Calabasas filming locations

April 17, 2013April 16, 2013

Malibu Hindu Temple from “Beverly Hills Ninja”

A couple of weeks back, while doing research on the Calabasas-area mansion where the contestants live on the fabulous Bachelor parody series Burning Love (which I blogged about here), I came across a blurb in fave book Los Angeles Attractions detailing the Malibu Hindu Temple. I had never before heard of the place, but my interest was immediately piqued when I read the words, “It was the setting for scenes in Beverly Hills Ninja.” Um, sign me up! So I immediately added the site to my To-Stalk list and headed right on over there with Mike, from MovieShotsLA, while I was in L.A. for a couple of days last week.

[ad]

As we pulled up to the temple, which sits on 4.5 acres nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains, my first thought was, ‘How in the heck had I not known about this place until just recently?’ As you can see below, not only is it absolutely HUGE, but it is also quite spectacular.

The sanctuary, which is also known as the Sri Venkateswara Temple, was originally constructed in the Chola style by Indian craftsman in 1981 and is owned and operated by the Hindu Temple Society of Southern California. According to Los Angeles Attractions, it is the largest Hindu temple on the West Coast, with 120,000 worshipers visiting annually.

The temple complex consists of two sections – the upper (and main) portion (pictured below), which is presided over by Lord Venkateswara . . .

. . and the lower portion (pictured below), which is presided over by Lord Shiva.

Amazingly enough, for being such an impressive structure, I could find virtually no information about the place online, other than the fact that Britney Spears attended services there in 2006 with son Sean Preston.

While there, I did, of course, venture into the temple, even though I had to remove my shoes to do so – and immediately started having visions of the Season 6 episode of Sex and the City titled “A Woman’s Right to Shoes” (one of my all-time favorites!), in which Carrie Bradshaw’s (my girl Sarah Jessica Parker’s) Manolo Blahniks were stolen after she was forced to doff them while attending a party. Before heading inside, I did vow to “register” for a new pair of wedges, like Carrie did in the episode, if mine were stolen. Winking smile They weren’t, thankfully. (Speaking of Sarah Jessica Parker and shoes, the actress will be auctioning off three pairs of hers to benefit the LaGuardia High School of Music, Art and the Performing Arts on April 24. You can bid here.)

The temple is quite beautiful on the inside, as well.

In Beverly Hills Ninja, which premiered in 1997, Malibu Hindu Temple was where Martin Tanley (Nathaniel Parker) met with a rival gang in order to pick up counterfeiting plates, shortly after capturing Haru (Chris Farley). While at the temple, Allison Page (Nicollette Sheridan) rescues Haru, but winds up being captured by Martin herself just a few minutes later.

The interior portion of the temple also appeared in the movie.

In 1998, the temple was featured during a musical sequence in the Indian Tamil move Jeans.

Malibu Hindu Temple also popped up in Fog & Smog’s 2001 parody music video “Yoga Girl”.

You can watch that video by clicking below.

You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER. And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Malibu Hindu Temple, from Beverly Hills Ninja, is located at 1600 Las Virgenes Canyon Road in Calabasas. You can visit the temple’s official website here.

April 2, 2013April 2, 2013

The “Burning Love” Mansion

This past February, thanks to Reality Steve and the E! Channel, I was introduced to the brilliance that is the Ben Stiller-produced parody of The Bachelor titled Burning Love. The Hose Ceremonies along with the catchphrase “Will you accept my hose?” are pure comic genius! The last time I found myself laughing so much over a television series was when I first started watching The Office. Anyone who is at all a fan of The Bachelor will LOVE Burning Love. As of yet, I have only seen the Season 1 episodes that have aired on E! (the show started as a web series and was later picked up by the cable channel), but am already eagerly awaiting Season 2 – although I cannot imagine a better lead character than Mark Orlando (Ken Marino – who also directs the series and whose wife, Erica Oyama, is the head writer). So when I saw that fellow stalker Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, had tracked down the mansion where the contestants live on the show, I just about passed out from excitement and dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out to stalk it while we were in L.A. this past weekend.

