Behind the Scenes: Benjamin Mckenzie and Adam Brody hang out in the pool house!

These are very rare behind the scenes photos of Benjamin Mckenzie and Adam Brody in-between filming a scene for season 2 episode 10 "The Accomplice". Below you will find the actual clip that was filmed during these images.

The O.C. Mystery: Sandy reveals how many extra rooms their house has in an early pilot draft!

Earlier we wrote a post attempting to solve the age old O.C. question of why Ryan had to sleep in the pool house and why the Cohens seemed to only have 2 bedrooms in their mansion, you can find that here. Since then a bit of new and exciting evidence has been recently discovered inside an earliest found draft of the O.C. pilot script written by Josh Schwartz. The answer to the "how many rooms did the Cohens have" could finally be solved! Furthermore the script snippet goes into a little more detail on why Ryan had to sleep in the pool house!

As you can see in this early draft snippet explains a lot! Sandy says they have 5 extra bedrooms! Keyword EXTRA. Even Sandy seems puzzled about Ryan having to stay in the pool house when they have so much extra room inside. Ryan is sent out to the pool house (which most can assume) mainly because of Kirsten, she didn't feel safe having him (a stranger and a felon) roam around their house. She didn't want to run a halfway house. For what ever reason the final draft of the script had the extra 5 rooms line edited out. We can all assume however that there had to be at least 5 extra rooms in their house, I mean its huge! Lets lay that mystery to rest once and for all!

During the series the amount of extra rooms the house had fluctuated for dramatic and convenient comedic effect. For instance Ryan having to sleep on the couch when Hailey (Kirsten's sister) arrived or when Theresa stayed over Ryan had to sleep in Seth's bedroom floor, Ryan constantly got the shaft! Perhaps the extra rooms were actually filled with more expensive things, basically like storage!

Among tons of other differences, this draft is also missing the bit about Sandy being self righteous. This draft also calls the pool house the guest house (which is essentially the same thing). So now you know, 5 extra rooms plus Seth's room and the master bedroom! So next time a so called fan of The O.C. wants to school you in O.C. trivia, just lay them to rest with this uber rare bit of knowledge. The answer is 5 extra rooms buddy! *Drops the mic*.

Behind the Scenes: O.C. Creator Josh Schwartz's Office Tour!

We present to you the man, the myth, the legend, the one and only creator of The O.C. Josh Schwartz and his plush Warner Bros office. As they said in MTV Cribs (Rip) "This is where all the magic happens". Much of the writing and everyday upkeep is done right here. Notice the super sweet O.C. gumball machine which we hear doesn't even require coins to operate! 

As you may know Josh Schwartz was the youngest TV show creator in history, he was just 26 years old when his idea "The O.C." turned into a huge success (Josh was only 25 when FOX decided to pick the show up). Since then he's been the magic behind many other great shows including Gossip Girl, Chuck and The Heart of Dixie (which featured Rachel Bilson). You may not know this but much of The O.C. was based on Josh Schwatz's time at USC (where he studied film/tv). See that surfboard to the left - it was awarded when Gossip Girl was picked as Best Choice TV Show Drama back in 2011. I bet Sandy could really rip up the waves with that baby!

Here is a close up of some of the items kept on Josh's desk. What desk would be complete without Captain Oats and Princess Sparkles (props taken from the show), a hand drawn cartoon of Seth, Ryan and Marissa, a Goonies Data figure, an E.T. plush, a Storm Trooper helmet (a gift from George Lucas himself) and a Gremlins plush. As you can see Josh is a pretty outspoken uber geek and that's what we love about him. We can only assume that the Cohens bagel slicer and Ryan's leather choker is somewhere in those cabinets as well!

More on the Bagel Slicer | More on Captain Oats

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/new-girl-mad-men-matthew-weiner-show-runner-offices-318616/13-josh-schwartz

Behind the Scenes: Marissa's Lifeguard Tower Set!

Here is a very rare behind the scenes photo of the famous S-49 lifeguard tower! You know the place where Marissa spent a lot of time contemplating the many stresses of teen life!

