The 2011 Kevin Smith film “Red State” was shot in Southern California. In the opening scene of the film, Travis and his mother, played by Michael Angarano and Anna Gunn, drive past this fire station, located in Whittier.
LOCATION: 10630 Mills Ave, Whittier, CA 90604
Much of the film takes place at the Five Points Trinity Church, which is headed by the fanatical Pastor Abin Cooper, played by Michael Parks. The Five Points Trinity Church exterior scenes were filmed at Firestone Ranch in Santa Clarita. The property is located down a long strech of dirt road near the Sierra Pelona Mountains. The Spanish style property was once owned by mobster Bugsy Siegel from 1911 until 1932. The same ranch appeared in the film “Nope.”
LOCATION: 35100 Anthony Rd, Santa Clarita, CA 91390
The David Milch TV series “Deadwood,” despite garnering critical acclaim and a loyal fan base, prematurely ended after three seasons back in 2006. Since then, various attempts to tie the story up have been made, with many doubts it would ever happen. In 2019, however, it finally did and the show was given the opportunity to reach a satisfying conclusion with “Deadwood: The Movie.” Please note if you’ve not watched the film, this article contains spoilers.
While set in the town of Deadwood, South Dakota, both the original TV series, as well as the movie, were primarily shot in Newhall, California at Melody Ranch. Another renowned HBO series, “Westworld,” shot at the same ranch, where it served as the town of Sweetwater. The production designers did a great job of giving each show a much different look from one another.
Melody Ranch is private property, inaccessible to the general public most of the time. However, the ranch does in fact offer tours (something of a rarity for movie ranches), with the caveat being that no tours occur whenever active production is taking place on the ranch. The challenge is the fact that production is almost always taking place there. So opportunities for the general public to see it are rare and not something you can plan much in advance. You simply need good timing or a lot of persistence. In years past, the ranch also hosted the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival, which also allowed the public inside, but due to the heavy demand of productions over recent years, the festival has relocated elsewhere.
Given that the “Deadwood” show and movie are tied together as one narrative, this article is intended to cover both, but once it was clear the original show would not return after the third season, many of the sets were remodeled, dismantled or shifted around, as often happens on studio lots. When filming for the movie finally got up and running in 2018, much of the sets had to be recreated. Since the story in the film picks up 10 years later, as South Dakota is entering into statehood, many of the sets also had to be updated to reflect the passage of time. The photographs in this article showcase the movie’s sets.
Much like the original show, most of these sets have since been repurposed or dismantled after filming completed, in order to make way for new productions coming in. Here we offer a glimpse into that brief moment in time where Deadwood stood in full glory once again.
LOCATION: 24715 Oakcreek Ave, Newhall, CA 91321
The most famous location is of course the Gem Saloon, owned by Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), who would often stand on the balcony overlooking the activities of the town.
The Grand Central Hotel is where the villainous Senator George Hearst, played by Gerald McRaney, takes residence. He too often stood out on the balcony, engaging in verbal jousts with the residents of Deadwood.
Seth Bullock, played by Timothy Olyphant, lives in this house at the end of the main street of Deadwood. This location had long been demolished since the original show, with the original blueprints lost. The production designer had to study the original show footage in detail in order to rebuild the set for the film.
Here is a look inside Seth’s house, where he is seen walking down these stairs.
Here are the train tracks and station platform where visitors arrive.
After running a hardware store with Seth, Sol Star, played by John Hawkes now lives with Trixie at the Bullock & Star Hotel. In the film, as Hearst rides through the streets in a parade, Trixie stands on the hotel balcony and berates him.
The Bella Union, owned by Cy Tolliver (Powers Boothe) in the series, is now owned by Joanie Stubbs (Kim Dickens) in the film. The same building was famously used as the brothel in Westworld where Thandie Newton’s character works. It’s also seen in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” when Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt’s characters are interviewed on a western set.
Here is the interior of the Bella Union, which viewers of “Westworld” should immediately recognize as the The Mariposa Saloon, where Maeve works. It also appeared in the film “Django Unchained.”
Here is a view of the upstairs.
This is the bar where Wild Bill Hickok, played by Keith Carrodine, is killed in the show.
In the film, Calamity Jane, played by Robin Weigert, returns to the bar to pay her respects.
The outside of the jail of Marshall Seth Bullock.
The interior of the jail.
This is the area where Seth tracks down Charlie’s killers and has a brief standoff with them.
Mr. Wu is relieved when his son escapes unharmed.
We leave you with a view down the main street of Deadwood, where the sets stood tall one last time.
In the wake of the popular television series “Breaking Bad,” it’s difficult to even mention the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico without thinking of the show. Albuquerque plays a central role in the series and there’s a vast array of filming locations scattered all across the city. Here, we’ll take a look at those, as well as a some props and even a pop-up set.
