Zooey Deschanel – IAMNOTASTALKER

April 17, 2012April 16, 2012

The “New Girl” Apartment Building

My good friend/fellow stalker Lavonna has been begging me to track down locations from New Girl for a good three months now, but because I had never seen an episode of the series I was unable to do so. Until last Monday evening, that is, when the Grim Cheaper and I finally sat down and started watching it from the beginning. Thank you, Hulu! I have to admit that I did not have very high hopes for the show as, for whatever reason, I am not that big of a fan of actress Zooey Deschanel (whose mom played Eileen Hayward on fave series Twin Peaks, but I digress). I ended up LOVING it, though, and both the GC and I are now absolutely hooked! After watching the first few episodes, I immediately started doing research on the warehouse-style loft apartment building where the New Girl gang lives (Lavonna’s most coveted locale from the series) and thankfully, Christine, over at fave website OnLocationVacations, had posted the address several times on her Daily Filming Locations page. So I dragged the GC right on out to the Arts District in Downtown L.A. this past Saturday afternoon to do some stalking of the place. (On a side-note, Mike, from MovieShotsLA, just taught me how to process my photographs using the soon-to-be defunct Picnik editing program, so I have been having a little fun with them today. Don’t mind me. Smile )

I had never before visited – or even heard of – the “Arts District” (or “Artists District” as it is sometimes referred to) until this past Saturday, but according to the Los Angeles Downtown Arts District website, the area is the site of an average of 900 movie shoots per year! Um, yes please – sign me up! It is basically a stalker’s heaven – and one of the coolest spots that I have been to in all of my stalking travels. The District became a haven for the artistically-inclined in 1976 thanks to the many affordable studio-type spaces available in the countless then-abandoned buildings and warehouses located there. Artists gradually began to take over the many spacious lofts, turning them into art studios and illegal living spaces (the area was not yet zoned as residential). In the 1980s, the Artists-In-Residence ordinance was passed which allowed lessees to use their flats as live/work spaces and, as a result, even more artisans flocked to the area. Today, the Arts District is a flourishing mecca of artists and hipsters and boasts fabulous brick buildings, sidewalk cafes and more galleries than you can shake a stick at. While there, not only did I feel like I had been transported back to my beloved Manhattan, but we ended up falling bass-ackwards into one of my most sought-after filming locations ever! But that is another story for another post.

In real life, the property where the New Girl gang lives is known as the Binford Building and it was originally constructed in 1906, but was not converted into a residential structure until the mid-1980s. The 36-unit domicile was the brainchild of real estate developer Michael Kamin, owner of the Mika Company, who, in a 1986 Los Angeles Times article said, “We wanted to make the building a statement and an art piece — something that says this is an exciting place to live, something to keep the focus on this street.” I would say he succeeded – in spades! The structure is definitely unique and the most eye-catching on the entire block.

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In New Girl, the Binford Building is where Jess (Zooey Deschanel), Nick (Jake M. Johnson), Schmidt (Max Greenfield), and Winston (Lamorne Morris) live. The exterior of the structure is shown weekly on the series.

The building’s main entrance has also popped up from time to time.

That entrance is shown above.

As you can see, the Binford’s real life directory and intercom are even visible on the show. Love it!

The interior of the gang’s apartment is just a set, though, located at Fox Studios where (I am fairly certain) the series is lensed. You can check out some photographs of the interior of an actual Binford Building unit here. As you can see, it does not look anything like the New Girl loft. I am absolutely IN LOVE with the group’s sprawling, FOUR-bedroom, industrial, brick-walled loft, by the way. The GC and I also live in a loft-style apartment that I ADORE, but it is 750-square feet, has no actual bedrooms and only ONE teeny-tiny closet! Yes, ladies, I have to share a closet with my husband – GASP! The GC recently commented that he has noticed his side of the closet getting gradually smaller over the years. Ha! And here I thought I was being all sly. Winking smile So yes, I have been known to drool copiously while watching New Girl. I definitely have apartment envy!

I could do without their public-style bathroom, though, which is an aspect of the show that I still do not entirely understand.

