Sunday, February 19, 2017

Gia (1998)




In the late 70s/early 80s, Gia Carangi was one of the first supermodels of the world, gracing the covers of Vogue and Cosmopolitan in between fashion spreads for top designers and partying at Studio 54.  A downward spiral into drug addiction soon followed, resulting in Gia's modeling career derailing from the runway.  In June 1986, she was diagnosed with AIDS, succumbing to the disease that November.  In 1998, HBO made a biopic starring Angelina Jolie, who won a Golden Globe for her electrifying performance of a tragic tale that is way more than skin deep.

Gia was filmed in Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY


Location: Downtown Philly
Address: 423 W 8th Street, Los Angeles, CA

The Hotel Bristol was an easy clue finding this location.






Location: Sunset Photo Shoot
Address: 4-74 48th Avenue, Long Island City, CA  Gantry Plaza State Park








Location: Gia Furnishes Her Apartment
Address: E 64th Street & Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 


The 64th & Lexington Ave street sign in the b-roll montage was another clue.  Gia finds the chair in front of 168 E 64th Street.




Across the street, Gia and T.J. pick up a few more items in front of 163 E 64th Street...



Gia and T.J. then run past 159 E 64th Street with their findings...




Location: Germany Metro Station
Address: Pershing Square Station W 5th Street & Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA





This location was also used in Speed (1994)  


Locations Visited: March 2016, October 2016, November 2016, January 2017

Still Need To Locate:

Gia's Childhood Home
Gia's Apartment Building
Linda's Apartment Building
The Philly Diner
The Funeral Church
The Geisha Girl Photo Shoot



Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Dirty Dancing (1987)





NOBODY puts Baby in the corner.  And who'd want to?  Bright-eyed and Peace Corps-bound, she could move to the beat AND carry a watermelon with ease.  If she was out of Patrick Swayze's league, she was definitely out of mine.  

It's the summer of 1963, even though the hair, wardrobe and music departments missed the production meeting, and Baby Houseman and her family head to Kellerman's Mountain Resort for a summer of horseshoes, croquet and Thursday night bingo.  Baby's summer really heats up when she catches the staff kids doing tasteless and vulgar dance moves that Miss McGee warned her Rydell students about in Grease (1978).  Enter Johnny Castle, the coolest cat this side of the Ho Chi Minh trail.  He shows Baby the time of her life ;-) dry humping her six ways to Sunday in this timeless cumming-of-age flick.  

Dirty Dancing was a hit upon release and became a pop culture phenomenon. It's soundtrack spent 18 weeks atop the Billboard charts producing several hit singles, a touring live show, dirty dancing courses in every studio and was even a b-story on The Golden Girls (1985-1992)!

Dirty Dancing was filmed in Pembroke, VA and Lake Lure, NC

Location: Kellerman's Mountain House
Address: 115 Hotel Circle, Pembroke, VA

Mountain Lake Lodge

The Clubhouse
























This area was seen earlier when Baby first sets her eyes on Johnny...



When Baby discovers the dancers' hang out she passes this dumpster?, which is located behind the clubhouse.  The staff quarters sign was still there up until a few years ago...



This area is seen again later when Baby and Johnny duck after seeing Mr. Houseman...






Also in this area is where Johnny and Baby drive off after a tense dance lesson...




The Gazebo






The lake has completely dried up...









A nice tribute to Patrick Swayze...




The Houseman Cabin (The Virginia Cabin)








The stairs have been removed and a ramp was built on the other side...













"He listens when I talk now."  Riaaer! Hiss Hiss!















Other Points of Interest...



The chains, located across from the main lodge, were installed by production and still remain today...



The Kitchen Door




The Beach








Lift Practice





Patrick Swayze's Room 

During filming, Patrick Swayze stayed in room 232 in the main lodge...




Jennifer Grey's Room

Jennifer Grey stayed in Room 513 in Chestnut Loge...







When the cast and crew checked in, the computers were down, so they hand wrote where people were staying...




The Dirty Dancing Remembered Cabin

Mountain Lake Lodge is very proud to be remembered as the main filming location for Dirty Dancing.  They built a tribute cabin filled with promotional and behind-the scenes-photos, a Dirty Dancing timeline and a self-guided map.  And the staff is very welcoming and informative to fans and location junkies.  No "get off my lawn!" crap to worry about.
































I hope you had the time of your life looking at these photos.  You'll notice some key locations are not included, such as the dancers' cabins, Baby's bridge and stairs, the dance studio and the finale auditorium.  Those locations were filmed in Lake Lure, NC and were either demolished or burned down.


Locations Visited: February 2017