This and That – Page 63 – IAMNOTASTALKER

February 27, 2009

Becky Bloomwood Takes on the El Capitan!

I have long been obsessed with the “Confessions of a Shopaholic” book series authored by British novelist Sophie Kinsella (aka Madeline Wickham). So obsessed in fact that about five years ago when I heard that Hollywood was optioning a screenplay based on the novels, I wrote to Sophie pitching myself for the movie’s lead role. I must say that I was absolutely born to play the story’s heroine, Becky Bloomwood – a slightly daft shopaholic with a completely unique and upbeat take on the world. So when Sophie Kinsella wrote me back, as you can imagine, I just about died!!! And then when it was announced that Sophie’s one and only West Coast stop on her Shopaholic and Baby book tour was going to be at my fave bookstore, Vroman’s, I thought it was a sign from above. In March of 2006 I did indeed get to meet Sophie at her book signing and – get this – she remembered me and my letters. Being that I decorated the letters with about a hundred sparkly shoe stickers that I made myself, I guess they were pretty unforgettable. LOL 🙂 So as you can imagine I was absolutely crushed when in late 2006 it was announced that Isla Fisher had won the much-coveted role of Becky.

The most crushing part of all for me was my belief that Isla Fisher was just simply not the right person to play Becky. If it wasn’t going to be me playing that part, then it better be someone darn perfect for the role! And Isla just wasn’t it. So yesterday after much begging and pleading my friend Blaze finally convinced me to see Confessions of a Shopaholic with him. And I have to admit that, surprisingly enough, I didn’t hate it. I didn’t love it either, mind you, I didn’t even really like it. But at least I didn’t hate it. LOL But they really should have given the movie a different title, because in no way, shape, or form does it resemble the novels I’ve grown to know and love. Aside from the characters’ names, the story is pretty much unrecognizable. And while Isla was funny – she just wasn’t Becky. I so wanted to see the warm-hearted, but hair-brained character I love so much up on that screen. And sadly, Isla wasn’t it. So, if you want my advice, don’t bother with the movie if you are at all a fan of the books. And if you’re not a fan of the books, but just want to see a romantic comedy, I’d instead recommend He’s Just Not That Into You. 🙂

The only good part about seeing Shopaholic yesterday was that we got to watch it in the famed and historic El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. I so rarely go to the El Capitan and, honestly, I have no idea why as it is one of the most beautiful movie palaces in all of L.A. The El Capitan first opened up on May 3, 1926 and was strictly a live theatre venue. The exterior was designed in the Spanish Colonial style by art deco architect Stiles O. Clements, who was also the designer of the Wiltern and Mayan Theatres in Los Angeles. The interior was designed by San Francisco theatre designer G. Albert Lansburgh, who was also responsible for designing the Shrine Auditorium in L.A. and the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. The interior alone cost over $1.2 million to construct. For over a decade the El Capitan had an enormously successful run showcasing live theatre performances starring such legends as Clark Gable, Buster Keaton and Will Rogers. During the Great Depression the theatre began to falter and was in danger of closing its doors. Until 1941 when a young director who was having trouble finding a theatre that would premiere his new movie asked if he could rent out the El Capitan. That director was Orson Welles and the movie was Citizen Cane. That premiere gave new life to the theatre and not long afterwards, theatre executives decided to close the space for a year in order to modernize it and customize it for film premieres. On March 18, 1942, armed with a new design and a new name, the Hollywood Paramount Theatre opened to the world. It’s first movie showing was Read the Wild Wind. The Paramount became wildly successful hosting premieres for all of the Hollywood greats, including my girl Marilyn Monroe. 🙂 In later years the theatre came to be owned by Pacific Theatres, who in 1989 partnered up with the Walt Disney Company and decided to restore the Paramount to its original glory. The theatre closed its doors once again. This time for two years, while undergoing a $14 million renovation. When it re-opened in 1991, the original name had been restored and the original glamour unearthed once again.