"Coop you spend all of your time on that lifeguard stand staring out at the water like you're a Naval widow."  - Summer

This set was built to replicate the real S-49 lifeguard tower located on Dockweiler Beach as seen above. Right behind the LAX airport. Google map link here!

The real lifeguard tower is very similar to the replica. The replica set was built inside Manhattan Beach Studios (the same place where the Cohen house set was). The set came complete with fake hills, plants, shrubs, background lighting and lots and lots of sand! Clearly this set was only used for night scenes.

Many lifeguard towers were seen in passing during the series. Here is a shot of a different lifeguard tower at Hermosa Beach in season 1 episode 9 "The Heights". 

Here is a rare scan from The O.C. Insider Magazine providing additional angles of lifeguard tower the set

Generally sets are created when the show creators realize that a certain location will be used a bunch of times, making it much more cost effective than shooting at the actual locations. Not only can they film whenever they want in a studio but they can also control nearly every aspect of the scene (which is not the case when shooting on location).

They sure had us fooled! Were you fooled? Regardless we thought this was pretty cool and the set designers did a heck of a good job on it! What else is housed inside the beach set you ask? Stay tuned!

The O.C. Whoops: Range Rover window reflection reveals camera in shot?

We are back with another O.C. Whoops! This time a good ole camera reflection get in the frame! Classic mistake guys! The Whoops happens in Season 1 Episode 11 "The Homecoming"- the scene is where Ryan and Marissa head over to see Trey in prison and bring him Kirsten's store bought dessert (thank god).

As you can see when Ryan and Marissa peel out and head to see trey, the camera on the reflection of the Range Rover window, the black square camera is easily seen. What is also revealed is the Cohens front facade set (see the column and roof).

Here is a one-of-a-kind rare photo of the actual Cohen house set front facade. As you can see it matches with the scene above. Notice how there isn't anything attaching at certain points of the house, this is because the cameras never went up that high, therefor appearing to be a real complete house to the viewer. 

This set front was built as very close replica to the actual house in Malibu..As you can see some details are different from the set built front vs the actual front. But like Seth Cohen says "That's Hollywood for ya!".

Obscure O.C. Trivia: The Cohens and The Roberts house addresses revealed!

Yes its true, in Season 4 Episode 7 "The Chrismukkah Huh?" Ryan receives a late letter from Marissa sent before her untimely passing. The scene is quick but if you pause at the right time, both Marissa and Ryan's addresses are revealed. This knowledge is bound to push you ahead of any so called fan of The O.C..

Our team of experts digitized and enhanced the above image above revealing the actual address where the Cohens lived! Not only that but it also reveals Summer's house address when Marissa was living with Summer and her dad Neil!

The addresses read:

Ryan Atwood

6203 Bluffside Terrace

Newport Beach, CA 92660

Marissa Cooper

4944 Pelican Grove Circle 

Newport Beach, CA 92660

Sadly in reality there is no 6203 Bluffside Terrace or 4944 Pelican Grove Circle. These addresses were completely made up. Most likely to give the real home owners the privacy they need. Interestingly enough though the Cohen house number is only 2 off of the real thing!

The actual Cohen address of the house we see the front of briefly in nearly every O.C. episode is:

6205 Ocean Breeze Drive, Malibu, CA.

Located in a private gated community
Still for sale as of  March 2017, buy price is $6,795,000

The above house was used strictly in the first few episodes of The O.C. and mainly for external front shots after that. These shots included different cars pulling in and out of the driveway as well as multiple weather conditions, all filmed at once and reused over and over. They did use the front of the house once more in the last episode when Ryan says goodbye. The actual interiors of this house are completely different than in the show. The interiors of the Cohen house we see in the series were built entirely on sound stages 27 and 28 at Manhattan Beach Studios. The interiors and pool area were inspired by a house on the same cul de sac in the Malibu community. More about that here!

Fun fact: Dianne Burnett ex wife of Mark Burnett (creator of Survivor, SharkTank - divorced in 2003) lived in "The Cohen House" till it recently went up for sale. 

The Actual Roberts address is:

28685 Wagon Road  Agoura Hills, CA 

Located within a gated community called Paramount Ranch Estates
Current market estimate in 2017 is $7 million

The external shots of Summers house was filmed at this location as well as the backyard pool shots. Most of everything else was filmed in stages 27 and 28 at Manhattan Beach Studios (same place where the Cohen house set was).

