movies – Page 33 – IAMNOTASTALKER

January 5, 2009February 13, 2009

Samantha’s Meatpacking Digs!

Yet another New York location that Mike, God of Stalking, found for me is the new apartment Samantha moves into early in the third season of Sex and the City. This same apartment was featured throughout the end of the series’ six season run. And I absolutely could not figure out its exact location. According to IMDB, the apartment was located on Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District, but after extensive searching on Google street maps, I soon realized that that information was not correct. So, as usual, I enlisted Mike’s help in finding the apartment and, sure enough, he located it in a snap! 🙂

I sent Mike the above screen captures from the Season 3 episode of SATC entitled “Cock-A-Doodle-Do”, which featured Samantha’s apartment quite prominently. He immediately recognized the overhang located at the end of Samantha’s street (pictured in the second screen capture above). It seems Mike had stalked that very overhang earlier this year, after it was featured in the Will Smith movie I Am Legend. Eureka!

So, while in New York a few weeks ago, I dragged my boyfriend right out to stalk Samantha’s Meatpacking digs. Sadly, though, her apartment building looks very different today than it appeared back in 2000 when SATC filmed there. In the early 1900’s, the Meatpacking District was solely an industrial neighborhood, housing over 250 of New York’s slaughterhouses and warehouses. In the 80s, prostitutes and drug dealers moved in, turning MePa, as it is sometimes called, into a seedy and run down part of town. But during the past ten years or so, the entire Meatpacking District has undergone a huge transformation, turning it into one of the most trendy neighborhoods in New York. During this transformation, many of the old slaughterhouses and buildings, including Samantha’s, were given complete face lifts and no longer look as they did a decade ago.

You can see in the above photographs how very different the loading dock area in front of Samantha’s apartment now looks. While it is still, for the most part, recognizable as Samantha’s apartment, the entire bottom floor of the building was recently given a complete makeover and is now home to a trendy restaurant named Spice Market.

And when I saw the building in person, I realized that Samantha’s apartment building on SATC was actually made up of two different exteriors that are located right next door to each other. The front door Samantha is shown exiting and entering on the series (pictured above) actually belongs to the building located directly next door to the building used as hers on the series.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Samantha’s front door is located just to the right of the entrance to Fusion Physical Therapy & Sports, located at 407 W. 13th Street. Her apartment building is actually the building next door, located at 403 West 13th Street in New York’s Meatpacking District.

December 30, 2008February 13, 2009

Mr. Big’s Church

One New York location that I have long been wanting to stalk is the church featured in the Season One episode of Sex and the City entitled “Oh Come All Ye Faithful”. In the episode Carrie, while doing some research on religion for her weekly column, stumbles upon Big and his mother coming out of a church one Sunday morning. As usual, Carrie gets a bit carried away and returns to that same church the following Sunday, in full church regalia, to spy on Big and his mom. At the end of the episode, after Mr. Big introduces Carrie to his mother as “my friend”, the two wind up breaking up – for the first of what is to be many times.

This location was fairly easy to find as in the episode Carrie refers to the church as “Park Avenue Presbyterian”. While not the actual name of the church, when I googled “Park Avenue Presbyterian”, the address of a Presbyterian church located on Park Avenue popped up and, sure enough, it was the one used in the episode. In real life it is named Central Presbyterian Church and it is currently undergoing renovations, so I was not able to get the best photographs of it. But you can see in the above screen captures that the exterior doors look just as they did on SATC.

Filming for the “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” episode took place both inside and outside of the church. And while I did venture inside for a quick peek at the interior, I didn’t take any photographs as I have to admit I would have felt just slightly uncomfortable taking pictures inside of a church for the sole reason that a show by the name of “Sex and the City” was filmed there. I would have just died if a priest had walked up to me and asked me what I was doing! LOL The church is very beautiful inside, though, with stained glass windows, stone archways, and a huge altar, and I am happy to report that it looks very much the same today as it did back in 1998 when the episode was filmed.

