Location scout resources for the western U.S. State of California
including film office information, facts, news, other references and data of interest to location scouts, location managers and other production personnel.
Location Scout Spotlight: LA Film Location Scouts
LA Times | Film location scouts shoot for a look of authenticity | By Christopher Reynolds
Somewhere in that twilight between real and reel worlds, a customer sits back under a yellow bib as daylight spills across the worn floor of Harry’s, an urban American barbershop.
Possibly filming locations in the Los Angeles, CA area
LA Times | California | Local | Location Scout Seeks Out Magical in the Mundane
By Andrew Blankstein | August 12, 2000 in print edition B-1
The frozen-food section of a local grocery store isn’t exactly the first place that leaps to mind when it comes to artistic inspiration.
But amid the Haagen-Dazs and TV dinners at Jons Supermarket on Glenoaks Boulevard, Tim Hillman is taking his best shot.
Location Scout Resource: California Film Commission
Welcome to the California Film Commission, your one-stop office for permitting, location assistance and filming resources throughout California. Our moderate weather with 315 sunny days per year and 840 miles of coastline, coupled with the greatest film crews and production facilities in the world makes California home to the entertainment industry.
- California Film Commission – Free Online Permitting
Welcome to the online California Film Permit Application.
A permit is required whenever filming takes place on state property. The California Film Commission is a one stop shop for State permits and will assist you in obtaining the required approvals from the CHP, Caltrans, State Parks, Facilities and the State Fire Marshal, where necessary.
- California Film Commission – Cinemascout Location Database
Welcome to CINEMASCOUT!
Search for a diverse range of California film locations by entering a keyword in the text box or select a region or a type from the category list. If you don’t find what you’re looking for or need additional assistance, please contact Lisa Mosher at 323-860-2960 x123 or lmosher@nullfilm.ca.gov. Searching for a specific location? Send an e-mail request with location details and we will send your request to our network of 60 Regional Film Offices.
California is the largest film production region in the United States of America (New York State follows as #2!)
The California Film Commission website is a rich resource for producers, directors, location scouts and location managers – chk it out!
Other Film Offices and related content on nyc.locationscout.us
COLA Location Awards Honor Production Industry’s Best Location Scouts
Variety
“This awards gala honors our hard-working location managers whose main motto is ‘keep filming in California,’ ” said Sheri Davis, director of the Inland Empire Film Commission and awards co-chair along with Janice Arrington of the Orange County Film Commission and Pauline East of the Antelope Valley Film Office. …
- California On Location Awards
- Inland Empire Film Commission
- Antelope Valley Film Office
- Orange County Film Commission
Location managers honored at COLAs – Hollywood Reporter
The location managers behind Stage 6/Screen Gem’s “Fired Up” and Universal/Imagine’s “Frost/Nixon” tied for location manager of the year while the location team behind DreamWorks’ “Eagle Eye” took location team of the year, two of the top prizes at Sunday’s 14th annual California On Location Awards.
- COLA – California On Location Awards
- Fired Up movie at IMDB
- Frost / Nixon at IMDB
- Eagle Eye movie at IMDB
Get a location scout view of Route 66 – About.com | Kayte’s Los Angeles Travel Blog | Get a Location Scout’s View of Route 66 | By Kayte Deioma, About.com Guide to Los Angeles Travel
There are all kinds of walking tours to see the sites in various neighborhoods around Los Angeles, but on rare occasions, you can get a real local view from an unexpected source, like last weekend’s Big Parade of stairs or this weekend’s Route 66 Walking Tour #2 from the Location Manager’s Guild of America (LMGA).
U.S. Route 66 – Wikipedia
U.S. Route 66 (also known as the Will Rogers Highway and colloquially known as the Main Street of America or the Mother Road) was a highway within the U.S. Highway System. One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926 – with road signs erected the following year. The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in America, originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, before ending at Los Angeles, covering a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km). It was recognized in popular culture by both a hit song and the Route 66 television show in the 1960s.