Fun fact: This house is over 12,000 square feet in size, the home is fully solar powered as well as solar heated for the pool. Also features 2500 square foot gym, driving range (3 par hole) with sand traps, putting & chipping greens, a  lighted tennis court, ball machine, horseshoe pit, solar heated pool and spa, water fountains, dry river bed, organic vegetable garden, fruit trees, room for meditation pavilion overlooking Ladyface Mountain, and a three acre meadow for horses/animals plus room for barns. Holy cow, what a house!

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The Cars of The O.C.: Ryan Atwood's 1980-1987 Toyota Land Cruiser!

In this edition of The Cars of The O.C. we present to you Ryan's dessert beige 1980-1987 Model 60 Toyota Land Cruiser! This Toyota Land Cruiser was given to Ryan by his mother Dawn Atwood upon Ryan's high-school graduation. It's no Land Rover but it surely an awesome gift! Dawns new boyfriend even helped her fix it up, And look a red ribbon, Dawn clearly went all out with this gift!

Gee thanks mom for getting me a car with over 230 thousand miles on it..

Chances are even if Ryan and Marissa didn't crash that baby was on its way out!

The interesting thing about Ryan's Land Cruiser is that Ryan really only got to enjoy it for about a day before it was brutally thrown off the road by Volchok and totaled! How sad, its almost as if everything Dawn touches turns to crap.

Side view

Look, Ryan is driving around with a New Mexico license plate 594k28..Interesting..

During the crash scene Ryan's Land Cruiser gets completely engulfed in flames

Then here in this very rare photo, we see whats left of Ryan's Toyota Land Cruiser at The O.C. back-lot. As you can see not much flame damage at all, mainly structural. Which means there probably was more than one vehicle involved during filming, one to wreck and one to set on fire. With the fire car being a pretend look-a-like Land Cruiser (possibly).

Specs: 

What body style?

off-road vehicle with 4/5 seats

How long?

4750 mm

How heavy?

1900 kg

What size engine?

4 litre, 3995 cm3

How many cylinders?

6, Straight

How much power?

157 PS / 155 bhp / 116 kW @ 4200 rpm

How much torque?

294 Nm / 217 ft.lb / 30 kgm @ 2200 rpm

How fast?

155 km/h, 96 mph (no wonder they couldn't outrun Volchok's van)

Behind the Scenes: Benjamin Mckenzie on shooting the pilot episode of The O.C..

“The first day of the pilot was kind of nutty. I showed up in the Valley and we were shooting Ryan at his old house with his mom. I think McG stopped by for like two seconds… ‘You’re going to be great, you’re going to be great’ and then ran away. It was cool. I think it was just me and Doug and I think Peter maybe worked a little with Doug Liman the director. And then Peter was in a couple scenes… it was pretty heavy stuff. It was kind of crazy. It was either sink or swim time; so thankfully it has worked out.”

Behind the Scenes: Ben Mckenzie wearing Ugg boots on set!

As you can see we have a special behind the scenes look at what happened in-between takes on The O.C..Clearly they are filming a scene in the pool house but the main thing worth mentioning here is that Ben Mckenzie is wearing Ugg boots! That's right you heard it here first!

Perhaps this is a creature comfort thing for Ben or that while shooting from the waist up Ben would always bust out his Ugg boots for good luck. The world may never know but regardless of reason, this makes for a good laugh. 😂

The O.C. Basement: Benjamin Mckenzie before and after reaching stardom!

In the above awesome and rare video we get to take a look back at Benjamin Mckenzie before and after reaching stardom on The O.C..Starting off with a highschool touchdown! As you maybe can gather much of  the O.C. on location footage was taken from the Season 1 episode titled "The Links" when Oliver takes the gang to his parents Palm Springs retreat to play golf.

A few things we learned while watching the video:

• Fascinatingly Ben had a super small resume prior to playing in The O.C. but despite that he was able to beat out 500 other people trying out for the role of Ryan Atwood. 

