Friday, March 20, 2020

Joe Jackson - Steppin’ Out (1982)





Several Jacksons have cracked Billboard's Top 40 - Michael, Janet, Jermaine, Rebbie.  But one Jackson you wouldn't find on The Victory Tour was Joe Jackson.  The jazz-pop artist from the UK scored his first hit in 1979 with Is She Really Going Out With Him?  Three years later, he nabbed a top 10 hit with Steppin' Out.  The song was inspired by Jackson's time in New York City.  The video shows a chamber maid daydreaming of stepping out for a ritzy night on the town while Joe plays the piano.

Steppin' Out was filmed in New York, NY


Location: The Hotel
Address: 2 E 55th Street, New York, NY  St. Regis Hotel













  

The St. Regis Hotel is no stranger to filming.  The First Wives Club (1996)Miss Congeniality (2000) and The Devil Wears Prada (2006) all had scenes shot here.


Location Visited: December 2018


Thursday, March 19, 2020

You (2018-)







Joe Goldberg seems like a nice guy.  He's clean cut, well-read and technologically savvy.  But he's also a psycopathic stalker and serial killer as Guinevere Beck soon finds out.  Joe stops at nothing to remove every obstacle in their path, eventually killing Beck after she discovers his hobby.  Season 2 saw Joe relocate to The City of Angels, fixating on Love Quinn, who so far has not met a demise.

You is based on Caroline Kepnes' 2014 novel.  The series originally aired on Lifetime without too much fanfare.  But when it moved to Netflix, the show saw a major spike in viewers.  A third season is currently set to debut in 2021, leaving us to wonder what city Joe will terrorize next.  

You is filmed in The Bronx and New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA

Season 1

Location: Mooney's Bookstore
Address: 1575 York Avenue, New York, NY  Logo's Book Store







The interior of the bookstore was filmed on a soundstage.  As you can see, the actual interior of Logo's is rather cramped...






Location: Joe Goldberg's Apartment Building
Address: 308 E 139th Street, Bronx, NY 












Location: Guinevere Beck's Townhouse
Address: 131 E 19th Street, New York, NY










Location: Hansol Farm
Address: 1671 York Avenue, New York, NY








Season 2, Episode 2: "Just The Tip"

Location: Rufus' House
Address: 630 South Parish Place, Burbank, CA





This is also the same street Annie & Laurie drive down on their way to babysit in Halloween (1978).



Locations Visited: December 2019, June 2021


Sunday, March 15, 2020

Jaws 3 (1983)






Mike Brody and his overbearing girlfriend Kay rule to roost at Sea World Orlando.  The theme park is gearing up to unveil its Undersea Kingdom to the public but there's something fishy going on. Lurking beneath the surface is a baby great white shark that was airlifted in swam in from the ocean. Mike and Kay survive an attack thanks to dolphins Cindy and Sandy and capture the shark, which eventually dies.  They soon realize they got a Pamela Voorhees situation going on and that the baby's mother was responsible for the death of an employee.  Chaos erupts as the mother shark attacks waterskiers, bumper boaters and traps dozens of guests in the leaking Undersea Kingdom.  It's up to Mike, Kay and a conveniently visiting shark hunter to stop the carnage.  The shark is eventually killed via grenade and Cindy and Sandy avoid becoming tuna fish sandwiches.

Jaws 3 seemed like a cool idea on paper.  Taking its cue from Friday the 13th Part III (1982), the third installment of the Jaws (1975) franchise was filmed in 3D.  Roy Scheider balked at returning so Dennis Quaid and his pit stains star instead.  (Quaid later admitted to being on drugs in every frame of the movie.)  Most people consider Jaws: The Revenge (1987) to be the worst sequel and perhaps the worst movie of all time, but I disagree.  It's better in The Bahamas.  At least Jaws: The Revenge is so bad it's good.  Jaws 3 is just bad.  Laughable special effects, dismal shark screen time and Mike's annoying as hell girlfriend make it God-awful.  Despite this, the film raked in $13 million at the box office during its opening weekend, a record held until Spy Kids 3D twenty years later.



Jaws 3 was filmed in Orlando, FL

Location: Sea World
Address: 7007 Sea World Drive, Orlando, FL

Tour Guide Rehearsal/News Conference (The Orca Encounter)

















Mike Brody's Water Landing (Paddle Boats)







Orca Pool (Dolphin Theater)







Cindy and Sandy have nothing on these dolphins...









Sandy, whose real name is Capricorn, resides at the Discovery Cove theme park down the street from Sea World.



Sean Arrives (Park Entrance)







The Lagoon (Sky Tower)

The beach area is now gone.  This shot was taken from the bay bridge... 






Great White Shark Exhibit (Stingray Lagoon)




















Bumper Boats (Seafire Grill)
















The Undersea Kingdom (Shark Encounter)

My favorite character in the entire Jaws franchise is the Jaws 3 tour guide. She is no-nonsense and tells the guests to calm the fuck down as the water rises to their eyeballs...













The Underwater Restaurant (Sharks Underwater Grill)






This shot was taken in the tunnel...










The Ski Show (Orca Encounter)




















How this film did not receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Special Effects still puzzles me to this day...











Locations Visited: March 2020

Related Locations:

Jaws (1975)Jaws 2 (1978)Jaws: The Revenge (1987)