Warner Brothers Ranch – IAMNOTASTALKER

December 21, 2012December 20, 2012

The “Christmas Vacation” Pool

Another Christmas-themed locale that I had long wanted to track down and stalk was Clark W. Griswold’s (Chevy Chase’s) dream pool from the 1989 classic Christmas Vacation. (Is it odd, by the way, that I can still remember exactly where I was and who I was with the first time I saw the flick back in middle school? But I digress.) Being that the pool had only popped up once in the movie and that a very small portion of it was ever shown, I had no clue whatsoever where it might be located or how to even begin searching for it. Then, back in February, while Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I were visiting Warner Bros. Ranch, where the majority of Christmas Vacation was lensed, our lovely tour guide took us by the lot’s pool and I got an inkling that it might have been the one used in the movie. Our guide was unsure if that was the case, though, and when I re-watched the flick to make comparisons later that day, I noticed some differences in the two pools which led me to believe that they were not one and the same.

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Then, in October, I returned to the Ranch for another tour, this time with fellow stalkers Kim and Lavonna, and our guide informed us that Old Navy had just shot a series of Christmas Vacation-themed commercials (one of which you can watch by clicking below) on the premises and that, during the filming, Chevy Chase had mentioned that the lot’s pool had been used as Clark’s dream pool in the original movie. YAY! As someone who is always seeking further verification, though, I popped in my dad’s Christmas Vacation DVD while visiting my parents during Thanksgiving to see if any mention of the pool’s location was made in the commentary and, sure enough, director Jeremiah S. Chechik stated that the pool scene was filmed at Warner Bros. Ranch, just across from the house used as the Griswold residence in the film.

Clark’s dream pool, which, according to the fabulous Columbia Ranch website, was originally built in 1948, is located in the Park section of Warner Bros. Ranch, right next to the fountain used in the Friends opening credits and the Alan House from Pushing Daisies and Small Soldiers.

Mike took the photographs below during our February visit and, as you can see, a backdrop was installed around the southern portion of the pool at the time for a production that did not want it to be visible.

For the filming of Christmas Vacation, a significant amount of foliage was added to the premises to make it appear more like a residential backyard. And, as you can see below, while the lip of the pool was plain cement at the time of the shoot, it is now brick, and the metal ladder that was once affixed to the side of the structure has also since been removed.

But, thankfully, the legs of the diving board still look EXACTLY the same today as they did in 1989 when Christmas Vacation was filmed! LOVE IT!

You can check out a close-up photograph of those legs below.

And I, of course, just had to pose on the diving board like Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) while I was there. If only I had brought my skivvies that day! Winking smile

The Warner Bros. Ranch pool also appeared very briefly in the Season 1 episode of The Monkees titled “The Chaperone” during their “You Just May Be the One” performance.

The pool also popped up several times in various The Partridge Family episodes, including the Season 1 episode titled “Danny and the Mob” . . .

. . . and the Season 2 episode titled “Home Is Where the Heart Was”.

And while the pool was used in the Season 1 episode of Bewitched titled “And Something Makes Three”, it was never actually shown. In the episode, Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery) conjures up a pool in her backyard on a hot summer day, absolutely perplexing nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz (Alice Pearce), who can only see small glimpses of Samantha, jumping up and down on a diving board and splashing water, over their shared fence.

The Warner Bros. Ranch pool was also used significantly in the 2012 high school comedy Project X.

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: The Christmas Vacation pool is located on the Warner Bros. Ranch lot at 411 North Hollywood Way in Burbank. Unfortunately, the Ranch is gated and not accessible to the public.

March 27, 2008February 13, 2009

Warner Brothers Ranch, Here I Come!

I am literally pinching myself right now because tonight I got to go on a private tour of the Warner Brothers Ranch Lot in Burbank. The Ranch is normally closed to the public, but my friend works on the lot and agreed to take me on my very own private stalking tour. I was in heaven! Even though I have been on the lot once before for an acting class, at the time I had no idea what exterior sets were located on the lot and I didn’t really take advantage of being there. The only thing I stalked on that day was the Friends fountain. Today, we parked right in front of the fountain and it was actually turned on!! I was literally ready to jump in and start dancing, but my friend got a little worried that he might get fired over something like that. 🙂

Advisory 🙂 – cameras are taboo at the Ranch and we had to take pictures on the down low while we were walking around, so the pictures aren’t the greatest.