Today the El Capitan is where Disney holds most of its Hollywood premieres. In the past Lilo and Stitch, Monsters Inc., Bolt, Miracle, Herby: Fully Loaded, and countless, countless others have premiered there. Oftentimes, before the start of a movie, the El Capitan will feature a live-action pre-show starring some of your favorite Disney characters. And a display featuring props, costumes, and memorabilia from the movie currently playing is usually set up in the El Capitan’s basement for fans to enjoy. I took the above photo of some of Isla Fisher’s costumes from Confessions of a Shopaholic, but it didn’t come out very well. The El Capitan is absolutely breathtaking inside and its lobby and hallways have countless photographs showcasing the history of the legendary theatre and the hundreds of stars who have attended premieres there. My favorite part of the El Capitan, though, has to be the Disney Soda Fountain and Studio Store located just off the theatre’s main lobby. The Soda Fountain serves up some fabulous hot dogs and ice cream sundaes – and the walls are lined with photographs of the many stars who have dined there. I can’t recommend stalking the El Capitan enough – but I’d wait until Shopaholic leaves and a new movie comes. LOL

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The El Capitan Theatre is located at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, directly across from the Hollywood & Highland complex.

February 18, 2009June 16, 2011

The “‘Til There Was You” Apartment Building

Another day, another elusive location found thanks to Mike – God of Stalking – over at MovieShotsLA. 🙂 I have been challenged several times over the past few months to find the beautiful courtyard apartment building featured in the 1997 movie ‘Til There Was You. Unfortunately I had never seen the movie before and my local Blockbuster did not carry the title. And according to Amazon.com, the DVD had been discontinued by the manufacturer. So I thought I was really out of luck on this one, as without seeing the movie firsthand I had no idea what I was looking for. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I just happened to mention my quandry to Mike and he set out to find the location. Within about fifteen minutes Mike called me back with an address. Amazing! He had found the location by doing a simple Google search. And all this time I had been trying to find the DVD. But who needs a video or screen captures when you’ve got mad stalking skills like Mike? LOL 🙂

Once Mike had found the location – and once I found out that BOTH my girl Jen Aniston and SJP starred in the movie – I decided to make one last ditch effort to purchase the DVD. And sure enough, I found it on Ebay! The only problem? For sale was a Region 2 DVD, which meant it would only work on European DVD players. LOL Thank God my boyfriend is good with computers, because somehow he was able to rig my laptop so that I could watch the movie. So, finally – after about a six month long wait – I got to see ‘Til There Was You. I must say that the movie was pretty cute. I wouldn’t recommend going through what I did to watch it, but if you happen to see it in a video store, it’s worth a rental. 🙂

The entire premise of ‘Til There Was You centers around the proposed demolition of a Spanish style courtyard apartment building named La Fortuna. In the movie the building has a very romantic quality to it and everyone who sets foot inside of its picturesque courtyard immediately falls in love with it. In real life that apartment building is named El Cabrillo and it is no stranger to the film industry. El Cabrillo was constructed in 1928 by none other than Cecil B. DeMille who needed a place to house his out of town actors. The building was designed by noted architects Arthur and Nina Zwebell, who built numerous Los Angeles courtyard style apartment buildings in the 1920’s, many of which are now on the National Register of Historic Places. Notables who have lived in the building at one time or another include transvetite actress Divine, actress Ann Harding, director Lowell Sherman, makeup artist Perc Westmore, and playwright John Willard.

Besides being featured in ‘Til There Was You, legend has it that El Cabrillo was also used in a Rudolph Valentino movie many moons ago. It is also currently being used as the home of the main character on the television series Chuck. Interestingly enough, Chuck’s pilot episode was actually filmed on location at El Cabrillo. The courtyard area and three different apartments were used for that episode. But once the show got picked up by NBC a replica of the apartments and the courtyard were rebuilt on a soundstage at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank.

