“The Golden Palace” was a spin-off of the classic sitcom “The Golden Girls,” which aired for one season from 1992 to 1993. The show tells the story of Blanche, Rose, and Sophia opening a hotel in Miami. The hotel, known as “The Golden Palace,” is actually known as “The Carlyle” and can be found along the famous Ocean Dr in Miami Beach. The same hotel was featured in the films “The Birdcage” and “Scarface,” as well as the TV show “Miami Vice.”
The 1998 thriller “Wild Things,” starring Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell and Denise Richards, was filmed in Florida. In the film, Kelly Van Ryan, played by Richards, lives at this home with her mother Sandra, played by Theresa Russell. The front of the house is seen when Sam Lombardo, played by Dillon, gives Kelly a ride home.
LOCATION: 40 E Star Island Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139
The house can be found on the famed Star Island in Miami Beach. While Star Island isn’t technically private, it does have a guarded entrance and you’ll have to speak with the guard in order to gain access. However, there are many boat tours that will take you around the island. Just disregard their information about filming locations, as most of it is fabricated and incorrect. In one scene, Kelly can be seen standing near the water in this area skeet shooting.
Kelly gets into an altercation with Suzie Toller, played by Campbell, at the pool. The two then proceed to have sex in the pool while Sergeant Ray Duquette, played by Kevin Bacon, secretly videotapes them.
Sam is accused of rape and stands on trial at the Dade County Courthouse. The building was also seen in the 1981 Sydney Pollack film “Absence of Malice” and the 1995 action film “Bad Boys.”
The 2019 stoner comedy “The Beach Bum,” directed by Harmony Korine, was filmed in Miami and the Florida Keys. The film stars Matthew McConaughey as Moondog, a man who indulges in every form of pleasure and debauchery he can find. Early in the film, Moondog joins a singer on the stage of the Schooner Wharf Bar in Key West, where he sings and recites a new poem he wrote. The bar and restaurant, which calls itself a “last little piece of Old Key West,” is a local favorite, with frequent musical performers. What is seen in the film is not unlike the real experience.
LOCATION: 202 William St, Key West, FL 33040
Before heading up to Miami, Moondog feeds a stray cat some water at the Hogfish Bar and Grill. This is another local favorite just outside of Key West and well worth a visit.
LOCATION: 6810 Front St, Stock Island, FL 33040
Moondog’s house, where he lives with his wealthy wife Minnie, played by Ilsa Fisher, can be found on the famed Star Island in Miami Beach. Moondog is seen approaching the home on a boat, where he climbs up onto the property. While Star Island isn’t technically private, it does have a guarded entrance and you’ll have to speak with the guard in order to gain access. There are many boat tours that will take you around the island, however. Just disregard their information about filming locations, as most of it is fabricated and incorrect.
LOCATION: 46 W Star Island Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139
This area is shown in quite a few scenes of the film.
The front of the house is briefly shown in one scene, as Moondog approaches on a bicycle as some police officers stand outside.
The 1983 Brian De Palma film “Scarface,” starring Al Pacino, is set in the underworld of Miami, telling the story of the rise and fall of Tony Montana. While Miami was used for several locations, Los Angeles also stood in for the city for quite a bit of the film, due to the fact that the Miami Tourist Board declined the producers several filming requests, fearing the subject matter would deter tourism. Some later scenes in the film were also shot in New York.
When they first arrive in Miami by way of Cuba, Tony Montana, played by Pacino, stays in a detention center with his friend Manny Ribera, played by Steven Bauer. The detention center scenes were filmed under the I-10 Freeway, near the I-110 interchange in Los Angeles. In the film, Tony and Manny are mostly seen beneath the Eastbound lanes, near W 17th St and Georgia St. However, that area is within a fenced off, gated parking lot. The Westbound lanes on the opposite side, while not seen from that angle in the film, run over Venice Blvd and offer a bit easier photography and general view of the area. This area is located very close to the opening robbery scene from “Heat.”
LOCATION: Beneath I-10, near W 17th St & Georgia St, Los Angeles, CA 90015 (GPS coordinates: 34.037791, -118.273057)
As Tony and Manny arrive in Miami Beach for a drug deal, the pull up next to “The Carlyle.” The same hotel was famously featured in the film “The Birdcage,” as well as the TV shows “The Golden Palace” and “Miami Vice.”
LOCATION: 1250 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139
On the same street is the location of the infamous hotel where Tony’s drug deal goes bad and one of his crew is killed with a chainsaw. The building has since been remodeled and is now a drug store. However, the facade out front, as well as the staircase, remain in tact.
LOCATION: 728 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139
The drug deal takes place on the top floor.
This sign is posted at the front of the building to the right of the stairs, noting it as the filming location. There are also a few photos from the film inside, behind the cash registers.