Route 66 at Amazon
San Bernardino County official aims to help businesses … – San Bernardino Sun
Dowling: I was first hired to work with the Inland Empire Film Commission. We worked in conjunction with the state film office, and we recruited filming …
Possibly filming locations in the San Bernadino, CA area
Location Scout Spotlight: Weesha Club: Mountain Filming Location HomePage
Location Scouts: Weesha is a great place to film! It has mountains, forest, river, stream and cabins.Historic Weesha Club
Location Scout Spotlight: Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio (Newhall, CA)
Since 1915, when the studio was first opened for business, an endless string of hard riding shoot-em-ups have been produced at this location. Monogram Studios made 750 “B” westerns before selling the ranch to singing cowboy Gene Autry in 1952. Legendary cowboy actors, including William S. Hart, Gary Cooper, Tom Mix, Roy Rogers, Bill Boyd, and John Wayne filmed their westerns here until 1962 when a fire swept through Placerita Canyon destroying the main western street.
The website for this piece of entertainment history has lots of photos of areas available for filming
The ranch is most famous to many people as belonging to Gene Autry, “The Singing Cowboy”. Currently, Melody Ranch is part of Veluzat Motion Picture Studios, owned by Andre Veluzat and Renaud Veluzat.
Melody Ranch at Amazon
Location Scout Spotlight: Lisas Coffee Shop
Coffee shop serves as site for filming – Whittier Daily News
A film crew set up at Lisa’s Coffee Shop on San Bernardino Road in Covina on Monday to shoot a promotional commercial for the TNT cable network’s shows including ‘The Closer’, ‘Saving Grace’, and ‘Raising the Bar’. Location manager Albert M. Epps …
TNT-TV
The Closer
Saving Grace
Raising the Bar
(gone)
Albert M. Epps, Location Manager at IMDB
The Closer at Amazon – Seasons 1-7
Saving Grace at Amazon Seasons 1-3
Raising the Bar at Amazon Seasons 1-2
California at Amazon
Livermore Valley Film Commission Succeeds in Bringing Productions … – PR.com (press release)
The Livermore Valley Film Commission, formed three years ago to promote filming in Livermore, California, has added Pleasanton and Dublin, California to its …
Location Scout Spotlight: Vertigo
movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Vertigo is a fantastic San Francisco / Bay area location scout reference!
'Vertigo' — a film that burrows into your subconscious – San Jose Mercury News
I’m talking about the way that the Bay Area plays such a huge role in the film and almost becomes a personality,” he says. “The hills of San Francisco: The drama goes up and down and around those hills. Basically, it’s about trying to find out what’s on the other side of that hill, what’s hiding there, both literally and psychologically.
Film Director Alfred Hitchcock at Amazon
Location Scout Film-Friendly Paso Robles, CA:
Paso Robles Press | Top Stories | Film industry officials tour Paso Robles locations | Posted: Monday, Sep 15th, 2008 | Josh Petray 9-16-08
Los Angeles-based location scout Stuart Raven Barter said the greatest appeal of Paso Robles is that, “It’s a little bit out of Los Angeles and yet not too far away; it has a lot of small town character with some appealing new development yet some traditional small town characteristic; [a] nice old downtown area that’s been taken care of and even sort of brought up to date in certain areas. It still has a lot of character buildings.”
Possibly filming locations in the Paso Robles, CA area
Paso Robles California at Amazon
Location Scout Spotlight: Alabama Hills (California) Film History
LA Times | Entertainment | Lone Pine: All About Location, Location, Location
By Pamela A. Richard | October 05, 2001 in print edition F-18
Hi-yo Silver, away! Those famous words still echo through the canyon where the masked man and his sidekick, Tonto, rode through the nearby Alabama Hills ridding the West of bad guys. The Alabama Hills, in the shadow of lofty Mt. Whitney, have been used since 1920 as a location in hundreds of films – and not just for Westerns.
Alabama Hills – Wikipedia
Alabama Hills are a “range of hills” and rock formations near the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the Owens Valley, west of Lone Pine in Inyo County, California.
Though geographically considered a range of hills, geologically they are a part of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Mount Whitney – Wikipedia
Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m). It is on the boundary between California’s Inyo and Tulare counties, 84.6 miles (136.2 km) west-northwest of the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level. The west slope of the mountain is in Sequoia National Park and the summit is the south end of the John Muir Trail which runs 211.9 mi (341.0 km) from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley. The east slope is in the Inyo National Forest in Inyo County.