Sadly, El Cabrillo’s gates were closed while I was stalking it, so I did not get to see the interior courtyard area. From the outside El Cabrillo is amazingly non-descript and completely covered in foliage. You could easily drive right past the building without realizing the beauty that lies just on the other side of its gates.

But for those of you who would like an up-close-and-personal look at the building, I have some good news! A few of the units are currently available as vacation rentals. And it appears from the rental website photographs that El Cabrillo’s interiors are absolutely beautiful!! They actually remind me a lot of the interior of Amanda Peet’s apartment in fave movie A Lot Like Love. In fact the interiors are so similar, that I can’t help but wonder if the A Lot Like Love set was modeled after the interior of a real El Cabrillo apartment (both are pictured above).

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The ‘Til There Was You apartment building, aka El Cabrillo, is located at 1832-1850 North Grace Avenue in Hollywood.

February 16, 2009February 16, 2009

Happy Presidents’ Day!

Hi fellow stalkers! As you’ve probably noticed already IAmNotAStalker has a new look. Because I was working out the kinks on the new site all weekend, I didn’t have time to write a post. And in honor of Presidents’ Day, I’m taking today off. 🙂 I promise I’ll be back tomorrow. So without further ado, welcome to my new site! 🙂 I hope you enjoy it!

February 8, 2009February 13, 2009

Only in L.A.!

The other day while I was on my way to acting class I experienced one of those “Only in L.A.” moments that I love so much. 🙂 While walking past Lucky Strike Lanes Bowling Alley on Highland Avenue in Hollywood I noticed a vending machine selling Movie Star Maps and I just about died laughing. LOL You gotta love it! I mean in every other city in America there are plenty of street-side vending machines selling newspapers, local publications, and maybe even the occasional apartment locator magazine. But L.A. is unique. L.A. is special. Here, right on the street smack dab in the middle of Hollywood, we have a vending machine which sells maps with the addresses of all of your favorite movie stars for the bargain price of $5. God, I love L.A.! 🙂

Even though the Movie Star Maps vending machine is not a filming location – that I know of! – I still just HAD to blog about it. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Movie Star Maps vending machine is located on North Highland Avenue, in between Hollywood Boulevard and Yucca Street, just a few feet north of Lucky Strike Lanes Bowling Alley.

February 7, 2009February 13, 2009

Grow Your Own Paparazzi!

As a “just because” present my good friend Nat recently gave me a Sigg water bottle with a paparazzi on it (pictured above). LOL! I love it. Now I can have a paparazzi following me every time I take a sip of water. 🙂 And the best part is, it’s pink! Best present ever! Anyway, while not a filming location, I thought the Sigg bottle was hilarious and definitely blog-worthy. If you want your very own paparazzi Sigg bottle – or need a present for the celeb-obsessed struggling actress in your life – you can order one here. 🙂

This same friend also bought me a “Grow Your Own Paparazzi” toy (pictured above) for Christmas last year. She has quite the sense of humor. LOL I plan on using it on those down days when I feel like my acting career is taking off far too slowly. 🙂 LOL

Stalk It: You can purchase the paparazzi Sigg water bottle here. And you can get your own “Grow Your Own Paparazzi” toy here.

February 4, 2009June 16, 2011

The He’s Just Not That Into You Movie Premiere

I am currently waiting on pins and needles for the movie He’s Just Not That Into You to hit theatres this upcoming Friday. The New Line Cinema film has all the makings of a hit – it stars my girl Jen and is based on an episode of fave television show Sex and the City. Come on – what more could a girl ask for?? 🙂 The “Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little” episode of Sex and the City that featured that now infamous line “He’s just not that into you!” is one of my all-time-favorite episodes. And I absolutely loved the book by SATC creative consultant Greg Behrendt and SATC executive story editor Liz Tuccillo that came out of that episode. I find it absolutely mind boggling that Greg and Liz took one line – one line – from a hit television show and not only turned it into a best-selling self-help book, but also a major motion picture starring numerous A-List celebs. How inspiring! Who knows, maybe one day a hit movie will be created out of a line from one of my blog posts! Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she? 🙂