Here is the area across the street where Manny waits.
The violence spills out onto the streets as Tony executes the man with the chainsaw in front of the hotel next door.
LOCATION: 720 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Tony meets with drug kingpin Alejandro Sosa at his home in Bolivia. The real location is actually in Montecito, California. The house sits far back from the road and is not visible from the street. This estate is located just minutes away from Tony’s mansion in the film.
LOCATION: 656 Park Ln, Montecito, CA 93108
Frank Lopez, played by Robert Loggia, owns this auto dealership, where he yells at Tony for making a deal without consulting him beforehand.
LOCATION: 8825 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
As he rises in power, a montage is shown of Tony expanding his empire. He and his crew deposit large amounts of money at this bank, located in Encino.
LOCATION: 16000 Ventura Blvd, Encino, CA 91436
Tony is shown emerging from this building, which has the name “Montana Management Co.” in the film. The building can be found in West Hollywood, California.
LOCATION: 8623 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
This building has the name “Montana Travel Co.” in the film. It is located directly across the street from the above location. Despite the addresses on Sunset Blvd, both buildings actually face Sunset Plaza Dr. This same area has also been featured in the films “Armed and Dangerous” and “Model Shop.”
LOCATION: 8619 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
In the same montage, Tony is seen opening a beauty salon for his sister Gina, played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. This is again located next to the above two locations in West Hollywood, on the opposite side of the street on Sunset Blvd. All three locations are in very close proximity to one another.
LOCATION: 8648 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
The exterior used as Tony Montana’s house can be found in Montecito, California, near Santa Barbara. Tony marries Elvira, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, at the home, which added a second story facade for the production. Known as El Fureidis, the property sits far back from the road and is not visible from the street. Many Miami-based tour guides tell tourists the home is located in Miami, which is incorrect. El Fureidis hosts over 100 species of palm trees and is famous for being the source of the rare species of palm trees found in Disneyland’s Adventureland and Jungle Cruise ride. Walt Disney, Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy and Winston Churchill are among the many famous guests said to have visited the estate.
LOCATION: 631 Parra Grande Ln, Montecito, CA 93108
Manny’s home can be found in the Mt Olympus neighborhood of Los Angeles.
LOCATION: 2271 Hercules Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90046
Thanks to Phil Savenick for contributing a note on El Fureidis.
Much like the first “Bad Boys” film, the sequel “Bad Boys II” is set in Miami, Florida. According to information online, the house of Marcus, played by Martin Lawrence, is somewhere on Bay Road, near Sunset Islands. It is a particularly difficult location to identify. The house is only seen from two angles in the film. First, the back yard facing the water is seen and then the front of the house, facing out to the street is seen. There is never a direct shot of the front of the house. Several resources have attempted to identify the house by what can be seen on the waterfront. We attempted to identify it by what could be seen on the street. There is in fact a shot where an exact street sign can be seen in the background, which is E Rivo Alro Dr. This places the home on Venetian Islands.
Looking at houses on E Rivo Alto Drive, a relatively short road, trying to match up screen shots with the outside view, we found one possible candidate to be this home. Quite a few on the details align, but not all. It’s possible the home was a composite of more than one location or some remodeling has since occurred. We don’t typically include unconfirmed locations, but due to the fact no other resources we found even mention E Rivo Alto Dr, we wanted to present it as a possible location of the home.
LOCATION: 205 E Rivo Alto Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139
The estate of the villainous Johnny Tapia, played by Jordi Mollà, was filmed at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. The villa has been seen in many films, including “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” “The Money Pit” and “Iron Man 3.” The villa is open to public tours and regularly hosts special events. Photography is permitted both inside and outside of the property.
LOCATION: 3251 S Miami Ave, Miami, FL 33129
Later in the film, a shootout takes place in the garden area of the property.
Bodies litter the street in front of this building, which serves as the Miami Bank in the film.
LOCATION: 570 NE 81st St, Miami, FL 33138
The mortuary Mike and Marcus break into is actually the McArthur Dairy building.
LOCATION: 6851 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33138
Here are some props from the film, on display at Sony Pictures Studio.
LOCATION: 10202 W Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232
The opening of the 1998 comedy “There’s Something About Mary” famously begins with a guitarist and drummer sitting in a tree, singing the opening theme. The tree, supposedly located in front of a high school in Rhode Island, can actually be found in Plantation, Florida. The tree remains alive and well in front of the Plantation City Hall, albeit with a few less branches.
LOCATION: 400 NW 73rd Ave, Plantation, FL 33317
The branch the drummer sat on has since been removed, but the lowest, curved branch on the left of the foreground tree is the one the singer sat on.
