subscribeThe the royal tenenbaums movie house trip
As much as I’ve enjoyed reading about ) prized pop-culture
possessions, I can’t help but feel a little left out considering I
have nary a New Kids on the Block Trapper Keeper or signed Ricky
Schroder glossy to my name. But what I lack in the memorabilia
department I make up for with something a bit less tangible (though
equally fulfilling) — pop-culture field trips.
Whether it’s a cafe featured in You’ve Got Mailor an Alexander Calder
sculpture that got two seconds of screen time in Ferris Bueller’s Day
Off, I’ve been there. But there is one hollowed ground that stands
bricks above the rest, my Mecca: The house from Home Alone.
When the holiday caper flick hit theaters in 1990, I was the same age
as burglar-bashing hero Kevin McCallister (played by Macaulay Culkin,
pictured). Something about a kid my age kicking adult butt really
resonated with me, and it’s been one of my favorite movies ever since.
So when I moved to the Chicago suburbs a few years ago and found out
the house was only a few miles away, I just had to see it. I googled
the address (which, funny enough, is almost the exact same street
address Culkin gives the grocery store clerk in the movie), and headed
out into Illinois’ sub-freezing tundra. Sadly, much like a larger-
than-life screen star, the house seemed downright tiny. But that
didn’t stop me from taking every single guest that visited me that
year in Chicago on an excursion to the house (no matter how they felt
about the movie).
But I can’t be the only one who enjoys these kinds of outings. What
about you, PopWatchers? Have you ever surreptitiously stalked a famous
house or bought a bagel just ’cause the joint was in a movie? Or do
you prefer more “legit” trips? (I’m thinking of places like Graceland,
Dollywood, or Dallas’ Southfork, which still gets 300,000 visitors a
year even though the show ended 17 years ago.) Please tell us about
your favorite pop-culture field trip.
The best place I’ve been is the island of Monuriki in Fiji where the
movie “Castaway” was filmed. In the movie, the island looks totally
isolated, but in reality it is surrounded by several islands, with
hotels and villages on them.
I have another one also. I used to work for a reservation center for
hilton hotels. We took a trip up to Chicago to visit a couple of the
hotels. We were able to take a tour of the Chicago Hilton and got to
go to the laundry room where the shot the Fugitive and also got to go
to the suite that they shot the McAllisters opening Christmas presents
in Home Alone 2…yes they say it’s New York but it was filmed there
When I was in Middle school my grandparents flew my sister and I out
to Arizona where they stay for the summer. We stayed for a week and
then we drove back to Illinois. We went to the grand canyon
yellowstone and a bunch of other places. The last stop we made before
we got home was to the place where the filmed Field of Dreams. They
even had the baseball players come out of the corn. To let you know
how long ago it was the summer when all the oj stuff happened
On a visit to Seattle once I took a side trip to Roslyn, WA where
Northern Exposure was filmed. Throughout several NYC trips I think
I’ve been to every location from When Harry Met Sally, the Friends
apartment building, and several locations that show up on SATC. I was
in London right around the time that Notting Hill came out and
unknowingly spent a day wandering around many of the locations from
the movie. And, if I’m ever within 60 miles of Scranton, PA I will
have to make an Office pilgrimage.
I stayed in the house that was the Senator’s house in Wedding
Crashers, before it was converted into a posh inn. I used to have to
drive by the Georgetown steps every day and they totally creeped me
out!
I already commented once, but I didn’t mention the big one! I went to
Salzburg, Austria, and did the “Sound of Music” tour…. and then
after the tour, I went on my own to find more locations seen or
referenced in the film that were not included on the tour!
I would be one of seven people in the world to get excited about my
pop culture fieldtrip, but I love it! Last year, I visited Wilmington,
NC home of Dawson’s Creek (Capeside) and One Tree Hill (Tree Hill).
Nothing packed more punch then driving on the road where Dawson’s Dad,
Mitch, was licking a ice cream cone when he smashed into the face of a
truck. Vanilla and Blood don’t mix. I’ve been back twice and visited
One Tree Hill’s Rivercourt. So many important scenes have taken place
on that court. Shame the crews take down the actual hoops so I
couldn’t play. I’m not much of an athlete, but I do love watching
James Lafferty sweat.
Wilmington is also twenty minutes north of Southport, NC where I Know
What You DId Last Summer was filmed. Relieve one of J. Hew’s best
moments!
