Studio Tours

Description:

The Warner Brothers' "VIP Tour" takes visitors on a 2 1/4-hour jaunt around the world's busiest movie and TV studio. After a brief introductory film about the history of WB, groups of 12 pile into stretch golf carts for an intimate view of the inner workings of a motion picture and television studio: back-lot streets, sound stages, sets, and craft shops. Because nothing is staged there's no telling what or who you might encounter, and no two tours are the same. The tour ends with a visit to the Warner Bros. Museum, which contains original costumes, props, sets, scripts, and correspondence from classic WB films and television shows. Advance tickets are recommended and available online via their website, or by calling tel. 866/777-8932; otherwise, tickets are sold the day of the tour on a first-come, first-served basis, but they recommended arriving at the ticket office early to make sure they don't sell out. Children 7 and under are not admitted, you must bring valid photo ID, and they recommend you show up about 30 minutes before the tour starts.

Description:

Unlike other studio tours, this is a walking tour. You do not get herded around in a tram, but actually walk the grounds of the back lot. This can be tiring since the tour lasts two hours, but if you are interested in seeing the inner workings of this famous movie studio then it is worth it. Some sites you will see: New York Street, which includes the building fronts of the Seinfeld set and the Ally McBeal brownstone as well as the Laverne & Shirley building front. Children under 10 are not permitted. Reservations are required; meet at the pedestrian entrance of the main gate. Parking is available across the street.

Description:

This is the West Coast nerve center of the National Broadcasting Company. Most famous as the home of The Tonight Show, hosted by Jay Leno, this sprawling studio complex also offers compelling walking tours through soundstages and other facilities. Although reservations are always good, tickets for the tour are pretty easy to come by.

Description:

Believing that filmmaking itself is a bona fide attraction, Universal Studios began offering tours to the public in 1964. The concept worked: Today Universal is more than just one of the largest movie studios in the world -- it's one of the largest theme parks as well. By integrating shows and rides with behind-the-scenes presentations on moviemaking, Universal created a new genre of theme park, stimulating a number of clone and competitor parks.

The main attraction continues to be the Studio Tour, a nearly 1-hour guided tram ride around the company's 420 acres that's "hosted" (via video screen) by Whoopi Goldberg. En route you pass stars' dressing rooms and production offices before visiting famous back-lot sets that include a clean New York City street, the famous town square from the Back to the Future films, and newer sets such as Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, Jurassic Park III, The Grinch, and the airplane crash site from War of the Worlds. Along the way, the tram encounters several staged "disasters," which I won't divulge here lest I ruin the surprise (they're all very tame), and a staged street race "accident" echoing the action in Universal's "Fast and Furious" movie series. Though...

Description:

Although it doesn't have quite the same historical cachet as Warner Brothers or Paramount, a lot of movie history was made at this Culver City lot. The 2-hour walking tour includes sets from movies currently in production and an opportunity to drop in on the Jeopardy! or Wheel of Fortune sets. But the main reason for the tour is the chance to catch a glimpse at the stars who work here (it's one of the busiest studio lots in the world). Tours depart from the Sony Pictures Plaza near the parking lot; be sure to call ahead and make a reservation.

Description:

American Cinema plays a starring role in the cultural life of the United States and the world. Since before the advent of "talking pictures," Paramount Ranch has served as a setting for hundreds of cinematic productions.

Lights! Camera! Action!...In 1927, Paramount Pictures purchased 2,400 acres of the old Rancho Las Virgenes for use as a "movie ranch." For 25 years, a veritable who's who of Hollywood practiced their craft at Paramount Ranch including director Cecil B. Demille and actors Bob Hope, Gary Cooper and Claudette Colbert. The diverse landscape was the real star of the show. It offered film makers the freedom to create distant locales such as colonial Massachusetts in The Maid of Salem, ancient China in The Adventures of Marco Polo, a South Seas island in Ebb Tide (1937) and numerous western locations including San Francisco in Wells Fargo. The art of illusion was mastered on the landscape.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...The golden era of movie making at Paramount Ranch came to an end when changes to the studio system prompted Paramount Pictures to sell the ranch. Paramount Ranch found renewed life as a film location when William Hertz bought the southeast portion in 1953....

Description:

Situated on a big hunk of the most coveted real estate in Southern California and surrounded by the rapidly encroaching megalopolis of the LA area, Malibu Creek State Park Campground is a precious gem. It is beautiful! Once owned by Bob Hope, Ronald Reagan, and 20th Century-Fox, the park now covers over 7,000 acres. This is a great place to tent camp in fall, winter, and spring.