First, we begin with one of the more notorious film locations; the Walter White house. Beyond the notoriety of the house within the show itself, the real home has it’s own reputation, due to the sometimes adversarial owner. While most of the time it’s fine to visit properties once seen in films or TV shows, on occasion, property owners of these locations are not receptive to visitors. While that’s not exactly the case with the Walter White house, the owner could be considered particular to the acceptable ways in which visitors approach her home. This is not without reason, however, as some past guests have abused their visiting privileges, by doing things like trespassing into their back yard, while others have even gone as far as throwing pizza on her roof, in a distasteful attempt to parody a famous scene from the show. The pizzas in particular escalated to the point where series creator Vince Gilligan himself had to publicly denounce these acts and tell fans to stop doing it. That’s not to mention the sheer volume of guests that visit the house, which was said to be dozens per day at the height of the show’s popularity. So while there’s seemingly no harm in looking at a house, it is nevertheless understandable if the property owner has developed a low tolerance for intrusive visitors. Since the show ended, the owners have made a habit of opening their garage up each day and sitting in front of the house, from dawn to dusk. It isn’t often you’ll visit the property in the daytime where the owners won’t be perched out front. They also installed cameras around the house, posted a “no trespassing” sign and erected a steel gate at the front door, in an effort to curb the repeated trespassing issues. While the owner of the house can be friendly, she has also had some verbal altercations with visitors, if she feels they are being intrusive. All of this, however, is not to say visitation is discouraged. The owner has stated she does not mind fans of the show stopping by and taking photos, as long as they remain on the opposite side of the street and do not disturb them. While one can make a valid argument that it’s perfectly legal to walk right up to the curb in front of the house and take a photo, doing so will likely provoke the ire of the homeowners, so please respect their wishes if you intend on visiting the property and you’re unlikely to encounter any issues.
LOCATION: 3828 Piermont Dr. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87111
Jesse Pinkman’s house requires a bit less discretion when visiting, as we are unaware of any animosity between the owners and fans of the show.
LOCATION: 322 16th St. SW, Albuquerque, NM, 87104
Agent Hank Schrader’s house is located in this cul de sac.
LOCATION: 4901 Cumbre Del Sur Ct. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87111
Next we take a look at the infamous “Los Pollos Hermanos,” the restaurant owned by criminal mastermind Gus Fring. Here we have photos from both the real location (a restaurant named “Twisters”), as well as a pop-up replica of the restaurant, which was used to promote “Better Call Saul.” First, lets look at the actual location in Albuquerque, called “Twisters.” There are a few of these restaurants in the area, so be sure if you plan to visit, you go to the one on Isleta Blvd, in order to see the location used in the show. The location also resurfaces in “Better Call Saul.”
The counter inside at the real location, which features a small “Los Pollos Hermanos” sign. You can also sit and eat at the table Walter White sat in, if it isn’t already occupied by another customer.
This is a “Los Pollos Hermanos” logo painted inside the real Twisters location, on the wall beside the entrance door. This was added by the “Breaking Bad” production and the restaurant allowed it to remain up. They are very welcoming to fans of the show.
Now we move on to what is a pop-up replica of “Los Pollos Hermanos,” which was built on an open parking lot space in Los Angeles for just a few short days, in promotion of “Better Call Saul.” These are not photos of the real restaurant and the pop-up has long since been dismantled.
A “Los Pollos Hermanos” restaurant sign built for the pop-up.
Visitors to the pop-up were given a complimentary order of french fries and a cup of water, both bearing the “Los Pollos Hermanos” name.
A mock application form was also given out to visitors of the pop-up.
Back in Albuquerque and to the real show locations, here is a look at the office of Saul Goodman.
A few businesses have come and gone from the location since the show aired, but the current restaurant actually has their front door made up to look like Saul’s office.
Tuco’s headquarters, which is left in bad shape after a visit from Walter. The real building is actually a coffee shop.
LOCATION: 906 Park Ave. SW, Albuquerque, NM, 87102
This is Walt and Jesse’s RV from the show, which can be seen as part of the Sony Pictures Studio Tour in Culver City, California. The show had 2 identical RVs for filming, one of which actually was destroyed on the show. This is the only remaining RV from the production.
Walter White’s vehicle from the show is also on display at the Sony Pictures Studio Tour.
Next up are some props from the show, also seen on the Sony Pictures Studio Tour. Included are Gail’s lab notes, Walt’s missing person flier, the stuffed animal that falls into Walt’s pool and much more.
Last, but not least, we leave you with a couple of Bryan Cranston’s costumes from the show. First up, this Heisenberg outfit can be found on display on the Sony Pictures Studio Tour.
Another of Walter’s outfits can be found on display at Planet Hollywood in Florida.
LOCATION: 1506 E Buena Vista Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Film Oblivion 