When I was in junior high, my parents and I visited Roslyn,
Washington, where Northern Exposure was filmed. We have pictures of me
(looking my 12-year-old dorkiest) in front of the doctor’s office,
radio station and even in front of the Roslyn Cafe mural that’s
featured in the opening credits.
I live on Long Island and one of the prettiest places ever is the
Church in Cold Spring Harbor where the wedding from “In/Out” was
filmed. My friends and I would go there to eat our lunch and then feed
the swans our leftovers.
I went to Paris last December with my boyfriend and the two of us are
huge fans of the movie Amelie so we did a mini Amelie tour of the
city. We went to the cafe she worked in (now full of tourists, not a
french person in site!), the square under the sacre coeur with the
carousel and the train station with the photo machine. A few months
ago, we were re-watching the film when we realised that the metro
station across from our hotel that we used every day featured heavily
in the film! how we didnt notice this at the time i dont know!
needless to say, we were super excited about this new found fact! 
Earlier this summer, I finished grad school in Pasadena and before
moving back east, I made the trek to Tujunga to fulfill a lifelong
dream of seeing the house from “E.T.”
Well, the Pop culture field trip I took that I think MANY people took
was the “Sideways” fieldtrip. There is even a Sideways map now of
everywhere they went in the movie. I even saw a wine tasting place the
said, “Not featured in Sideways.” I guess wine tasting in Central
California went crazy after the movie came out. They even started to
run low on Pinot Noir.
Chicago is great for film vacations. Go downtown, and you can be in
The Blues Brothers, Ferris Bueller, the Untouchables, or The Fugitive
within minutes!
I have a few, I used to live in Beaufort , SC and of course every time
someone visited we had to take them to the Big Chill House! Also the
Rhett House in Beafort was featured in the movie White Squall with
Jeff Bridges, it’s a gorgeous old B&B.; I’ve also seen the Real World
New Orleans House and worked at Prudential Plaza in Chicago when they
filmed Richie Rich and met Macauly Culkin. Fun topic!
I’ve never been to a movie/tv location on purpose (yet) but as I live
in Vancouver, I sometimes excidedly recognise locations that I’ve
already been to. Re: supermarkets, just the other day I was watching
an old X-Files episode & realised that the supermarket Scully’s
shopping in is the same one I go to. And I recognised the mall in Juno
as one I’d been to a few times. But, geeky as I am, the two coolest
locations I’ve been to are from Battlestar Galactica: I graduated high
school in the auditorium where the Quorum of 12 meets (& looked just
as bored as Baltar in that scene), & there are photos of me in my cap
& gown in the rose garden where Kara & Lee have their water fight, &
also the foyer/bar where they have the dance at the end of the
episode. And, years ago, I went to several concerts at the Kobol Opera
House (aka the Orpheum Theatre). I would love to go back there now
that it plays a pivotal part in a show I love, & geek out properly,
but haven’t had a chance so far.
A few years ago my girlfriend and I took a weekend getaway to
philadelphia and of course had to run up the steps of the museum like
Rocky! There is a website that tracks where movies are filming and
there are a lot of people there doing stuff like this too, it’s pretty
cool,onlocationvacations.com
my sister and i just had cupcakes at magnolia in honor of the SATC
movie. and we think of Tony and the gang from Sopranos whenever we
drive by Satin Dolls all the time on Rte. 17
Had to see the Grateful Dead house when we were in San Francisco ~ 710
Ashbury St.
The fan from the opening sequence of “Apocalypse Now”, which is in the
bar of Blancaneaux (owned by FFC) Lodge in Belize.
Finally seeing a show at the Hollywood Bowl … a million movies have
filmed there. However, I can only think of that lame one where Spade
steals the French woman’s dog.
I went to college at the University of Arizona–sight of Revenge of
the Nerds. The Alpha Beta frat house, the gym where the nerds have to
sleep, the nerd’s original dorm and many exteriors are on or around
campus. And Can’t Buy Me Love, starring Patrick Dempsey, was shot
right across the street at Tucson High.
On senior skip day in high school, some friends and I drove to
Astoria, OR and went to the house from “The Goonies” and drove out to
Haystack Rock (the one that fits in the medallion). We also drove by
the school from “Kindergarten Cop” and the “Free Willy” house. I
believe “Short Circuit” was filmed around there, too. Yeah, we were
nerds, but we did some go-karting, bicycling on the beach and had
amazing saltwater taffy and seafood.
