The house from the 1989 Danny DeVito film, “The War Of The Roses,” starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, long remained subject to debate. The interiors for the film were shot at Fox Studio Lot (10201 Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064), where a large set was constructed for interior filming. The exterior of the home is located at Fremont Place in Hancock Park, Los Angeles. Despite being a popular neighborhood for filming, Fremont Place is one of the few gated communities in Los Angeles, making it inaccessible to the general public. Other films showcasing locations inside Fremont Place include “Taken,” “Rocky III,” “Zodiac,” “Gone Girl” and more. It is also a popular location for TV shows, such as “Monk,” “Prison Break, “The Mentalist,” “CSI: Miami,” “Rizzoli & Isles” and many more.

While some of the features of the home match what appears on screen, other elements do not. For example, the real home only has a one story portico, while in the film, it is two stories high. Furthermore, in the film, the home has an addition built onto the left side. It long remained unclear if the filmmakers had built set additions onto the real home to enhance the production, or if the home itself was later remodeled. Due to these discrepancies, there remained debate as to the authenticity of the filming location.

In the audio commentary for the film, director Danny DeVito finally put that debate to rest, confirming the exteriors were indeed filmed on location at Fremont Place, with facade portions added to give the home a “more federal look.” The scene of the car getting destroyed was a combination of shots at Fremont Place and inserts filmed at the studio. DeVito tells a story about wanting to use a different home, located outside of Los Angeles, but the studio declined, citing budgetary concerns. Shooting at Fremont Place proved difficult, due to a community restriction at the time of no filming after 11:30 PM. This left the production with only a couple hours per night to film night scenes. Filming was further complicated by a difficult neighbor, who parked on the street and threw parties, disrupting the production. The challenges of shooting at the location ultimately put the production seven days behind schedule, which DeVito points out became more expensive than simply opting for his original location outside of the city, which had relaxed night filming policies. Here is the home as it appears now, confirmed once and for all as the location used for exterior scenes in the film.

LOCATION: 119 Fremont Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90005