[ad]

Back in June 2012, Geoff came across this Yahoo TV article about the series in which Ken Marino stated that the Burning Love mansion was located in Calabasas, in the same area as the ranch from The Biggest Loser (which I blogged about here). I so love that Ken knew that, by the way! Most people in the industry could care less about filming locations, but I digress. Anyway, Geoff started looking for the ginormous Tuscan-style estate in the Calabasas hills, but the hunt proved to be a bit of a tough one. Because the property was recently constructed in 2008, most angles of Google and Bing Maps show its location as a vacant plot of land. It was not until Geoff randomly switched the map view to a different direction at one point during his search that the abode appeared and he realized it was the place he had been looking for.

In real life, the massive manse boasts seven en-suite bedrooms, eight baths, 9,684 square feet of living space, a 7.29-acre plot of land, a media room, a play room, an office/library, five fireplaces (!), a 1,500-bottle wine cellar, hand-crafted ceilings, 360-degree views of the Santa Monica Mountains, a sauna, a pool, a spa, and a built-in BBQ. The property last sold in April 2011 for $2,600,000 and is currently for sale for $3,950,000. You can check out the home’s real estate listing here.

Before arriving at the residence, I was nervous that it would not be visible from the street, so I was completely floored to discover that it was, for the most part, in open view!

Burning Love, which is so spot-on in its parody of The Bachelor that I constantly have to remind myself that the show is not actually a reality series, centers around several woman, most of whom are dental hygienists, hoping to find love with Mark, the boneheaded fireman who in the premiere episode announced that his soul mate was “someone who can make me laugh, but isn’t afraid of robots.” LOL The mansion was used extensively in the filming, which according to this Yahoo TV article, took only eight days to complete. The areas of the estate that appeared on the show include the front exterior;

the entryway;

the kitchen [and yes, contestant Haley (Chelsea Lately’s Natasha Leggero), who is pictured below, does not wear pants on the series, causing Mark to say in one scene, “I can definitely see us starting a family together, maybe in a town where they accept people who don’t wear pants.” LOL];

the living room;

the family room, where the Hose Ceremonies take place;

the master bedroom (check out the old school back pillow sitting on the floor – again LOL) . . .

. . . where Mark gazes at himself longingly in the mirror;

and the pool, where Mark throws a pool party because “I thought it would be a great chance to see the girls let loose . . . uh, also to see a lot of top and side-boob and, if we’re lucky, a little butt cleavage.” As Dan Casey said in his post about the show on Nerdist, “From the needlessly confusing rules, the preposterous theme dates and the plucked-from-Guess Who contestants, Burning Love hits the nail on its vapid, empty head.” That it does, Dan. And I couldn’t love it more. If you are at all a fan of The Bachelor (or just simply love to hate it), Burning Love is a must-watch!

You can watch the first episode of Burning Love, which features a cameo appearance by Jennifer Aniston, as well as a handful of other stars, by clicking below.

You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER. And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Big THANK YOU to Geoff, from the 90210Locations website, for finding this location! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Burning Love mansion is located at 2760 Country Ridge Road, just off of Stokes Canyon Road, in Calabasas. King Gillette Ranch, aka The Biggest Loser ranch, is located just down the street at 26800 Mulholland Highway.

December 2, 2009December 2, 2009

The Red Robin Restaurant from “Newlyweds”

While Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I were out doing some Valley stalking a couple of months ago, we decided to made a pit stop at the Red Robin restaurant in Calabasas for lunch. Even though I am not now nor never have been a big Jessica Simpson fan, I had been dying to stalk the restaurant ever since it had appeared in a Season Three episode of the Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson reality series Newlyweds. Truth be told, though, I was really just using the fact that the restaurant had appeared on TV as an excuse to eat there, as Red Robin has long been my very favorite place to dine. 🙂 In fact, until POP Champagne Bar came on the scene late last year, Red Robin was literally the only place I ever wanted to eat. For those who have never had the pleasure of dining at a Red Robin location, let me just say here that the eatery serves up some of the BEST chicken strips (aka “Clucks”) I’ve ever tasted in my entire life, their fries are out of this world, and don’t even get me started on the ranch dressing!!! 🙂 So, when I randomly mentioned to Mike that I had always wanted to stalk the Red Robin from Newlyweds, and he not only knew its exact location, but said we happened to be right in its vicinity, I just about died from excitement and begged him to take me there. Which he happily did. 🙂