Oh, and I also now work in the area where most of Office Space was
filmed. That area has changed A LOT. And though it’s not a movie, some
Prison Break scenes were filmed just across the street from my work
place.
Well, it seems pretty lame, but the baseball scene in Problem Child
was filmed across the street from my elementary school. I was in 6th
grade at the time, and got to go over there to watch the filming. I
didn’t end up on camera, but it’s my only movie scene story. Yay.
the “supposed” Texas Chainsaw Massacre house. Everybody hop in the
car, It’s only an hour outta town!
There is a house in the Burbank hills that was Tara from Gone with the
wind…It looks much smaller in person! But I still swooned… I
also saw the house that they shot Fantasy Island at, it’s at the
Arboretum in Southern California. But the place I really really want
to go is the fictional town of Stars Hollow, which was set in
Connecticut, but was shot on the Warner Bros studio lot in L.A. But I
heard it was torn down…I still wanna go!
I just recently realized that they filmed a lot of the Spy Kids 2
footage in Austin, TX. I knew that they’d done that, but I hadn’t been
to Austin in such a long time that I didn’t recognize anything. Well,
last time I watched the movie, I gasped out loud when I realized that,
for once, I knew where they were.
Oh, and I was five minutes away from the Great Hall from the Harry
Potter movies when I was in England, but couldn’t go in. Then when I
went to pout, it turns out I was right outside the library where they
filmed the Hospital Wing scenes. Figures.
Monument Valley in S. Utah is a must. Also drove through Las Vegas, NM
where some of Red Dawn was filmed. Sun Records and Graceland in
Memphis. The tidal basin in DC, where so many “top secret” discussions
are held in movies. And the Alabama Hills in Lone Pine, CA most
recently playing the role of Afghanistan in Iron Man.
I live in UT like Jody and see lots of HSM & other Disney movie
locations all around these parts. Lots of fun locations here for both
TV & film.
I’ve made special trips to see the Salt Flats (Independence Day -
where Will Smith crashes and drags the alien across the desert) and
try to identify local ski runs used in movies and hit them on my
snowboard. So far I have ridden at Brighton/Park City to honor Johnny
Tsunami and Snowbird to honor Better Off Dead.
When I visited NYC this spring, I dragged my best friend to Zabar’s
because of You’ve Got Mail. I’m a foodie, so it was awesome. In
return, she dragged me to the first Real World House. That’s her thing
– she’s on a mission to see each RW house in person, and she’s
crossed off SF, Austin, Denver, Boston, Chicago, and a couple others.
I’ve also gone on pop-culture field trips in reverse. I went to the
Big Chill house while I was in Beaufort, SC, but had never seen the
movie. I went to Casa Loma in Toronto, but didn’t know in advance that
they shot X-Men there. To think that I stood in the same room as
Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman…swoon.
I used to live around the corner from the Party of Five house and on
more than one occassion re-enacted the opening scene where Charile
runs up the front steps. I wasn’t a teenager either–I was 24. So
embarrassing!
Oh, and I also plan on doing a Buffy tour someday. Checking out
Buffy’s house, the school, etc. I also would love to find the hotel
that was used for exteriors of the Hyperion on Angel. Not to mention
visiting James Dean’s hometown. My friend’s family lives a few
counties away so the next time she goes for a visit I’m tagging along!
I live in the smallest of small towns and rarely take vacation so I
haven’t had the chance to take many pop culture field trips, but there
are a few landmarks right in my own backyard. There’s the Southgate
Plaza in Lakeland, FL that was used as the exterior for the salon in
“Edward Scissorhands”-the movie was filmed just a few hours from my
area. The other location, in Bartow FL, is a quaint little B&B; that
served as the exterior(and inspiration for interior shots) of the “My
Girl” house. My bus drove by as they were filming a scene of Anna
Chlumsky and Macauley Culkin sitting on the front steps-totally cool:)
Not to mention random scenes from Buffy and Angel being filmed at
Universal Studios in Orlando…
When I went to NYC I made a special trip to eat lunch at Serindipity,
from the movie Serendipity. Also, I am from Utah which is home to East
High which is the school in High School Musical. I live in the town
where Footloose was filmed. The houses, the church and the flour mill
are still there.
P.S. Just about died of happiness when I was in London and went to
King’s Cross Station (big “Platform 9 3/4″ sign on the wall with a
luggage trolley under it).
I grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore. The high school from the movie
“Crybaby” was the middle school I went to, and the swim club I used to
go to in the summers was the hang-out used in the movie.
My dad and I also do our “movie tour” when we go to NYC. We’ve been to
the public library (”Ghostbusters” of course), The Plaza hotel (which
I believe was featured in both “Crocodile Dundee II” and “Home Alone
2″), The Waldorf Astoria (”Serendipity”), and Radio City Music Hall
(”Annie” anyone?), among many others.
I live in Boston now, and I get a huge kick when I see places I know
in movies (”The Departed,” “21,” etc.).
I’ve never purposfully set out to go somewhere where a film was shot,
but I have rode horses where Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid make
their big jump & I’ve been to Silverton, CO, where a great many old
western was shot.
I’ve been up the “Rocky” steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum a few
times …I live about an hour from there; also have my picture with
the Rocky statue that is near the museum.
I’m a massive fan of both “Homicide: Life on the Streets” and “The
Wire.” So s few years ago I dragged my best friend to Baltimore. We
took pictures in front of Homicide HQ (the building was locked), ate
at Jimmy’s (a favorite of Pembleton and the gang), stayed at the Inn
at Henderson’s Wharf (where Jimmy was bedded during the call girl
sting operation) and went to the docks (where Omar threw the guns he
and Mousone used to kill Stringer or about there). It was a great trip
and my friend didn’t make fun of me at all for how giddy I was (well,
maybe just a little).
I went to college in Northern Virginia and we weren’t very far from
Washington, DC. One night a group of friends and I decided we should
drive to Georgetown to see the stairs from “The Exorcist.” Needless to
say we were all creeped out by the time we got to the top.
Am planning on dragging my very cool niece on a Pride & Prejudice tour
of the English countryside some day (2005 movie, not the Colin Firth
mini-series, although there is some overlap), including Rosings, the
Peak District, Bastildon Park, Meryton and more.
Also, have relatives in Seattle, so have been to Pike Street Market
many times and even saw Tom Hanks house on the water FROM the water in
a duck boat (cool bus that turns into a boat). Also saw the bar in
which Hanks and Rob Reiner were talking about dating.
Going to college in southwest VA let me going on many a field trip to
Mountain Lake (the resort from Dirty Dancing). They even have a
cardboard cutout of Patrick Sawyze in the gift shop! When I was in
middle school we also went to Mystic, CT and ate lunch at Mystic Pizza
(but it doesn’t look like the place in the movie. That made me sad).
made my parents take me to see the house from “the firm” in memphis
(along with childhood trips to mud island which is also in the film),
the church from “home alone”, the “soup nazi’s” old place, hemingway’s
house (and cats) in key west
Love this stuff. I went to LA last year and i saw the Myers house from
Halloween as well as the two houses across the street from each other
where Jamie Lee Curtis and her friend were babysitting in the movie.
And I saw the house from A Nightmare on Elm Street which is right off
of Sunset Blvd in Hollywood.
After Cafe Lalo we were inspired to find the part in Riverside Park
where You’ve Got Mail ends, as well as Gray’s Papaya and Zabar’s.
Zabar’s was/is AWESOME! Then I found Katz’s Deli on a different NY
trip. It was a totally intimidating deli dining experience, really.
My friends & I didn’t know we were at the cafe from You’ve Got Mail in
the Upper West Side until I saw the name of it - Cafe Lalo - and I
remember Tom Hanks’ character saying that in the movie. We were so
giddy, but we kept our cool. Then we ate there again for breakfast the
next morning. It was a beautiful place to chill.
Or even seeing the Temple of Dendur in the Met where Harry does the
whole “pecan pie” exchange with Sally. New York is just one huge pop
culture icon in itself. I still laugh when Blair does her usual gossip
session on Gossip Girl on the steps of the Met. When I saw the
Flatiron building or the New York City Public Library near Lexington
Ave., I thought of the first Spider-Man film.
I live where Clerks and Chasing Amy were filmed and always laugh at
people taking pictures in the area.
I’ve gone to Fisherman’s Wharf in SF and posed with the arm wrestler
from the Princess Diaries.
When I went to New York, I saw many of the tour buses that do the Sex
& The City tour, which offers what it sounds like: seeing all of the
sites featured on the hit show. My personal pop culture moment during
the trip was going into Katz’s Deli on Houston Street. Many locals
already know this, but the legendary diner is the location of the
famous diner scene/fake-orgasm-by-Meg-Ryan from When Harry Met Sally.