While there, I just had to take a picture across the street from the church, at the location where Carrie stands when she first spots Big and his mom. The really sad part about this photograph is that I hadn’t actually seen the “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” episode for a while, yet, for some reason, I still remembered exactly how Carrie was standing in the scene. I am beginning to think I really need to get a life! LOL Turns out, though, that while I had Carrie’s pose down pat, I actually had the wrong location!! LOL As you can see in the above screen capture, Carrie is actually standing in front of the building to the right of the one I posed in front of. LOL Although that building has since been painted white, it still has the same wrought iron window coverings with circular cut-outs.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Central Presbyterian Church is located at 593 Park Avenue on New York’s Upper East Side. You can visit their website here. In “Oh Come All Ye Faithful”, Mr. Big and his mom exit from the church’s side doors which are located on 64th Street. The brownstone where Carrie stands in the episode is located just across the street at 107 East 64th Street.

December 29, 2008August 31, 2010

Miracle on 34th Street

I wanted to publish this post on Christmas day, but unfortunately ran out of time. 🙁 Better late than never! Anyway, one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies is the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street. So, of course, every December while in New York, I drag my boyfriend out to stalk the main filming location used in the movie – the famous Macy’s department store located at the intersection of 34th Street and Broadway.

The Miracle on 34th Street Macy’s, which is also known as the Herald Square Macy’s, is the company’s flagship store. With nine floors and 2,150,000 square feet of shopping space, it has the distinction of being known as “The World’s Largest Store”. In fact, Macy’s takes up almost an entire New York City block! It’s humongous! R.H. Macy first opened the New York branch of his department store on the corner of 14th Street and 6th Avenue in 1858. The store moved to its current location, a nine story building designed by the architecture firm De Lemos & Cordes in 1902. The Palladian style building which houses Macy’s became a National Historic Landmark in 1978 and has one of the only wooden escalators currently still in use.

Both the interior and the exterior of the Herald Square Macy’s were used in the filming of Miracle on 34th Street. In fact, the filming of the movie required more power than Macy’s had on hand, creating the need for additional power sources to be set up in the basement of the department store. Even though filming took place over sixty years ago, I am happy to report that much of both the interior and the exterior of Macy’s are still recognizable from the movie. Besides Miracle on 34th Street, Macy’s was also featured in the 1956 film Lovers and Lollipops, the Beat This: A Hip Hop History television special, and Kanye West’s “Heard ‘Em Say” video. Popular essayist David Sedaris also wrote a short story entitled “SantaLand Diaries” based on his real life experiences working as one of Santa’s elves at the 34th Street Macy’s.

But Macy’s most significant claim to fame would have to be its incredible SantaLand department, which takes up almost all of Macy’s eighth floor during the Christmas season. During the month of December, all of Macy’s nine floors are completely decked out with wreaths, ribbons, and twinkle lights. Walking into Macy’s at Christmastime is like entering a winter wonderland. But nothing quite compares to Santa’s New York home – the place where children of all ages can sit on the real Santa Claus’ lap.

SantaLand has seen quite a few changes since Natalie Wood first visited it and sat on Santa’s lap in Miracle on 34th Street. The modern day SantaLand is a magical holiday wonderland, complete with numerous miniature railroad displays, dancing bears, and talking trees that look like they came straight out of Disneyland. My personal favorite SantaLand character is an animatronic elf who cleans a miniature railroad display case (pictured above). His hand actually goes back and forth wiping the case clean with a red cloth. 🙂 So cute!!!

I highly recommend stalking the Miracle on 34th Street Macy’s, especially the real Santa Claus and the SantaLand department. There’s nothing else quite like it to get you in the Christmas spirit! 🙂

Oh, please Santa, bring me anything from Louis Vuitton! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Miracle on 34th Street Macy’s is located at 151 West 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

December 22, 2008February 17, 2009

“I’ll Have What She’s Having!”

While in New York two weeks ago, I just had to drag my boyfriend to the deli where the famous “I’ll have what she’s having” scene took place in fave romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally. I found this location a few years back in my favorite New York stalking book, New York: The Movie Lovers Guide , but had yet to stalk it. So I was super excited to make the trek during this trip. And while we didn’t get a chance to actually eat there on this vacation, I, of course, popped my head in and asked the cashier if it would be OK to snap a few pics of Harry and Sally’s table. He promptly pointed out where filming took place and told me “Sweetie, take all the pictures you want.” 🙂 I so love New Yorkers!