According to a message board on the Animation Nation website, the premiere episode of the cartoon Family Dog (which was part of Steven Spielberg’s anthology series Amazing Stories) was created by animator Brad Bird in one of the Binford Building lofts. The family in the series was even named “The Binfords” in honor of the property. Traction Avenue, the street where the Binford is located, was also mentioned (and briefly seen on a freeway sign) in Bird’s 2004 hit, The Incredibles.

Binford Lofts–the “New Girl” Apartment Building

You can watch a video about the Binford Building lofts by clicking above.

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Lavonna for asking me to find this location (and for turning me on to New Girl) and to Christine, from OnLocationVacations, for tracking it down! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Binford Building, aka the New Girl apartment building, is located at 837 Traction Avenue in the Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles.

September 14, 2010September 14, 2010

Griffith Observatory

A couple of months ago I dragged my parents and my then-fiancé/now husband out to Los Feliz to do some stalking of the Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park – a place which I had never before visited despite having lived in Los Angeles for over a decade. I had actually wanted to stalk the Observatory for close to 18 years – ever since November of 1992, to be exact – thanks to the fact that it was featured in a Season 3 episode of fave show Beverly Hills, 90210. But more on that later.

The land that now encompasses Griffith Park was donated to the City of Los Angeles by Welsh industrialist Colonel Griffith J. Griffith (and no, that was not a typo – the guy’s first name was actually the same as his last!) on December 16, 1896. Griffith stipulated that the donated parcel of land, which measured 3,015 acres, was to be used as a public park. He said, “It must be made a place of rest and relaxation for the masses, a resort for the rank and file, for the plain people. I consider it my obligation to make Los Angeles a happy, cleaner, and finer city. I wish to pay my debt of duty in this way to the community in which I have prospered.” When Griffith passed away 26 years later, in 1919, he bequeathed the majority of his $1.5 million estate to the city for the purposes of building a theatre and an observatory inside of the park. Construction on the observatory, which was designed by architect John C. Austin and engineer Russell W. Porter, began on June 20th, 1933 and the building opened to the public just under two years later, on May 14, 1935.

The Griffith Observatory, which sits high atop Mount Hollywood, features a 300-seat state-of-the-art planetarium, a 2,700-square foot multimedia theatre, a Zeiss refracting telescope, an exhibit hall, and, as you can see above, views which are nothing short of incredible.

Hollywood location scouts took notice of the property right from the very beginning when it was chosen to appear in the 1935 movie The Phantom Empire shortly after its opening. Since that time, the Observatory has been featured in hundreds upon hundreds of productions – far too many for me to be able to properly catalog here, but I’ll do my best to give my fellow stalkers a broad overview.

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As I mentioned above, the Observatory was featured in a Season 3 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. That episode was titled “Rebel With A Cause” and it was, ironically enough, one of my least favorite episodes in the entire history of the series. The episode centers around the break-up of longtime couple Dylan McKay (aka Luke Perry) and Brenda Walsh (aka my girl Shannen Doherty), immediately after which Dylan puts the moves on Brenda’s best friend Kelly Taylor (aka Jennie Garth). Mind you, Dylan and Kelly had also been seeing each other behind Brenda’s back for an entire summer at that point in the series. Dylan then decides to take Kelly out on a date – just two nights after his break-up with Brenda! – and when Brenda randomly catches the two of them together in a restaurant, she calls Kelly a “bimbo” and Kelly actually has the nerve to be mad at Brenda. I mean, HELLO, Kelly! Not only did you spend an entire summer making out with your BEST FRIEND’S boyfriend, but when said best friend and said boyfriend break-up, it’s not 48 hours later that you are out on a date with him. With friends like that, who needs enemies?? Let me tell you, had that happened to me, I would have been calling Kelly a whole lot worse things than “bimbo”. And yes, I realize Beverly Hills, 90210 is just a television show and that the “Rebel With A Cause” episode aired almost two decades ago, but the whole thing still seriously upsets me! But I digress. Anyway, in the episode, before taking her out to dinner, Dylan brings Kelly to the Griffith Observatory, where they watch a show in the planetarium.

