Laverne & Shirley

The apartment from the 1970s sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” where the two women dance and say “Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!” in the opening credits, is actually a set on the Paramount Studios backlot.  Even all these years later, the set still strongly resembles how it appeared on the show.

laverneandshirly1

LOCATION: 5555 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Over at Planet Hollywood in Florida, you can find one of the dresses worn by Penny Marshall as Laverne on display.

laverneandshirley2

LOCATION: 1506 E Buena Vista Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)

Several costumes and props from the 2016 film “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” can be found on display at Warner Bros. Studios, as part of their studio tour.  First up is Ben Affleck’s take on The Caped Crusader.

batmanvsuperman1

Here is Henry Cavill’s Superman costume.

batmanvsuperman2

Arguably general audiences’ favorite character in the film; Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman.

batmanvsuperman4

Batman’s desert strike outfit.

batmanvsuperman3

The Batmobile from the film.

batmanvsuperman5

Some kryptonite from Lex Luthor’s Lexcorp.

batmanvsuperman6

LOCATION: 4000 Warner Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505

MTV Studios

In the heart of Times Square is MTV Studios, where the network has taped an endless variety of shows over the years, most notably “Total Request Live” from 1998 – 2008.  MTV acquired the location in 1997, part of One Astor Plaza and still regularly film programming there today.

mtvstudios1

LOCATION: 1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10003

Liar Liar (1997)

The house from the 1997 Jim Carrey film “Liar Liar” can be found in South Pasadena, California.  It’s actually located right next door to the house from “Space Jam.”  It’s also on the same street as a scene in the original “Halloween” film, where Laurie and Lynda are walking home from school and being followed by a strange figure in a car.

liarliar1

LOCATION: 1004 Highland St, South Pasadena, CA 91030

Fletcher Reede, played by Jim Carrey, has a court case as the Los Angeles City Hall.  The iconic building has been featured in endless films, such as “L.A. Confidential,” “Ray,” “The Nice Guys,” “Fracture,” “Gangster Squad,” “Impulse,” “Blind Rage,” “Big Man on Campus” and “L.A. Bounty,” as well as such TV series as “American Crime Story.”

laconfidential5

LOCATION: 200 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (1992)

For the 1992 sequel “Home Alone 2: Lost In New York,” the entire, original cast and crew returned, as well as a location from the first film.  In the early scenes, the McCalister house is once again on display.  The famous home can be found in Winnetka, Illinois. A fence has since been built around the property.

homealone1

LOCATION: 671 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka, IL 60093

The bulk of the film, however, takes place in New York City this time around.  Upon arrival, Kevin is seen riding in a taxi across the Queensboro Bridge. The bridge has been featured in countless films, such as “Manhattan,” “Death Wish” and many more.

LOCATION: 61 Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Path, New York, NY 10044

Kevin takes in many of the city’s landmarks, including Radio City Music Hall. The landmark concert hall has appeared in countless productions, such as “The Godfather,” “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Annie,” “Rocky III,” “Radio Days” and many more.

homealone2-1

LOCATION: 1260 6th Ave, New York, NY 10020

Later Kevin makes his way over to Central Park, where he first encounters the Pigeon Lady, a scary and mysterious woman covered in birds, who essentially serves the same role as Old Many Marley in the original film.  Kevin is initially frightened when he sees her feeding birds in front of Gapstow Bridge in Central Park, though the two eventually strike up a friendship.

homealone2-2

LOCATION: Gapstow Bridge, Central Park, New York, NY 10019

Very close to Gapstow Bridge is another major location in the film, the Plaza Hotel.  “Guests of the new ‘Celebrity Ding, Dang, Dong’ stay at the world-renowned Plaza Hotel, New York’s most exciting hotel experience.”  It is a real, well-known hotel in Manhattan, perched right above Central Park.  Here is a view of the hotel from the park. The Plaza Hotel has appeared in countless films, such as “The Fisher King,” “They All Laughed,” “Annie Hall,” “King of New York,” “Megalopolis” and many more.