According to fave book Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell , the idea behind the line “He’s just not that into you!” came about one morning while a group of SATC writers were sitting around their offices getting ready to start their day. One of the writers was asking for advice about a man she was dating who had been sending her “mixed signals”. Someone happened to ask Greg Behrendt, the only straight male in the room, for his perspective on the matter. And that is when Greg uttered the now ubiquitous line: “He’s just not that into you.” The SATC writers were absolutely intrigued by this line of reasoning and an idea was born. And the rest, as they say, is history! So yesterday when some friends and I stumbled onto the world premiere of He’s Just Not That Into You while grabbing a coffee before our acting class I just about keeled over with excitement! 🙂

The premiere was being held at Mann’s Chinese Theatre – the movie house where almost all Hollywood premieres are held – and the red carpet had been set up right in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard. To watch the event fans had to stand on the opposite side of the street behind some steel barriers where the view, unfortunately, was not the best. As you can see in the above photograph, several large screens were placed every few feet along the length of the red carpet for the actors to pose in front of. Much to my dismay, the screens also majorly blocked our view of all the hoopla. LOL

For some incredibly odd reason I have never watched a premiere before – I know, unbelievable, huh? – so I was extremely excited that my first red carpet event would be starring my girl Jen. 🙂 My friends and I parked ourselves just across the street from the red carpet and it wasn’t long before the celebs started arriving. 🙂 The first star we spotted was Ginnifer Goodwin (pictured above), who I absolutely LOVED in fave movie Win A Date With Tad Hamilton. The bright lights on the red carpet made it really hard for me to take photographs, though, so unfortunately the pics didn’t come out very well.

Next up was Drew Barrymore who is absolutely adorable in person. 🙂 She kept turning around to wave to the crowd and would pop her head in between the red carpet screens to smile at us. She was super, super cute in person and seemed very friendly! And it was right around that time – are you sitting down for this – that my camera died! I am not kidding! I managed to snap some pics of Drew using my camera phone, but of course they didn’t turn out very well. Let that be a lesson to me – ALWAYS have my camera charged! LOL After my camera died one of my friends said it was a sign that we should leave the premiere and head to our acting class – which we were already almost a half an hour late for. LOL While talking about the fact that we were so late for class the girl standing next to us said that she, too, was missing a class to watch the premiere. LOL So like the dutiful student that I am, I left the premiere and headed to class – WITHOUT seeing Jen! 🙁 Yes, you read that right. Now that’s dedication if I’ve ever seen it! LOL

For those of you who have never been, I HIGHLY recommend stalking a red carpet premiere. It was SO MUCH FUN! Even though we had to stand pretty far away, I still felt like we were right in the middle of everything that was happening. Besides Drew and Ginnifer, we also got to see Justin Long and Kevin Connolly. 🙂 You can see some high quality red carpet pics on this website where it looks like quite a few celebs – including Jennifer Aniston – walked across the street to sign autographs after making their way through the press line. So bummed I missed it! 🙁

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Mann’s Chinese Theatre is located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard smack dab in the middle of Hollywood. You can visit the Mann’s Chinese website to find out about upcoming premieres being held at the famous theatre. The premiere for the new Friday the 13th movie will be taking place there next Monday, February 9th, at 7pm, with the celeb arrivals most likely starting at 6pm.

February 2, 2009August 10, 2023

The Marilyn Monroe Theatre

UPDATE: Want to see the story of Marilyn Monroe live on stage? Marilyn Theater Tickets are available from BarrysTickets.com now!