The deli, which is named Katz’s, is absolutely HUGE in person, much, much larger than it appeared onscreen. But other than the difference in size, the deli looks pretty much exactly as it did back in 1989 when the movie was filmed. And if there is any question as to where the famous WHMS scene took place, you need look no further than the large sign with the arrow hanging down from the ceiling of the restaurant which reads “Where Harry met Sally . . . hope you have what she had. Enjoy.” 🙂 Love it!!!! While I was stalking the famous deli, Harry and Sally’s table happened to be empty, so I was able to sit down and snap a quick pic. 🙂 A bit of WHMS trivia – it was director Rob Reiner’s mother, Estelle, who passed away this past October at the age of 94, who uttered the now famous line “I’ll have what she’s having”.

While Katz’s is best known for its appearance in WHMS, the deli has actually shown up in quite a few productions over the years. It was featured in the movie Donnie Brasco, in the scene where undercover agent Johnny Depp grabs a bite to eat with some of his FBI agent buddies. It was also featured in Across the Universe, Off Beat, and a Law and Order episode. Besides being a filming location, the deli is also a big time celebrity mecca and the walls are covered with thousands upon thousands of autographed head shots. Just a few of the stars who have visited the famous deli are John Voight, Mike Meyers, Elijah Wood, Ben Stiller and his parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, Liev Shriber, Keanu Reeves, and Henry Winkler aka “The Fonz”.

I highly recommend stalking Katz’s as it looks like a very cool place to grab a bite to eat. Who knows, you might even spot a celeb while dining. And the place was jam packed while I was there, so you know it’s gotta be good! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Katz’s Delicatessen is located at 205 East Houston Street in New York. If you’re in the neighborhood be sure to check out the Lower East Side Tenement Museum’s Gift Shop located at 108 Orchard Street. It’s the BEST New York themed gift shop I’ve ever been to!!! My boyfriend could hardly drag me out of the place!! LOL

December 19, 2008February 14, 2009

Via Quadronno

One of my favorite places in all of Manhattan is a teeny, tiny Upper East Side cafe named Via Quadronno. I stumbled upon the cafe three years ago, but had yet to blog about it because up until my recent New York vacation I had no idea what a major celebrity stomping ground it was. Two weeks ago, while sipping cappuccino in the cafe’s cozy dining room, I happened to ask our server if any celebs had ever frequented the restaurant. I was shocked at her response! It seems Via Quadronno has its very own celebrity fanclub, with members including Madonna, Sean Connery, Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Scarlett Johansson, ARod, Tom Hanks, Matt Dillon, and, my fave, SJP and her husband, Matthew Broderick.

But not only is Via Quadronno somewhat of a celeb hot spot, it’s also a filming location! Well, sort of. 🙂 While watching SATC reruns the other day (which is the only known cure for New York homesickness), I was bowled over when I noticed Carrie and her friend Skipper walking past Via Quadronno’s exterior in the Season One episode entitled “Models and Mortals”. At the time the episode was filmed, though, way back in 1998, the space was actually occupied by a different cafe altogether – a chocolatier named La Maison Du Chocolat. But the exterior still looks very much the same – it’s just a lot cuter now.

To be honest, I actually didn’t recognize the restaurant at first. What I recognized was the large green sign located behind Carrie in the above pic. I knew I had seen the sign in person before, but I just couldn’t place where. Thankfully my boyfriend was standing nearby and exclaimed “Hey, that’s the gold dealer that’s next door to Via Quadronno.” 🙂 Eureka! We had walked by that sign everyday on our way to have morning cappuccinos. Maybe my boyfriend’s a better stalker than I give him credit for. 🙂

I HIGHLY recommend staking Via Quadronno – it’s definitely worth the trip even if you don’t encounter any celebs during your meal. The tiny cafe (seating capacity is 40!) is absolutely ADORABLE! Their croissants are out of this world and normally I don’t even like croissants! LOL My family and I ate breakfast there every single morning while in New York and we never, ever got tired of it. It is the best!!!! In fact, it’s been voted the “Best in New York” several years in a row. No wonder celebs love it! 🙂 I’ve only ever visited Via Quadronno for breakfast, but I hear their dinners are amazing, as well. I honestly can’t say enough about this place! Go, go, go to this restaurant – for the charming atmosphere, amazing food, friendly service, and celeb clientele!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Via Quadronno is located at 25 East 73rd Street on New York’s Upper East Side. The chain also has restaurants in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Coral Gables, Florida. You can visit their website here.

