The 2003 Christmas comedy “Elf” was primarily filmed in New York City. After discovering he’s actually human, Buddy the Elf, played by Will Ferrell, seeks out his father Walter, played by James Caan, in New York. Walter’s office is located in the famed Empire State Building.
LOCATION: 20 W 34th St, New York, NY 10001
When Buddy takes Jovie, played by Zooey Deschanel, on a date, she shows him the Christmas tree in front of Rockefeller Center. The two then ice skate there.
LOCATION: 45 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10111
Later in the film, Buddy helps Santa get his sleigh back into the air. The sleigh passes through Central Park at Bethesda Terrace and Fountain. The terrace is another famous New York landmark seen in countless films.
LOCATION: 72 Terrace Dr, New York, NY 10021 (inside Central Park)
For the 1993 movie adaptation of “The Beverly Hillbillies,” the Clampett family lives in this house, which is not located in Beverly Hills. Rather it can be found in Pasadena. The property has appeared in many productions, such as “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement,” as well as the television shows “Charlie’s Angels,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Knight Rider” and many more.
The 1993 Robert Altman film “Short Cuts” is based on short stories by author Raymond Carver. Originally set in the Pacific Northwest, for Altman’s film adaptation, he switched the setting to Los Angeles. The film features intersecting stories performed by an ensemble cast.
The house of Ann and Howard Finnegan, played by Andie MacDowell and Bruce Davidson respectively, can be found in North Hollywood.
LOCATION: 4950 Bellaire Ave, North Hollywood, CA 91607
The house next door is where Zoe, played by Lori Singer, lives with her mother Tess, played by Annie Ross. After being injured by a car, the Finnegan’s son Casey returns home. Zoe is playing basketball with some friends in front of the garage and asks Casey why he’s not in school, but he does not answer.
LOCATION: 4946 Bellaire Ave, North Hollywood, CA 91607
The restaurant where Doreen, played by Lily Tomlin, works is the former Johnie’s Broiler in Downey. She is visited there by her husband Earl, played by Tom Waits. The restaurant has a unique history, having appeared in many other films, such as “Heat,” “The Game,” “License To Drive,” “My Stepmother Is An Alien,” “One Hour Photo” and many more. In 2007, the building was unfortunately demolished. However, Bob’s Big Boy purchased the property years later and rebuilt it based on the original blueprints and even some of the same materials. So what stands now closely resembles what was seen in the film.
The 1987 horror sequel, “House II: The Second Story” was, like the original film, shot primarily in Southern California. This time the setting was a property known as the Stimson House, located near Mt. Saint Mary’s University.
The same house was featured in the film “After Midnight,” as well as such TV series as “Mad Men,” “Pushing Daises,” “The Bionic Woman” and more.
LOCATION: 2421 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90007
The Western scene was filmed at Paramount Ranch. Unfortunately in November 2018, the ranch fell victim to wildfires and nearly every building was burnt to the ground. However, plans have been announced to rebuild the sets.
LOCATION: 2903 Cornell Rd, Agoura Hills, CA 91301 (now demolished)
The 1995 sci-fi film “Species” was filmed in Utah, Southern California and Puerto Rico. Early in the film, after escaping from a science lab, the half-human, half-alien Sil, played by Natasha Henstridge, arrives by train into Los Angeles at Union Station.
Xavier Fitch, played by Ben Kingsley, assembles a team to find Sil. They set up operations at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. They first arrive at this alley entrance facing S Olive St. The same alley can be seen in the film “Chinatown.” There is a gate here blocking entrance into the alley, so it’s a bit tricky getting a photo.
LOCATION: Alley between 523 / 525 S Olive St, Los Angeles, CA, 90013
They are seen entering the lobby of the Millennium Biltmore, which has been featured in dozens of films, such as “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Independence Day” and many more.
LOCATION: 506 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90071
The team is later seen leaving from this side of the hotel facing S Grand Ave. The same area can be seen in the films “Seven,” “A Star Is Born” and more.