Alabama Hills, CA at Amazon
Lone Pine on location – Los Angeles Times
Watch the video to see some of the exact locations. It's the legacy of these works that the Lone Pine Film Festival (Oct 10-12) hopes to preserve. …
Lone Pine Film Festival
Nestled in the shadow of the mighty Mt. Whitney, the town of Lone Pine, California, is located at the southern end of the Owens Valley, surrounded by the highest peaks in the lower forty-eight. The Alabama Hills, with their unique rock formations, lie just to the west of town. Known simply as The Alabamas, these hills have hosted Hollywood since the days of silent films. During the heyday of the B Western, the town of Lone Pine was alive with film shoots, stars, and all the glory that comes with the movie set. To this day, Hollywood continues to film here, utilizing the fantastic scenery of the rocks, hills, mountains, and surrounding high desert lands.
Film history at Lone Pine – Wikipedia
Main article: List of films shot in Lone Pine
The Museum of Lone Pine Film History, run by Beverly and Jim Rogers, highlights the area’s frequent appearances in Hollywood feature films. The Alabama Hills west of town are frequently used as a filming location for Western movies. Since the early years of filmmaking, directors and their production units have used the Lone Pine area to represent the iconic American West. Approaching the 100th anniversary of The Roundup (1920), the first documented film produced in the area, Lone Pine has played host to hundreds of the industry’s best known directors and actors, among them directors William Wyler, John Ford, George Stephens, and William Wellman, and actors John Wayne, Bing Crosby, Gene Autry, Barbara Stanwyck, and Jeff Bridges. The Whitney Portal road was used in the 1941 film High Sierra with Humphrey Bogart, which culminated with a shoot-out between Bogart’s character and the police, at the foot of Mount Whitney. The 1955 classic Bad Day at Black Rock starring Spencer Tracy and Anne Francis was also filmed in and around the Lone Pine area. Lone Pine is also the location of several scenes in Iron Man depicting Afghanistan filmed in 2008.
Location Scout Spotlight: Film Location: Cameron Woods
Aprilbaby’s California Life | Cameron Woods | The All-American Neighborhood
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood… if you live in Cameron Woods, I suppose. It’s where Orion Avenue (one of the most filmed streets in the San Fernando Valley) is located. Used for its All American look: Swings hanging from trees, American flags proudly displayed, neatly mowed, wide, green lawns and white picket fences.
California Life Blog Feed
San Fernando Valley – Wikipedia
The San Fernando Valley (locally known as “The Valley”) is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it. Home to 1.76 million people, it lies north of the larger and more populous Los Angeles Basin.
Nearly two thirds of the Valley’s land area is part of the city of Los Angeles. The other incorporated cities in the valley are Burbank, Glendale, San Fernando, Hidden Hills and Calabasas.
San Fernando Valley California at Amazon
Location Scout Spotlight: Film Location: De Soto Pharmacy’s Ice Cream Fountain
Aprilbaby’s California Life: De Soto Pharmacy’s Ice Cream Fountain
There’s a part in Nicholas Cage‘s movie “Matchstick Men” where his character dashes into a pharmacy to shake down the pharmacist for his prescription. That scene was filmed at the De Soto Pharmacy – right here in the San Fernando Valley’s Canoga Park, 20914 Roscoe Blvd (Corner of De Soto and Roscoe).
AprilBaby’s California Life Blog
its got lots of neat southern Cali / Valley and film local lore content – us location scouts eat this stuff up… – she ain’t shy with a camera either 🙂
A California Life Blog Feed
Google Blog Search: California Film Locations
San Fernando Valley California at Amazon
California – Wikipedia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third most extensive (after Alaska and Texas). It is home to the nation’s 2nd and 6th largest census statistical areas (Greater Los Angeles area and San Francisco Bay Area, respectively), and eight of the nation’s fifty most populated cities (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach and Oakland). The capital city is Sacramento.
Location Scout Alert: On Location: LA
LA Times | Entertainment | Hollywood protests LAPD effort to take over security on location sets
A coalition of labor and industry groups tries to block a plan to replace so-called movie officers, many of whom are retired cops, with off-duty active police officers. | By Richard Verrier, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer | September 3, 2008 | via Google News
“Hollywood’s production community is yelling “cut!” to a plan by the LAPD to take over the jobs of handling security — many of which are filled by former cops — on film sets.