After the show, the two little home-wreckers head outside for a heart-to-heart chat and, even though I was strongly opposed to the whole Kelly/Dylan romance, for whatever reason, it was the location of that chat that I was most interested in stalking.

I had a very difficult time locating the wall where Dylan and Kelly sat, though, as it is not in an easily-visible part of the building. It actually wasn’t until we were heading back to our car that I finally spotted the right place.

As it turns out, Kelly and Dylan’s wall is located in the eastern-most section of the Observatory. It is actually the wall to a ramp which leads to the back of the building and is located on the left-hand side of the Observatory (as you are facing it) and is denoted with a pink arrow in the above aerial view.

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The Observatory’s most famous onscreen appearance was, of course, in the 1955 James Dean classic Rebel Without a Cause, which, amazingly enough, I have never actually seen! In the beginning of the flick, Jim (aka James Dean) and Judy (aka Natalie Wood), along with the rest of their high school class, go on a field trip to the Observatory where they watch a show in the planetarium.

And the very same wall from 90210 also appears in that scene.

Rebel’s final scene also takes place at the Observatory, but I do not want to post any screen caps of that scene as they would spoil the ending.

There is a statue of James Dean on display on the Observatory’s front lawn which commemorates the historic filming that took place there in 1955. So darn cool!

Griffith Observatory was also the site of the climatic scene in 1999’s hilarious comedy Bowfinger, in which renegade, wanna-be movie director Bowfinger (aka Steve Martin) and his ragamuffin film crew secretly tape Daisy (aka Heather Graham) and Kit Ramsey (aka Eddie Murphy) fighting off a fictitious band of aliens.

In the first Transformers movie, Mikaela Banes (aka Megan Fox) and Sam Witwicky (aka Shia LaBeouf) are at the Observatory when they witness a group of Transformers crash landing on earth in the form of meteorites.

In The Terminator, the Observatory is the spot where the Terminator (aka Arnold Schwarzenegger) first emerges from a time warp and begins his mission to kill Sarah Conner (aka Linda Hamilton).

In 2008’s Yes Man, the Observatory is the location of Allison’s (aka Zooey Deschanel’s) weekly jogging/photo class, during which Carl (aka Jim Carrey) crashes after drinking waaaaaaay too many Red Bull energy drinks.

It is also where Carl professes his love to Allison at the very end of the movie.

And it is during that ending scene that Carl and Allison run right by the exact spot where Beverly Hills, 90210 was filmed 16 years beforehand. 🙂

The scene in which Natalie Cook (aka Cameron Diaz), Dylan Sanders (aka Drew Barrymore) and Alex Munday (aka Lucy Liu) discover that Madison Lee (aka Demi Moore) is actually a fallen angel in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle takes place at the Observatory.

The observatory was also featured in the music video for Paula Abdul’s hit single “Rush Rush”, which was an homage to the movie Rebel Without a Cause.

You can watch the full video, which starred Keanu Reeves, by clicking above.

Griffith Observatory has also appeared in the movies Dragnet, Devil in a Blue Dress, The Rocketeer, House on Haunted Hill, Nancy Drew, and Earth Girls are Easy, and in episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles, 24, Star Trek Voyager, Alias, MacGyver, Melrose Place, Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Colbys.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Griffith Observatory is located at 2800 East Observatory Road, inside of Griffith Park, in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles. You can visit the observatory’s official website here. Admission is free. The observatory is closed to the public on Mondays and Tuesdays.

