Los Angeles – Page 10 – IAMNOTASTALKER

March 6, 2009March 20, 2009

Lauren Conrad’s New Condo

Last week I heard the tragic news that Lauren Conrad confirmed that this season of her reality show The Hills would, in fact, be the last. Oh, Lauren, say it ain’t so!!! I get depressed enough when a season ends – how on earth am I going to feel knowing there will never again be a new Hills episode for me to look forward to?? Waaaaa! My fingers are crossed that at least Spencer and Heidi will be given their own show, because, let’s face it, The City just isn’t cutting it as a satisfactory Hills replacement. In other Hills news, Lauren Conrad and best pal Lo Bosworth recently moved out of the Hollywood house LC purchased back in January of ’08 and into a rented condominium in the Westwood area of Los Angeles. So, of course, last weekend I dragged my boyfriend right out to stalk their new place. 🙂

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One of my very favorite movie lines was said by Denise Richards (I know – yuck!) in the 2001 comedy Good Advice. In the movie, while trying to convince boyfriend Charlie Sheen to let her move into his upscale New York apartment building with him, Denise says “I’m ready to have a doorman in my life.” LOL Well, apparently LC was also ready for a doorman – according to the H’wood Party Girl website Lauren “wanted more security and being in a building with a doorman will allow her that.” Apparently Lauren was sick and tired of tour buses driving by her home ten plus times a day and random fans scaling her front wall and ringing her doorbell at all hours of the night. Hmmm, I wonder how these people got her address. 😉 LOL

Not only does Lauren’s new building have a 24-hour doorman, but it also features valet parking, a swimming pool and sun deck, a tennis court, a banquet room, and a fitness center. The twenty story building has only 65 units which range in price from $1.5 million to $3 million. Supposedly, Lauren is paying $15,000 per month to rent her new condo. To offset that hefty new rental cost, Lauren is currently renting out her Hollywood house for the bargain price of $11,000 a month! LOL How cool would it be to have LC as your landlord, though?? Keep your eyes peeled for LC’s new pad to be showing up in the fifth, and final, season of The Hills which premieres Monday, March 30th, at 10 pm. You can see interior pics of another unit currently for sale in Lauren’s building here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Lauren Conrad’s new condominium is located in the prestigious Wilshire House building located at 10601 Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood. You can visit the Wilshire House website here.

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 26, 2009February 26, 2009

Isn’t It Romantic!

A few weeks ago while watching my all time favorite episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, entitled “Isn’t It Romantic”, I noticed something I had never noticed before in all of my previous times watching it. In the episode, Dylan takes Brenda on a date to a scenic lookout point to discuss their burgeoning relationship. While watching that scene I noticed that Dylan and Brenda walk right by a sign reading “Mulholland Scenic Corridor” (pictured above). And I almost jumped right out of my chair as I knew exactly where Brenda and Dylan were standing. My boyfriend had taken me to that exact same spot about four or five years ago. My boyfriend – stealing romantic moves from Dylan McKay! Who knew? LOL

So immediately after watching the episode, I dragged my boyfriend out to stalk the overlook that he had taken me to all those years ago. But when we got there I realized immediately that we were in the wrong place. For some reason it just didn’t look to me like Brenda and Dylan’s overlook. My boyfriend kept telling me “Lindsay, the episode was filmed 20 years ago! Surely the place is going to look different now!” LOL Well, come to find out, we were in the wrong place! Turns out there are EIGHT different scenic overlooks located along the twisty turny 24 mile stretch of Mulholland Drive known as the Mulholland Scenic Corridor and Parkway. LOL I believe it was at that point that I became a bit unglued and told my boyfriend that we were going to drive to EACH AND EVERY ONE of those overlooks until I found the right one. LOL I know, I know, it’s amazing that he puts up with me!

