Showing posts with label Filming Locations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Filming Locations. Show all posts

Thursday, December 7, 2017

The O.C. in the News: Orange County fires now blazing in Malibu (The Cohen/Cooper house filming location threatened)


The external filming locations of the Cohen and Coopers house may be threatened today as the Orange County fires rage now in Malibu. This morning fires have been reported on the 5300 block of Horizon drive in Malibu and there has been reports of structural damage. As you can see in the above visual its awfully close to where The O.C. filmed (Ocean Breeze Drive) much of the external shots we got to see in the pilot episode, Coopers house, Cohen house cul de sac. Not many more details are known at this time but we hope and pray everyone stays safe and that people evacuated from their homes. As fans of The O.C. we also hope that these TV show landmarks stay intact! We will update you if anything else is reported. Thanks!

Source

UPDATE: Great news - fire reported has been contained and no injuries reported!

Source

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Behind the Scenes: "The Earth Girls Are Easy" Season 4 Photos!

4 aces filming location set the o.c. behind the scenes benjamin mckenzie adam brody

Behold! We present to you a collection of rare behind the scenes photos from season 4 episode 8 "The Earth Girls Are Easy". These photos are from the desert gas station scene. The filming location is an active and popular filming destination used for many movie/TV productions. 

4 aces filming location set the o.c.

The actual name of this filming location is called "Four Aces" located in Palmdale, CA (not Las Vegas like the show had us believe). The real sign was covered up by the temporary AL's sign created for the show to give it that extra terrestrial alien feel. 

4 aces filming location set the o.c.

The actual location and sign as it looks today. If your wondering the address of this location it's
14499 E Ave Q, Palmdale, CA 93591 located an hour north-east of Los Angeles in the Antelope Valley. This filming location features a bar scene, hotel room, gas station and more. Note: This is a paid filming set be respectful if you decide to visit and understand it may be off limit to tourists. 

4 aces filming location set the o.c.

4 aces filming location set the o.c. behind the scenes

On location!

4 aces filming location set the o.c. behind the scenes benjamin mckenzie

Looks like Benjamin Mckenzie needs his shades!

4 aces filming location set the o.c. behind the scenes benjamin mckenzie

4 aces filming location set the o.c. behind the scenes benjamin mckenzie

Benjamin Mckenzie doing his famous TV star slow-mo walk. 

4 aces filming location set the o.c. behind the scenes benjamin mckenzie

Benjamin Mckenzie perhaps studying some lines in his fancy actor chair.

4 aces filming location set the o.c. behind the scenes benjamin mckenzie

Benjamin Mckenzie in deep contemplation perhaps thinking "Dang it's hot out here!".

4 aces filming location set the o.c. behind the scenes benjamin mckenzie

4 aces filming location set the o.c. behind the scenes benjamin mckenzie adam brody

4 aces filming location set the o.c. behind the scenes benjamin mckenzie adam brody

4 aces filming location set the o.c. behind the scenes benjamin mckenzie adam brody

4 aces filming location set the o.c. behind the scenes benjamin mckenzie adam brody

Adam Brody gets some touch-up makeup 

4 aces filming location set the o.c. behind the scenes benjamin mckenzie adam brody

And there you have it - that's all folks!


For more on Four Aces watch this awesome video from or visit their site.

Friday, February 3, 2017

The O.C. Locations: The Balboa Lighthouse Restaurant

The Balboa Lighthouse exterior The O.C.

What: The Balboa Lighthouse Restaurant
Where: Located in Newport
When: Season One
How: The Lighthouse was a restaurant venture started by Sandy and Jimmy
Actual location: 655 N. Harbor Drive in Redondo Beach, CA.

Jimmy and Sandy talk about buying the Balboa Lighthouse The O.C.