April 15, 2010April 15, 2010

The “(500) Days of Summer” Bench

Another Downtown Los Angeles location that my fiancé and I stalked this past weekend was the famous bench from 2009’s indie hit (500) Days of Summer. A few weeks ago, fellow stalker Eileen emailed me to tell me of the bench’s location and to send me the above photograph of herself and her roommate taken while there. I should mention here that I didn’t especially care for (500) Days of Summer. Actually, it’d be much closer to the truth to say that I didn’t like the movie at all, and for the very same reason that I didn’t like 2006’s The Break-Up – it was far too depressing. I went in expecting to laugh and came out completely crushed. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that the two main characters didn’t wind up together, being that the movie’s tag line read, “Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn’t.” But, being that I’ve always been an eternal optimist, the ending came as a complete shock to me. For those who have yet to see (500) Days of Summer, I apologize if I just ruined it for you, but I think the movie would be a whole lot more enjoyable to watch if you know beforehand that the ending is not a happy one. Anyway, I just about died when I saw Eileen’s photograph of the bench and noticed the little plaque glued to the back of it which heralds its famous cinematic appearance. That plaque is just about the COOLEST THING EVER! I think ALL movie locations should have something similar on display! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! So, even though I wasn’t a fan of the movie, I just HAD to stalk the bench to see that plaque with my own two eyes.

The bench, which shows up twice in (500) Days of Summer, is a very significant location in the movie. It first appears in the beginning of the flick – on “Day 95” – as the spot where aspiring architect/greeting card author Tom Hansen (aka Joseph Gordon-Levitt) takes new girlfriend Summer Finn (aka Zooey Deschanel) on a date. He describes the bench as his favorite place in all of Los Angeles thanks to its view of some of Downtown’s most historically significant buildings. After Zooey jokingly points out that the bench also has a view of quite a few parking structures, Tom says, “There’s a lot of beautiful stuff here, too, though. I don’t know. I just wish people would notice it more.” I love that quote as it is sad fact that L.A.’s beauty is overlooked much of the time. Southern California gets a bad wrap more often than not, but if you really take the time to look, there is a staggering amount of beauty and history and magic in this city. That’s one of the things I love most about stalking – I get to see so many unique and fascinating areas of L.A. – like Tom’s bench – that I might never have known about had they not been featured in a movie. So, thank you, Hollywood! 🙂

Tom’s bench, and the one immediately to the right of it, shows up yet again on “Day 488”, in the scene in which Tom and Summer run into each other after she has married someone else. See what I mean – depressing freakin’ movie!

The park where the bench is located, a tiny, little spot known as Angels Knoll, also appears in the movie, on “Day 259”, in the scene in which Tom and Summer pretend to have Tourette’s syndrome.

Tom’s bench is a very cool little spot and I am happy to report that it looks much the same in person as it did in the movie.

Except that it now has that uber-cool filming plaque proudly displayed on its back. LOVE IT!

The view from the bench is also much the same in real life as it appeared in the movie. And it really is quite a view!

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Because the movie filmed at so many unique and interesting locations and did such a fabulous job of highlighting Los Angeles’ beauty, I was quite shocked to find out today, thanks to IMBD’s (500) Days of Summer trivia page, that the original screenplay depicted the characters living in San Francisco! Los Angeles is so prevalent in the storyline – the city could almost be considered the third main character – that I can’t even fathom what the movie would have been like had it been filmed anywhere else.

Ironically enough, while we were stalking the bench we ran into yet another stalker who was doing the exact same thing! So, we, of course, got to talking to him and he alerted me to this (500) Days of Summer online movie locations map, which was apparently transcribed from a map that was given out as a promo during the flick’s June 24th, 2009 premiere. I know I am repeating myself here, but that map has to be just about THE COOLEST THING EVER! Why is something like this not done for all movies???? Do I have to think of everything? Sheesh! 🙂 Anyway, as it turns out, my fellow stalker was visiting L.A. from Vancouver, British Columbia, which just so happens to be Mr. Michael Buble’s hometown. So, since I just booked tickets for a little May vacation in the Pacific Northwest and have been busy making a list of all of my must-see locations up there, I asked him if he happened to know where MB’s childhood home could be found. Well, let me tell you, he just about flipped out right there on the spot, gave me the weirdest look, and immediately hightailed it out of there. Not kidding! The guy practically ran from me – he could not get away fast enough! He obviously thought I was a complete and total freak! LOL Ah well, I guess not everybody loves a stalker.

Big THANK YOU to Eileen for telling me about this location! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The (500) Days of Summer bench can be found in the western portion of Angels Knoll Park, which is located at 356 South Olive Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles. The bench’s exact location is denoted with a blue circle in the above aerial map. Angels Knoll is open daily, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during Winter months and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. during Summer months.