Well, lucky for my boyfriend, we didn’t actually have to go to all eight overlooks. I believe we only made it to five of them. 🙂 The funny thing is that by that point I didn’t even care so much about seeing Brenda and Dylan’s overlook in person – it was more the frustration over not being able to find it that was driving me. Anway, the overlook used on Beverly Hills, 90210 is named the Nancy Hoover Pohl Overlook and as soon as I saw it in person I had to give myself a mental kick. I am sad to say that I really should have figured this one out sooner, as the Pohl Overlook is pretty much the only Mulholland overlook that has any sort of parking lot. And parking lots are definitely one thing location scouts look for when scouting locations. They need a place to park all of those massive production trucks! The Pohl Overlook has a HUGE parking lot that can fit over 40 cars, so it would have been the obvious choice for the filming of my fave 90s show. UGH! I can be such a blond sometimes! LOL

I HIGHLY recommend stalking ANY of the Mulholland Scenic Parkway and Corridor overlooks. All five that we visited boasted absolutely majestic views of Los Angeles. The eight overlooks are located on Mulholland Drive in between the 101 and 405 Freeways. Their names are: Barbara A. Fine Overlook, Hollywood Bowl Overlook, Nancy Hoover Pohl Overlook, Stone Canyon Overlook, Universal City Overlook, The Groves Overlook, Las Virgenes Overlook, and Seminole Overlook.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Nancy Hoover Pohl Overlook is located at 8401 Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles.

February 25, 2009August 20, 2013

The Robinson House from “The Graduate”

A few weeks back fellow stalker Scott, from the Film in America website, asked me if I knew the location of the Robinson house and the Braddock house from the 1967 movie The Graduate. He told me that he feared the locations of those homes were lost to history being that the movie was filmed over forty years ago and the addresses didn’t seem to be posted anywhere. So I just had to get Mike from MovieShotsLA on the case – and sure enough he found the houses. Well, the house, actually, but I’ll get to that later. 🙂 While doing some cyberstalking Mike came across this Wikipedia article stating that the Robinson home was located on North Palm Drive in Beverly Hills, and after a quick search of Google Maps he found the house, right where Wikipedia said it would be. 🙂

The Robinson house looks much different today than it did back in 1967 when The Graduate was filmed. At the time of filming, the home had an all white exterior while today it has a red brick facade. My initial belief was that the brick exterior was added to the house sometime after filming had been completed, but after seeing the above screen capture, I realized that, in actuality, the home has always been brick. When The Graduate was filmed the bricks were just painted white. 🙂

Because the Robinson house looks so very different today than how it appeared onscreen forty years ago, I was shocked Mike was able to locate it. But he found two “landmarks” of a sort on Mrs. Robinson’s house that he used while searching Palm Drive. The first landmark was the wierd brown wooden design that appears to the left of the front door. The second was the house’s small peaked roof area. Both are pictured above. But here’s where things get really weird!

While looking at aerial images of the Palm Drive house, I realized that the pool area and backyard looked a whole lot like Benjamin Braddock’s backyard from the movie. Armed with a pretty big hunch I grabbed my Graduate DVD and fast-forwarded through the entire thing. And sure enough, my hunch was correct – the front of the Braddock house is never shown in the Graduate – only the backyard is shown. And after looking at all of the Braddock backyard scenes one more time, I realized that the Braddock house and the Robinson house were one in the same! LOL

So last week I dragged my boyfriend out to Beverly Hills to stalk the (one and only) Graduate house and while I was there taking photographs the owner happened to drive up. So, of course, I just had to talk to her! 🙂 I asked her if she lived in the home at the time The Graduate was filmed and her mouth pretty much just fell to the floor and she said “HOW did you know this was The Graduate house?” LOL I told her that my friend Mike was a master stalker and that he had found the house by doing some cyber-stalking. She confirmed that her home was indeed used in The Graduate, but said that she didn’t live in it at the time. She said that when she purchased the house about twenty years ago, the real estate agent was marketing it as “the Robinson house”. LOL Then I asked her if her backyard was in fact Benjamin Braddock’s backyard and once again her mouth just hung open. Apparently she didn’t realize who she was dealing with! LOL She told me that, in actuality, Benjamin Braddock’s backyard existed only on a soundstage, but that his backyard and pool area were indeed modeled after hers. I’m not sure she’s entirely correct on that, though. While I have no doubt that her backyard was re-created on a soundstage and that most of the filming probably took place there, if you watch some of the Graduate pool scenes closely it becomes obvious that at least some filming did actually take place at the Palm Drive home.