At the conclusion of the song, the camera then pans down to a young Ted, played by Ben Stiller. He stands in this grass immediately to the right of the tree. The same area is where Mary, played by Cameron Diaz, meets Ted after he breaks up a confrontation between Mary’s brother Warren and an angry jock.
The high school itself is no school at all, rather the aforementioned Plantation City Hall.
LOCATION: 400 NW 73rd Ave, Plantation, FL 33317
Mary’s house can be found south of Miami in the town of Coral Gables. The house and yard have since changed a bit. Some of those changes include doorways and a different railing added on the second level, as well as the front yard converted into a large driveway with a gate.
There’s now a wall along the front of the property, but it’s not difficult to see over.
After a humiliating zipper accident on the day of the prom, Ted loses touch with Mary. Now well into adulthood, Ted still can’t get her off his mind and decides to travel to Florida to try to find her. Joined by his friend Dom, played by Chris Elliott, the two track Mary down at her Miami workplace. The two hide behind this art sculpture and Dom shouts Mary’s name, forcing Ted to approach and talk to her.
LOCATION: 701 Brickell Ave, Miami, FL 33131
Here is the full sculpture Ted hides behind.
Mary stands on these stairs with her brother Warren. The address is Brickell Ave, but you have to go to the back side of the building along the water to find the areas seen in the film.
Ted successfully scores a date with Mary and gets a room at the Cardoza Hotel in Miami Beach. This is where the infamous hair gel scene takes place.
LOCATION: 1300 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Mary’s apartment, one of the key locations of the film, has unfortunately since been demolished, with high rise condos now in it’s place. It was formerly located at 2066 N Bayshore Dr, Miami, FL 33137. However, in the closing scenes of the film, the two stand on the street in front of her apartment, facing the water. This area remains similar to how it appeared in the film.
LOCATION: NE 20th Terrace / N Bayshore Dr, Miami, FL 33137
The titular “Birdcage Club” in the 1996 comedy “The Birdcage,” starring Robin Williams, Gene Hackman and Nathan Lane, can be found along the famous Ocean Dr in Miami Beach. The real building is actually known as “The Carlyle” and is also seen in the film “Scarface,” as well as the TV shows “The Golden Palace” and “Miami Vice.”
Michael Bay’s 1990s action film “Bad Boys” and it’s sequel, “Bad Boys II,” are famously set in Miami, Florida. Marcus, played by Martin Lawrence, lives in this house in the first film, which is located near the Marlins Park baseball field.
LOCATION: 737 NW 15th Ave, Miami, FL 33125
The police station where the pair work is actually the Dade County Courthouse. The building was also seen in the 1981 Sydney Pollack film “Absence of Malice” and the 1998 thriller “Wild Things.”
LOCATION: 73 W Flagler St, Miami, FL 33130
“Club Hell,” where Marcus gets into a fight in the bathroom, was the heavily dressed Scottish Rite Temple. The same building appears in Michael Mann’s 2006 film adaptation of “Miami Vice.”
LOCATION: 471 NW 3rd St, Miami, FL 33128
The apartment where Mike, played by Will Smith, lives was the former Collins Park hotel in Miami Beach, which was also seen in the original “Miami Vice” television series. The property is currently undergoing remodeling.
LOCATION: 2030 Park Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Julie, played by Téa Leoni, is kidnapped and a large action sequence takes place, ending with Mike and Marcus failing to rescue her. In one of director Michael Bay’s trademark shots, a low-angle, 360 degree shot around the pair takes place in front of the Tropics Hotel.
The 1994 Jim Carrey comedy “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” was filmed around Miami, Florida, where the story also takes place.
Early in the film, Ace turns the corner of Española Way onto Washington Blvd, as he makes his way to his apartment. He can be seen passing the Cameo night club here, but today some palm trees obscure the view a bit.
LOCATION: Corner of Española Way / Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Here is an unobstructed view of the Cameo night club.
LOCATION: 1445 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Ace lives at the former Campton Apartments, which have likewise become a bit obscured from view by palm trees since filming took place. The Campton Apartments are now closed and the property has become a bit unkempt.
LOCATION: 1455 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Here’s a closer look at the courtyard to the property facing Washington Ave.
Later in the film, Ace and Melissa, played by Courteney Cox, attend a party at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. The villa has been seen in many films, including “The Money Pit,” “Bad Boys II” and “Iron Man 3.” This is the rear view of the property, facing the water. The villa is open to public tours and regularly hosts special events. Photography is permitted both inside and outside of the property.
LOCATION: 3251 S Miami Ave, Miami, FL 33129
Ace and Melissa make their way up these stairs as they arrive to the party, with the ship structure seen in the background.
Ace searches for Snowflake the dolphin at the pool on the eastern side of the building. He hops the rail and shimmies down it, only to hop right back over and open the door to the right.
Film Oblivion 