In the Season 3 episode of Newlyweds entitled “Eye Surgery”, Jessica Simpson and BFF Cacee Cobb have Lasik surgery performed on their eyes – and yes, the entire procedure is shown, in very high detail I might add – on the show. I was literally gagging while watching it! In fact, after seeing the surgery in such an up-close-and-personal format like that, I don’t think I will ever in my life sign up for Lasik. LOL But I digress! After the procedure, Jessica mentions that she could really go for a burger and the two make a stop at the nearest Red Robin restaurant. Because the girls are forced to wear post-surgery eye goggles, which severely inhibit their vision, several comical moments take place during the course of the meal.

My favorite of which being when Jessica drowns her plate in about three pounds of ketchup, and then, not realizing how much she had poured, asks Cacee, “Do I have enough for my burger?” LOL LOL LOL

In the episode, Jessica also had a little trouble walking up the restaurant’s front steps, so Mike suggested that I imitate her while he took a picture. LOVE IT! 🙂

While we were eating, I mentioned to Mike that I wished I could remember the spot where Jessica and Cacee sat during the episode, to which he replied, “Oh, I know their exact booth!” And that right there is why he is one of my best friends!!! 🙂 For those who are curious, Jessica and Cacee sat in the furthest corner booth of the restaurant’s Eastern side (pictured above).

[ad]

It should be no surprise that I HIGHLY recommend stalking the Red Robin restaurant from Newlyweds! 🙂 I also highly recommend ordering the Clucks & Fries meal while there. Trust me on this one, you will NOT be disappointed!!! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Red Robin restaurant from Newlyweds is located at 24005 Calabasas Road in Calabasas.

October 16, 2009October 20, 2009

The It’s A Grind Coffee House from Weeds

Another location that Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I stalked while in the San Fernando Valley a few weeks ago was the It’s A Grind Coffee House featured weekly in the opening credits of the Showtime series Weeds. I was dying to stalk this location not only because I love anything and everything having to do with coffee, but because of a little bit of trivia that I had read online. According to IMDB, the It’s A Grind coffee company has had a product placement deal with Weeds since the series began. Those who watch the show regularly will recall that Nancy (aka Mary-Louise Parker) carries around an iced drink from It’s A Grind in pretty much every scene. A woman after my own heart, I swear! Anyway, when it came time to shoot the opening credits, which features a scene where about a dozen businessmen dressed all alike enter and exit an It’s A Grind, for some odd reason producers chose NOT to film at an It’s A Grind location, but at a Starbucks store. They literally went to all the trouble of redressing the store and removing the Starbucks logo to replace it with It’s A Grind signage for the shoot. Being that It’s A Grind is a real coffee company with locations dotted all over the L.A. area, I cannot for the life of me figure out why they didn’t just use one of the real stores for the filming! It doesn’t make any sense! I guess I just have to chalk it up to the magic of Hollywood! 🙂

Because of the Starbucks store’s odd filming history, I decided I just had to stalk the place. The only problem was that I had no idea where it was located. According to IMDB, the store from the opening credits was located somewhere in Calabasas. So, since Mike is familiar with the Valley, I sent him the above screen capture and he recognized its location immediately. 🙂 YAY! So a few weeks ago, the two of us headed out to stalk the It’s A Grind/Starbucks store from Weeds. 🙂 And, of course, being that it’s a Starbucks, I highly recommend stalking the place! 🙂 And thanks to the numerous amount of stars that live in the Calabasas area, the store is no stranger to celebrity. I hear that MJ’s brother Jermaine Jackson is even a regular there. 🙂

[ad]

Big THANK YOU to Mike for finding this location! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The It’s A Grind/Starbucks coffee house from Weeds is located at 26531 Agoura Road in Calabasas. You can visit the It’s A Grind website to find a real It’s A Grind location here.