So, there you have it, the mystery of The Graduate houses is finally solved. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Graduate house is located at 607 North Palm Drive in Beverly Hills.

February 24, 2009July 25, 2019

Get Out Of Line!

Those of you who read my blog regularly know that there’s only one thing I like better than stalking and that’s Starbucks. 🙂 Or any kind of coffee, really. So when Mike, from MovieShotsLA, called me up last Sunday morning and asked if I wanted to stalk a coffee shop with him, I believe my exact words were “How fast can you be here?” On a side-note, my grandma just started reading my blog and the other day she called me up and asked “So, who’s this Mike guy????” She was convinced my boyfriend must be upset about all the time Mike and I spend together stalking. And I really had to laugh at that one because I’m pretty sure my boyfriend wakes up every morning thanking his lucky stars that Mike and I found each other. You see, if Mike is out stalking with me, that means my boyfriend isn’t. And I’d say he’s pretty happy about that. No, I’d have to say that not only does my boyfriend not mind Mike and I spending so much time together, but I’m pretty sure that at this point Mike is probably in the running to be my boyfriend’s best man in our wedding.

Anyway, the coffee shop that Mike wanted to stalk is named Bean Town Coffee Bar and it was featured several times in the 2005 Will Ferrell movie Kicking and Screaming. I just rented the movie last week and I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised watching it as it’s absolutely hilarious!! And my favorite scene in the whole movie is the one that takes place at Bean Town. In the scene, Will Ferrell has just become addicted to coffee and shows up at his favorite coffee shop for his morning fix. But on this particular day the rather long line is moving far too slowly and Will has a total coffee meltdown. I have to say that I almost died laughing watching that scene because, let me tell you, I’ve been there! There are some mornings at Starbucks where I just want to tear my hair out because the line is taking so long! My boyfriend bought me a taser (it’s pink!) a couple of months ago because he was worried about me walking to my car late at night after my acting classes and he’s always joking that one day he’s going to get a call from the police saying that I was arrested for tasing someone who was taking too long in the Starbucks line. While watching Will Ferrell’s meltdown scene, I was reminded of comedian John Pinette’s “Get Out Of Line” routine. It has to be my favorite comedy routine of all time!

In real life Bean Town is a super cute little coffee house, with exposed brick walls, comfy chairs, board games, outdoor tables, and live music on weekends. The staff is super friendly and boy is the coffee strong, but in a good way. 🙂 And no, the line didn’t move too slowly while we were there. Besides yummy coffee, Bean Town also serves up a wide array of homemade goodies, including cinnamon rolls, croissants, sandwiches, soups, and cookies. And even though I am a Starbucks girl at heart, I will for sure be returning! As the authors of the book Hometown Pasadena said “We’d live in Sierra Madre just for Bean Town – it’s the perfect coffee house.”

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Bean Town Coffee Bar is located at 45 North Baldwin Avenue in Sierra Madre. You can visit their website here.

February 23, 2009February 23, 2009

Oscar Weekend 2009!

Oh, how I love the smell of Awards Season in the morning! And let me tell you – this was the Academy Awards Weekend to end all Academy Awards Weekends for me! I had the absolute time of my life!!!!!!!!!!! It was so incredible that I am still pinching myself today. Bright and early Saturday morning I dragged my boyfriend out to Hollywood and Highland Mall to stalk Oscar’s red carpet and we didn’t make it home until after 3am the following morning. AND I still cannot believe this but we saw 128 stars! YES you read that right – ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT MOVIE STARS! There were so many stars out and about that at times I didn’t know which way to look. My boyfriend said he thought my head was about to explode. LOL I almost feel like I should just throw in my stalking towel now as it just doesn’t get any better than this weekend – but don’t worry, I won’t! 🙂