December 17, 2008December 6, 2013

The Seven Year Itch Apartment

In Vanity Fair’s October 2008 cover story, photographer Mark Anderson asks “Who ever forgets the first time they saw Marilyn Monroe?” Such a great quote! I remember exactly where I was the first time I saw Miss Monroe – sitting in my apartment watching The Seven Year Itch just a few short months ago. As soon as I watched the scene where Marilyn leans out the window of her New York City summer sublet, hairdryer in hand, and exclaims “I just washed my hair!”, that was it for me! I was a goner! 🙂 So this past week, while in New York, I just had to stalk the apartment building where that scene was filmed.

Needless to say the apartment building featured in The Seven Year Itch looks extremely different today than it did back in 1955 when filming took place. But thankfully it is still, for the most part, recognizable as the residence where Tom Ewell and Marilyn Monroe spent one hot summer in Manhattan. In The Seven Year Itch, MM’s character, “The Girl”, moves into a non-air-conditioned apartment for the summer. That apartment just happens to be located directly above married man Tom Ewell, whose wife and son are spending their summer in the country. “The Girl” befriends Tom and spends many an evening in his apartment, which is equipped with an “air conditioner in every room!” Hilarity ensues, of course, as Tom tries, very unsuccessfully I might add, to avoid falling under Marilyn’s spell.

The apartment building is featured several times in the film. It’s most notable appearance is at the very end of the movie when Tom realizes how very much he loves his wife and spontaneously decides to spend the rest of the summer with her in the country, leaving his air-conditioned pad to MM. How cute is that! Anyway, in the pandemonium, Tom runs out his front door, barefooted, and heads towards the train station. The ending shot of the movie is of Marilyn leaning out of Tom’s first floor window as she tosses him the forgotten loafers. 🙂

I was SUPER excited to stalk this location! The Seven Year Itch building was pretty much the top “must-see” locale of my New York vacation. It was amazing to realize that movie magic been made at this very spot a little over fifty years ago. And that Marilyn Monroe herself had once leaned out the window of the small, non-descript building I was now staring at.

For those of you in the market for a New York apartment, The Seven Year Itch building currently has a vacancy. 🙂 Let’s hope the apartment for rent has air conditioning! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Seven Year Itch apartment is located at 164 East 61th Street in New York.

December 12, 2008February 13, 2009

No Trespassing and the City!

Every December, while in New York, I make a pilgrimage to Carrie’s brownstone from fave television show Sex and the City. Even though I have visited this location quite a few times over the years, I never, ever get tired of it. To me, it is the quintessential New York location. I was especially excited to stalk Carrie’s brownstone this year because I had read that the real life owners, tired of stalkers taking pictures on their famous stoop, had installed a large metal chain blocking access to their home. I was dying to see if it was true. And sure enough, it was!

My boyfriend and I were cracking up as we walked up to the house and saw the thick metal chain stretched across the entrance complete with a plastic “No Trespassing” sign. I think it is absolutely hilarious that the owners did this because, for one, the chain and sign are a complete eyesore on what is otherwise an ADORABLE townhouse. I mean, the whole thing is just so un-Carrie! The least they could have done would be to put up a cute little wrought iron gate to match the stair railing. Come on, owners! Carrie can’t live in a house with a sign like that – she’s a fashion icon for pete’s sake! And secondly, I think the big ol’ sign only draws attention to the house rather than distracting from it. LOL I just don’t understand people! I mean, if it were my townhouse I’d be standing out there all day, everyday shouting “Yes, this is Carrie’s apartment building and I live here! I am the real-life Carrie Bradshaw! Would you want to take a picture with me? And I’d be happy to sign an autograph for you, too!” It could be like a full time job! 🙂 LOL I really hope that the owners aren’t so completely bent out of shape that they are not going to allow filming to take place there for the much-rumored SATC sequel.