• Ben reassured his family back at home in Austin that he's still the same person "but leads a little more stranger life". Admits he wears a little more makeup these days but adds that he is still the football playing bar-b-que eating kid he was 5 to 10 years ago. 

Benjamin Mckenzie was known to be the most modest spender of all the younger O.C. cast members, claiming to have only bought a new infinity when striking new fame. But in this video it revealed that he bought a new apartment in Santa Monica as well, which we all could have assumed.

Click here to learn which car he was driving before fame! 

Ben claims in stardom that "You're still the same person, nothing has changed for you its just how people perceive you". Pretty thought provoking!

Rachel Bilson, Samaire Armstrong and Mischa Barton all had great things to say about the Ben. 

Rachel: "He's so cool. Ben is awesome and you know whats great, he sticks to his Cowboy boots no matter what, he always wears his cowboy boots." Picture a Ryan Atwood in cowboy boots, not really sure that would work! 

Samaire: "Ben is so fun because like, he's mostly a sincere sturdy guy but once you crack that smile and actually get him to giggle he's so much fun to be around."

Mischa: "He's great. I mean you know I think he's the perfect choice for Ryan, he's got like, he's added a lot of depth to the character, he's just so nice and very down to earth."

Benjamin Mckenzie mentions a few things he misses being away from Austin, TX since landing the big gig The O.C.:

1. 6th Street

2. No good bar-b-que

3. No blues country folk music scene out in LA 

4. No Barton Springs (a recreation outdoor swimming pool in Austin, TX) 

5. No UT Football "Go Horns!"

Ben also mentioned that Adam Brody promised to teach Ben how to surf but hasn't gotten around to it yet. I wonder if he ever did!

Behind the Scenes: There were TWO different versions of the Ryan and Marissa pilot scene!

Through deep O.C. research I have discovered something pretty mind blowing! While looking through YouTube I stumbled across an old O.C. promo on the VHS Vault channel. I started to watch it and it was pretty cool to see one of the first commercials promoting the show. But what made it go from cool to absolutely amazing was near the end when Ryan says the "Whoever you want me to be" line. But something immediately looked off about the scene, Ryan's head was in a different pose, the camera was zoomed in on his face and there was no cigarette in his mouth. I did a double take and realized hey wait this scene never made it to the actual show!

I figured out the reason why there was two versions of the "whoever you want me to be" line. When it came to promoting The O.C. the networks had to be careful with the content they were showing in commercials especially since the show was brand new and it was being marketed to teens. With that being said the commercial version is without underage smoking. Interestingly enough Ryan doesn't touch another cigarette after the pilot episode and I wonder if the network had something to do with that also!

Furthermore its funny that the commercial left the underage drinking, naked people in the hot tub, breaking car windows, punching and also intimate teen moments but no smoking!! Its pretty humorous really and also makes for a really rare alternative unaired version! Enjoy the video below as it includes the aired and unaired version of Ryan's iconic line!

The O.C. Fun Fact: Adam Brody originally tried out for the part of Ryan Atwood?

Yes, this is true! Originally Adam Brody the actor that plays the goofy, quirky, sheek-geek Seth Cohen originally tried for the part of Ryan Atwood - the troubled teen from the other side of the tracks.

Legend has it that Adam Brody (working at Blockbuster at the time) was going to dozens of auditions and when it came time for him to impress the casting directors of The O.C., well he totally bombed.

Adam came in without being prepared what so ever! Josh Schwartz (creator of The O.C.) was instantly not impressed, he kind of hated him really, Josh was even quoted to saying "I never want to see that kid ever again!"

A month later when they still didn't have anyone to play Seth Cohen. The casting director Patrick Rush told Josh Schwartz “I’m telling you, this Adam Brody is very special". So they decided to call Adam Brody back.

This time Adam Brody wowed the casting directors and Josh Schwartz by learning the lines prior to the audition. They saw something very compelling about him and gave him the big fat YES for the role of Seth Cohen. Josh Schwartz later admitted that Adam Brody reminded him a lot of himself, which was perfect because Seth Cohen is loosely based on Josh Schwartz and some of his real life Jewish experiences.

Now take a moment of silence and perhaps a sigh or relief as you thank your lucky stars Adam Brody's on screen nickname wasn't Chino!