homealone2-3

LOCATION: 768 5th Ave, New York, NY 10019

Later in the film, Kevin returns to Central Park at Bethesda Terrace and Fountain, where he flees from the Sticky Bandits.  The terrace is another famous New York landmark seen in countless films.

homealone2-4

LOCATION: 72 Terrace Dr, New York, NY 10021 (inside Central Park)

A reverse view of the fountain.  Here Kevin hides in the back of a carriage, narrowly escaping the bandits.

homealone2-5

A couple other, notable locations from the film were actually sets.  Uncle Rob’s house, where Kevin once again wreaks havoc on the Sticky Bandits with homemade traps, was a set located on Brownstone Street on the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood.  The street suffered a fire in 2008 and portions had to be rebuilt.

While made to resemble Central Park, the scene where the Pigeon Lady throws bird seeds all over the bandits, saving Kevin from harm’s way in the process, was also a set.

Near the end of the film, Kevin is finally reunited with his mother in front of Rockefeller Center.

homealone2-6

LOCATION: 45 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10111

Some props from this film, as well as the first part, can be found on display at Planet Hollywood in Florida.

homealone4

LOCATION: 1506 E Buena Vista Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

Related articles: Home Alone (1990), Home Alone 3 (1997)

Boyz N The Hood (1991)

The house where Furious Styles, played by Laurence Fishburne, and his son Tre, played by Cuba Gooding Jr., live in the 1991 film “Boyz N The Hood” can be found in Los Angeles, California. The same home appears in the spoof film “Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood.”

boyznthehood1

LOCATION: 5918 Cimarron St, Los Angeles, CA 90047

(500) Days Of Summer (2009)

Marc Webb’s 2009 romantic comedy “(500) Days of Summer” was filmed all around Southern California.  Summer, played by Zooey Deschanel, lives at this apartment, known as The Barclay.  The same building was featured in another Zooey Deschanel film, “Yes Man,” co-starring Jim Carrey, who is seen talking a suicidal jumper off a ledge around the corner from this entrance.

500daysofsummer9

LOCATION: 706 Normandie Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005

Tom, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is seen walking along Normandie Ave in front of Summer’s apartment.  The filmmakers actually composited a skyline view of downtown L.A. into the horizon, which is not actually visible from the street.

500daysofsummer10

Tom and Summer break up at the former Quality Cafe in Downtown Los Angeles.  The diner was a one-time staple of films, appearing in “Seven,” “Training Day,” “Ghost World,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Another Day In Paradise,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “The Rules Of Attraction,” “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” “The Heartbreak Kid” and dozens more.  However, it was not an actual restaurant open to the public.  Instead it was used solely for filming.  Sadly, it ceased to function as a filming location and was completely renovated in 2014.  The interior of the property no longer bears any resemblance inside to how it appeared in so many films.

LOCATION: 1238 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90017 (now closed and remodeled)

Tom and Summer rent an adult movie from this building in Downtown Los Angeles.  The same building was used as the bank in “Spider-Man 3” and “Killing Zoe.”

LOCATION: 401 S Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

The fountain where Tom begins to dance is the Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain in Grand Park in Downtown L.A.  The same fountain was seen in “Pretty Woman.”

500daysofsummer3

LOCATION: Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain, Los Angeles, CA 90012

The bench where the couple sits and looks over the city is another sad story of a film location soon to be lost.  The bench was located in a small park area once known as Angels Knoll in Los Angeles, California, now called Angels Landing.  Located directly beside Angels Flight from “La La Land,” the bench attracted many visitors after the release of the film, who enjoyed recreating the famous shot.

Sadly in 2013, the City of Los Angeles permanently closed the park, blocking it off with fencing and no trespassing signs.  Many years passed while the area sat unused and inaccessible to the public.  During this time, the Angels Flight was thankfully restored at put back into operation, so film lovers can at least rejoice that fact.  The fate of the “500 Days” bench and the Angels Knoll park in general was less optimistic, however.  While the area can still be seen, either through the fencing, or from the restaurant area overlooking the park, it is no longer possible to get an up close shot like seen in the film.

