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Fake town built exclusively for filming TV and movies

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Re: Fake town built exclusively for filming TV and movies

#21
post #14

Growing up in LA, we had a few of these around. The most famous of course was Universal Studios, where you could pay for a tour. But my favorite was Paramount Ranch. A bunch of stuff was filmed there in the 50s-70s, and it was open the public. I actually used it to make a movie with my friends in high school. It was pretty cool to have a prebuilt town around that was basically empty.

The Paramount Ranch was cool if you grew up watching those titles. Otherwise it was just an odd grouping of buildings.

It's all charcoal now though

Re: Fake town built exclusively for filming TV and movies

#22
post #17

I understand the need but it bother me so much to recognise a studio when watching a tv show (or cheap movie). It's like the Wilhelm scream, it immediately reminds me I'm watching a something. Especially the paramount studio https://www.paramountstudios.com/new-york-backlot.html

Yep, that paramount backlot is is is so many commercials... like every cell phone commercial that has a street scene.

Re: Fake town built exclusively for filming TV and movies

#23
post #14

Growing up in LA, we had a few of these around. The most famous of course was Universal Studios, where you could pay for a tour. But my favorite was Paramount Ranch. A bunch of stuff was filmed there in the 50s-70s, and it was open the public. I actually used it to make a movie with my friends in high school. It was pretty cool to have a prebuilt town around that was basically empty.

The Paramount Ranch was cool if you grew up watching those titles. Otherwise it was just an odd grouping of buildings. It's all charcoal now though

Yes, the Westworld Church is the only thing standing there now.

Re: Fake town built exclusively for filming TV and movies

#24

Even crazier, there's a company that built a fake town right in the middle of a real town! https://www.universalstudioslot.com/backlot

Yep, there are several in LA: Warner has two. Sony has one. Paramount has one. There is one outside the city too.

Re: Fake town built exclusively for filming TV and movies

#26
post #13
post #8

isnt that the back to the future set?

That's on the Universal Studios backlot in Universal City, next to Hollywood. It's on the tour when they aren't filming other movies there. Amadeus filmed there too.

Think they are in the process of tearing down the WB one (christmas vacation, bewitched, partridge family, wandavision, etc) to make room for sound stages.

The universal one is unique if you know what to look for. It pops up in a lot of older TV shows. It is kind of neat to see it in twilight zone before they built some of it out.

There are quite a large number of vids on youtube where people go inside the buildings. Most end up being storage for stuff or setup areas for different productions.

Re: Fake town built exclusively for filming TV and movies

#27

You can see both the old and new Eastenders set on Google maps: https://www.google.com/maps/@51.6583379,-0.2755948,240m/data... The old one has now been demolished though

I can't see the old one in the link you sent, only seemingly new.

Re: Fake town built exclusively for filming TV and movies

#29

Even crazier, there's a company that built a fake town right in the middle of a real town! https://www.universalstudioslot.com/backlot

The Courthouse Square part of that backlot is the same courthouse from Back to the Future, with a different paint job and some aesthetic tweaks so that it can be used in other filming without being distractingly recognizable.
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