First stop was the street facades used in countless movies & TV shows. One facade can be used for so many things, with a bit of movie mastery! Hector went into detail on a few facades used for different movies & TV shows, and there were moments of 'oh yeah, I remember that' from the group. Part of it was walking along a corridor used in Oceans 13 - I walked in the footsteps of Brad & George!! Back on the cart, we drove around the lots and saw the massive sound stages, houses used in various shows, and the departments used to make the sets. Amazing examples of timber and foam constructions that have appeared in several WB productions!
At the prop department, we sat on the actual couch from Central Perk, famous from 'Friends'. It's the only full set WB have kept intact. We had a picture taken holding the cups used by Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, Monica, Rachel & Ross.
We then went to every car lovers wet dream - the automobile store. Inside we saw the Shaguar from Austin Powers, Willy Wonkas motorbike, the General Lee, every Batmobile and Bat-bike, the flying car from Harry Potter and the Mystery Wagon from Scooby Doo, among others. After a good look around we headed off to a couple of sound stages, and it was time to lock away the cameras - no photos allowed!!
The first set we visited was from the Mentalist. We walked around the set, and it takes 8 hours to get 5 minutes of dialogue, as only one camera is used, and each scene must be reshot to get the different angles.
Next up was the set of one of my favourite shows, Big Bang Theory. I stupidly resisted the urge to ask if I could do Sheldon's Penny knock...I wish now I had, as we only sat in the audience seats. The sets are set up alongside each other as opposed to the mentalist which is lots of rooms flowing into each other, as a sitcom is filmed differently from a drama.
After the set visits, we made our way to the museum, and again, no cameras. The ground floor was costumes from all sorts of films and shows; Inception, Batman, My Fair Lady and many more. I stood in front of the costume worn by Heath Ledger in the Dark Knight. I offered up a prayer for a talent taken too soon....
Upstairs was a Harry Potter fans dream - lots of costumes and props from all of the movies. Amy & I were even sorted by the sorting hat. Sadly I was only worthy of being a Hufflepuff, while Amy got selected for Gryffindor. Cow. At least I wasn't Slytherin!!!
After the museum, the tour was over and we hit the gift shop. I seem to be buying key rings, mostly to give away!! I noted that there was nothing new to add to my massive Marvin the Martian collection - apparently I DO own everything!!
Amy & I then cabbed it back to Hollywood Blvd to wait for Bernie so we could see Madame Tussaud's. We had a ball, posing with the stars and looking them in the eye - quite a freaky thing! I got to knee Justin Beiber in the balls and Bernie got a sneaky grab of Angelinas tit!! Cheeky!! At certain points through the place, you pose for pictures and then get to print out the ones you like at the end. One classic one was all of us lined up holding signs like a mug shot. We had to print out the one with Tara holding a sign saying "Little Rascal"....upside down! A perfect family shot!!
Bernie spent the morning doing some urban exploring with Tara. He took photos of some of the street art - not common place 'tag' graffiti but proper art.
We walked back the hotel, stopping at Starbucks and a shoe sop (yes, I bought a pair of sandals - the only pair of shoes I DON'T own) before retiring. Now it's down the road for dinner and back to relax. Tomorrow will be a visit to Santa Monica, so more fun in store tomorrow!!!
Song of the Day: The Looney Tunes Theme
No comments:
Post a Comment