For a glimpse of what Adam Brody would have been as a "bad boy" Ryan Atwood catch Season 2 episode 7 "The Family Ties"..In the episode see Seth wears wife beaters, steals cars and acts like a douche bag!

The O.C. Behind the Scenes: Everything the Cohen backyard ocean backdrop!

After the pilot episode of The O.C., the shows creators basically re-constructed the Cohen house located in Malibu, CA at The Raleigh Studios (sound stage) in Los Angeles. With Seth's room, kitchen and backyard area being closely replicated from the original pilot house. But since the show was filmed on a sound stage there was limitations on what they could and couldn't do.

Thomas Fichter

Thomas Fichter, the production designer of The O.C. managed the construction and overall design/look of the set. We caught up with him last year and he shared some very cool exclusive secret details regarding the set with us.

Cohen backyard backdrop 

One of the main limitations of shooting The O.C. in the studio was creating a realistic outdoor feel. Weather, plants, lighting etc had to be created and appear realistically to the viewer. Even the backyard was built up higher than the rest of the set so the horizon could be seen from multiple angles and appear correct inside and outside of the Cohen house.

To add realism Thomas Fichter added a wonderful ocean backdrop to the Cohen backyard which is seen in many episodes. Although the way the backdrop was constructed is pretty old school, it did the trick.

Various colored acetate sheets

The Cohen backyard ocean backdrop was painted to resemble a luxurious ocean view which also featured small folded strands of glued acetate on the ocean area.

Outdoor lighting would shine onto the backdrop, Thomas would then hook up fans, blowing the acetate strands giving the backdrop a realistic shimmery water effect.

Later in the series Thomas said that they had to remove the acetate strands because they started filming digitally and they were easily seen for what they were on camera.

On the flip-side the backdrop could be reversed which allowing for a nice sunset type look. 

A little more lighting and here we have the sunrise early morning look

So that was the way things were done in the early 00's. But if the show was recreated now, it would probably would have featured a full green screen background, allowing for a more flexible backdrop.

We created this video to show what the backyard would have possibly look like with a digital green screen background. Throw in a couple floats in the pool, sip a cool drink and enjoy the summer view!

The O.C. Behind the Scenes: Everything the Cohen backyard ocean backdrop!

After the pilot episode of The O.C., the shows creators basically re-constructed the Cohen house located in Malibu, CA at The Raleigh Studios (sound stage) in Los Angeles. With Seth's room, kitchen and backyard area being closely replicated from the original pilot house. But since the show was filmed on a sound stage there was limitations on what they could and couldn't do.

Thomas Fichter

Thomas Fichter, the production designer of The O.C. managed the construction and overall design/look of the set. We caught up with him last year and he shared some very cool exclusive secret details regarding the set with us.

Cohen backyard backdrop 

One of the main limitations of shooting The O.C. in the studio was creating a realistic outdoor feel. Weather, plants, lighting etc had to be created and appear realistically to the viewer. Even the backyard was built up higher than the rest of the set so the horizon could be seen from multiple angles and appear correct inside and outside of the Cohen house.

To add realism Thomas Fichter added a wonderful ocean backdrop to the Cohen backyard which is seen in many episodes. Although the way the backdrop was constructed is pretty old school, it did the trick.

Various colored acetate sheets

The Cohen backyard ocean backdrop was painted to resemble a luxurious ocean view which also featured small folded strands of glued acetate on the ocean area.

Outdoor lighting would shine onto the backdrop, Thomas would then hook up fans, blowing the acetate strands giving the backdrop a realistic shimmery water effect.

Later in the series Thomas said that they had to remove the acetate strands because they started filming digitally and they were easily seen for what they were on camera.

On the flip-side the backdrop could be reversed which allowing for a nice sunset type look. 

A little more lighting and here we have the sunrise early morning look

So that was the way things were done in the early 00's. But if the show was recreated now, it would probably would have featured a full green screen background, allowing for a more flexible backdrop.

We created this video to show what the backyard would have possibly look like with a digital green screen background. Throw in a couple floats in the pool, sip a cool drink and enjoy the summer view!