Filmmaking along the Pacific Coast Highway

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For two years I lived in Oxnard, California, and worked at Quarterdeck in Marina Del Rey. This lead to a situation where I had to commute about 54 miles each day along the Pacific Coast Highway, through Malibu, Pacific Palisades, and Santa Monica.

It's a wonderful drive. Some days you can see dolphins swimming just off the surf, and on really clear days you can see all the way to the Catalina Islands. However, the most interesting thing you see on the PCH are of the human variety. There are two things that love to crawl around the PCH while I'm driving: 1) Cops, and 2) Film Crews. There is also the occasional really nasty brush fire. (See below).

This page is dedicated to the Filmmakers who shot M*A*S*H in the Santa Monica Mountains, who shoot exotic locations on the Malibu beach, or otherworldly planets at Point Mugu. When I'm able to, I stop by where they're making their movie or television show and snap a few pictures and ask a few questions. If I'm not able to, it's because 1) I don't always drive with the camera, 2) sometimes I take the motorcycle, 3) I may be in a hurry, and 4) some days I just don't give a rat's ass.

November 19th, 1996 Woman With Sea Monster

These are the kinds of things you can see by the side of the road as your driving on the Pacific Coast Highway! I pulled off the road to check this set out because the sign simply read "ILM Honda". you know what ILM stands for, don't you? Industrial Light and Magic. As I wandered down towards the beach at Leo Carillo State park (The cliffs were on the other end - See below) I kept hearing screams from the set. What was going on?

An attractive woman in a blue swimsuit (you can see her on the sand in the left picture) was looking up and screaming at a man holding what looked like a stuffed turkey. At least from the road it looked like a stuffed turkey. As I approached and asked a crew member, she told me it was supposed to be the head of a sea monster, and that this was a shoot for a commercial! As I watched a take, the woman looked up, screamed at the monster, then suddenly looked away at something else that caught her attention. I assume it was a Honda automobile, as this was a honda commercial. As I was slithering back to the car, I kept hearing scream after scream after scream. It was very amusing.

Why go to the Hollywood Studios tour? This stuff is on the PCH!


November 5th, 1996 Just Camp Here, Why Don't Ya?

I noticed this film crew one day parked on the road outside a home just north of Heathercliff, and paid no attention. But they were there the next day, and the next day, and the next day... By the time I parked across the street and walked over to talk to someone, they had been there TWO WEEKS!

A week before, I noticed a sign nearby which said "Player". Looking it up in the Film Production chart of the Hollywood Reporter, there was only one movie which fit that name, How To Be A Player. Sure enough, when I talked to a lovely security guard named Vanzella, she did indeed confirm that was the name of the picture. So, for anyone who's interested, How To Be A Player is a comedy starring Bill Bellamy, another MTV alumnus. It's an independent feature produced by Island Pictures/DEF Pictures. It also stars Bernie Mac, Pierre Edwards, Mari Morrow, Natalie Desselle, Jermaine "Big Huggy" Hopkins, and A.J. Johnson.

October 15th, 1996 WaterWorld II?

The great thing about Leo Carillo State Beach is the fact that part of the park is lies right alongside a cliff, upon which sits the Pacific Coast Highway. This means that if there's any filming going on down there, I can see it as I drive by. This was one of the weirder sites I've seen lately. If you click on the pic on the left and take a close look at the jetski, you'll see a black fin on the back, like the batmobile. What were they filming? I dunno, but the sign said "AGP Parking".

October 2nd, 1996 A Sure Sign of The Apocalypse

I saw this sign as I was approaching Topanga Canyon Blvd. and nearly strained my neck with a double-take. If you can't see what it says, click on the image for a close-up. Yes, that's right, it says "Pauly", as in Pauly Shore, the so-called comedian and MTV alumni who would be pumping gas if it weren't for his mother, Mitzi Shore, owner and director of The Comedy Store clubs in Hollywood and San Diego. Guess what folks? He's doing a new series. According the The Hollywood Minute on CNN,

Fox is going into the Pauley Shore business. The network has ordered seven episodes of a situation comedy starring the stand-up comic and film actor. The series is to begin at mid-season next year.

According to a PA I talked with out in the parking lot, she said the series will start in January, which sounds right if the CNN story is about the same series. Just think, somewhere down there in that picture on the right is a perfect example of rising to the level of your incompetence.

September 20th, 1996 Confessions

Not all filmmaking occurs on outdoor sets. Sometimes they swipe real houses for a while. Imagine this: You're driving down the highway and encounter one of those sides that say, "Right Lane Closed Ahead". You expect some streetsweeper or garbage detail or maybe an accident. Not in Malibu! It's usually a film crew 'borrowing' a house for a shoot. Why waste money on extravagant sets when you have some of the most expensive housing in the United States practically right on your doorstep? And what a doorstep it is, when you can't even see the house from the main gate.(right)

These houses are owned by rich people, obviously, or they couldn't afford them. What really bugs me is that not only do these people have enough money to afford fantastic houses, but can earn even more money by renting them out to the film crews! Capitalism sucks sometimes. (Unless it were me, of course)

Anyway, I spotted this crew just north of Decker Lane and stopped to take a peek. One of the women who came out in costume (some kind of cowboy outfit) told me they were filming a movie of the week called Confessions. Later, rummaging though the Entertainment This Week magazine, I found out that it was staring Deborah Harry, formerly of Blondie, and was about a madam running a brothel. Musta gotten Heidi Fleiss's black book or something.

More Sites:
Blondie Home Page

September 5th, 1996 Stopping by Baywatch

Just north of Santa Monica, and south of Temescal Canyon Road, in Pacific Palisades, is a hotel that saw it's best days a long time ago.(Left) It sits east of the PCH, facing the ocean. On the western side of the highway, in total contrast, is Will Rogers State Beach, a lifeguard station, and some days, a whole bunch of trucks.(Right). These are the trailers for the cast and crew of BayWatch, a syndicated television program which has entered production on its sixth season.

Jokingly referred to as "BabeWatch", the show is not known for its tight scripts, special effects, or witty dialogue. Anyway, I drove past one day and decided to take some pictures. Since they film the show right on the beach, out in the open, they can't keep riff-raff like myself from snapping a few pics, especially since it's on a state beach. The day I was there, they had a Coast Guard helicopter in the parking lot (Left), probably for some gripping drama scene where Yasmine Bleeth tries not to fall out of her outfit. You can tell I have respect for this series, especially after I hear David Hasselhoff talking about actors auditioning for a small part. He said, "I don't care if the kids have talent..."


This is what it looks when they're not filming where your standing. A lot of women in swim suits, and a lot of guys who look far cutier than I could ever be, along with tourists and the film crew (Left). There was even a hot dog vender right smack in the middle of the action, selling dogs to the cast and crew. I can't identify the woman on the right, but lemme tell you, here is a clear future case of melanoma, or more commonly known as SKIN CANCER. I think it's Donna D'Errico, as Gena Lee Nolin's hips are smaller than this woman.
Of course, no photoset of BayWatch would be complete without the obligatory Pamela Lee pics.