Story: 
While Sandy and Jimmy share appetizers and drinks at The Balboa Lighthouse Restaurant Sandy convinces Jimmy that they should partner-up and buy the place. Jimmy agrees after hesitation and gets excited, they both feel its a fantastic and fun idea. Lacking the funds Sandy and Jimmy have to get Caleb on board as a silent partner.

concept model of The Balboa Lighthouse Restaurant The O.C.

They put a down payment on the place, design it, renovate it, host a food tasting but last minute they are denied their liquor license. Sandy assumes its because his affiliation with Jimmy. This problem basically makes the business "worthless", due to the lack of alcohol sales that they would need to thrive. Without a liquor license Sandy and Jimmy decide to cut their losses and sell the property to Caleb, each of them getting over a million dollars in the deal. Jimmy and Sandy feel like they got quite a good offer considering perhaps maybe too good to be true. Then a little later they find out that Caleb was the one that blocked their liquor license purposely, buying the restaurant cheap from Sandy and Jimmy with the intention of selling it to someone else for way more money!

The Balboa Lighthouse Restaurant interior The O.C.

It would have been really cool for this to have worked out for Jimmy and Sandy. Even if they only
owned it for a season. Nana Cohen's meatloaf would have delighted many Newport dwellers. Sigh.

Venezia Italian Grill porch area redondo beach

The actual filming location of the interior/exterior building was in Redondo Beach and not Newport, as most of The O.C. was. It simply costs too much to film outside L.A..The building housed many restaurants over the years, with the last restaurant being named "Venezia Italian Grill" and "Harbor Drive" before that.

Venezia Italina Grill Menu Redondo Beach
 The most recent Yelp review was in 2008 with an average rating of 3/5 stars.
redondo beach shade hotel la construction

Sadly in 2013 the original Balboa Lighthouse building suffered the same fate as The Bait Shop, the building was torn down and construction started on a new modern and sophisticated hotel. We lost yet another O.C. landmark.

redondo beach shade hotel la

The hotel is called "Shade Hotel". Regular rooms start at $250-269 per night but if you want to live large the luxury suites will set you back $1500 a night!

Monday, March 7, 2016

Behind the Scenes: Secrets of the Pool House

pool house ryan the o.c.

The pool house that we saw in the pilot episode was actually built onto the backyard of 6210 Ocean Breeze Drive in Malibu. This home was on the same street as the real Cohen house exterior we see in almost every episode. After filming the pool house was taken down and was rebuilt in the Raleigh Studios along with the rest of the Cohen house etc..The creators loved everything interior wise about 6210 Ocean Breeze Drive but they didn't like that the house wasn't a two story, that's why they ended up choosing 6205 Ocean Breeze Drive for the exterior shots. As a bonus pro-tip 6210 Ocean Breeze Drive was also the location where Seth Cohen's room was filmed during the pilot.

As you see in the GIF above, the pool house was added as well as the cement wall behind the grill area. The rest looks like it was there for the most part.



This is the front exterior shot of the 6210 house which the interiors and backyard area was inspired from.


In this real estate photo above is where the pool house once sat. As you will also notice this portion of the house resembles very closely to what the backyard studio version of the Cohen house looked like, albeit much narrower.


As you can see from the photo the red outlined areas were the sections that the creators ended up keeping and rebuilding in studio. The red outlined pool area was where the temporary pool house sat. As you may also notice the stairs walking up to the pool area are missing, the stairs were added in the studio version of the house to raise the elevation of the house so that you can see the ocean backdrop while filming inside the home (strictly technical add-on).


Here is an angle of the opposite side of the real pilot location. The pool house featured 5 sets of double doors, 4 windows, kitchen and bathroom, same as the studio version.

the o.c. pool house studio backlot ryan

Here is a super rare exclusive photo of the studio version of the pool house area that was built inside the Raleigh Studios and seen after the pilot episode. Looking at the features of the structure makes me believe that it is literally the same pool house building that was built on location. After the pilot was shot, the pieces were stored until the show got picked up, then it was rebuilt inside Raleigh Studios. Notice the cool ocean backdrop. More on the backdrop here!


