefront. Because the series utilizes both the Central Coast and Southern California, though, I had no idea where to even begin looking. Figuring (incorrectly) that the café would appear in a scene during the upcoming season and I’d be better able to track it down then, I put my quest on the back burner. While it never did pop up onscreen, I was, thankfully, able to ID it anyway. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times – stalking begets stalking! The morning after the premiere, titled “What Have They Done?”, aired, I went on the hunt for its locations and quickly pinpointed the real estate office where Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Witherspoon) works as the Deasy Penner Podley brokerage firm situated on the bottom floor of Hotel Shirley in Sierra Madre. It was the coloring of the building that I recognized and, as soon as I did, a lightbulb went off in my head as I realized that Seaside Coffee Shop could be found in the same spot!

[ad]

While Hotel Shirley’s northern street-level storefront (on the left-hand side below) portrayed Madeline’s real estate office (as denoted in this post), Seaside Coffee Shop was erected next door in the southern unit.

During my stalk of both locales back in late June, I asked the incredibly friendly Deasy Penner Podley agents about the Seaside Coffee Shop set (which they were shocked I had identified). They informed me that at the time of the Big Little Lies shoot, the space was vacant and that they believed it was not utilized for any filming, but created solely for the background of the various scenes taking place at Madeline’s office. Aside from Reese’s Instagram (and Laura Dern’s), though, the place was never seen – in the background or otherwise – so I guess whatever was shot in its vicinity wound up on the cutting room floor.

Today, the storefront is home to Capelli Court Salon.

It is a shame that it never appeared onscreen because the charming little shop would have been a welcome addition to the rather lackluster landscape of Season 2.

Reese did post a second image taken at the locale to Instagram on June 10 of this year, the day after “What Have They Done?” aired, saying “Pull up a chair! Let’s spill some #BLL tea from last night’s premiere!”, so I guess she found it pretty picturesque, too.

Even though Seaside Coffee Shop was never used for a scene, I was thrilled to finally be able to ID and stalk it!

The fictional café was created in the Capelli Court space’s northern window.

To complete the look, the site was dressed with signage, curtains, flowers in the window planter, and a bistro set.

I was ecstatic to discover a table and chairs set up on the sidewalk a stone’s throw away from Capelli Court’s exterior when I showed up to stalk the place. While the table was too heavy for me to move into position, I did pull one of the chairs over to pose à la Reese.

Even without the chair and other café adornments, though, the locale is still extremely recognizable – a little slice of Monterey right here in L.A. for BLL fans to enjoy!

The interior of the Capelli Court site was utilized by another HBO series, as well. In the Season 1 episode of Camping titled “Going to Town,” which aired in 2018, Jandice (Juliette Lewis) and Miguel (Arturo Del Puerto) shop for a ring at a fictional antique store the production created in the then-vacant space.

Though the front of the shop did not appear in the episode, the rear entrance could briefly be seen.

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 Seaside Coffee Shop from Big Little Lies was created in the storefront that now houses Capelli Court Salon at 26 North Baldwin Avenue in Sierra Madre. Deasy Penner Podley, aka Madeline’s real estate office from the show, is next door at 30 North Baldwin Avenue. Several other sites from Season 2 can be found on the same block including the Starbucks at 1 Kersting Court, where Tori Bachman (Sarah Sokolovic) propositioned Ed Mackenzie (Adam Scott) in “The Bad Mother” and where Renata Klein (Dern) lashed out at Mary Louise Wright (Meryl Streep) in “I Want to Know”, and Mother Moo Creamery at 17 Kersting Court, where Madeline threw an ice cream cone at Mary Louise in a scene that was ultimately cut.