A few weeks ago while out driving, I pulled my car to a screeching halt when I noticed a large sign reading “The Marilyn Monroe Theatre” on the side of a building in West Hollywood. I had never heard of a MM Theatre in Los Angeles before, so of course I just had park my car to go investigate. 🙂 It turns out that the theatre is part of the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. For non-Marilyn fans, Lee Strasberg and his second wife Paula were MM’s beloved acting teachers and private acting coaches for the seven years leading up to her death. While Marilyn never attended the Los Angeles branch of the Actors Studio, she did study at the New York studio beginning in March of 1955.

By that time, Marilyn was already a huge celebrity with 26 films under her belt. The already famous actress, who once said about acting “I am not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful.”, enrolled in regular classes at “The Studio”, studying alongside far less successful performers than herself. During class, due to her severe shyness and stage fright, Marilyn often sat in the very last row of seats in the very back of the room. I find it so admirable that a star of her caliber at such a high point in her career would be humble enough to study in a regular acting class. You don’t see many stars of today doing that! While at the studio, Marilyn studied alongside the likes of Eli Wallach (with whom she would later star in The Misfits), Kevin McCarthy, Maureen Stapleton, and Kim Stanley. Of her acting Lee Strasberg said “I have worked with hundreds and hundreds of actors and actresses, and there are only two that stand out way above the rest. Number one is Marlon Brando, and the second is Marilyn Monroe.” It is so sad to me that while outsiders could see and appreciate Marilyn’s immense talent, she was never able to recognize it in herself.

When Marilyn passed away in 1962, she willed the bulk of her estate to her beloved acting coach and his wife. Paula Strasberg died only four years later and a short year after that Lee Strasberg met and married a woman named Anna. The two remained married until Lee’s death in 1982, upon which Anna inherited Marilyn’s vast fortune and control of her image. In an ironic twist of fate, because Lee didn’t meet Anna until 1967, some five years after Marilyn’s death, the image and estate of one of the most famous stars in Hollywood history is controlled by a woman she never even met.

In 1969, as a present to her husband, Anna purchased the property where the Marilyn Monroe Theatre and the Los Angeles branch of The Actors Studio now stands. In the theatre’s early years, Lee’s acting classes were held there. As time went on, though, the theatre became one of the most prestigious stage venues in Los Angeles. And while Marilyn never set foot inside of the theatre that now bears her name, over the years it has premiered many revered plays and has also played host to many famous actors and actresses including Sally Kirkland, Rebecca DeMornay, Joe Mantegna, Amy Madigan, Andrew Prine, Renee Taylor, Joseph Bologna, Burt Young, Kim Cattral, and Boy Meet’s World’s Ben Savage. Movie screenings are also often held at the theatre. Actors who have participated in screenings at the MM Theatre include Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, John Voight, Bridget Fonda, Claire Danes, Martin Landau, Lesley Ann Warren, and Robert Wagner.

Of course, I highly recommend stalking the Marilyn Monroe Theatre. Any fan of MM will definitely appreciate being there. 🙂 On a side note while researching the theatre, I happened upon a link with an address to a Marilyn Monroe Memorial Theatre located in San Francisco. I am DEFINITELY going to have to stalk that the next time I am up there!!

UPDATE:

Marilyn Monroe fans visiting the L.A. area will be excited to hear that tickets to a new stage show chronicling the starlet’s life are currently available at Barry’sTickets.com. Marilyn – the Story of the Silver Screen Goddess, A Dance Musical, comes to Los Angeles from London’s West End and recounts the tragic behind-the-scenes life of the world’s most iconic blond. The musical, which was choreographed and directed by the Oliver and Evening Standard award-winning director Peter Schaufuss, provides audiences a glimpse of the private world Marilyn rarely shared with the public – the world of a woman who achieved every success imaginable, except for true happiness. The show features a cast of fifteen remarkable actors and showcases fifteen lively song and dance numbers including Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind”, which the singer originally wrote in honor of Marilyn in 1973, “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” from the hit movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” from the 1960 movie Let’s Make Love. Don’t miss Marilyn – The Story of the Silver Screen Goddess, A Dance Musical.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Marilyn Monroe Theatre is located 7936 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. San Francisco’s Marilyn Monroe Memorial Theatre is located at 96 Lafayette Street. The Actors Studio in New York where Marilyn once studied is located at 432 West 44th Street.

