Discover Oscar-Winning Best Picture Locations in Los Angeles

Based on real life events, Argo is a 2012 thriller directed by Ben Affleck that chronicles the “Canadian Caper,” a joint operation by the Canadian government and the CIA to covertly rescue six American diplomats during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. The critically-acclaimed Argo received seven Oscar nominations and won for Best Picture, Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Affleck stars as Antonio “Tony” Mendez, the CIA operative who led the operation. Mendez comes up with a daring rescue plan and flies out to LA to meet with famed Hollywood makeup artist John Chambers, played by John Goodman. (Chambers received a special Academy Award for his work on the Planet of the Apes series and created Spock’s pointy ears on the original Star Trek series.) At the Smoke House in Burbank, Chambers advises Mendez on how to produce a fake movie that will serve as cover for the rescue mission.

Thanks to its proximity to the world-famous Warner Bros. Studios, the Smoke House has been a favorite hangout for the entertainment industry since it was established in 1946. The legendary steakhouse continues to attract new generations of fans who enjoy the old school service and charm; the famous garlic bread, generous portions and live entertainment. Argo producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov named their production company after the restaurant.

The Artist is a 2011 French film made in the style of a black-and-white silent movie. The story takes place in Hollywood between 1927 and 1932 and focuses on the lives of silent film star George Valentin (played by Jean Dujardin), and the chorus girl he discovers, Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo). As “talkies” start to replace silent films, George’s career fades while Peppy becomes a leading lady.

At the 84th Academy Awards, The Artist won five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director (Michel Hazanavicius) and Best Actor for Dujardin, who became the first French actor to win an Oscar. The Artist also won for Costume Design and Original Score.

The Artist was filmed in numerous LA locations, including the landmark Bradbury Building in Downtown LA. In a symbolic scene, George and Peppy pass each other on a staircase - he is descending the stairs and she is walking up, much like the paths of their respective movie careers. The Bradbury Building has appeared in TV episodes, music videos and numerous movies, including the 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner.

The famous line from Casablanca reads, "We’ll always have Paris," but if Humphrey Bogart had said, "We’ll always have Burbank," it would have been more accurate. The Paris flashback scenes from the 1943 Best Picture winner were not actually shot in the City of Light, but on the backlot of Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank. Filming took place on the studio’s appropriately named French Street, though due to the changing nature of backlot facades, the exact spot where Rick Blaine (Bogart) and Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) learned of the impending German occupation remains a bit of a mystery. Fans who wish to see French Street in person can catch a glimpse of it and even stroll among the picturesque storefronts via the TCM Classic Films Tour at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood.

At the 95th Academy Awards, Everything Everywhere All at Once won seven Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director (The Daniels), Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh), Best Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan), Best Supporting Actress (Jamie Lee Curtis), Best Original Screenplay (The Daniels) and Best Editing (Paul Rogers). Yeoh made Oscars history as the first Asian woman to win Best Actress.

Scenes with the black hole-like "Everything Bagel" - topped with literally everything - created by Jobu Tupaki (played by Stephanie Hsu) were filmed in the Main Hall at Vibiana. Located in Downtown LA, Vibiana is one of LA's most spectacular event venues. Built in 1876, the Cathedral of St. Vibiana was designed by Ezra F. Kysor - one of the city's first practicing architects. Chef Neal Fraser and Amy Knoll Fraser took over the operation of the property in 2012 and added their flagship restaurant Redbird, along with five private dining spaces in the rectory building adjacent to Vibiana’s Main Hall and Courtyard.

In the 1994 Best Picture winner, Forrest Gump the exterior of Cole’s, LA’s oldest continuously operating bar and restaurant, served as the outside of Dick Cavett’s television studio, where Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) experiences a less than warm reunion with Lieutenant Dan (Gary Sinise). In a later scene, the duo rings in the New Year at Cole’s and Forrest informs Dan of his plans to become a shrimp boat captain.

The historic eatery was originally established in 1908 and touts itself as the originator of the French Dip sandwich (just don’t tell that to Philippe the Original). Cole’s has been featured in countless productions over the years, including Rumor Has It, Se7en, A Lot Like Love and Jumpin’ Jack Flash.

BONUS LOCATION: Forrest learned to play ping pong and recovered from his war injuries on the second floor of The Ebell of Los Angeles in Hancock Park.