July 26, 2019
Madeline’s Real Estate Office from “Big Little Lies”

I try to keep things positive on this blog, but, man, Sunday night’s Big Little Lies finale was an epic disappointment! The entire season was hugely lackluster, truth be told, which is especially frustrating considering the outright perfection of Season 1. I will contend that the first few episodes started out semi-promising, but the show quickly made an about-face, jumping the shark not long after Renata Klein’s (Laura Dern) “I will not NOT be rich!” jailhouse proclamation. My friend Jennifer summed things up perfectly when she messaged me Monday morning saying, “This entire season felt like it was a bunch of shots composed of the following: the same flashbacks over and over again; waves; shaky cam footage with low-to-no sound; driving shots. That was the meat and potatoes of the season, and the dessert was the one or two shots each episode that didn’t fall into those categories.” The locations proved just as mediocre as the rest of the season (again, especially disappointing considering those of S1), but I still have quite a few left in my arsenal to blog about including the real estate office where Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon) worked. So here goes!

[ad]

The supposed Monterey-area Sotheby’s where Madeline is employed first appeared in Season 2’s premiere, “What Have They Done?” (How Madeline went from being the director of a community theater in Season 1 to a real estate agent in Season 2 was never explained – like so many of the other changes made – but I guess that is beside the point.)

I did not recognize the office when initially watching the episode the night it aired back in June, but while scanning through it the following morning on the hunt for locales, I noticed the bright green and orange coloring of its exterior, shown fleetingly as Madeline walks inside, and knew immediately that filming had taken place at Hotel Shirley in Sierra Madre.

Thanks to my many visits to Sierra Madre when I lived in nearby Pasadena, I have long been familiar with the two-story structure, which is a focal point of the city’s quaint downtown.

Though one of the area’s Historical Landmarks, oddly, I could not find much information about Hotel Shirley’s background online.

Per the sign displayed out front, the building dates back to 1889 when it served as the headquarters of Hawks & Copps Real Estate and Insurance. In 1911, it was rebuilt as Hotel Shirley, a lodging for visitors to Mt. Wilson described by newspapers of the day as an “ideal summer resort in the mountains” boasting “fine cuisine” as well as having “no fleas or mosquitoes” – always a plus. In later years, the property became everything from a church meeting hall to a grocer to a house of ill repute before finally being purchased by local realtor Judy Webb-Martin in 1994. She set about restoring the structure to operate, in part, as her brokerage firm, a project which took five years to complete. Being that Hawks & Copps was the city’s first real estate office, the site really has come full circle. You can check out a short video Judy put together about the building’s provenance, which is where the black and white still below comes from, here.

Big Little Lies made use of the north side of Hotel Shirley’s lower level which, in real life, is home to the Sierra Madre outpost of the Deasy Penner Podley brokerage firm.

I ran out to stalk the place shortly after its appearance in “What Have They Done?” and was thrilled to be wholeheartedly welcomed by the agents present, all of whom expressed my same affinity for the show. How exciting it must have been for them to witness a beloved series come to life right before their very eyes in their very workspace and to share the same air with such esteemed stars as Witherspoon, Dern, and Meryl-freaking-Streep! My new friends even allowed me to take pictures of the office’s interior and showed me exactly where filming had taken place!

As you can imagine, I was like a kid in a candy store, snapping away!

Deasy Penner Podley is also where Renata rants to Madeline about Otter Bay Elementary School Principal Warren Nippal (P.J. Byrne) in the episode titled “The End of the World.” According to the employees I spoke with, the office’s actual furnishings were used in the shoot, though the site has since been remodeled slightly with the black desks swiped out for natural wood versions and the back wall painted green instead of blue. Several pieces were also moved out for the shoot to give the space more openness, but otherwise, it is very recognizable from its onscreen appearance.

The Deasy Penner Podley agents also informed me that a third scene was shot at the office, but like so much of the footage from Season 2, it wound up on the cutting room floor.

Thanks to the Dear Old Hollywood website, I learned that Hotel Shirley is visible in the background of the 1956 drama Strange Intruder in the scene in which Paul Quentin (Edmund Purdom) catches a bus to leave town. (That’s it in the top left of both screen captures below.)

