Since he's so crazy busy, there's just no time for a girl in Ben's life. But as easy as it was for us to fall for Ryan Atwood, Ben's character on The O.C., it's even easier to fall for him. THE GOOD: "Sometimes, people's connections go deeper than anything they can really put their finger on. Not that I've really fallen in love at first sight before, but I do kind of believe in it--in a weird way. I guess I'm a closet romantic. I also believe you can 'think' you're in love at first sight and find out that you're completely wrong." THE BAD: "Everyone is trying far too hard to set me up. Just let me sleep on the weekends."
Recently in The Official O.C. Reddit subreddit a user hopesdead asked a great question: What happened to the model home set? While researching this very question we stumbled on some mystery worthy information!
In season 1 episode 2 "The Model Home" Ryan decides to skip out on going to a foster home and hideout into the night. As Ryan is leaving Seth catches him and talks Ryan into camping out in one of his mom's housing developments instead. Marissa also tags along since she has a car and all. They quickly gather all the "necessary supplies" including a tent to sleep in, loofah, many candles, a stereo, putting green and food. Later in the episode Marissa leaves a party that Luke and his boys were hanging out at and heads straight to Ryan. Luke getting increasingly suspicious of Marissa's infatuation with Ryan decides to tail her all the way to the model home. When Marissa confronts Ryan about wanting to stay the night with him Ryan says they are from two different worlds and if she stayed over it would only make things harder. Ryan tells her to go!
Marissa runs out of the model home balling crying, Luke and his boys witness the whole thing as they hideout in the shadows. Marissa drives away and then Luke and his boys head into the house to find and beat up Ryan Orange County style!
During Luke and Ryan's confrontation and beat down a large array of candles get pushed over setting parts of Ryan's indoor campground on fire. Ryan gets ferociously gang beaten and falls down to the ground. Luke and his boys notice the flames getting higher and they decide to bail. As Luke is going down the stairs he realizes that he cannot leave Ryan laying there to get burned alive. Luke's conscious kicks in and Luke picks Ryan up and carries him outside leaving him on the dirt driveway, he tells Ryan "Run!". This is a turning point for the viewer, we start feeling like this Luke guy has a heart and a conscious.
As you can see the bottom blue arrow represents where Ryan is supposed to be staying in. The arrow at the top represents the pool that the gang first hung out at, the pool that Seth skateboarded in. Later in season 3 the pool is used in the season finale.
Then we are showed this aftermath scene of the model home as Seth and Sandy check things out. The room that Ryan was supposedly staying at and the garage area to the left are seen burnt down and destroyed.
Now the question is: Was the interior fire real and was the exterior of the house really set on fire for the show?
Our initial theory is that the room that the fire broke out in was filmed inside a set in a controlled environment and that the flames were real. Although they did film at the actual model homes interior and exterior, the room that the fire flared up was somewhere else. Then as far as the model home's exterior really being destroyed, we doubt it really was, we guess that CGI was involved. Because logistically why would they destroy a several million dollar home!
On the flip-side while analyzing photos of the actual houses window detail and comparing them to the interior room Ryan was staying in, they match (one window with 3 rows of 2 windows) This begs the question that The O.C. producers somehow got the builder of that home to O.K. them setting a few medium sized controlled fires within the newly built house. Seems like this request would be a stretch but the owner of the house sure did seemed fond of them using it in multiple episodes. Never the less if you review the episode, the flames look very real unlike what were about to show you next..
If you look closely while Luke carries Ryan out of the house, the camera pans up to the window in which was suppose to be where Ryan was staying. You see a burning window, the fire looked great but it does have a slight CGI vibe to it. Upon further research if you go to the credits of the episode there is a listing for "Digital Visual Effects" - it was done by Look! Effects Inc., they specialize in awesome special effects including fire. Normally the O.C. required few effects so this was a huge hint to solving half of this mystery. Then by luck we stumbled upon Look! Effects Inc. fire reel and by golly we have a match! After watching several other fire projects in the clip we saw a familiar window, it's the model home! Watching the clip above gives you an idea of how the special effects company pulled off such a realistic fire effect, using several layers of fire and smoke. Since we have learned that the exterior flame effects were faked we can assume that the scene of the aftermath of the fire has also been CGI'd.
For now this particular O.C. mystery will stay unsolvable but under constant speculation! However we do know now that the exterior fire was completely faked and can assume the exterior aftermath was destroyed with the help of slick CGI and smoke effects! The only question now remains did they actually set fires within the model home walls or was that done on a controlled environment sound stage? Regardless we are happy to share the exclusive info we were able to figure out. Part of the problem with an older TV show is lots of the info regarding it has been either forgotten or under lock and key! Please stay tuned for further mysteries and possible solves! Also feel free to tweet us any type of questions you may have, who knows we may even publish an O.C. Mystery article in your honor!
The O.C. just got Pokemon'd! Your welcome. Go ahead - feel free to cut them out, trade em and play! We personally think that having a Sandy Cohen or Ryan Atwood in your deck is practically the same as having a holographic Charizard! Use your existing Pokemon energy cards to play but disclaimer, we haven't tried this out yet so game play may vary! This creation was partially inspired by one of The OC Men's recent podcast where their cast played an O.C. role playing game they created..We thought was pretty awesome..look em up, listen, become a fan, you'll love em! Check em out here!