On an ironic side note, for the months leading up to my New York trip I had been jokingly suggesting to my boyfriend that he should propose to me on the top of Carrie’s stoop. It’s a good thing he didn’t take my advice to heart, as his plans would have been seriously thwarted if he had. LOL

Hopefully all of you SATC stalkers out there were able to snap a pic on Carrie’s stoop before the ugly “No Trespassing” chain went up. I am very thankful that I was able to! 🙂 But I couldn’t help but wonder . . .

. . . do you think this could be why such a sign went up? 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It (but don’t trespass!): Carrie’s brownstone is located at 66 Perry Street in the West Village in New York.

November 27, 2008February 11, 2009

The Californication House

First off let me wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving! 🙂 Now on to stalking! Yesterday, while doing some Venice Beach stalking, I visited a location I have long been obsessed with finding – the house from the David Duchovny series Californication. I have long been a DD fan – ever since I saw my first X-Files episode over 15 years ago I have pretty much been obsessed. So when my boyfriend got the Season 1 DVD’s of Californication a few weeks ago, I had to watch! Sadly, I have to admit that I don’t really like the series. But I did become a huge fan of Hank Moody’s ex-wife Karen’s home while watching. On the show Karen lives in a very modern style cement and wood home that is very reminiscent of James Woods’ house on the TV show Shark. It also has some of the same characteristics of John Lautner homes. So, I course I immediately became obsessed with it. 🙂 Luckily, while doing some cyberstalking I came across this awesome website which gave me the home’s location. YAY!

The home, which is known as the McKinley Residence, was built by architect David Hertz for his family and originally only consisted of the structure that is pictured above. The original structure consisted of two separate buildings, one in the front and another in the back, that were joined via a covered bridge. A few years later Hertz bought an adjoining lot and built the property’s second structure which also consisted of two buildings. Today the property is made up of a total of four buildings all surrounding an outdoor courtyard and pool area and connected via several enclosed bridges. David Hertz has designed numerous homes throughout the West Coast and has a strong commitment to only building “green” structures and protecting the environment. He is also the inventor of a building material called “syndecrete” which is a “green” cement based surfacing substance that is used in the building of many homes.

The McKinley Residence is a frequent filming location. Besides Californication, the house has been featured in Adaptation, Men, Women & Dogs and a Season 3 episode of CSI: Miami entitled “Murder in a Flash.” The house has also been featured in Dwell Magazine and Shape Magazine. You can see all of the projects this extraordinary house has been featured in here. You can also see some great interior photos of the home here. The McKinley Residence is an amazing home to see in person and I highly recommend stalking it!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Californication house is located at 2420 McKinley Avenue in Venice.

November 26, 2008January 25, 2010

The Inside of the Walsh House from “Beverly Hills, 90210”

Last Friday, Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I set out to do a little Pasadena stalking. Who knew that our day would hold the stalking adventure to end all stalking adventures! Even as I sit here, days later, writing these words, I am pinching myself, unsure if the whole thing even really happened. But since I have the photographs, I guess it really did. 🙂

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On Friday afternoon, after stalking a few Pasadena locations, Mike and I stopped off at our old staple, the 90210 house, aka Casa Walsh. Even though Mike and I had stalked this home countless times before, we had to return yet again as it is one location that we just never grow tired of. On this particular trip, though, the stalking gods must have been smiling down on us because the owner of the home pulled up in his car right when we arrived. So of course, we got to talking with him. 🙂

The owner, whose name is Jack, could NOT have been a nicer guy! He stood and talked with us in the Walsh driveway for about 45 minutes, sharing all sorts of 90210 stories and behind the scenes info. For instance, he told us that on one occasion when they filmed at his house, producers cleared out all of his living room furniture and built a soundstage of Kelly’s bedroom in the vacant room! LOL He also told us that some of the camping scenes from the Season 2 episode entitled “Camping Trip” were actually filmed in his backyard! And – my personal favorite story of the many Jack shared with us – one day he got home from work to find a message on his answering machine from a woman who said “Hi this is Emily Valentine and I wanted to let you know that I just got out of the asylum.” LOL Jack even told us of a few other 90210 filming locations that he knew about. 🙂 Now, this is where the story gets REALLY exciting. After talking with us for a bit in his driveway, Jack invited us into his backyard to take some photos.

