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Century City, with its glitzy array of hotels, shopping centers and towering skyscrapers, was built on what used to be the back lot of the 20th Century Fox movie studio, which is why they called the new complex "Century City." The studio sold the land to developers in 1961, after losing a vast sum of money on the making of Elizabeth Taylor's "Cleopatra." Founded in 1913 by William Fox, the studio had begun producing the famous Movietone Newsreels (the precursor of today's network newscasts) even before they moved to their current location.
In the years since, 20th Century Fox Studios has
produced such memorable films as: "The Grapes of Wrath"
(1940), "Rebecca" (1940), "Song of Bernadette"
(1943), "Laura" (1944), "State Fair"
(1945), the original "Miracle on 34th Street"
(1947, and its 1997 remake),
They did almost as well with its two sequels, "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Return of the Jedi" (1983) In fact, 20th Century Fox has always had good luck with movie sequels. Fox gave us the fourteen "Sherlock Holmes" mysteries starring Basil Rathbone, as well as the five "Planet of the Apes" adventures (1968-1973), three thrillers based on 1976's "The Omen," and the many "Alien" films starring Sigourney Weaver.
In 1960, at the height of the Cold War, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev visited the United States and asked to see Disneyland. When they turned down his request to tour the Magic Kingdom, they brought the angry Khrushchev to the 20th Century Fox Studios for lunch instead, where they let him watch the making of the musical "Can Can" (starring Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine). He didn't seem to enjoy the experience... Actor Ronald Reagan was invited to the lunch, but refused to come. If you head south down the posh Avenue of the Stars, you'll see the Twentieth Century Fox studios on your right side just before you turn right (west) onto Pico Boulevard. Most of the studio's back lot was sold off when Century City was developed, and some of the studio's facilities have been relocated elsewhere to make room for the shopping center. But a good part of the old Fox studios have survived and still remain busy making movies and TV dramas.
Fox TV gave us "The Simpsons", "Glee", "New Girl", "Bones" and "The Following", and also made the hits "24," "House", "Boston Legal," "Prison Break," "Malcolm in the Middle," "My Name is Earl" and others. Earlier, they also gave us "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel," "Ally McBeal," "Boston Public", "Roswell" and "The X-Files."
Despite a fire which ravaged the back lot a few years back, the studio even still retains some of the historic sets from the good old days. If you look carefully at the back lot as you drive by, you should be able to glimpse a portion of the colorful, turn of the century New York street set where "Hello Dolly" was filmed (with Barbra Streisand).
Alas, the studio doesn't offer public tours. They do tape TV shows here, but only a few sitcoms or shows requiring a live studio audience. For instance, "NYPD Blue" and "The X-Files" were both lensed at the 20th Century Fox Studios, but neither one required a live audience.
The Fox studio also occasionally offers sneak previews of its new films (on the lot) through giveaways on local radio stations. And their "legendary" commissary is available for rent to groups. Incidentally, while you're in the area, you might be interested in a few more details about the surrounding area known as Century City. Given the area's movie history, many people assume that the name of the Century City's main street, "Avenue of the Stars" refers to movie stars. They are mistaken. The project was imagined as a city of the future, and thus its streets are named "Galaxy," "Constellation," and "Avenue of the Stars."
The Hyatt Regency Hotel next door was blown up in 1993 thriller "Point of No Return" (with Bridget Fonda). And the whole neighborhood came tumbling down in "Fight Club". Rock star Prince/ The twin Century Plaza Towers were featured on TV in both "Remington Steele" and "Moonlighting", and the fountains on Avenue of the Stars have been seen in many films and TV shows. Just around the corner (at 1888 Century Park East) is the headquarters of Orion Pictures. The ABC television network had its corporate headquarters in the ABC Entertainment Center (until they moved into the Valley), which is across the street from the Century Plaza Hotel - where many U.S. Presidents stay when they're in town. The Shubert Theatre is nearby (but not for long). Steven Spielberg once opened a restaurant of his own in the Century City Shopping Center; called "Dive! ", patterned after a submarine. Unfortunately, it sank. Just across Pico Blvd from the 20th Century Fox Studios is the famous Hillcrest Country Club. Back in the 1940's, when most golf courses discriminated against Jews, Hillcrest was an exclusively Jewish country club, attracting movie stars such as Jack Benny, George Burns, Groucho Marx, and Danny Kaye. (Producer Louis B. Mayer punched producer Sam Goldwyn in the showers here.) When the club eventually decided to open up membership to those not of the Jewish faith, their first choice for a new member was Danny Thomas (a Lebanese Catholic), prompting one member to remark: "If we're going to let in a gentile, can't we at least pick one who looks like a gentile?"
[For more information on this
subject, you can access Fox's official websites at: http://www.fox.com
and http://www.foxhome.com.]
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