Archive for June, 2008

Prior to leaving on my final day in Los Angeles, I went to the Warner Brothers VIP Studio Tour in Burbank, California.  More specifically, I signed up for the 5-hour Deluxe version of the studio tour at a cost of $150.00.  Only 10-people are allowed in a Deluxe Tour.  This followed my Sony Pictures Studios Tour the day before.

Because I am in the publishing industry where I deal with Internet, print, audio and video media, this was an easily justifiable business expense.  Without question I am a movie buff but I was very much there for educational reasons.  I looked at this tour as a one-day seminar of how the “big boys” create these multi-million dollar productions.

This tour begins with a 15-minute retrospective of the origins of Warner Brothers.  There literally were 4 brothers with the last name Warner.  These brothers originally began in the East Coast with their movie theatre business .  And then they decided they might be able to make more money if they were able to also create and produce their own movies to show in their own theatres.  Clearly, that was the beginning of a legacy which has lasted to this day.

The Warner Brothers exterior sets were more extensive and impressive than Sony Pictures.  In fact, the WB lot is so large, we were taken around in a cart by the tour guide.  Our tour guide was clearly passionate about his job and it showed.  However, I did think he was a bit regimented in that it was very difficult to ask questions.  You would think that in this longer tour, there would be ample opportunity to ask questions but that was frequently not the case.  He was clearly in charge of the group and rattled off trivia after trivia as we visited various sets.

One of the most impressive sets I have ever seen is the Chicago set used by the producers of E.R.  E.R. is a long-runnning medical drama.  I am not a big fan but I have seen a few episodes of it.  The exterior sets of E.R. is very impressive for the detail that was put into it.  Although the sets have been around 12+ years, they looked like they had been around for 50 years with considerable wear and tear having that aged, filthy, back-alley look in Chicago.  Even up close, it was difficult to tell that these sets were artificially aged and worn.  The authentic look was simply amazing.

The set also had the back entrance to the E.R. hospital where ambulances roll in patients.  That set was also amazing.  It really looked like a hospital E.R entrance with the wear and tear of one.

Being a fan of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, we had the chance to see the actual sets of where the characters live.  We even see the scars in the street as a result of the explosion in the season finale.

We passed by the exterior sets of Uncle Jesse’s and Boss Hoggs’ home from Dukes of Hazzard.  In the TV show, they were two different buildings in two different locations.  In actuality, they are the same building!  One is filmed from the front, the other from the rear.  Again, move movie magic.

We went through an exterior set of a suburban neighborhood which actually had office workers in each of the houses.  When you are walking in those sets, it really does feel like you are in a suburban neighborhood, not a movie set on a movie lot.

We eventually broke for lunch.  End of Part 1.

Having planned a couple of extra days to enjoy Los Angeles, I booked a ticket to visit Sony Pictures Studios Tours.  Like most of the movie studio tours, they are not well advertised or marketed.  Most people find out about movie studio tours from word-of-mouth or by seeking it out.

Being a big movie fan myself, it was a high priority for me to check out all the movie studio tours.  (I scheduled the Paramount Movie Studio Tour for the morning but goofed up my schedule and arriving too late.)

The Sony Pictures Studios Tour located in Culver City, CA costs $28.00.  You can purchase tickets online in advance (with a $2.00 fee) or simply make reservations.  I did not know I could make reservations until AFTER I had bought tickets online.  Because I also wanted to attend the Warner Brothers VIP Studio Tour, it was a bit of a trick to schedule 3 studio tours within a 2-day period.  Because of limited availability of the Warner Brothers Deluxe Studio Tour (a 5-hour version of the WB VIP Studio Tour), I was forced to reschedule my tickets with Sony Pictures Studio Tour.  Fortunately, the folks at Sony were accommodating.  They were able to simply use my same ticket but schedule it for another day.

The Sony Pictures Studios Tour is a 2-hour walking tour of the old MGM Studios that Sony Pictures bought out.  Underground parking is free in the visitor section of the Sony Pictures office building.  One of the things you learn early in the tour is how MGM sold off so much of their backlots over the years that what they have left is much smaller than how they started.

Even with that, there is still plenty of walking to do.  I recommend some comfortable walking shoes.  They say that no two tours are exactly alike.  They attribute this to the fact that every tour guide has a different style and the daily circumstances are such that the tour is designed to be flexible just in case the tour encounters an actual TV or movie production.  If that happens, the tour obviously work around these important and well-controlled events.

On my tour, sound stages had been set on the upcoming movie “Angels & Demons” which is a prequel to the movie and book of the same name “Da Vinci Code”.  We also passed by Beyonce Knowle’s trailer and the sound stages for her upcoming movie “Obsessed”.

I made my first visit to a Foley studio which is where many sound effects are created.  We also visited the set and green room of “Jeopardy”.  I have to say that Green Room was a bit nasty but the tour guide said it was because a party was thrown a couple of nights earlier and it had not yet been clean.  The Green Room is really a green room.  Apparently, green is supposed to help calm the nerves of people who will eventually go out on stage.

We walked through many interesting exterior sets that had real-life workers within the building!  Apparently, the designers and architects make the insides of the buildings functional but decorate the outside in such a way to create the illusion you are in a different city or locale.

I don’t want to give the entire tour away but those were the highlights.  My tour guide, Tony, is an aspiring screenwriter and seems to enjoy giving movie studio tours as he looks for his big break.

Overall, anyone who loves movies and wants to learn more about the behind-the-scenes of movie-making should check out Sony Pictures Studios Tour.

I just returned from over a week-long adventure in Los Angeles that included the huge 2008 Book Expo America in Los Angeles.  This event followed the 3-day IBPA’s Publishing University also in the same city.

The last time I attended Book Expo America was in 2002 in NYC.  It was before I started my publishing firm, Ascend Beyond Publishing.  I definitely feel like I waited too long to go back but I did try to make up for lost time soaking it all up and managed to get some nice advance copies of upcoming books.

I am a book lover myself which is one reason I got into the publishing business.  I can honestly say my legs hurt every night from all the walking on the convention floor during the day.  The are so many exhibitors to visit and products to check out.

I had not planned on attending another Book Expo America for another 2 years but now I feel somewhat compelled to go back next year.  I have put it on my calendar.