Numerous events in the Walsh twins’ lives took place in Jack’s backyard, including Cindy and Jim’s 20th wedding anniversary, Jackie Taylor and Mel Silver’s wedding, the painting of the gang’s homecoming float which was later doused with gasoline by Emily Valentine, and – my personal favorite – one of the first times Brenda lays eyes on Dylan.

In that episode, entitled “Isn’t It Romantic”, Dylan and Brandon are working on Brandon’s car Mondale in the Walsh backyard. In the meantime, while speaking with Kelly on the phone, Brenda walks outside onto a little balcony to admire Dylan from afar, but he notices her and turns around to give her that cute Dylan smile that I was so in love with. 🙂 LOVE THAT SHOW! Anyway, Brenda’s balcony is really a part of the Altadena home and I could not have been more excited to see it in person! I believe it was at this point in our Casa Walsh tour, as Mike and I stood there snapping pictures like crazy and screaming like little schoolgirls, that Jack told us we both had way too much time on our hands. LOL 🙂

After seeing us go a bit crazy over being in the actual 90210 backyard, Jack (wait, are you sitting down for this???) INVITED US TO SEE THE INSIDE OF THE HOUSE!!!! Yes, you read that right – HE INVITED US INSIDE THE HOUSE! THE 90210 HOUSE! BRANDON AND BRENDA’S HOUSE! WE GOT TO GO INSIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mike and I both just about keeled over and died at this proposition and I am surprised we didn’t knock poor Jack to the floor as we made a running b-line for the house. 🙂 LOL While inside, Jack first showed us some scrapbooks he had made with photographs and articles from his house’s filming days. The scrapbooks included all sorts of photographs and memorabilia from the 90210 days, including photos of his kids with the stars and the original contract he signed allowing the production company to use his home for filming. I couldn’t help but smile as I read one clause in the contract which stated that a basketball hoop would be added to the exterior of Jack’s garage. 🙂 That basketball hoop is now gone as Jack is in the middle of remodeling his garage (say it ain’t so!). There were actually two different basketball hoops used during the filming of 90210 and when the series ended, Jack got to keep both of them. Many years later he ended up giving both of those hoops away to 90210 fans who had stopped by his house to take pictures. Like I said – what an amazingly nice guy! Mike was extremely bummed that he wasn’t the lucky recipient of one of those basketball hoops, but we should consider ourselves lucky as Jack said that Mike and I were the first two fans he had ever invited inside the house. 🙂

The most surreal moment of the day for me happened when my phone rang while I was standing in the 90210 kitchen (which you can sort of see in the above photograph). You see, my ring tone is, and always has been, the 90210 theme song. I kid you not. So there I was standing in Casa Walsh when the familiar strains of “Duh-nuh-nuh-nuh” came pouring out of my phone. LOL After looking at Jack’s 90210 scrapbooks, he took us on a mini-tour of the downstairs of his home. I was in utter shock not only at the fact that he would invite us into his home, but also that I WAS ACTUALLY STANDING INSIDE THE 90210 HOUSE! I had dreamed of seeing the inside of that home for YEARS and the only thing I can imagine that would have been more satisfying to a stalker like myself would be to have visited the studio set of the Walsh home during filming. I had read that the set of Casa Walsh was based on the real interiors of the Altadena home and on Friday I saw for myself that that was sort of true. While the kitchen area looks nothing like Cindy Walsh’s kitchen, the entryway, living room and dining room are all very similar to what we saw on TV. When walking inside the house it was like worlds were colliding inside my head as the image I knew of the interior sets meshed with reality. It was surreal and almost as if my brain couldn’t accept both images at the same time. LOL

The dining room area, which was just re-painted and therefore has no furniture in it, is very reminiscent of the Walsh dining room.

The living room is also quite similar to its television counterpart, except that it is longer and not quite as deep as the Walsh living room. In real life it is also missing the Walsh’s built-in bookshelves.

