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The 2003 caper movie, "The Italian Job", wasn't filmed exclusively in Los Angeles.
In fact, the film opens with a heist in Venice, Italy, where we see the guys successfully steal $35 million in gold bars.
But
they are betrayed by one of their own, and the film's grand caper (to
steal back their loot) is strictly a "Los Angeles Job".
Since
this website is called "Seeing Stars in Hollywood", we're going to
stick to the L.A. locations, and tell you where you can find them the
next time you pay a visit to Hollywood.
Their
unusual tactic is to use L.A.'s infamous traffic to the thieves'
advantage. They stage the world's biggest traffic jam, in the
heart of Hollywood, and then use tiny mini-Coopers to manuever freely
on the sidewalks of Hollywood.
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This
early scene, where "Handsome Rob" (Jason
Statham) is stuck in
L.A. traffic behind an actor rehearsing his lines, was shot at the
corner of
7th Street and Parkview., west of downtown.
They are heading east
on 7th (you can see the L.A. skyline in the distance). You can also see
MacArthur Park on
the left (north) side. The distracted actor makes a
left turn onto Park View. 



When
the good guys meet (several times) on the rooftop of a tall Art Deco
tower overlooking the Sunset Blvd, that is really the
Argyle Hotel (formerly
known as the Saint James Club), at 8358
Sunset Blvd, on the Sunset
Strip.
(In the above shot, you can see the Hyatt West Hollywood nearby.) 



Several
scenes (pictured here) were shot at Union
Station in downtown Los Angeles.
Union Station was the last grand train station built in the U.S. With its
classic
Art Deco look, it has appeared in a number of movies (including "Pearl
Harbor"
and the recent "Charlie's Angels: Full
Throttle"). There was even a 1950 movie
called "Union Station". You'll find it across from Olvera
Street, at
800 North Alameda Street,
in downtown L.A.



Above,
you can see Grauman's Chinese Theatre,
shot from across the street,
looking north across Hollywood Blvd. 
Below, is an aerial
shot from the movie, showing three different armored cars
turning off Hollywood Blvd. Note the stars from
the Hollywood Walk of Fame
on the sidewalks to the right of the trucks.
Two of the trucks
are decoys, designed to fool the good guys in pursuit.


MORE "Italian
Job" Filming Locations!

The photos on this page are
stills from the DVD of "The Italian Job"
(which you can buy by clicking
here) and are copyright Sony/Columbia/Tri-Star Pictures.
The rest of the page is copyright
Gary J. Wayne - 2015 / Seeing-Stars.com
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