The Hotel can also briefly be seen in the Season 1 episode of Camping titled “Going to Town,” which aired in 2018.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking !

Stalk It: Deasy Penner Podley, aka Madeline’s real estate office from Big Little Lies, is located on the bottom level of Hotel Shirley at 30 North Baldwin Avenue in Sierra Madre. The Starbucks where Tori Bachman (Sarah Sokolovic) propositioned Ed Mackenzie (Adam Scott) in the episode titled “The Bad Mother” and where Renata lashed out at Mary Louise Wright (Streep) in “I Want to Know” can be found across the street at 1 Kersting Court. And Mother Moo Creamery, where Madeline runs into Mary Louise in “Kill Me” – and where she was supposed to throw an ice cream cone at her -is up the road at 17 Kersting Court.

July 24, 2019
The Philadelphia Museum of Art from “Rocky”

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has been called the world’s second most famous filming location, falling only behind Grand Central Station in New York. While the latter has been captured on celluloid copious times, the former is known mainly for one significant appearance. It was there that Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) embodied triumph by scaling the site’s massive east entrance stairs, fists pumping in the air, in what is arguably one of cinema’s most iconic moments from the 1976 boxing classic Rocky. Even though I have never seen the movie (I know, I know!), I was very familiar with the archetypal segment (which you can watch here), so there was no way I was going to miss stalking the museum to re-create it while vacationing in the City of Brotherly Love in 2016!

[ad]

The Philadelphia Museum of Art as we know it today opened to the public on March 26th, 1928, though its roots date all the way back to 1876 when the city hosted the Centennial Exhibition, the first official World’s Fair to take place in the United States. One of the event’s most popular exhibits was the Art Gallery, situated inside the gorgeous Memorial Hall which still stands today at 4231 Avenue of the Republic. It proved so beloved in fact, that following the fair’s closure, it continued to function, becoming a permanent part of Philadelphia’s cultural landscape. By the 1890s, the need for a bigger space to house the museum’s growing collection had developed and city leaders began making plans to erect a larger gallery, though ground would not be broken on the new site until 1919 and construction would not be completed for another nine years after that.

Towering atop Fairmount Hill, the city’s highest point, the grand structure was designed by the Zantzinger, Borie and Medary and the Horace Trumbauer architecture firms.

The massive facility houses more than 220,000 works in 200 different galleries and features large-scale installations including a ceremonial Japanese teahouse, a pillared hallway fashioned from the ruins of 3 Indian temples and the former main entrance to France’s Abbey Church of Saint-Laurent, as well as pieces by Vincent van Gogh, Edward Hicks, Thomas Eakins, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse.

Though the views of the city it boasts are just as picturesque as the art which hangs on its walls.

Today, PMOA is one of the largest, most visited art museums in the country. And thanks to Rocky, its east staircase is just as big a draw as the museum itself.

The “Rocky Steps,” as they are colloquially known, pop up twice in the flick – first mid-film, in the scene in which the fledgling boxer, while training for a big fight, unsuccessfully attempts to scale them during a nighttime jog.

Later in the movie, he finally makes it to the top and we see the museum . . .

. . . and its views in all of their glory. Rocky’s legendary run is actually immortalized with a set of footprints at the top of the stairs, but I was, unfortunately, unaware of that fact when I stalked the place, so I failed to get a photo of them. You can see what they look like here, though.

Several of the movie’s sequels have also made use of PMOA, including 1979’s Rocky II in which the Italian Stallion once again trains for a big fight by running up to the museum’s 72nd step.

In 1982’s Rocky III, the now famous boxer is honored with a bronze statue of himself that is displayed atop the museum’s east staircase. During the dedication ceremony early in the film, he is heckled by Clubber Lang (Mr. T).

Later in the movie, Rocky goes to see the statue during a nighttime motorcycle ride.