Plans have since been announced for a high rise to be built in place of the park, but for now, the area still remains vacant and fenced off.  There was even a plaque on the bench commemorating the film, which read “Tom’s favorite place becomes one of Summer’s too.” While the bench is still there (for now), the plaque has been removed.

LOCATION: 356 S Olive St, Los Angeles, CA 90013 (since closed)

Tom points out the architecture that can be found around the city, such as the Eastern Columbia Building. The same building has appeared in the films “Predator 2,” “Ghost Dad,” “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” “The Last Hour” and more.

LOCATION: 849 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90014

Tom’s apartment can be found in Downtown Los Angeles.

500daysofsummer11

LOCATION: 432 S Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Rachel, played by Chloë Grace Moretz, lives at this house in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, seen briefly in the film.  It sits directly next door to the house of Dave Chappelle’s character in “A Star Is Born.”

500daysofsummer3

LOCATION: 5231 Shearin Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90041

Tom attends Millie’s wedding at the Point Fermin Lighthouse in San Pedro.  The same lighthouse can be seen in the film “Freeway,” as well as the TV shows “MacGyver” and “Amazing Stories.” It is also located near the Korean Bell of Friendship from “The Usual Suspects.”

500daysofsummer7

LOCATION: 807 W Paseo Del Mar, San Pedro, CA 90731

Near the end of the film, Tom has an interview at the Bradbury Building in Downtown L.A., famous of course for it’s use in “Blade Runner.”

bladerunner4

LOCATION: 304 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Down And Out In Beverly Hills (1986)

In the 1986 Nick Nolte film “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” the life of a wealthy Beverly Hills family is turned upside down by the arrival of a homeless man.  In the film, the house is clearly visible from the road.  That is not the case today, as it is now surrounded by plants and trees, making it difficult to get a clear view.  Other than that, however, the house still closely resembles how it appeared in the film.  The home really is located in Beverly Hills, which is somewhat rare, due to the high cost of filming in the exclusive neighborhood, which causes most productions to find more affordable areas to stand in instead.

downandout1

downandout2

LOCATION: 802 N Bedford Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Spider-Man (2002)

In Sam Raimi’s original 2002 “Spider-Man” film, Peter Parker, played by Tobey Maguire, works at the Daily Bugle as a freelance photographer who has an uncanny ability to capture photos of Spider-Man.  Famous for it’s triangular shape, the Flatiron Building in Manhattan is one of the more iconic skyscrapers in New York City. The building has appeared in countless films, such as “The Usual Suspects,” “As Good As It Gets,” “I Am Legend” and many more.

spiderman1

LOCATION: 175 5th Ave, New York, NY 10010

Norman Osborn’s Manhattan rooftop home isn’t in Manhattan, or New York at all.  It’s the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, California.

LOCATION: Greystone Mansion, 905 Loma Vista Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210

The scene where Mary Jane Watson, played by Kirsten Dunst, kisses an upside down Spider-Man in the rain wasn’t filmed in New York City either.  It was filmed on the Warner Bros. Lot in Burbank, California.  Designed to look like New York alley, this facade can be seen as part of their studio tour.

spiderman2

LOCATION: 4000 Warner Blvd., Burbank, CA 91505

The bike Peter rides in the film can be found on display at Sony Pictures Studio.

LOCATION: 10202 W Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

Related articles: Spider-Man 3 (2007)

The Great Gatsby (2013)

For 2013 adaptation of the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel “The Great Gatsby,” director Baz Luhrmann strayed a bit from the book.  While Fitgerald described Gatsby as driving a 1922 Rolls-Royce, Luhrmann elected to go with a 1934 Duesenberg.  The car is actually a Duesenberg II, a modern reproduction of the original.  The reproduction was used for financial and practical reasons.  This model can be seen being driven by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film.  The car can be found on display at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California.

thrgreatgatsby1

LOCATION: Peterson Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036