Tag: San Diego

5 fantastic movies set or shot in San Diego

December 6, 2019 /

san diego sunset

Cinematic cities like Chicago, Los Angeles New York and San Francisco are familiar to moviegoers around the world.
But if you’re a movie buff making your way around the world’s most famous filming hotspots, overlook San Diego at your peril, because this cool city on California’s Pacific Coast plays a starring role in some of the silver screen’s most memorable moments.

With that in mind, here are five fantastic movies set or shot in San Diego.

1. Anchorman

San Diego was the setting for much of the original Anchorman movie released in 2004 as well as its side-splitting 2013 sequel – so the City in Motion is directly responsible for spawning the legend that is Ron Burgundy.
In terms of filming locations, San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park are worth a look, but for an immersive experience, visiting SeaWorld San Diego is always amazingly good fun.

2. Some Like It Hot

This 1958 cross-dressing comedy/crime caper starred the late, great Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemon and Tony Curtis.
And many of its helter-skelter scenes were filmed in Hotel Del Coronado and Coronado Municipal Beach, which you can still visit to this day.

3. Freaky Friday

A young Jodi Foster starred in this 1976 Disney comedy about a mother and daughter who mysteriously swap personalities and it’s still a family favorite which is regularly repeated on TV screens around the world.

Waterskiing with the Convair Club at Mission Bay will allow you to recreate the movie’s dramatic finale and enjoy an exhilarating activity to boot.

4. Citizen Kane

This 1941 masterpiece based on the life of enigmatic media mogul William Randolph Hearst was directed by and starred Orson Welles and is still regarded by some movie experts as the greatest film of all time.

San Diego landmarks included in the final cut include the El Cid statue, the Prado and the Museum of Art.

5. Top Gun

No one who hasn’t seen this 1986 blockbuster can claim to be a true child of the 80s.

And San Diego features heavily in this fighter pilot saga starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis – the iconic motorbike scene was shot at the West Laurel Street and Union Street intersection and several memorable (and musical) bar scenes unfolded at the Kansas City Barbecue.

Hopefully, these five fantastic movies set or shot in San Diego have convinced you that there’s more than one movie town in California worth visiting for cinephiles!

Getting there

You’ll find flights to and from San Diego from anywhere in the US and beyond on comparison site Skyscanner.com.
San Diego Airport is well appointed with shops and restaurants and is easy to navigate, while cheap and secure SAN parking can be found on Looking4.com, but book early for the best deals.

Movies

Movie news night notes

April 6, 2010 /

The lesson for tonight is never rely on the “save and quit” feature of Mozilla to actually, you know, save your tabs. Here’s what I’ve been able to salvage.

* Probably the biggest geek movie news of today was word via Mike Fleming that “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” director Peter Sollett, also of the critically acclaimed “Raising Victor Vargas,” may helm the upcoming comic book adaptation, “Runaways.” Created by Brian K. Vaughn for Marvel, the book deals with the teenage angst of a group of kids who find out that their parents are supervillians and, of course, like all of us, they have some genetic baggage to deal with. Vaughn is also reportedly working on a script.

Another frequently mentioned name in connection with this project, who may or may not still be in the directorial running, is Joss Whedon, perhaps the cultiest of cult creators these days. Whedon is a natural thought given that he’s an accomplished film-maker comfortable with both relationships and action, made his name dealing with teen-angst on “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” and, much more recently, wrote several issues of “Runaways.”

On the other hand, “Playlist” has a bit of a cult following of its own though Sollett hasn’t had to deal with action yet. Christopher Campbell notes that Sollett “did make an indie romantic film, so like Marc Webb he gets a Marvel superhero movie” and gathers the predictably diverse reaction.

* This may not be the most thoughtful reaction, and it sure does sound like some funny people are involved with it, but the news of the animated “Star Wars” sitcom brings one response to mind: “Noooooooooo!!!”‘

* Another item from AICN’s Hercules, much more to my liking — it’s about the latest restoration of what has to be one of the most often restored movies in film history and certainly one of the most important science fiction films ever made, Fritz Lang’s enormously influential silent film, “Metropolis.” The latest version actually brings the film to its original roughly 2.5 hour running time — the 90 minute version of my youth was more recently brought up to about 2 hours — and will be getting a theatrical run before the inevitable Blu-Ray/DVD release.

metropolis

Better yet,  for me anyway, is that opening night will be at Hollywood’s Chinese Theater as part of the festival sponsored by my favorite movie cable channel by far, the great and glorious TCM.

Do I sound like I’ve been bought off ? That’s because I have been. Specifically, my press credential has just cleared and it looks like I’ll be at that premiere with a live musical accompaniment, come heck or high water. But why does it have to be running opposite Tony Curtis hosting a showing of probably the best sex farce ever made, “Some Like it Hot“?

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Action Movies, Comic-Con, Movie Comedies, Movies, News, Sci-Fi Movies, TV, TV Cartoons, TV Comedies

And the geek overload begins in earnest…

July 16, 2009 /

And why would that be? Well, next Wednesday night is the kick-off of San Diego’s now humongous Comic-Con, an event I’ve been attending off and on, but mostly on, since I was a barely pubescent geekling, and both me and the con have changed a little over the years.

The con has grown into something truly enormous and become less fun, and I’ve definitely grown (a little) bigger. I’ll leave the “fun” judgment to others. Like the con also, I’ve also definitely grown less comics-obsessed and more exclusively film/television focused — partly as a function of cost and partly of time. I’m not sure what the con’s excuse is.

In any case, I find myself unable to focus on any one topic right now and am fretting about things like whether or not there will be free wi-fi again this year, but as the event I call “Cannes for geeks” grows ever closer, we’ll be visiting with our old family friends, the Asterisks.

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Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, Comic-Con, External Entertainment, External Movies, Movies, News, Sci-Fi Movies

American Idol: America’s shocking decision?

May 21, 2009 /

Last night’s “American Idol” finale proved that while we have endured many crappy performances this season from the likes of KC and the Sunshine band, Lady GaGa, Frida Payne and even Idol judge Paula Abdul, they showed that they always save the best for last. I’d say this was one of the best finales, maybe the best yet. And for me, the outcome didn’t suck either. But more on that in a minute.

Ryan Seacrest announced that almost 100 million votes came in, and a record 624 million votes this season. Then they announced each judge and had little clips of them from this past season, focusing on each of their quirks, which was pretty funny. And I’m still seeing red from Randy’s bow tie. Then Adam Lambert and Kris Allen came out wearing all white…what? And after showing Kris’ fans in his hometown in Conway, Arkansas with host Mikhala Gordon, and Adam’s fans in San Diego with Carly Smithson, it was the first group performance–the final 13 all wearing white (oh now I get it) and singing “So What,” after which exactly one dude in the studio audience stood up and clapped. Does anyone remember Jorge? And poor Scott McIntyre was being pushed and pulled all over the place. Jasmine Murray reminded us of why she was booted off early on in the finals when she soloed….ouch!

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American Idol, External TV, Reality TV, TV

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