The A. Thomas Schomberg-designed piece, which stands 8’6” tall, was commissioned by Stallone for Rocky III and then left in place at the top of the steps when filming wrapped, a gift from the actor to the museum. While City Commerce Director Dick Doran embraced the move, proclaiming that Sylvester had done “more for Philadelphia’s image than anyone since Ben Franklin,” not all locals were as enthused, especially PMOA executives who felt that the sculpture was nothing more than a movie prop. In a rather contentious move, the work was eventually moved to the Wachovia Spectrum in South Philadelphia.

Though it was temporarily brought back to the museum in 1990 for a brief scene in Rocky V, as soon as the shoot wrapped it was relegated to the Spectrum once again.

Finally in 2006, the statue was given a new home just east of the base of the Rocky Steps where it still stands today.

That same year, the museum was featured in the closing credits of Rocky Balboa in a montage showing fans running up the staircase, re-creating the famous moment from the first movie . . .

. . . before flashing to an image of Rocky standing on the steps alone while snow falls around him.

And at the end of the 2015 sequel Creed, Rocky takes Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) to the staircase.

The Rocky franchise is hardly the only production to showcase the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Lisa Brandt (Janet Margolin) runs away to the museum in the 1962 drama David & Lisa.

The interior masks as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) meets Warren Lockman (Ken Baker), in the 1980 thriller Dressed to Kill.

Will Smith (Will Smith), imitating Rocky, runs up the staircase while training for a fight in the Season 4 episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air titled “The Philadelphia Story,” which aired in 1994.

Rose (Toni Collette) also pays homage to Rocky by running up the museum steps a couple of times in the 2005 drama In Her Shoes.

Kate (Tina Fey) and Rob (Greg Kinnear) kiss in front of the museum in the 2008 comedy Baby Mama.

Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley) is briefly seen looking at Paul Cézanne’s The Bathers there in the 2016 thriller Split.

Shazam (Zachary Levi) heads to the Philadelphia Museum of Art with Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) shortly after discovering his superhero alter ego in 2019’s Shazam!

He also perfects his laser abilities on the museum steps (with “Eye of the Tiger” from Rocky III playing in the background) later in the movie.

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 Philadelphia Museum of Art, from Rocky, is located at 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. The steps featured in the movie can be found on the eastern side of the property. You can visit the museum’s official website here.

July 22, 2019
LOVE Park from “Shazam!”

I am a complete and total girly-girl, especially when it comes to anything having to do with love, hearts or romance. So when I headed to Philadelphia in September 2016, John F. Kennedy Plaza, aka LOVE Park, was at the top of my To-Stalk List – or rather the iconic LOVE statute that serves as its focal point was. Unbeknownst to me, the space was actually undergoing a two-year renovation at the time of our visit and closed to the public. I did get to see the sculpture, though, at a temporary display site in Dilworth Park in front of City Hall, a literal stone’s throw away from its usual home. The two spots are in such close proximity, in fact (they sit kitty-corner from each other across 15th Street), that it was not until perusing my photographs in preparation for this post that I realized I never actually set foot in LOVE Park during my trip! Regardless, after learning of the site’s fascinating history (and its connection to a certain Hollywood star), as well as of its recent cameo in the 2019 superhero film Shazam! (available on DVD and streaming now), I figured a blog about it was in order.

[ad]

LOVE Park was originally conceived of in 1932 by Cornell University architecture student Edmund Bacon, then 22, while working on his thesis, though it would not come to fruition for several decades. After graduating, Bacon spent time traveling around the world and eventually secured an architecture job in Shanghai. He then served in World War II before finally returning to his hometown of Philadelphia where he founded and then became the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission, a position he held from 1949 through 1970. During his tenure, Bacon spearheaded many projects to beautify the area, including finally enacting his college thesis idea of developing a municipal park to cover an underground parking garage that neighbored City Hall.