January 23, 2009June 16, 2011

The “Object of My Affection” House

The Object of My Affection is my least favorite of all the Jennifer Aniston movies. I remember watching it in college and being thoroughly disappointed. I mean, come on, it has to be one of the crappiest movies ever made. But if we’re being honest here, has she ever made a good one? LOL But when the address of Jen’s sister’s house in The Object of My Affection was listed in my new fave book Manhattan On Film: Walking Tours of Hollywood’s Fabled Front Lot, I just had to drag my boyfriend out to stalk it. Good movie or bad, Jen’s still my number one girl! 🙂

The picturesque brick townhouse showed up only once in the very beginning of The Object of My Affection, as the location where Jen’s wealthy sister and her husband, played by Allison Janney and Alan Alda, throw a lavish dinner party. It is at this party that Jen meets Paul Rudd, a gay man who will soon become her roommate and the ill suited “object of her affection”. In the movie, Paul and his boyfriend are shown exiting the townhouse and arguing in the street on their way home.

Not only was this townhouse used in The Object of My Affection, but it was also featured briefly in the Season Two episode of Sex and the City entitled “Take Me Out To The Ballgame”. In that ep, in order to take her mind off her recent break-up with Mr. Big, Miranda and the girls decide to take Carrie to a Yankees game. On the way there they pick up Samantha, who is standing outside of the townhouse with her new boyfriend, James. When I watched the episode recently I immediately recognized the building as The Object of My Affection townhouse. 🙂 I get asked quite often how I recognize this stuff and my answer is that I have no idea. LOL When it comes to filming locations, for some reason I have a photographic memory. For the life of me I can never remember where I’ve parked my car in a parking lot, but for some odd reason filming locations are forever branded on my brain. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Object of My Affection house is located at 15 East 81st Street on New York’s Upper East Side.

January 20, 2009February 9, 2009

Photos

A few of you have been asking why the photos on my site no longer open up to a larger size. And the answer is . . . I have no idea. 🙁 I think it has something to do with WordPress, but at the moment neither my boyfriend nor I can figure out what the problem is. We are in the process of moving IAmNotAStalker over to our own hosted server and when that little project is finished I promise that my photographs will be back to normal. Until that time, please bear with me. 🙂

January 1, 2009February 16, 2009

Happy 2009!

Last night, while watching the annual New Year’s Eve Ball Drop on television, my best friend mentioned that she wished she could see a photograph of a person standing next to the famous ball so that she could get an idea of how big it is in real life. Well, I just so happened to have such a picture and, even though it’s not technically a filming location, I thought it might make an interesting blog post. So here goes. A few weeks ago while in New York, my boyfriend and I had the chance to see last year’s Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball up close and personal while it was on display at the Herald Square Macy’s. 🙂

The New Year’s Eve Ball was rebuilt and redesigned for this year’s ceremony by a lighting design company named Focus Lighting, Inc. and it measures 12 feet in diameter and weighs 11,875 pounds. Last year’s ball is much smaller in comparison – 6 feet in diameter and 1,212 pounds. The ball is actually much, much smaller in person that I had imagined it would be. I had expected it to be huge!! I must say, though, that it was very cool to see the ball up close and personal and it is definitely very beautiful and very sparkly in person. And I am happy to report that for the first time ever, the 2009 ball will remain on display in Times Square, above the One Times Square Building, for the entire year.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: You can view last year’s ball on display at the Herald Square Macy’s during the Christmas season. You can view the 2009 ball year round on its perch, 475 feet above Times Square, on top of the One Times Square Building.