Shaun Cozzens may not be too familiar but he has done a fair amount of acting over the years, mainly small roles but consistent never the less. To us O.C. fans he was Julie's co-star in her pizza porn VHS flick! Starting to remember? Shaun Cozzen played the pizza delivery guy on the tape, delivering more than just a pizza if you know what I mean. They both act out what could be the worlds cheesiest (no pun intended) scenes ever!
Below is a clip from their video and a vintage interview with Shaun Cozzens (from the now defunct O.C. site Editorial Newport). An interview so good it needed to be re-posted! Enjoy!
Who?: Shaun Cozzens
Who!?: He played the pizza guy in Julie's blast-from-the-past porn flick, "The Porn Identity". Featured in episodes 2.15 - 2.17.
1. Had you ever seen the show before your appearance?
Actually I only saw the show a few times but not an actual full episode until I got a call for the audition. I watched the show then just to see who I would be in a scene with and exactly how they act and what there character was like so I could adjust my audition accordingly.
2. What was it like being featured on such a successful series?
I had an absolute blast. The crew, producers, directors and Melinda were great to work with and very accepting of a new comer. They helped me feel right at home and comfortable enough to try fun things, which I think helped the episode turn out the way it did.
3. With your somewhat obscure role in the episode, what did your family and friends think?
The role was killer. I mean, who wouldnt want to play a cheesy 80's pornstar. Especially when you get to play opposite a great and beautiful actress. My friends and family still joke around about it and give me a hard time, but it is all in fun and they know that acting is my true passion and they are totally supportive of that.
4. Favourite OC Babe?
Wow, that is a tough one. They were all beautiful, but I would have to say Melinda because she was the one that I saw and worked the most with. I didnt really have a chance to talk to any of the others except in passing.
5. Was Melinda Clarke a good kisser?
Haha what a hilarious question. Of course she was.... She was very professional and easy to work with which made the kissing scene easier to do. Its always difficult to come on set and do an intimate scene with someone that you dont know and have only talked to for like 5 minutes before they say "action" and have to make it look real and believable. But I think we pulled it off ok. 6. And finally, Were there any outstanding experiences from your time on the show?
I would have to say the best experience for me was making the cast and crew bust up laughing while we were shooting and all the outtakes that occurred while filming. That coupled with the phone call that I got from a friend that went to the wrap party for the season and said that Melinda gave a speech about working with me and how she enjoyed it and how much fun she had then the showed some of the outtakes to the crowd. It was nice to be thought of in that way......All in all the people were great and the experience was one of my favorite acting gigs to date. Interview conducted: April 4th, 2007. Published on: April 5th, 2007.
The name sign and mermaid were props added just for the show (lighting effect added by us)
Sad news OC'ers we've lost yet another filming location, this time it's the The Mermaid Inn aka Beach Plaza Hotel...sigh....
Before (2015)
After (now)
This filming location was not as big as loosing The Bait Shop but it served us up some important scenes never-the-less...
Like the time Ryan and Seth find out Luke is sleeping with Julie
OR how bout when Ryan and Theresa hooked up behind Eddies back
The Beach Plaza Hotel was a real hotel in Long Beach, CA, (not in Newport). The hotel had 40 rooms and was there for a long time. The hotel was located at 2010 E Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90803. This O.C. filming location served up scenes for 4 different episodes, three episodes from season 1 and one episode in season 3 (some scenes featured above).
Nothing like a good ole cheap hotel to boost drama! Above is where Julie and Luke hooked up for the first time, which was located on the opposite side. We can't confirm at this point if any of the rooms were actually filmed in but by the looks of the images found around the web of the interiors, furniture etc they don't quite match with what is shown on The O.C..Thus giving us the impression that the interiors were filmed at Raleigh Manhattan Beach Studios (with the rest of The O.C. sets).
The hotel has some very interesting and hilarious reviews on yelp, make sure to check them out! Overall the general consensus was that the hotel was very affordable (especially to be so close to the beach), customer service was so-so but the rooms could be very trashy and not cleaned very well.
Here is an actual photo of inside one of the rooms..classy eh?
Furthermore the walls were "paper thin", some rooms were without AC, low prices so close to the beach attracted parties, rambunctious behavior and some guests even complained about hearing people doing the deed. Prices ranged from 35 dollars to upper 70's depending on the room and accommodations but this was very cheap for the location. So affordable that many guests appeared to ignore the flaws it had and were just happy to have a hotel so close to the beach at such a nice price.
Here is a top view of what the hotel looked like. The yellow arrows point to the areas where filming took place. Most all happening on the left side. The yellow arrow in the back is where Seth and Ryan were when they saw Julie and Luke kissing. The front arrow was where Ryan and Seth walked in to ask if anyone turned in his watch. All which can be seen in Season 1 Episode 22 "The LA".
The future plan for the empty lot: As of now the lot remains empty but we discovered there are plans to build a multi-story hotel building that has 72 hotel rooms, complete with valet parking, restaurant and lounge. Sounds a heck of a lot more classy than the original. However locals are already wondering how that size hotel will effect traffic and congestion. Only time will tell!
Fun fact: Which room did Theresa and Ryan hook up in? Give up? Room 204 which was one of the rooms on the upstairs portion of the hotel. We know this because Julie stays in room 205 which was right next door to where Theresa was staying. Julie hooked up with Luke in one of the downstairs rooms as well. The old hotel owner also mentions room 204 when Ryan and Seth ask about a missing watch.
But yes...Gone forever...but never forgotten! It's a cloudy day in the world of O.C. filming locations but we'll float on..We will miss you Mermaid Inn. Cheers.
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Captain Oats says thank you in advance in his horsey speak!