I am interested to see how this all works out…
more LA Times Entertainment Business News
Location Managers Guild of America (LMGA) Event in Los Angeles
Location Managers Guild of America | Concentric Circles Info | via P3 Update
The March 1st opening reception for “Concentric Circles” at Beady Minces was a great success, attracting some 400 guests, an industry heavy crowd that included local City Council Member Bill Rosendahl. Thank you all for coming. Thanks to the sponsors, volunteers, and to Herman Hagan and Metro for making the exhibition possible.
P3 Update | Home | News | Concentric Circles: Metro LA Revealed
Written by Dyana Carmella | Thursday, 08 May 2008
On March 1 the Location Managers Guild of America (LMGA) hosted a reception: “Concentric Circles: Metro L.A. Revealed” at Beady Minces Gallery in Venice, Calif. More than 400 attendees circulated throughout the gallery, admiring the display of unique location photography. The event ? a result of collaboration between the LMGA and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) – demonstrated a compelling new way of looking at transportation systems throughout L.A.
Location Managers Guild of America
Location Scout Spotlight: SOS Filmworks
…part of Agua Dulce Movie Ranch, is a very unique filming location in the Agua Dulce, CA area in southern California.
Any location scout in Southern California surely knows of this place.
Facilities include a jet airliner set, L10-11 full size plane fuselage, as shown below:
- gallery of photos of the plane on the SOS Filmworks website)
Kewl, huh!?
About Agua Dulce – Wikipedia
Vasquez Rocks has been long used as a popular filming location by the Hollywood movie industry, most notably The Flintstones movie, Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles, and the Star Trek episode “Arena.” The 1971 movie Duel filmed extensively in the area. The History channel shoots the popular reality TV show “Top Shot” in the hills and canyons on the north side of the valley.
Vasquez Rocks got its name from the famous bandit Tiburcio Vásquez who used to run and hide there while being looked for.
Agua Dulce also has a general aviation airport known as Agua Dulce Airpark. The Airpark and surrounding area was the location for the ABC game show 101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow which premiered on June 21st, 2011.
Movie Ranch Film Locations at Amazon
Location Scout Resource: The Rent Rose Bowl is for rent!
(Er, well, I dont know about availability on New Year’s Day 😉
BUT…
According to the Filming at the Rose Bowl Stadium web page on the Rose Bowl website:
Attention Location Scouts! The Rose Bowl Stadium is where the stars come out…
COME SHOOT WITH US! WE’RE FILMING FRIENDLY!
Off Site crew parking is also available for film production groups that are filming in the Pasadena area.
(appears as if you can use the stadium for holding / parking as well) Check it out
Yankee Stadium isnt quite as clear about its availability for film shoots, nor is Giants Stadium. (I have shot at what is currently named Izod Center, but it was years ago)
Rose Bowl at Amazon
FilmAuburn – Location Scout / Blog – Northern California
– Unfortunately, the Film Auburn Blog seems to gone 🙁
Press-Tribune | filmauburn Blog | About Me: Film Auburn is a location Library for films and productions wanting to film in the Northern California Reign.
FilmAuburn made several very useful looking posts to her blog containing info for owners considering pursuing having their property looked at (and hopefully used 😉 by location scouts as locations for film, video and photo productions.
Content is northern California-specific but generally good guidelines for just about anywhere:
- Why rent your property to the film industry – part 1
- Why rent your property to the film industry – Part 2
- Why rent your property to the film industry – Part 3
Keep an eye on FilmAuburn’s Blog, she may have followups to her series and there are other film production-related posts…
…more…
- Film Auburn Studio
- FilmAuburn Location Library
- NorCal Locations
- California Film Commission
Film Auburn is a location Library for films and productions wanting to film in the Northern California Reign, In addition a location manager and scout and a proud registered vendor with Placer County Sacramento county, and Eldorado county film …
Northern California at Amazon
Location Scout Spotlight: BeachCalifornia.com | Paradise Cove Beach, Malibu, California
Paradise Cove – A region of Malibu, California
Pictured is the Paradise Cove Pier at Bob Morris’ Paradise Cove Beach Cafe, Malibu. Once a haven for nude bathers, this private Malibu beach was the set for a number of movies and television shows, including Gidget, Beach Blanket Bingo and Malibu Run.