Bacon brought in his former Cornell University classmate Vincent George Kling to design the park, which opened to the public in 1965. Two years later, it was dedicated as “John F. Kennedy Plaza,” though it is more commonly referred to as “LOVE Park” thanks to the large Robert Indiana-designed LOVE sculpture that sits at its center. Measuring 6 feet by 6 feet by 3 feet, the shiny red, purple and green installation was first displayed on the premises, on temporary loan from the artist, in 1976 as part of the United States bicentennial celebration. Its return to Indiana in 1978 was met with much woe, so Philadelphia Art Commission president (and owner of the 76ers) Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. rectified the situation, personally purchasing the piece to exhibit permanently in the Plaza.

In February 2016, John F. Kennedy Plaza was shuttered for the aforementioned renovation project which cost $26 million and took 2 years to complete. During the interim, the LOVE statue was moved to Dilworth Park, just south of the Philadelphia Municipal Services Building, as pictured below.

It was finally reinstated in February 2018 and the park re-opened to the public in May of that same year. The new design, which features two gardens, a great lawn, a fountain, and regular events including weekday food truck offerings, has been widely lamented by area denizens. An apparent shadow of its former self, The Philadelphia Citizen described the bleak space as “an enormous sidewalk,” while The Philadelphia Inquirer dubbed it a “granite Sahara,” and the Street Dept. blog went so far as to plead with locals to close their accounts with Bank of America, as the company funded a portion of the revamp. You can check out some images of LOVE Park pre- and post-overhaul here and here, respectively.

Aside from the LOVE statue, John F. Kennedy Plaza is perhaps best known for being a huge skateboarding mecca during the ‘80s and ‘90s, which brought the park worldwide attention, but also drew ire from some locals resulting in a long battle that caused the city to ban skating there in 1994. Many welcomed the activity, though, so the law was not strictly enforced and teens continued to shred it up on the premises until 2002 when the site underwent a renovation under the order of Mayor John F. Street which essentially made skating at the park obsolete. That project was met with much disdain, too, from countless Philadelphians including Edmund Bacon himself who, on October 28th of that year, hosted a protest of sorts by riding a skateboard through the Plaza – at the age of 92! As he stated to media outlets that day, “And now I, Edmund N. Bacon, in total defiance of Mayor Street and the council of the city of Philadelphia, hereby exercise my rights as a citizen of the United States and I deliberately skate in my beloved LOVE Park.” After his brief glide, he joyously proclaimed, “Oh God, thank you, thank you, thank you! My whole damn life has been worth it just for this moment!” You can check out a great video of the event here. Though Bacon is often referred to as “The Father of Modern Philadelphia” thanks to the huge mark he left on the City of Brotherly Love, I was thrilled to discover that his actual lineage is pretty darn noteworthy, too. Edmund, you see, is dad to none other than actor Kevin Bacon! And the LOVE Park’s Hollywood connection doesn’t end there.

In Shazam!, Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong) and Shazam (Zachary Levi) face off in a battle in the sky above LOVE Park.

During the fight, Sivana attempts to shoot Shazam with a laser, but misses and accidentally hits the William Penn statue atop City Hall instead, causing it to crash down to John F. Kennedy Plaza below.

LOVE Park also popped up in the 2009 comedy Baby Mama as the spot where Rob (Greg Kinnear) pretends to propose to Kate (Tina Fey) during a musical montage.

It is shown very briefly in an establishing shot of Philadelphia towards the end of the film, as well.

Noble Fox’s 2015 “What You Want” music video, which you can watch here, was also lensed at LOVE Park.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: John F. Kennedy Plaza, aka LOVE Park from Shazam!, is located at Arch and 16th Streets in Philadelphia’s Center City neighborhood.