My cousin even pointed out that the deli has a sign indicating the
exact location where filmming took place. That was pretty cool…
When I had to drive from Phoenix to Albuquerque for a wedding, we
purposely chose a route so that I could get my picture taken,
“Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.”
Just a few of my pop culture sights: Janis Joplin lived 3 houses down
from me in Port Arthur, Texas. I was in Sydney a few years ago and
went to see MI-2 there and that was fun since it was filmed down
there. Of course I have been to Southfork since it is in my city. Also
did the Hollywood Tour a few years ago and saw the Halloween house
(from the original movie).
While I have lived in Los Angeles all my life-I have seen and actually
been on many sets.not really difficult when you live here. Scenes from
the Terminator and TJ Hooker ( ah, Bill Shatner- but that’s a whole
other Oprah!) were actually filmed in our family’s warehouse. But the
one thing I HAD to see was the building that was used as the office in
the movie Secretary with James Spader! I recognized the neighborhood
so it didn’t take much sleuthing to find it. Still there-still the
same. Too bad James Spader didn’t come with the deal..I’m just
sayin…
My father (now retired) had worked as an administrative analyst for
the NYC Agency for Child Services. At one time, ACS was located on
Main Street in Brooklyn Heights. A lot of movies such as Cookie, and
Die Hard 3 were filmed there. Sometimes he got to watch some of the
movies when they were being shot.
Just remembered another ones: On a bus tour of Ireland, we saw a field
where parts of Far and Away were filmed, and I got out just so I could
touch the same grass that Tom Cruise did (note: this was before couch-
jumping and accusations of glibness).
Does it count that I lived in a building while it was being used as a
set for a movie? My alma mater owns a manor in England called
Harlaxtan that they use as a location for studying abroad and you live
and go to class in the manor. While I was there it was being filmed as
the house (the outside and one of the rooms inside) for the movie “The
Haunting”. I’ve been to a bunch of other places from movies just
through travelling or living so close to NYC but I don’t think I’ve
ever purposely gone somewhere in order to visit a pop culture spot.
Two years ago my family took my Grandfather’s ashes to Dominica (NOT
Dominican Republic). As we were driven to the spot, we sped past where
they shot the jungle and water wheel scenes for Pirates 2. Good for
filming: Can set up your camera on the paved road and not worry about
buildings getting in the way. Bad for filming: Extremely curving
roads, I’ve gotten less whiplash on roller coasters.
Mickey’s Diner in St. Paul, as seen in The Mighty Ducks. Also, too
many places in NYC to name that have been in too many movies. One day,
though, I’d like to go to San Francisco and the surrounding area to
visit the places in Vertigo that are still there.
When I went to New Zealand last year the only really touristy thing I
wanted to do was to visit the Hobbiton set. There wasn’t a whole lot
there, except for sheep (Lots of sheep. Sooo many sheep. And lambs.),
but I did get to see the party tree and go inside Bag End and
generally geek out for the better part of a morning.
My friends and I posed for a picture walking across Abbey Road at the
same intersection where the Beatles shot their album cover. It’s a
busy intersection, so that’s tougher than it sounds.
This isn’t a field trip per se, but every time I drive to school, I
pass Scranton and get inordinately excited to pass signs marking “Lake
Wallenpaupack” and “Steamtown Mall”. Ah, The Office…
The gas station where Tim Robbins’ character worked in the movie “IQ”
was not far from my grandparents’ house in New Jersey, so I’ve been
there a few times. Also, my dad has a photo of himself and Harrison
Ford from the set of “Witness,” which was filmed very close to where
we lived in Lancaster County, PA. (My dad just talked his way onto the
set, he’s good at that…)
The first time my boyfriend visited me in NYC, the only thing he
wanted to do was get a sandwich at the Hello Deli. So we did, and
Rupert himself made them for us. I also geeked out the first time I
saw the arch in Washington Square park because When Harry Met Sally is
my all-time favorite movie.
I lived in Japan for a year and made sure to visit a lot of the
locations in Lost in Translation; I went to the top of the Park Hyatt
on three separate occasions!
i grew up in the town where hitchcock’s “the birds” was filmed, so i
drove past the schoolhouse where the birds attacked the kids all the
time. living in san francisco is like living on a movie set, half the
city has been in one movie or another, hitchcock filmed multiple
movies there, and of course there’s always “the rock.” “scream” was
also filmed near here so watching it is a bit weird, since all the
locations are familiar!
when i was in los angeles a few years ago i stopped to take a picture
of the hotel on wilshire that was used for the exteriors of the
hyperion hotel on angel. still haven’t made it out to buffy’s house
though….