The pool house was clever, not only was it cool but it gave Ryan privacy and it allowed him to feel fully spoiled to bask in his new found richness. A place all to himself to get away from the crappy Chino life he once knew. Heck the place even has a maid, he truly had it made!


!UPDATE! *SAD NEWS*

The 6210 Ocean Breeze Drive home has been completely destroyed in a recent Malibu Woolsey fire. Details on that here

Monday, November 23, 2015

The O.C. Filming Locations: Ryan's Chino Pilot House


Like many TV shows The O.C. was predominately filmed in large Hollywood studios in California. But a handful of scenes were actually filmed in real places to give the right look and feel. The job of location scouts are to go out and prospect areas that resemble a scene the TV show creators are looking for. In addition its ideal to find locations that are located in their own backyard. They do this to cut filming and travel costs.



TV show Pilot episode's often feature even more real locations than regular episodes because of costs and because the creators don't want to build studio sets until they know the TV show will get picked up.


One of which locations was Ryan's Chino house location. In the viewers mind Ryan's house was in Chino but these scenes were actually filmed on location at a real house in Sun Valley, CA which is only 36 miles from Manhattan Beach, CA (where the O.C. studios were).

If production would have actually filmed in Chino, CA they would have been looking at a 55 mile drive (an hour and a half with traffic) and facing a possible mugging along the way. Why go to Chino, CA, spend all that money and time when you can easily film somewhere that looks like Chino?

Post production also came into play in The O.C. pilot episode. The whole pilot episode was filmed with 35mm film which gave the pilot a movie like feel and also a more raw look. Later the show was filmed in the ever so common super 16mm film emulating the 35mm look for much less money.


Here is the photo of Ryan's Chino home before it was set dressed taken by Jaymes Hinkle (production designer)


Ryan's Chino house location, 9320 Telfair Ave Los Angeles, CA resembled a very run down suburban ghetto that probably once was a nice place to live years ago. The home, a one story rectangular shaped plain colored house in need of a ton of maintenance. This painted Ryan's story well, Ryan is poor, Ryan lived in a bad neighborhood, there are drugs, bad parenting and alcohol involved etc.


The house is a 3 bed 2 baths 1,080 square feet home worth an estimated $491,937 (way more than I would have thought).



Here we have the Chino house back in 2007


Here we have the Chino house in 2015 with the front almost completely covered by trees but the same white truck resides. Perhaps the overgrowth of trees was done purposely due to fans trying to reenact scenes!

Well there you have it, grab your back pack, leather jacket with hood and bike and roam the streets of Sun Valley Ryan Atwood style! Say hi to Dawn Atwood for us!

Thanks to Seeing-Stars for the exact address of Ryan's Chino house!

Where to find:
Season 1 Episode 1

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Sandy Cohen History Lesson: The Bait Shop aka Parcel 10

The Bait Shop


Ah, There it is The Bait Shop, the venue that brought a ton of great music to The O.C.! The Bait Shop was first introduced in season two as a cool and hip place for the cast to hang out as well as bringing a live music element to the show. The Bait Shop offered a new location for the cast to spend their time and an alternative location for the viewer experience (after all teenagers don't always hang out in their pool houses). The Bait Shop was a vehicle for extra drama, a love interest as well as a part time job for Seth and Sandy's singing debut (among other things).

The Bait Shop was filmed at a real Redondo Beach Pier location not Newport Beach. Only the exterior of the Redondo Beach octagon shaped building was used during filming.



For on-location scenes characters and background actors would stand, talk, walk in and out of the building or sit on the piers benches to add realism.



To dress up the scenes various things were added to the octagon building. A lighted The Bait Shop sign featuring flickering fishing hooks was added to the exterior as well as the "now playing sign" (where the band names were displayed), a few additional pieces of lighting were added on the roof of the building.



Here we have a close up of the Bait Shop sign uncovered in all of its glory. As you can see, it was actually a big fish with light bulbs surrounding it (clever)..Bait...Shop...get it? Hint: Where you buy bait for fishing (like fish tackle).