This article makes you want to live and work in LA!
What history – what atmosphere! The weather’s certainly gonna be better than here in New Jersey 😉 (except maybe during the southern California rainy season (in all fairness, we have it pretty good in NJ, when you think about somewhere like Buffalo…
RedOrbit: Filming Hits High Record: L.A. Shoots in Q2 Surge After Writers Strike.
Posted on: Saturday, 19 July 2008, 00:00 CDT | By Troy Anderson | LA Daily News
After a lull caused by the 100-day screenwriters strike — and amid new uncertainties about an actors contract — filming in Los Angeles surged 26 percent last quarter to a record high for the period, officials said Thursday.
Location Scout Spotlight: Pardon Our Dust
Los Angeles Times | Rent your house out for movies, TV or commercials? How to earn $2,000 to $4,000 per day
There are advantages and disadvantages to life in SoCal. In the plus column: There are a lot of TV shows, movies and commercials that need houses in which to shoot “on location.” And that means you — if your house meets the criteria — could make some good money off your house.
Pardon Our Dust Feed
update: new blog url: Kathy’s Remodeling Blog
Kathy Price Remodeling Blog Feed
Oakland International Film Festival begins Thursday – San Jose Mercury News
“Boys are born but men are made” is the subtitle of “Equinox,” a film that’s an Oakland product. That makes the two-hour film by Baayan Bakari appropriate as the opening feature for the Oakland International Film Festival that begins Thursday and runs until Oct. 16.
Mysterious Fire Destroys Mother Lode Icon
JAMESTOWN, CA – A landmark house near Jamestown, once lived in by movie stars, was destroyed by a mysterious fire Friday morning…
…The house is known as “Big Whiskey,” so named by actor Clint Eastwood when he stayed there for a year during the filming of “The Unforgiven” in the Jamestown area. The film released in 1992 became a western classic…
- …excerpt via Google News…
Doctorius | Grab Life By the Horns: Dodge Films a Commercial at My House
| May 8, 2008
People who live in Los Angeles often harbor fantasies of being on television or in movies. Likewise, it is also not uncommon for the homes in which these people live to share the same dream! On Friday, March 7, 2008, my home was given a chance to live this fantasy when part of a commercial for the 2009 Dodge Journey was filmed in my driveway and the street on which my house is located.
Location Scout Spotlight: Awesome Fake Dinosaurs Location
Location scouts drool over left-of-center locations like this 🙂
Super cool place you should visit blog | A Tale of Two Dinos | June 20, 2008
Dinny the dino, a 150 ton Apatosaurus, lives on the same street as Mr. Rex, a 100 ton Tyrannosaurus rex, in Cabazon, California. They are the world famous roadside attraction call Cabazon Dinosaurs, also known as Claude Bell’s dinosaurs.
Anybody ever shot here???
Cabazon Dinosaurs – Wikipedia
Cabazon Dinosaurs, also referred to as Claude Bell’s Dinosaurs, are enormous, sculptured roadside attractions located in Cabazon, California and visible to the immediate north of Interstate 10. The site features Dinny the Dinosaur, a 150-ton building shaped like a larger-than-life-sized Apatosaurus, and Mr. Rex, a 100-ton Tyrannosaurus rex structure. Dinny (pronounced “Dine-ee”) and Mr. Rex are at the Cabazon exit of Interstate 10 in California, a short distance west of Palm Springs behind the Wheel Inn diner on Seminole Drive in San Gorgonio Pass.
- …more Cabazon Dinosaurs…
Cabazon Dinosaurs on Flickr
Mysterious Fire Destroys Mother Lode Icon
JAMESTOWN, CA – “A landmark house near Jamestown, once lived in by movie stars, was destroyed by a mysterious fire Friday morning…
…The house is known as “Big Whiskey,” so named by actor Clint Eastwood when he stayed there for a year during the filming of “The Unforgiven” in the Jamestown area. The film released in 1992 became a western classic…”
…read the rest…
- …excerpt via Google News…
California at Amazon
