Griffith Observatory - Filming Location

Filming Location

Film

The observatory was featured in two major sequences of the celebrated James Dean film Rebel Without a Cause (1955); a bust of Dean was subsequently placed at the west side of the grounds.

It has also appeared in a number of other movies:

  • The Phantom Empire (1935)
  • Phantom from Space (1953)
  • War of the Colossal Beast (1958)
  • The Cosmic Man (1959)
  • The Spy with My Face (1964)
  • Flesh Gordon (1974)
  • Midnight Madness (1980)
  • The Terminator (1984)
  • Dragnet (1987)
  • Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)
  • The Rocketeer (1991)
  • Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
  • The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
  • The End of Violence (1997)
  • Bowfinger (1999)
  • House on Haunted Hill (1999 remake)
  • Queen of the Damned (2002)
  • Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)
  • Transformers (2007 live-action film)
  • Yes Man (2008)
  • Terminator Salvation (2009)
  • Valentine's Day (2010) (In the opening scene of credits in the theater version a quick shot of the Observatory is shown)
Television

The Observatory has appeared in episodes of the following TV shows:

  • 24 (Day 1 3:00–4:00 pm; aired on March 19, 2002)
  • Adventures of Superman (first episode, as Jor-El's laboratory on Superman's home planet Krypton; some other episodes, as the Metropolis observatory.)
  • Alias ("The Coup")
  • Angel (episode "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been," with Angel wearing a red jacket in homage to James Dean's Rebel Without a Cause character).
  • Beverly Hills, 90210 ("Rebel with a Cause")
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer (episode "Shadow")
  • Brothers and Sisters ("The Road Ahead")
  • CHiPs
  • Dragnet ("The LSD Story" aka "Blueboy" episode)
  • Danny Phantom (The Amity Park Observatory modeled on The Griffith Observatory.)
  • Jonas L.A. (Date Expectations)
  • The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (appears at the beginning of the opening title sequence, 2009 to present)
  • MacGyver (pilot episode)
  • Melrose Place ("Till Death Do Us Part")
  • Millionaire Matchmaker (Shown in random episodes)
  • Mission: Impossible (opening pilot episode)
  • Moonlight
  • Quantum Leap ("Goodbye Norma Jean")
  • Keeping up with the Kardashians on E! show shots of Griffith Observatory on a regular basis.
  • Remington Steele
  • Rocky Jones, Space Ranger
  • Star Trek: Voyager (two-part episode "Future's End")
  • The Man from U.N.C.L.E
  • 90210 shows shots of the Observatory many times.
  • The New Adventures of Wonder Woman between 1977 and 1979.
  • The Simpsons (duplicated as Springfield Observatory)
  • The Wonder Years.
  • 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Linkin Park performed their single "The Catalyst" at the Observatory.
Other media
  • Was a filming location for the music video for "Rush Rush" by Paula Abdul which starred Keanu Reeves and was directed by Stefan Würnitzer. This video was based on Rebel Without a Cause.
  • An image of the observatory is shown in a 2Pac music video, To Live And Die In L.A.. The video pays homage to Los Angeles and its best known landmarks.
  • Some interview segments with rock musician Ringo Starr for the Beatles Anthology video were conducted on the observatory grounds during the early 1990s.
  • It is assumed to be in Grand Theft Auto V, after being seen in the second trailer.

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