From there an elaborate interior was created on a sound-stage at Raleigh Studios emulating the insides of a night club music venue complete with a bar or wait I mean 3 bars (count them)!



As you can see this is the center of The Bait Shop where Alex would hang out. If you look closely you can see what looks like a boy with a fishing pole in the largest black square on the floor (nice touch that was never seen much on film).



To add realism an actual octagon roof was constructed in the studio to really give it the illusion that they were filming on location. Mad props to the set creators on this one!


The famous stage where various awesome acts were featured.


A recurring view where the majority of the background actors and main characters would stand.



Flash forward to 2010, 3 years after the show was over you could still see "The Bait Shop"sign although it was covered up as well as the sign that announced who was playing that night. Tourists and fans of the show would come here to relive scenes, often posing in front of the building and snapping photos. It saddened me to see the sign covered up by black plastic bag looking coverings.



Here was an alternate angle of the sign, you can still almost make out the Bait Shop letters.



Before it was The Bait Shop on The O.C. the building was known as Yue's Lahani Haloha, a two story restaurant and bar. There was live music there as well! The restaurant opened in 1979.



Looks like the building went through a few different name changes. This photo has the building called "Each Garden Dining Cocktails Dancing". Looks like the dinning, cocktails and dancing part was left unchanged from the Lahani Haloha version.


Then the pier suffered a fire in 1988. Luckily the octagon parcel 10 building wasn't damaged but a result of the fire, the area was getting a lot less foot traffic which hurt business. The owner of the octagon building wanted to be compensated for their losses. In the end the taxpayers ended up footing the bill and the city took ownership of the building. Over the years the building stood abandoned. There were countless ideas for what to do with the building but they couldn't agree on anything.


Unfortunately as the years went on the octagon building was slowly deteriorating. Since 1979 The octagon building has been subjected to the elements - rough weathering and was beginning to fall apart. The roof tiles were reported being blown off by the rough salty sea weather as well as the paint fading, chipping and rotting. The building has been unoccupied for years due to its structural issues. People were also worried about the safety risks involved with keeping the building around. Some local people thought it was a hideous, a few others thought it would be a nice investment property (wheres Cal when you need him?).


Alternate Angle


The draw bridge, this was put down while filming concert scenes.




Back portion, restrooms sign


Flash forward to 2013 Saddest news for O.C. fans hit. The Redondo Beach City Council decided that the building was a safety risk and called for an emergency demolition after a storm damaged the wood panels on the roof. As a part of an initiative to renew the Redondo Beach Pier and solidify the safety of the pier local officials decided to start the demolition process on, breaking the walls down piece by piece. It cost an estimated $61,827 to finish the job (a cheap price to get rid of such a well known The O.C. landmark). 

According to La.Curbed.com a few residents wanted the space to be turned into a merry-go-round or marine study area.


As you can see it doesn't take much for the building to fall down (video and info provided by patch.com)



Some photos of the inside during the demolition, wall art used for the various restaurants


The roof caving in


A lone ceiling fan


Looks like a huge mess, definitely not The O.C. interior


Some more wall detailing


Tearing it up


Sigh...What a sad mess




An old-school alternative black and white view. As you can see there was a boat dock attached next to it.



This is how it looks now or explore for yourself:  This is how it will appear (as of 2015) when you go visit it. Still featuring the octagon shape left on the pavement.






So there you have it, a complete history of The Bait Shop thanks to Sandy Cohen! A very sad ending to an O.C. landmark and to its rich history. Hopefully they will fill the space up with something worthy, like a giant replica of The Bait Shop..How bout we all just pop in season 2 of The O.C. and relive things as if nothing ever happened, complete ignorant television bliss. Sounds great...
CALIFORNIAAA here we COMEE!!


PS: I wonder who has The Bait Shop sign in their living room..Perhaps Josh Schwartz...Let us know Josh...

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