Before the tour, my friend told me that would try to find his map of the Ranch which listed all of the productions filmed on the lot and which exterior sets they used for filming. I told him that Lindsay needed no map, and that most likely I could show him a thing or two that wasn’t on that map! 🙂 Our first stop was the Life Goes On house – which I was SO excited to see. I grew up watching Life Goes On and wanted nothing more than to be Tyler Benchfield’s girlfriend! LOL I absolutely could not WAIT to see the Thatcher family house.

I was shocked that the house looked almost exactly as it did back in the Life Goes On days. Sometimes the Ranch changes the facades of the set homes, making them almost unrecognizable. But that was not the case with this house – I recognized it immediately. This house was also featured as Gladys and Abner Kravitz’ home on Bewitched.

The next house I was DYING to see was Clark W. Griswold’s home from one of my all time favorite movies National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Even though the facade of this house has changed considerably since filming, I could still picture Clark in the front yard yelling expletives at his plastic Santa Claus and eight tiny reindeer when his Christmas lights refused to turn on. What I wouldn’t give to have been able to see this house all lit up with Clark’s Christmas lights during the filming of Christmas Vacation!! 🙁

Next door to the Griswold’s house is Danny Glover’s house from the Leathal Weapon movies – and no, it was not blown up during the filming of Leathal Weapon 4. A replica house was built and blown up for the filming of the movie, and Roger Murtaugh’s house is still standing strong on the Ranch. This house was also used in American Beauty and as Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ house in Christmas Vacation. “Why is the carpet all wet, Todd?” “I don’t know, Margo!” The exterior of this house has also changed considerably since being used in both Lethal Weapon and Christmas Vacation.

The Bewitched house is also located on the Ranch. I was surprised that virtually none of its exterior has been changed since the Bewitched days. It looks exactly as it did back when Samantha and Darren lived there. It was surreal how much it looked like the Santa Monica home that the studio set was modeled after.

Lastly we hit up the Pushing Daisies house. This house was also used in the movies Small Soldiers and Pleasantville. The facade of this home was vastly changed for each production it has “starred” in. For a more in-depth view of the lot, check out Adam R. Jones’ website, entitled “1164”.

Stalk It: The Warner Brothers Ranch Lot is located at 411 N. Hollywood Way in Burbank. While it does not offer tours at this time, you can take the “VIP Studio Tour” at Warner Brothers Studio, which is just down the road at 3400 W. Riverside Drive. I’ve heard the VIP tours are excellent and tickets can be purchased for $45 per person.

March 9, 2008February 18, 2009

Dancing in the Friends’ Fountain!

I’ve done some pretty cool things in my life, but I must say that one of my favorite and most memorable adventures was dancing in the fountain that was used in the opening credits of Friends! Back in 2002, I attended a seminar put on by my acting school that just happened to be held on the Warner Brothers Ranch Lot. When I found out the seminar was going to be held at the Ranch I swear I almost died! I had heard sometime before that the Friends fountain was located somewhere on the Ranch and I had been trying to figure out a way to get onto the lot to see it in person. Thank you acting school!

When I drove onto the lot early the morning of the seminar, I actually went right past the famous fountain without even realizing it. Walking to the class, my eyes were one hundred percent peeled, looking in all directions for the fountain, but I couldn’t seem to find it. During class, I happened to mention to a friend that I was dying to see the fountain, but had no idea where it was, and she said “You drove right past it when you drove onto the lot!” LOL During our lunch break she led me out to the location of the fountain and we snapped a couple of pics sitting on it and dancing inside of it. Sadly, the pic of me dancing did not come out! 🙁 But we did get to eat lunch on the lawn right in front of the fountain, and I was pinching myself the whole time!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Warner Brothers Ranch Lot is located at 411 North Hollywood Way in Burbank. While there are, sadly, no public tours offered of the Ranch, the fountain is completely visible through the front gates to the left of the guard shack. If you walk down Hollywood Way you can peek through the main gates and snap a quick pic. 🙂