Our first stop on Saturday morning was the Kodak Theatre where we got to check out the most famous carpet in the world. Although I have done this for three years in a row now, I don’t think I will ever get tired of it! For someone who grew up so far away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, to get to be that close to the Academy Awards red carpet is a dream come true. It’s almost surreal. And I LOVE every minute of it! I can’t wait for the day when I am walking down that red carpet for real. 🙂 A few of the pics I took at the Kodak:

Although the Oscar set-up was beautiful, as always, for some reason this year they had the red carpet area blocked off and fans could not walk across it. 🙁 Such a bummer! If you’ll notice in the above pics the carpet is completely tarped in plastic during the set-up, so that the hundreds of crew members traipsing across it don’t ruin it.

I was stoked to see a little champage stand set up alongside the red carpet, since champagne is my favorite drink – and it was my girl Marilyn Monroe’s, too. 🙂 How cool to be able to grab a glass of champagne, while making your way down the red carpet! LOVE IT! 🙂

Mr. Oscar looking pretty drab outside the Kodak – notice the blemishes on his arms. LOL

What they don’t show you on TV! LOL The ugly road closures and chain link fences at the start of the red carpet.

The massive press bridge built over Hollywood Boulevard

What the red carpet looks like from Hollywood Boulevard.

After stalking the red carpet, I dragged my boyfried out to do some stalking of the blue carpet at the Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica – and, yes, the carpet there really is blue! Much more relaxed than the Oscars, the Spirit Awards are held each year under a plastic tent that is set up in a public parking lot next to the beach in Santa Monica. We showed up just as the awards were ending this year and got to see a whole slew of celebs walking the short half-block from the show to the after-party. And, let me tell you, it was absolute pandemonium! There were about a million paparazzi and fans alike swarming the stars as they made their way to the Shutters Hotel where the afterparty was being held. You can see in the above pics the massive amount of paps that were on the scene. It was insane!!! While there we saw . . .

Rosie Perez

Mad Men star John Hamm and his girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt. They were super nice and stopped to take pictures with every fan who asked!

Elisabeth Rohn from Law and Order – she seemed very sweet. 🙂

A very heavily made up Teri Hatcher – you can just barely see her in the above pic. She is standing behind the guy in the suit. As soon as she drove up, the paps went ABSOLUTELY NUTS and completely surrounded her, so I wasn’t able to get a very good pic. 🙁

The Office’s Rainn Wilson

Elisha Dushku (who you can just barely see in the above pics)

Ron Livingston (aka SATC’s Jack Berger) who looked to have just been in an accident of some sort. Ugh, it broke my heart to see him like that! 🙁 Poor Berger!

Film critic Leonard Maltin

And this guy who the paps and fans went absolutely CRAZY for – like so crazy I thought it might be Brad Pitt pulling up! – but I have no idea who he is!!!! LOL Does anyone recognize him?

And, finally, this actor who I am sad to say I also didn’t recognize. 🙁 Does anyone know who he is?

After stalking the Spirit Awards, I dragged my boyfriend from one end of L.A. to the other, hotel and bar hopping. There were Oscar parties galore going on literally every hundred feet or so and the celebs were out in full force! And I just about died over two celeb run-ins that I had. My personal fave was when my girl Jen Aniston came up and stood about two feet away from me for a good six minutes. Unfortunately we were inside a hotel at the time, and no hotels were allowing any sort of pictures to be taken last night. But even though I didn’t get to snap a pic of her, I was still in heaven. Jen looked A-MA-ZING! I’ve seen Jen in person on two other occasions and I have to say this was the best I’ve ever seen her. She seemed very healthy and happy. Forty years old suits her. 🙂 She is just so freaking adorable I can’t stand it! And she has the best laugh ever – it’s this huge guffaw that fills the whole room. And she was doing a lot of laughing last night. Needless to say I was mesmerized! 🙂

A bit earlier in the evening I just happened to spot Ginnifer Goodwin who stars in my favorite movie as of late He’s Just Not That Into You. She was the only celeb I saw yesterday that I just HAD to go up to. In a situation like yesterday, where there are tons of celebs around and hotels aren’t allowing photographs, I am very content to just sit and observe their comings and goings. Sort of like being in a celebrity zoo. LOL But when Ginnifer Goodwin walked by, I just couldn’t help myself! So I walked up to her and told her how amazing she was in He’s Just Not That Into You and how I absolutely loved the movie. And she was SO SWEET! She thanked me for coming up to her, shook my hand, and introduced herself. I just about died. She is completely adorable in person, too! I mean, does it get any better than that??

