The good news: LA is the place for seeing where your favorite movies were shot. The bad news: LA is the place for spotting film locations. If you thought movies were made in faraway exotic locales, this tour will burst that bubble. LA can pass for New York, Tokyo and everywhere in between.
While film locations can be found everywhere in LA, this itinerary concentrates on two areas, Downtown LA and Hollywood. This tour is doable in one day.
Start at Downtown LA’s Union Station (1) where the spacious concourse has been a backdrop for The Hustler (1961), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), Bugsy (1991), Pearl Harbor (2001) and The Italian Job (2003). Walk south on Alameda, then west on 1st Street to Main Street.
LA City Hall (2) appeal goes back to TV’s Dragnet and Superman days. More recently it has been in The Two Jakes (1990), Die Hard 2 (1990), Barton Fink (1991), Speed (1994), Liar Liar (1997), and The Black Dahlia (2006). Directors favor two angles: the steps and a full shot of the building.
Now go south on Main and west on 3rd Street to Broadway. The Bradbury Building’s (3) atrium and iron-caged elevator (take a ride while you’re here) has been used in Chinatown (1974), Blade Runner (1982) and Wolf (1994).
Walk south on Broadway to 5th Street, then west to Olive Street. The Millennium Biltmore Hotel’s (4) elegant lobby and ballrooms have doubled for grand hotels just about anywhere. A few movies that have been filmed here include: Vertigo (1958), King Kong (1976), New York, New York (1977), The Buddy Holly Story (1978), Ghostbusters (1984), Bugsy (1991) and Wedding Crashers (2005).
Now it’s time to head for Hollywood — Sunset Boulevard is a good street to take.
A great lunch spot is Musso & Frank (6) on Hollywood Boulevard. Not only will you experience great food and an Old Hollywood ambiance, you might even be sitting at George Clooney’s table from Ocean’s Eleven (2001). Scenes from Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003) were also filmed here.
Continue west to Hollywood & Highland Center (7). The underground Hollywood & Highland Metro Station was used for some of those harrowing chase scenes in The Italian Job (2003).
Cross the street to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (9). If a movie wasn’t filmed at the Biltmore, it was probably filmed here — another opulent place that can double for the best of them. Movies shot here include Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), Internal Affairs (1990) and Almost Famous (2000).
After you've checked out the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, jump back in the car and head northwest on the 101 to Universal Studios Hollywood (10).
The perfect way to end the day is with drinks and/or dinner at Yamashiro (11). Drive west on Hollywood Boulevard, north on La Brea Avenue, east on Franklin Boulevard and north on Sycamore Avenue. You’ll understand immediately why this mountainside gem was used for Memoirs of a Geisha (2005).