I went up to the community where the filmed Evan Almighty to see them
build the Ark.
Hee - I was there when they were filming the roof scene in “The
Departed” in Boston, and I get a big kick now of driving past the
building with visitors, pointing up and saying, “That’s the roof!
That’s the building!”
Living in New York City is one big daily pop culture fieldtrip! All of
those iconic places aside, I freaked out upon visiting the resort
where they filmed Dirty Dancing (in North Carolina.) Naturally, I cha-
chad my way down those famous steps…
When Harry Met Sally is one of my favorite movies so of course I had
to go to Katz’s Deli where they filmed the diner scene. The pastrami
sandwich was the best I have ever had, so big! I did spend almost $20
on it, but it was worth it!
My absolute favorite was taking pictures at Venice High (aka Rydell
High from Grease) with my best friend, whom I met while doing a
community theatre production of Grease.
Living in Chicago has felt like one big field trip lately, what with
Dark Knight. Kind of surreal and amazing.
I have always wanted to see the original two-story colonial house on
Ocean Avenue in Amityville, Long Island that has made THE AMITYVILLE
HORROR so legendary. Really, I have no excuse for not having done it
yet, because I live on Long Island myself.
I’ve been to the Quick Stop from Clerks (and bought a Gatorade, of
course), and on a trip to Minneapolis a few years ago, I sat on the
escalator in the Eden Prairie Mall where they filmed Mallrats. Also,
once during a random walk in NYC (I don’t live there — all walks are
random) I was so excited to realize I was standing in front of the
High School from Fame.
One day I plan to do the No Doubt Mecca trip. This includes: Gwen and
Eric’s high school, the Beacon St. house, the Sunday Morning Video
house, and other important no doubt hot spots. Whiskey Factory, etc.
People have done it. I plan on doing it.
Who needs “field trips”? I work in the same office building as Harvey
Dent and the mayor in “The Dark Knight”….the big press conference in
the movie happened in my lobby! (The building is also across the
street from Marina City Towers, aka the honeycomb buildings on the
cover of a Wilco album)
I’ll definitely agree though — Chicago is the best pop culture field
trip city in America. With Blues Brothers, Ferris Bueller (you can
honestly do his whole day, if you’re ambitious), Untouchables, Home
Alone, Dark Knight, and others filmed here, there are some iconic
movie locales in the Second City!
The phone booth from Witness. I also got some amazing fudge at an
Amish market near there.
I thought Graceland would be my pop culture Mecca, but it turned out
to be kind of depressing. Fascinating and well worth the trip, but
depressing. A friend of mine posed in a warped position at the bottom
of the “Exorcist” steps in DC but has since lost the picture.
We first moved to the Boston area about a year after Good Will Hunting
came out and made a point to visit as many locals from the movie as we
could. It has since become a favorite tour of any relatives and
friends who come to visit. Besides in the tour of Harvard Square we
always get to throw out “This is where Tracy Chapman was discovered”
so we’re kind of throwing two pop culture tours in one. Kind of. If
there was a stand alone Tracy Chapman tour it would be pretty short.
While I lived in Manhattan Beach, CA, I can’t tell you how many
girlfriends I took to the 90210 beach house that Kelly and Donna lived
in, right off the boardwalk. Funny how that house was 30 minutes from
the 90210 ‘hood…let’s be honest, 90 minutes in LA traffic!
There used to be a “Wizard of Oz” theme park in Banner Elk, NC. It
closed in the late ’70s and most of the land is now a ski resort, but
the first weekend of October every year they reopen what’s left of the
park for tours. Some of the structures are still there and there’s a
small museum with movie memorabilia, but it’s worth it to experience
the cheese factor, to see the costumed characters they hire for the
weekend and to see the families with their kids dressed up as Dorothy,
et al. Still, the best experience last year was overhearing the
parents ahead of us in line talking to their kids named — no joke –
Hilton and Sheraton.
I can one up you on the “You’ve Got Mail” factor. My sister and I did
a whole tour of the UWS and all the spots from the film. Yes, we’re
losers. Great poached eggs at Cafe Lalo, BTW. And the raspberry frozen
yogurt at Zabar’s is the greatest ever.