July 19, 2019
Ed and Tori’s Coffee Shop Meet-Up from “Big Little Lies”

If the news reports currently lighting up the internet are to be believed, the drama that took place behind the scenes of Big Little Lies’ latest season is far headier than that which unfolded onscreen! At the center of the dustup, per a recent IndieWire exposé, is Jean-Marc Vallée, the director of the series’ epic first season, who HBO penned to surreptitiously take over post-production duties from Season 2’s Andrea Arnold, largely modifying her vision. According to the article, “While there was a significant reworking of the show’s story through additional photography and an increased reliance on Season 1 flashbacks, a large part of what guided Vallée’s reconfiguration of the second season was removing Arnold’s signature contributions. Sixty-page scripts were slashed down to 40-plus minute episodes, sources say, largely by chopping up a scene to remove what one source described as Arnold’s character exploration and ‘ephemeral stuff.’” Eleven – yes, eleven! – different editors were apparently brought in to complete the retrofit. The dissension shows. Big Little Lies’ current season has not only been disjointed but seriously lacking – in storyline, character development, script (where are Madeline’s zingy one-liners?), cinematography and locations – especially in locations. The first season sported some of the most appealing spots to ever come out of Hollywood – from the houses to the restaurants to the parks, every square inch of the BLL landscape was intoxicating! This season, the sites have been tepid at best (not that I’ll stop reporting on them!). Take for instance the illicit meet-up between Ed Mackenzie (Adam Scott) and Tori Bachman (Sarah Sokolovic) in “The Bad Mother,” which took place at a . . . Starbucks. While I’m the first to extol appreciation for the coffee giant, I recognize that its stores are rather generic and bland. Not exactly the space I would have chosen for a steamy, Monterey-style tête-à-tête. Arnold, you could have done better! Nevertheless, I just had to stalk the outpost where the segment was shot.

[ad]

As I’ve said many times before, stalking begets stalking. While visiting a different Big Littles Lies location a few weeks ago (one that I have yet to blog about), I struck up a conversation with the employees of the establishment who informed me that the Starbucks at 1 Kersting Court in Sierra Madre was also used in some Season 2 filming. Though I found it extremely surprising that the series would utilize a coffee chain and thought my new friends might even be mistaken, I popped on over there to snap a few pics.

So when the café popped up Sunday night in “The Bad Mother,” I recognized it immediately.

It is at the Kersting Court Starbucks that, in what is easily one of the season’s most cringe-worthy moments, Tori propositions Ed to have an affair. (I’m not even going to mention the type of diary Tori claims she keeps!)

Thanks to extremely tight angles, which seem to be a hallmark of this season’s shooting style, not much of the coffee shop is visible in the scene.

Though it is easy to discern that the segment made use of the corner window pictured on the left-hand side below.

To add insult to injury, the Sierra Madre Starbucks was also utilized for a scene in the season finale titled “I Want to Know.” While ordering a double Americano (NO milk!) at the outpost prior to heading to court to support Celeste Wright (Nicole Kidman), a “wrought” Renata Klein (Laura Dern) runs into “judgey judger” Mary Louise Wright (Meryl Streep) and gives her a rather obscenity-laden piece of her mind. The segment (which you can watch here) is extraordinary (seriously, how is Meryl so good?), especially the ending in which Renata storms out sans her Americano causing Mary Louise to tell the barista, “Put it in a bag. I’ll take it to her cause we’re going to the same —” and then points her finger toward the wall cavalierly, failing to mention that they’re both going to Monterey Superior Court where Mary Louise is suing Celeste for custody of her two children. Like I said, the scene is genius. The location? Not so much.

The Kersting Court Starbucks is a cute little spot to grab a cup of joe, no doubt. The patio out front is especially inviting. Regardless of that fact, though, I still maintain that it is by no means extraordinary enough to be featured on a series like Big Little Lies, which is so adept at showcasing striking locations, viewers practically want to dive through their screens to immerse themselves in the scenery. Well, that was the case with Season 1, at least. Season 2 left quite a bit to be desired.

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 Starbucks where Tori propositions Ed in the Season 2 episode of Big Little Lies titled “The Bad Mother” is located at 1 Kersting Court in Sierra Madre.

July 17, 2019