LOCATION: 530 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Sil gets a hotel room at this hotel in West Hollywood.
LOCATION: 7212 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90046
The club Sil heads to in search of a man is actually the lobby of the famous Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, which was heavily dressed to appear like a club. The “entrance” seen in the film is the back of the building. The theater has likewise appeared in such films as “Ed Wood,” “Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood,” “The Aviator,” “The Bodyguard,” “Batman Forever” and many more.
LOCATION: 6233 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Looking to mate with a human partner as soon as possible, Sil aggressively picks up a man at the club and heads back to his place. After detecting he is a diabetic, she determines he’s not a suitable partner.
LOCATION: 1500 Blue Jay Way, Los Angeles, CA 90069
After getting into an accident, Sil meets another man she quickly tries to seduce. Just as she is about to have sex with him at his house, Preston and Laura, played by Michael Madsen and Marg Helgenberger respectively, catch up to her at the home, located in Pacific Palisades.
LOCATION: 14458 Rustic Creek Ln, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
After Sil escapes, she returns back to the home in a car to observe Xavier Fitch’s team investigating the scene. This is a bit of movie magic as the road actually dead ends just a couple houses down into a cul-de-sac, so Sil would not have been able to approach the home from this direction. The team is seen driving past her vehicle, which in reality, they’d likewise be driving straight into the dead end.
The 2004 drama “Mysterious Skin,” while set in the town of Hutchinson, Kansas, like most films by Gregg Araki, it was actually filmed in Southern California, primarily around the San Fernando Valley.
Early in the film, a young boy, Neil, is taken by his mother, played by Elizabeth Shue, to a little league baseball field back in the early 1980s. These scenes were filmed at Balboa Park in Encino. Its a fairly large park and it shows up in numerous scenes throughout the film, so we’ll attempt to identify where inside the park different scenes take place. Young Neil first sees the coach at the baseball fields. The field used in the scene is nearest to the basketball courts, with GPS coordinates around 34.174865, -118.504439.
LOCATION: Balboa Park, Encino, CA 91316 (nearest address is 17015 Burbank Blvd, Encino, CA 91316)
A teenage Neil, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, hustles at the playground of the same park. It has since been remodeled some. The GPS coordinates are around 34.173486, -118.505016.
Later in the film, as Neil walks away from this building to catch a ride, he shouts that he is sick of his town. This too was shot at Balboa Park, at the parking lot near the soccer fields. The GPS coordinates are around 34.176277, -118.504659.
This house is seen as a young Neil goes trick or treating in 1983. The same house can be seen in “Kill Bill” and the 2003 “Project Greenlight” film, “The Battle Of Shaker Heights.”
LOCATION: 5500 Atlas St, Los Angeles, CA 90032
Neil’s house can be found in Reseda.
LOCATION: 19220 Ingomar St, Reseda, CA 91335
Neil stands outside of his former coach’s house in the middle of the night, which can be found in Northridge.
The 1994 action film “Terminal Velocity,” starring Charlie Sheen, was primarily filmed in Arizona. In the opening of the film, a woman is killed at this apartment building, where Chris, played by Nastassja Kinski, lives.
LOCATION: 2201 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Richard “Ditch” Brodie, played by Sheen, skydives past this building as he lands at the wrong party.
The 1987 comedy “Innespace,” starring Martin Short and Dennis Quaid, was filmed in both Northern and Southern California. The lab where the miniaturization takes place can be found in Chatsworth.
LOCATION: 20977 Knapp St, Chatsworth, CA 91311
The grocery store where Jack Putter, played by Martin Short, works can be found in Sherman Oaks. It has unfortunately since been heavily remodeled.
LOCATION: 14845 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
The wedding scenes take place at Wayfarers Chapel in Ranchos Palos Verdes. The same location was featured in the second season of the TV series “True Detective.”
