Loving Los Angeles as much as I do, seeing La La Land was a no-brainer for me. A love note to some iconic locations, the film is a light fare that I probably wouldn't care for as much if it weren't set in LA and had Gosling dancing around. When I was in town in January, I checked out a few of the hot spots for the film, and at that time, I just did what I could screenshots from the trailer and various clips. Since then, I have been updating here and there when I have time.
First up is a visit to the scene, "A Lovely Night" that inspired the poster. This spot is called Cathy's Corner and is a bit of a hike from the Griffith Observatory, but it's definitely worth the sweat.
UPDATE: Obviously these shots are not in movie order, but one of my favorite finds was Mia's house. I first found this several months ago and am pretty sure I was the first to discover it, but since then it has been hitting the net. It took some digging, including an interview with the location manager, but I eventually found it at 25851 Mendoza Drive in Valencia,.
UPDATE: Prior the the Lovely Night scene, they have another chance encounter at a party at this house, located at 16210 Dorilee Lane in Encino.
Next up we go to Mia's apartment. Located in Long Beach at 1728 East 3rd Street. A cute place and looks exactly as it does in the movie, including the back alley.
UPDATE: The ultimate LA party was located at 4533 Estrondo Drive in Encino. Obviously most of it took place in the backyard. Until I do proper screenshots, here is a comparison picture.
Now we head over to the Hermosa Beach pier. Set decorators added street lamps and full benches for artistic effect, but it definitely makes me want to revisit at sunset. (When in Hermosa Beach, be sure to visit locations for the original Carrie.)
Right at the pier is the Lighthouse Cafe, located at 30 Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach, California. I ate there during my visit and had some great fish tacos and enjoyed some live jazz, but no Gosling, oh well....
Next, Mia's car is towed around 1900 Vine Street. This almost identical shot is also used in Nightcrawler.
Mia happens upon Lipton's located at 1648 Wilcox Avenue, just off Hollywood Boulevard.
The inside of the bar is actually the Smoke House, located at 4420 Lakeside Drive in Burbank, California. Although I usually stay in Burbank and have driven by this hundreds of times, I haven't stopped into it yet, but I included some shots here from their website.
Mia works at the coffee shop at Warner Bros. Studios. While the building is actually at the studio, it is actually just a working facade on the backlot.
Mia and Sebastian walk through Warner Bros. studio and end up looking at a set located at Hollywood Center Studios. I included a few pics of the studio I have taken in the past, but it is not open to the public.
Mia walks out on her date at Jar, a restaurant located at 8225 Beverly Boulevard. She runs around the corner and up North Sweetzer Avenue.
The exterior of Seb's bar is located at 6220 Santa Monica Boulevard, also used in A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge. Note, I'm wearing a Seb's shirt! (The interior of the bar was the Blind Donkey in Long beach.)
No screenshots for this location, but Sebastian sat here eating and stared at the building across the street. The Retro Dairy Mart is located at 4420 West Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank, California.
Next we have some montage scenes. First is Angels Flight. Several years ago, I actually got to ride it, but is rarely open. It is located at 351 Hill Street in Downtown Los Angeles.
The dating montages hit up a lot of LA hot spots such as the Colorado Street Bridge (aka Suicide Bridge) in Pasadena, has been used in many films.
Estes Park....
Watts Towers....
Will Rogers Park...
The Griffith Park Observatory is another iconic location used in a memorable scene in the movie. (Apparently some people don't understand how movie-making actually works and are confused as to why they didn't shoot inside the planetarium for one scene, but I'll let them figure that out for themselves.)
They return to the park near the end....
Mia performs her one-woman show at this theatre, located at 5257 West Adams Boulevard in Los Angeles. Just a couple screenshots for this one.
Those are just a few of the locations I was able to hit on my recent trip (or at least had screenshots for), but will probably finish it out in the future. Below are a couple pics I took of Ryan Gosling, and his movie-sister, Rosemarie DeWitt, at the Sundance Film Festival.