But I’d have to say that THE most exciting part of the night for me was when I got recognized! Yes, I got recognized!!!!! While I was eating dinner last night a lady came up to me and asked if I was the “I Am Not A Stalker Girl”! I am not kidding!!!! Someone actually recognized me and I just about died! I think I was more excited about that than the fact that Nicole Kidman was eating just a few tables away. LOL I’m always amazed to hear that people actually read my blog, as most of my loved ones just barely tolerate my stalking addiction. So the fact that there are people that actually care what I have to say is AMAZING! It’s nice to know that there really are other people like me out there. 🙂 My fan (and new best friend! LOL ) introduced me to her friends and one of them asked me how my dad was doing! I was like “Wow, you guys really do read my blog!” LOL They were the NICEST group of ladies, but unfortunately they live in another state – otherwise I think we’d all make a great stalking team! 🙂 When I woke up this morning I really had to think for a minute to be sure that that part of my evening wasn’t just a dream. LOL

Anyway, without further ado, here is the list of stars I saw in and around Hollywood on Saturday:

Nicole Kidman
La Toya Jackson – my boyfriend and I kept going back and forth as to whether it was La Toya or Janet. LOL
Mickey Rourke
Robin Wright Penn
Olivia Wilde
Sarah Silverman
Seth Rogan
Dax Shepard
Kristen Bell
Topher Grace
Dennis Leary
Amy Adams
Darren Le Gallo
Jason Bateman
Amanda Anka
Josh Radnor
Lindsay Price
Forest Whitaker
Zach Braff
Kevin Connolly – said hi to me as he walked by 🙂
Molly Sims
Chace Crawford
Deborah Messing – super pretty in person
Amy Poehler
Will Arnett
Tina Fey – sooooo short and tiny
Eric McCormack
Neil Patrick Harris
Kristin Davis – said “Hi” as she walked by and I was floored to see that she walked with a little bounce JUST LIKE Charlotte does on SATC!
Aaron Eckhart
Holly Robinson Peete
Rodney Peete (NFL)
Gwen Stefani – absolutely stunning in person!
Christian Siriano (Project Runway winner)
Elle Macpherson
Nikki Hilton
Christopher Walken
Ben Stiller
Christine Taylor
Laura Dern
Tobey Macguire
Jennifer Meyer
Kimora Lee Simmons
Djimon Hounsou (Kimora Lee Simmon’s baby daddy)
Victor Garber
Kathy Hilton
Jessica Alba – had the coolest red sequin shoes on! and she made my boyfriend practically drool!
Kerry Washington
Leo!!! – I can finally, finally cross Leo off my must-see celebrity list. SIGH! 🙂
Breckin Meyer
Rachel Bilson
Adam Rodriquez
Michael Chiklis
Andy MacDowell
Debra Winger
Sally Field
Ron Livingston (Jack Berger on SATC)
Tim Allen
James Marsden
William Shatner
Eddie Murphy
Kate Bosworth
Anne Hathaway
Christine Ricci
James Caan
Robert De Niro
Bill Maher – with his twelve year old looking girlfriend
Wentworth Miller
Michael Buble (sigh!) – such a cutie in person! I was practically swooning! 🙂
Josh Hartnett
Ellen Pompeo
Ellen Pompeo’s husband Chris Ivery
Jack Black
Tanya Haden (Jack Black’s wife – she’s a model)
Alyssa Milano
Michelle Monaghan (from The Best Man and Eagle Eye)
Chris Pine
Ron Howard
Josh Brolin
Diane Lane
Kathy Najimy
Michael Moore – just as unattractive in person as he appears in his movies
Chris Rock
Jenna Fisher
Heather Locklear
Jennifer Aniston
Josh Duhamel
Bridget Moynahan
Elton John
Steven Spielberg – thanks to a red fedora he looked like a total douchebag! LOL
Kate Capshaw
Hugh Laurie
Cameron Diaz
Brian Grazer
Stacy Keibler
Geoff Stults
Bradley Cooper
Whoopi Goldberg
Shirley MacLaine
Ginnifer Goodwin
Elisha Cuthbert
Fred Savage – looked really old!
Frances Fisher
Richard Jenkins
Melissa Leo
Taraji P. Henson
Claire Danes
Hugh Dancy
Josh Grobin
Prince Frederick von Anhalt (Zsa Zsa Gabor’s ex)
Steven Baldwin
Dule Hill
Kiersten Warren (At least I think it was her!)
Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire star)
Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire star)
Kirk Kerkorkian
Ralph Lauren
Valentino Garavano
Terri Hatcher
Elisabeth Rohn (D.A. from Law and Order)
Rosie Perez
John Hamm
Jennifer Westfeldt (star of Kissing Jessica Stein)
Michael Bolton
Leonard Maltin (movie critic)
Elisha Dushku
Dustin Lance Black (Academy Award and Independent Spirit Award winner for Milk screenplay)
Rainn Wilson