One of the most famous scenes from the 1972 Best Picture winner, The Godfather took place at a mansion in Beverly Hills known as the Beverly House. Designed by Gordon B. Kaufmann in 1927, the 72,000 square-foot estate was the setting when consigliere Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) makes movie producer Jack Woltz (John Marley) "an offer he can’t refuse." Of course, that offer is declined and Woltz wakes up the following morning with the severed head of his beloved horse in his bed. Publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst spent his final years at the Beverly House, which also hosted John and Jacqueline Kennedy on their honeymoon. Only the exterior of the estate was used in the filming - interior scenes were filmed at the Guggenheim estate on Long Island.

The Culver Studios was originally founded in 1918 by silent film producer Thomas Ince. The first building constructed on the lot, then known as Thomas H. Ince Studios, was the Mansion, a massive 15,000 square-foot Colonial-style administration building that was modeled after George Washington’s Mount Vernon home.

Producer David O. Selznick purchased the site in 1935 and renamed it Selznick International Pictures. His 1939 Best Picture winner Gone with the Wind was lensed on the premises. In the epic, the Mansion’s gate and landscaped front walkway were used as the entrance to the new Atlanta home of Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) and Scarlett O’Hara (Vivian Leigh). The Mansion’s exterior was covered with a matte painting for the shoot and looks nothing like Rhett and Scarlett’s estate. The scenes of Atlanta burning also took place on the studio’s former backlot. To create the fiery scenes, Selznick simply burned old sets, which made room for him to eventually build the Tara façade.

The Mansion and its front walkway are still standing and are clearly visible from Washington Boulevard. Amazon MGM Studios occupies 530,000 square feet at The Culver Studios, including the company’s existing space in the historic Mansion and bungalows.

Million Dollar Baby (2004) swept the 77th Academy Awards, winning Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actress (Hilary Swank), Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman) and Best Director for Clint Eastwood, who was also nominated for Best Actor. Though the film takes place in several locales across the U.S., it was filmed almost entirely in Los Angeles.

Swank's character, Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald, is an aspiring boxer who waits tables at the On the Waterfront Cafe, now known as The Waterfront. Located on the world-famous Venice Beach Boardwalk, The Waterfront boasts an outdoor beer garden and serves up Tex-Mex fare with several veg-friendly options.

Other LA locations include the St. Mark Church in Venice; the Hollywood Athletic Club (Maggie's London bout) and a 1913 bungalow in Eagle Rock that "plays" the house where boxing trainer Frankie Dunn (Eastwood) lives.

The highest-grossing film of 1988, Rain Man was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won four - Best Picture, Best Director (Barry Levinson), Best Actor (Dustin Hoffman) and Best Original Screenplay. Essentially a road movie, Rain Man was filmed across the country, including LA locations like the Westin Bonaventure, the WeHo apartment building where Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) lives; and the Wattles Mansion in Hollywood, which stands in for the fictional Walbrook mental institution where Charlie fights for custody of his autistic brother Raymond (Hoffman).

Built in 1907 as the winter home of Omaha banker Gurdon Wattles, the Wattles Mansion was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1993 and has also appeared in Ghoulies, The Lost Empire, the music video for Nirvana's "Come as You Are" and episodes of The O.C. and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

One of the all-time great sports films, Rocky was the top-grossing film of 1976 and received ten Academy Award nominations, winning for Best Picture, Best Director (John G. Avildsen, who also directed the first three Karate Kid movies) and Best Film Editing. Starring in the iconic title role, Sylvester Stallone was nominated for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay; Talia Shire was nominated for Best Actress as Rocky's girlfriend Adrian.

Rocky takes place in Philadelphia, but the climactic boxing match between Rocky and heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) was filmed at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Downtown LA. Built in 1924, the Olympic hosted boxing, weightlifting and wrestling events at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Boxing scenes from Million Dollar Baby, Raging Bull, and the 1962 film version of Requiem for a Heavyweight were also filmed at the Olympic. Today the venue is owned by a Korean American church and serves as a place of worship.

Though The Sting was set in 1930s-era Chicago, the 1974 Best Picture winner was lensed largely in the City of Angels. One of the most prominent locations featured in the flick was the Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome, where grifter Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) works with his scrappy girlfriend, Billie (Eileen Brennan). To give the carousel the illusion of being located in the Windy City, artist Albert Whitlock superimposed a matte painting of the Chicago skyline behind the two-story Moorish structure.

Located adjacent to the historic Santa Monica Pier, the Hippodrome was originally constructed in 1916 by Charles I.D. Looff and his son, Arthur, and looks much the same today as it did in The Sting. Three different merry-go-rounds have called the place home over the years. The current one, the Philadelphia Toboggan Company Carousel #62, was built in 1922 and transferred to Santa Monica in 1947.