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More on the LA trip...
Wednesday, Nov. 22 -- My old pal Greg works in the shipping department at Warner Brothers, and he offered to spend his lunch hour giving Flo and I a private tour of the storied Burbank studio.
We jumped at the chance, natch.
But not before sleeping in just a bit and stopping by the In 'n' Out Burger on Sunset for lunch. Mmmm-mmm, were those good burgers (though I remain true to Astro Burger).
It's always great to see Greg, whom I've been friends with since high school, and he couldn't have been more patient and generous with Flo and I as we strolled the WB lot. One really gets a sense of the history of the place, as you walk the grounds -- so many great movies have been filmed there, and, of course, a lot of television, too.
Greg knows of my love for old movies, and he didn't disappoint me, making sure we got to visit historic sound stages that played host to the filming of such classics as my alltime favorite, Casablanca, as well as The Big Sleep, Dark Victory, the original Ocean's Eleven -- and the upcoming Ocean's Thirteen, to boot.
It's a treat to see the craftsmanship of those responsible for creating the scenes depicted in movies. Perhaps the most impressive set construction we witnessed the entire trip was at Paramount. We were strolling the set, built for Charlie Wilson's War, an upcoming political thriller starring Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks, that depicted a Congressional office. Every detail was just so, but even more impressive was the long, long hallway just outside the office door. It was, in every way, an entirely plausible corridor, such as one would find in a large corporate or government office building. Except, when we reached the end of the hallway, exited, and looked back from the exterior, we saw that it was just a long plywood tunnel, appointed on the inside to resemble a corridor of power.
Greg took us to the outdoor set for The Gilmore Girls, and if we'd been blindfolded and led there, we'd have been sworn we'd been set down in the town square of a small Midwestern town.
It really was an startling and impressive experience to be reminded, once again, that in Hollywood, things are not always what they seem.
Greg took us to every corner of the WB lot (though, since time was limited, we did have to keep moving constantly). We got to stroll the hospital set of E.R. (pictured to the right), another very impressive structure, and visit some of the standing back lots, like the faux New York residential street pictured to the left.
In addition to the interior set for E.R., we also got to see an external set (a El train platform) from that show and even -- wait for it -- George Clooney's parking spot.
While at Warner Brothers, we saw the same production trailers we'd seen at Paramount and Sony (these are the trailers that house the cast and crew of a television show or movie during location shooting -- we see similar trailers on the streets of New York City all the time). Most of the trailers at the LA studios carried the same company name -- Star Waggons -- but I didn't think much of it at first (except to note in passing that it struck me as kind of a lame name).
Turns out Star Waggons is owned by none other than Lyle Waggoner, late of The Carol Burnett Show and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman. Seems he was doing some location shooting once and expressed some curiosity about his trailer. "You rent these trailers?" Waggoner asked one of the producers. The answer was yes. "If I had a trailer, would you rent it from me?" Sure, why not, came the response.
So Waggoner started with a single trailer, renting it out to smaller film and television projects, and when he'd seen enough return on his investment, he bought another trailer and then another. Now, it's said Waggoner's company is the largest supplier of these trailers, bringing in $20,000,000 annually.
I'm willing to bet that's more than he ever made as an actor.
Our time was too short with Greg -- I could've spent hours more strolling the WB lot -- but we said our goodbyes, so he could get back to work, and headed north on the 101 to see some pals. I stayed at Susan and Lenny's place in Encino during my last visit to LA, and I wanted to say hello to them and their lovely daughter Zoe, so we met them at an athletic field just off the 101 before Zoe's afternoon soccer practice and spent an hour or so catching up.
Zoe asked me to practice passing with her, not knowing that I am one of the least athletic men to ever stroll God's green earth, and I can't help but think she lived to regret it. She spent far more time chasing down my inaccurate kicks than she did kicking the ball herself.
From there, we took the Balboa exit off the 101 to travel a several-mile stretch of Mulholland Drive, something Flo had wanted to do. I think she enjoyed the scenic drive and eyeing many of the astonishing lush and lavish homes along the way, but the darned drive is so twisty (and some of the roadside dropoffs so frightingly steep) that I mostly kept my eyes on the road.
It was a fun and challenging drive, though, so I've no complaints.
That evening found us at the movies. We had hoped to attend a screening at the Cinerama Dome, but they were showing Happy Feet, and neither of us were particularly in the mood for animated penguins. So instead, we turned to the Arc Light theatres, just behind the Dome, and took in For Your Consideration. It turned out to be perhaps not the strongest picture to date from Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, and company, but even their worst would be well worth catching, and we both enjoyed it.
Prior to the movie, we stopped for a bite at a very appealing little spot called Magnolia, a half a block east of Vine on Sunset. It's a casually stylish little joint, with sidewalk tables and an appealing decor. We enjoyed a great garden burger, some delicious fried calamari, and some very tasty hummous with pita chips. It's very reasonably priced, with a varied menu, and I'll certainly return there next time I'm in LA. If I were a local, it'd be my regular spot before or after catching a movie at the Dome or the Arc Light theatres.
After the movie, we stopped over to Hollywood Boulevard for a nightcap at the Frolic Room, an old-school Hollywood hangout that's been serving libations for decades (it appears in a scene in L.A. Confidential, too). The Al Hirshfield mural on the wall is nice, and the overall feeling of the place appeals, but the multiple TVs showing sports and late-era neon signs advertising bad beer dented the mood a bit. It's a spot that could really be a time machine, with just a little effort, but who knows? Perhaps a quiet little watering hole that looks like it did in 1942 isn't enough of a draw for the average tippler today.
More to come...
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