There were just so many that I am sure I forgot some of them somewhere along the way! LOL All in all an absolutely AMAZING DAY! And I can’t wait to do it again next year!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: I stalked so many hotels and bars this Oscar Weekend, that there are far too many to list here. For a detailed list of places to go to see movie stars, check out this blog post. The Spirit Awards are held the Saturday before the Oscars each year on the beach in Santa Monica just South of Shutters Hotel.

February 19, 2009February 21, 2009

Le Borghese Apartments

While Mike, from MovieShotsLA, was cyberstalking the ‘Til There Was You apartment building a few weeks ago, he came across a comment on a website which stated that the very same building from ‘Til There Was You was also used in the 2001 David Lynch thriller Mulholland Dr. Well, after doing a bit more research, Mike and I discovered that information is actually incorrect. While there was a Spanish style courtyard apartment building featured in Mulholland Dr., it was not the El Cabrillo apartments which I blogged about yesterday. The building used in Mulholland Dr. is actually named Le Borghese and while it does not look very similar to El Cabrillo, both buildings are extremely picturesque and serene and it is easy to see how they might have been confused for each other.

I have yet to see Mulholland Dr., but I really want to now after researching this post. Especially since the movie centers around an actress trying to make it in the bizarre world of Hollywood. I’m pretty sure I can relate. 🙂 I have heard from more than person, though, that Mulholland Dr. is by far the strangest movie they have ever seen. LOL In Mulholland Dr., Betty Elms (Naomi Watts) stays at the Le Borghese after moving to Hollywood to try her hand in show business. Ann Miller plays Betty’s apartment manager, CoCo, in her very last onscreen role.

Le Borghese was built back in 1929 by architect Charles Gault, who built a number of famous courtyard buildings in the L.A. area in the 1920s. Apparently a large olive tree existed on the lot where Le Borghese was to be built and instead of uprooting the tree, Charles ended up centering the building’s courtyard around it. That tree is still there today and is now over 100 years old. Luckily, Le Borghese’s front gates were wide open while I was stalking the place, so I got to venture inside for a little looksie. All I could think after stepping inside the building’s amazing central courtyard was “I want to live here!” 🙂 Le Borghese is quite an idyllic place. It is peaceful and serene, with koi fish and turtles swimming in the central fountain, numerous crawling wisteria vines, an outdoor fireplace, and light green benches tucked away in shaded alcoves. After seeing the building in person, it is no surprise that Le Borghese was chosen to be featured on the cover of the book Courtyard Housing in Los Angeles. The building was also featured in the 1996 movie The Truth About Cats and Dogs. I highly recommend stalking Le Borghese as it is one of the most beautiful apartments I have ever seen! You can see more photographs of the building here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Le Borghese apartments are located at 450 North Sycamore Avenue in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles.