The area of the home I was most excited to see was the entryway/stairwell, as the Walsh’s entryway/stairwell was shown so often on the show. In reality, the stairway is situated like a mirrior image of how it appeared on 90210. The stairs run from the left to the right, while the Walsh stairway went from right to left. I asked Jack why he thinks they made this change for the studio set and he said he thinks that it worked better for camera angles that way. Aside from the stairway running the opposite direction, the real entryway looks very similar to the Walsh entryway and I still cannot believe I got to see it with my own two eyes!

Of course, we just had to take a picture with Jack in the entryway to document our time spent at Casa Walsh. On our way out, after giving Jack our phone numbers and telling him that if he ever needed ANYTHING to give us a call :), Mike told him that if he ever decided to sell Casa Walsh he wanted to be the first to know. 🙂

I still can hardly believe this whole thing even happened!! Mike and I seem to have a lot of luck when it comes to stalking 90210 locations, and I think I need to bring him with me on all of my stalking adventures from now on. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Casa Walsh is located at 1675 E. Altadena Drive, in Altadena. We got really lucky being let inside the house, but please don’t bother the owner to do this yourself as it is not his common practice.

November 24, 2008February 17, 2009

The Rubio House

One of my new favorite shows of the television season is the CBS series The Mentalist. Simon Baker’s acting on the show is truly incredible and I absolutely love watching his character! Anyway, while watching last week’s episode, I recognized not one, but two filming locations! The first location I recognized is a home that is used fairly often in movie and television productions and is known to us stalkers as “the Rubio house”. While watching the episode on Tuesday night, I turned to my boyfriend and screamed “Oh my god, that’s the Rubio house!” to which he replied “What’s the Rubio house?” and I realized I had yet to blog about it. So here goes. 🙂

The Rubio house is a large colonial style home located on Rubio Street in Altadena, just a few miles north of Pasadena. On Tuesday night’s Mentalist episode, which was entitled “Seeing Red”, the home belonged to millionaire murder victim Rosemary Tennant. The interior and exterior of the home, especially the front porch area, were featured several times in the episode. According to the Movieland Directory, the Rubio house has also been featured in the pilot episode of 7th Heaven (as the Camden family home), How Stella Got Her Groove Back, The Babysitter’s Club, Can’t Hardly Wait (as the party location), Bye Bye Love, V: The Final Battle, and The Great Mom Swap. According to Seeing Stars the first two American Pie movies also used the interior of the Rubio house – Stiffler’s parties at the beginning of both flicks were filmed there. There are some conflicting reports and ongoing debates among stalkers that the home was also used as Tom Cruise’s house in the movie Risky Business. But according to one of my fave tour books, it has been confirmed through several location scouts who worked on the 1983 movie that the entirety of Risky Business was shot on location in Chicago, Illinois and that the Rubio house was not, in fact, used. I am sure it is something stalkers will continue to debate about for years to come, though. 🙂

Note – Just got a comment from Timothy over at Altadenablog that the Rubio house was also used as Lindsay Lohan’s residence in the movie I Know Who Killed Me. Thanks for the info and the shout out Altadenablog!

The Rubio house is HUGE in person – much, much larger than it appears onscreen. It is easy to see why producers choose to use this home again and again in productions, as it looks like a very typical American home that could be found anywhere in the Midwest.

The next location I recognized from The Mentalist was the swamp area from the Warner Brothers Lot, which Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I had just visited a few weeks beforehand. In The Mentalist, the car that killed murder victim Rosemary Tennant is found in the WB swamp and a short scene takes place there as Simon Baker and his crew watch as the car is being removed from the water. As I mentioned in last week’s post about our WB tour, the swamp has been used in numerous productions over the years including ER, Million Dollar Baby, and Gilligan’s Island.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Mentalist house is located at 1090 Rubio Street in Altadena. The swamp is located on the Warner Brothers backlot and can only viewed while on a WB tour. Warner Brothers Studios is located at 3400 Riverside Drive in Burbank. Tours run every 30 minutes Monday through Friday from 8:20am to 4:00pm. Advance reservations are recommended. Tickets cost $45 per person. You can learn more about the tour here .