When my sister and I went to London in January I thought it would be
cool to eat have some beef chow mein at Lee Ho Fook’s in Soho. I
should have known things weren’t going to turn out well when I had to
explain about the Warren Zevon song. But hey - it was raining so the
atmosphere was right. Service was crap - long wait for our order to be
taken, longer wait for our drinks, forever for the appetizers. Finally
gave up and asked for the bill. Then the guy wanted a tip.
I few years ago I flew up to Indiana to visit James Dean’s hometown. I
saw his high school, the farmhouse where he grew up and the shop where
he bought his first motorcycle. Then I visited his grave and took some
dirt from it. On the way back to the airport in Indianapolis I stopped
at a tattoo parlor and gote the date that he died (9-30-55) inked on
my ankle. I called the whole trip my “pilgrimage to Mecca.” 
When I lived in Chicago, the city is in so many movies, I felt like
everywhere I turned was a pop culture hotspot. After seeing Dark
Knight, & seeing the crazy semi-truck chase scene, I was reminded of
how much I loved driving on Lower Wacker Drive to be like the Blues
Brothers.
Fell’s Point in Baltimore. So I could see Homicide: Life on the
Street’s police station, Waterfront bar, and Jimmy’s (where I got an
egg cream.)
A few times my younger brother and I made Encino Man jokes at a 7-11.
“Hot on the outside, icicle in the middle!’ “Two minutes, haha!”
last year when I went to London, I made my friends go to Portobello
Road! Ever since Bedknobs and Broomsticks I have been dying to go!
The only place I visited specifically for pop-culture satisfaction was
the Griffin Observatory in LA, which was used in a lot of TV shows and
movies, greatest of all being ‘Rebel Without a Cause’. I stumbled upon
the Park Luncheonette that was seen in ‘The Departed’ last year. Sorry
to spoil it for the Boston fans, but that locale is actually in
Brooklyn, NY. And yes, I was also dragged to Cafe Lalo (sp?) from
‘You’ve Got Mail’.
Oh, I’ve definitely done some of these. I went to the Dresden
(Swingers) to see Marty and Elaine. I went to Serendipity in New York
(Serendipity) to have frozen hot chocolate, their specialty. AND I
went to the cafe in You’ve Got Mail…because I had to!
My dream vacation is to go to New Zealand and go on a Lord of the
Rings tour. Hopefully I’ll get to do it while they are filming The
Hobbit so we can see some sets!
i went to high school directly across the street from ABC studios on
Buena Vista in Burbank, during ALIAS’s 2,3,4&5 seasons. i pretty much
thought i could be Sydney Bristow ‘when i grew up’, so knowing they
filmed my favorite show mere feet away from me while i was stuck in PE
drove me nuts. they often filmed around the ABC building and streets,
so i’d make my friends go with me after school, in our little catholic
school girl uniforms, to find the spots where they filmed. the secret
extrance to their spy headquarters (under the freeway over pass) was
one i really wanted to see, and LITERALLY ALMOST GOT MY FRIEND RUN
OVER, crossing the dangerous street. if she’d have died at 15 i’d have
felt really bad, but i DID get to take a picture.
also, my friend’s mom is a producer on boston legal, so i was always
pestering her to get me on the ABC lot. the first time i got on, i ran
around in from of the ABC building pretending i was Sark, shooting the
place up. my friend was mortified.
I always wanted to go to Serendipity in NYC because of a scene in One
Fine Day where Michelle Pfeiffer takes her son and a neighbor for
lunch. Maybe one day I’ll have that Frozen Hot Chocolate. sigh.
Hey, Amy, where is this house? I just moved to Chicago burbs myself,
so I’ll hafta visit. The only pop culture-y visit I’ve had since I’ve
been here is to hold hands with a group as we “danced” through the Art
Museum. Oh, and my old college downtown was in a scene from the
Untouchables, but that doesn’t really count.
Everytime I’m in New York I HAVE to swing by the NY Public Library and
say hello to the lions… Because they were the opening shot of
Ghostbusters. (I still haven’t found the fire station that served as
Ghostbusters headquarters; I think it’s in Tribeca somewhere)
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Tags: alexander calder, calder sculpture, castaway, chicago suburbs, culture field, dallas southfork, dollywood, ferris bueller, graceland, grocery store clerk, hollowed, kevin mccallister, kids on the block, larger than life, macaulay culkin, new kids on the block, ricky schroder, screen star, screen time, trapper keeper