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 17, 2009February 17, 2009

Meet Me At 3rd and Fairfax!

My boyfriend has some amazing celebrity karma! He pretty much sees a movie star of some sort or another everywhere he goes. And for some odd reason it seems his celebrity karma is especially strong when I am not with him. It drives me nuts!! Just a few of his celeb encounters that I somehow missed – he ate dinner once next to Calista Flockheart and Harrison Ford – and he didn’t even look to see what, if anything, Calista ate!!, he shopped for CD’s right next to Britney Spears at a Circuit City store, he sat next to Julia Louis Dreyfus during an outdoor theatre performance, and, my personal favorite, he stood behind Jennie Garth in line at a deli in San Ysidro. Ugh!!! Not that I am bitter about it or anything. 🙂 But I must say that the place where my boyfriend most often has a celeb sighting – I mean virtually EVERY SINGLE time he is there – is the Los Angeles Farmers Market located at the corner of 3rd and Fairfax (pictured above – that’s me and my good friend Stephanie in the pic).

So the other night, while my mom and I were walking through the Farmers Market after dinner, I told her to keep her eyes peeled for celebs. “Here???” my mom asked me in disbelief pointing to the numerous outdoor tables and metal folding chairs. “Yes!”, I told her. “No, here????” she asked me again. LOL She could not believe that the popular, but by no means upscale or fancy, outdoor market was a celeb hot spot. And wouldn’t you know it, just as we were having this little tete-a-tete, who should we walk by but Scott Caan – star of the Ocean’s 11 movies and son of movie star James Caan! Due to my thrill over seeing him in person and the flurry over our slighty ill-timed conversation, I got just a bit flustered and immediately walked right into the men’s room which happened to be located straight ahead of me. LOL! I’m not kidding! After I recovered from walking into the wrong restroom, I just had to ask Scott if he wouldn’t mind taking a pic with me. He was super nice and friendly (even though he is not smiling in the above pic) and said he would be happy to pose for a photo. After I got my pic and Scott walked away, I told my mom who she had just taken a picture of and she just about spazzed out at the fact that it was James Caan’s son. LOL See what I mean, you’ve gotta keep your eyes open!

The Farmers Market (no apostrophe) was the brainchild of businessmen Roger Dahlhjelm and Fred Beck who in 1934 proposed creating an open air market on a vacant 30 acre parcel of land owned by oil tycoon Earl Bell Gilmore. During its early days local area farmers would pay 50 cents a day to park on Gilmore’s land and sell goods directly out of their trucks. Those tailgate food stands became enormously popular and it wasn’t long before permanent stalls had to be created and, thus, the Los Angeles Farmers Market was born. Today the Market is an L.A. institution, housing over 70 permanent stalls and shops, employing more than 700 clerks, and serving up over 16 different varieties of native foods to an average of 3 million yearly visitors! Somewhere along the way someone coined the phrase “Meet me at 3rd and Fairfax” and it became almost as famous as the Market itself. 🙂

A few of you have been asking me lately for some information on the best place to spot celebs in L.A. – and I promise to do a post on that subject very soon. But for the time being let me suggest the Farmers Market, which the Los Angeles Times recently called “the number one place in L.A. to spot stars!” If you are visiting Los Angeles and want to see a movie star, this is definitely one of the top places I’d stalk. 🙂 On a recent trip there I spotted the ENTIRE Wayans Family and on my last visit I saw David Edwards who starred in the Real World: San Francisco! Also spotted at the Market and at the nearby Grove Shopping Center: my girl Jen Aniston, Jay Leno, Lauren Conrad and Steven Colletti, Jessica Simpson, Rihanna, Mischa Barton and Brandon Davis, Teri Hatcher, Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, and (sigh!) Luke Perry. The Market has had some historical brushes with celebrity, too. Supposedly on the morning of September 30, 1955 James Dean ate his last meal there. And legend has it that Walt Disney did some of his original sketches for what would later come to be known as Disneyland while sitting at the Market’s circular tables. Besides being a celeb hang out, the Market has also been featured in a few productions, including Body Double, Stigmata, an episode of Diagnosis Murder, and in the Season One episode of my fave The Hills entitled “Somebody Always Has To Cry”.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Farmer’s Market is located at 6333 West 3rd Street, at the corner of Third and Fairfax, in Los Angeles. I highly recommend eating at DuPars while visiting. Tyra Banks, Teri Garr, and He’s Just Not That Into You author Greg Behrendt are all fans of the 70 year old restaurant. For dinner you just can’t beat their “Beat the Clock” menu – a special menu where everyday between the hours of 4 and 6pm, the hour you arrive is the price you pay for your meal. Yes, that means that if you arrive at 5:30pm, your meal (not including a drink) costs $5.30! And the food is really good! For slightly more money, head on over to Monsieur Marcel – a superb restaurant with great food and even better service.