LOCATION: 5755 Palos Verdes Dr S, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
The 1965 Russ Meyer film “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” was shot in the deserts of Southern California. The film maintains a cult status and continues to find new fans decades after its release.
The opening go-go dancing scenes were filmed at the Pink Pussycat Club in West Hollywood, which was formerly located at 7969 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90046. Some resources state the scenes were filmed at The Pussycat Club in Van Nuys, but that information appears to be incorrect.
There is also conflicting information about the location of the salt flats where the car race takes place. It was once claimed to have been shot at a place called “Lake Cunniback,” but no such location seems to exist. Other resources suggest Rosamond Lake in Rosamond, California, but it remains subject to debate.
One location that remains in tact is the gas station where the three women fuel up. The gas pumps have been removed, but otherwise the buildings, located in the small town of Randsburg, still appear very much the same as they did in the film.
LOCATION: 26623 Butte Ave, Randsburg, CA 93554
Here is the location where the old man and his son park their truck. The women learn the old man may have a large sum of money hidden at his ranch and quickly decide to try to find it.
The Old Man’s ranch, where much of the film takes place, was known as Ollie Peche’s Musical Wells Ranch in the town of Mojave. The ranch was abandoned for years and remained standing until at least 2017, where visitors could approach and explore it. The land was eventually purchased by a motorcycle driving school and the owners unfortunately decided to demolish the ranch.
Today, the land is fenced off and marked as private. The wall surrounding where it stood still exists. Below is a photo of the closest point you can now access before the private markers. To reach this area, you must take CA-14 N to Leman Rd. From Leman Rd, you turn right and make an immediate left onto Poppy Blvd, which is marked with a street sign. Poppy Blvd is paved and you can take it straight down until it reaches Pesch Blvd, which is an unmarked dirt road. There you’ll see the fencing and private property signs. You can drive along Pesch Blvd, but you can’t proceed any further onto the land. There are some photos available online from when the ranch still stood.
LOCATION: 1600 Pesch Blvd, Mojave, CA 93501 (now demolished)
The 1983 film “Valley Girl,” starring Deborah Foreman and Nicolas Cage, was largely filmed, as the title suggests, in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California. The opening shows a helicopter view past the Hollywood sign, overlooking the San Fernando Valley. There is a popular, public hiking trail that goes up to and behind the sign. Here is the view of the Valley from behind the Hollywood sign.
LOCATION: Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles, CA 90068 (GPS coordinates: 34.134118, -118.321540)
The early scenes of Julie, played by Foreman, shopping at the mall with her friends were filmed at the Del Amo Shopping Center in Torrance. The same mall was heavily featured in the film “Jackie Brown.” Here is a shot of the former food court. The mall has since been heavily remodeled and the food court not only looks nothing like how it appeared in the film, its actually now located in a completely different section of the mall.
LOCATION: 3525 W Carson St, Torrance, CA 90503
The party scene where Randy, played by Cage, meets Julie was filmed at this home in West Hills.
LOCATION: 23727 Posey Ln, West Hills, CA 91304
As Randy takes Julie into Hollywood, numerous landmarks are shown, beginning with the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
LOCATION: 6925 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028
The Roxy Theatre on Sunset Blvd is also seen.
LOCATION: 9009 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
The characters also drive by the original Pussycat Theater. The building now looks different and the Pussycat is long gone, but the original theater facade was briefly recreated for the film “Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood.”
LOCATION: 6656 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Here is the home of Julie Richman.
LOCATION: 3907 Dixie Canyon Ave, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
This is where the heath food store, owned by Julie’s parents, was located.
LOCATION: 14543 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
The restaurant where Julie eats with her friends was Du-Pars in Studio City. The same restaurant was featured in “Boogie Nights.” The location has since closed down and the building has been completely remodeled.
LOCATION: 12036 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA 91604 (now closed)
In a montage of Randy and Julie dating, more iconic city spots are shown, including Casa Vega.
LOCATION: 13301 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