February 13, 2009February 17, 2009

“It Never Rains In Southern California . . . “

As the old Albert Hammond song says “It never rains in Southern California, but girl, don’t they warn ya, it pours man, it pours!” And pour it did almost all last week all over the normally sun drenched landscape of Los Angeles. While on my way to stalk Burbank’s Handy Grocery Store in the pouring rain this past weekend, I happened to pass right by Walt Disney Studios on Buena Vista Street and was reminded about a story I once heard that seemed quite fitting of the day’s weather.

According to The Ultimate Hollywood Tour Book, journalist Peter J. Boyer stated in a Vanity Fair article that Disney is “a place so reviled that even its architecture inspires nasty rumors, such as the apocryphal story that architect Michael Graves arranged the drainage system in the Disney headquarters building [aka the Team Disney building] in such a way that the huge sculpted Seven Dwarfs atop the edifice would seem to be peeing on Disney executives whenever it rained.” LOL So, since it just happened to be raining at the time, I pulled over to see if Boyer’s story had any merit. 🙂 After seeing the Dwarfs in person in the pouring rain, I have to admit that I think the anecdote is somewhat of an urban legend, but it still makes for a great story and hopefully a great blog post. 🙂

Walt Disney built his Burbank studio in 1940 after the enormous financial success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – the world’s first full length animated feature film. At the time it was built the 41 acre lot was comprised of four full size soundstages (there are now six), a backlot that included a Western town, a town square, a residential street, and a small pueblo (the entire backlot has since been demolished), and recreation areas for employees which included ping pong tables and a volleyball court. Over the years many productions have been filmed on the historic Disney lot, including That Darn Cat, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Absent Minded Professor, The Swamp Fox, The Princess Diaries, Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, Boy Meets World, Home Improvement, Lizzie Maguire, Less Than Perfect, and Mary Poppins. Ironically enough, Mary Poppins was filmed solely indoors, using up all four of the Disney Studio soundstages. Even the Cherry Tree Lane set where the Banks Family lived was built inside of a soundstage. Being a huge Mary Poppins fan myself, I was highly disappointed when I found this out as I had always hoped to one day see Cherry Tree Lane in person. 🙁 On an interesting side note, even though he passed away in 1966, Walt Disney still holds the record for most Academy Awards won by a single person. In his lifetime, he won a incredible TWENTY-SIX Oscars!

Unfortunately, Disney does not currently offer tours of its studio. : ( But the good news is that the Team Disney building can be viewed from the street outside the studio gates. If you are a big Disney fan, I highly recommend stalking the exterior of the building as it is very cool to see in person. The Seven Dwarf statues are absolutely HUGE. I was shocked at their size when I saw them in person as pictures simply do not do them justice!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Disney Studios is located at 500 S. Buena Vista Street in Burbank. The Team Disney building, with its Seven Dwarfs facade, can be viewed through the main gate located just around the corner on Alameda Avenue. Unfortunately the studio does not offer tours of its property. 🙁 But for $2,169 (per person!!!!!) you can purchase a 6 day/5 night “Hollywood and the Disneyland Resort” vacation from the Adventures by Disney Vacations company. One of the days consists of a behind the scenes tour of Walt Disney Studios.