Extant - Filming Locations (Episode 3)


The actual Southern California locations where Steven Spielberg's sci-fi series was filmed.

Season One - Page 3

Episode 1  -  Episode 2  -  Episode 3  -  Episode 4  -  Episode 5Episode 6
Episodes 7 & 8 - Episodes 9 & 10 - Episode 11 - Episode 12 - Episode 13

[ Jump to Season Two ]

Episode 3:  “Wish You Were Here”

0:08:55: Molly (Halle Berry) is out jogging on a forested path.  She's running so fast
that her computerized health monitor warns her to slow down.  But she doesn't.


She comes to a clearing in the woods, hears a rumbling roar, and looks up.
She watches as a rocket lifts off and thunders into space - seen between the tall redwoods.

They shot this scene in Griffith Park, the largest urban park in America.

For the uninitiated, the huge, mountainous park lies about three miles northeast
of Hollywood and  about six miles northwest of downtown L.A.

The park's official address is 4730 Crystal Springs DriveLos Angeles.

There are several groups of towering redwoods at Griffith park. One is just east of
the Greek Theatre
, and the other is at the park's Wilson-Harding Golf Course.

But this appears to be the park's Cedar Grove forest, which
is in the hills east of the park's Roosevelt Golf Course.

Here is a Google StreetView of the Griffith Park redwoods near the Greek:



(You can see a photo of the Wilson Harding redwoods here.
And here is a photo of Cedar Grove.)

         




0:10:22: Molly returns from jogging and is surprised to run into her boss,
Alan Sparks, who is leaning against his car, waiting for her.


He lies and tells her that a secret ISEA project impregnated her with John's baby.
But he also tries to convince her that she is having hallucinations, and
that she needs to come into the hospital for testing.


This scene was filmed near Molly's home in Pasadena.

It was shot at the intersection of La Loma Road & Laguna Road, in Pasadena, CA.

In the opening shot, Molly is jogging southwest across La Loma Road, with the camera
looking east.  Sparks' car is parked on the south side of La Loma, just west of Laguna.

(The white rooftop briefly glimpsed behind the Sparks is at 2157 La Loma Road.)


Here is a Google StreetView of the spot.

 


         






( At 12:13, there is another lake scene with Ethan at the same house. )


(Click on the photo to read about that location.)






0:13:03 ( and later at 19:54): Molly & John take Ethan to first-day orientation at his new school.

The (fake) sign reads: Ulysses S. Grant  Elementary School.


While there, an intolerant parent objects to the presence of their android son at the school,
referring to Ethan as "a toaster with hair" - something that doesn't sit well with John.




This scene was shot at an L.A. high school named the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex,
located at 322 Lucas Avenue (at 3rd Street), just west of downtown Los Angeles.

Here is what it looks like in real life:



Here is a Google StreetView of the school

( It is less than two miles from the other downtown school
that they used as the Yasumoto Corp.
)

         






0:16:31: We see Molly back at the ISEA again, with Sam Barton (talking about Sparks).


The producers continue to use two different locations for the ISEA: a college
for its establishing shots, and this studio for its actual scenes, such as these.

This scene was shot at the Los Angeles Center Studios again (in downtown Los Angeles),
but not in the same place as the earlier scene from Episode Two.  That earlier scene
was shot in the lot behind the tallest building, on its west side.


From the look of those big, black columns, this scene appears to have been shot in front (on the
east side) of the main 12-story tall office building (under what they call the "sky bridge"),
which faces Boylston Street, between 5th Street & Maryland Street.

Here is a photo of that main entrance:


The address is 461 S. Boylston Street, Los Angeles.  Before it was acquired by Los Angeles
Center Studios, in 1998, this 12-story building was the L.A. headquarters for Union Oil (Unocal).

Here is a Google StreetView of that front building.


         







( At 17:20:, there is the same establishing shot of Harmon's Malibu trailer. )



(Click on the photo to read about that location.)






0:18:35: After finding a strange drawing on the wall of Harmon's trailer, Molly is seen
driving in her BMW, on a lonely road, when she suddenly spots a car closing on her.


  She recognizes the driver as an ISEA honcho, Gordon Kern, so she pulls over.



Kern walks up to her window and gives her back the "tether" monitor,
that she had deliberately unplugged when she was at the ISEA.


He attempts to be non-threatening, but still manages to
come across as somewhat sinister, as he urges her to
plug it back in, so the boss can keep track of her.




This scene was shot on a road next to Dodger Stadium.

When we first see her driving, just before she spots the car tailing her,
she is heading south on Academy Road, as it curves around
Dodger Stadium's northwest parking lot.

  Elysian Park is on her right, and the parking lot of Dodger Stadium is on her left.

Look closely, and you'll see her pass a small  left field gate to Dodger Stadium,
between the park's Golden State Gate and the Police Academy (on Academy Drive).

The actual pull-over scene happens as she's still going south on Academy Road,
  but as she is just about to hit the point where Academy Road makes a
hard turn to the right and heads west.

When the camera looks back, as she is pulled over,
the camera is looking northeast up Academy Road.

She parks on the west side of Academy Road, across from the last street lamp
(on the east side of the street),
before the road makes that hard right turn to the west.
It's about 100 yards northwest of the Stadium's Golden State Gate.

Here's a StreetView of the exact spot where she stops.


         







( At 20:18 there is another establishing shot of ISEA, shot at the same college as before. )


(Click on the photo to read about that location.)





0:43:16: Molly is sitting in a car driven by Allen Sparks, planning to let herself be committed
to a hospital for testing - not realizing that Sparks has something more sinister in mind.

She suddenly gets a text from Sam (at the ISEA) telling her: "Get out of the car!"

So, she wrestles with Sparks for control of the steering wheel, manages to get
him to pull over, and then gets out and runs for her life down the wooded road.


She is eventually rescued when her husband, John, drives up.



I'm a little uncertain about this location.

This scene appears to have been shot in Griffith Park.  I know that they filmed a night scene
on the same day that they filmed that jogging/rocket-launch scene (among the park's
redwoods). So, most likely, this was what they were filming that night.

But the park is so huge, and the scene is dark enough that it's difficult to pinpoint the exact road
they were on, especially since Google StreetView isn't available for most of the park roads.

My guess is that it was most  likely somewhere near those redwoods.  One possibility is
Griffith Park Drive, as it passes the east side of the Wilson-Harding golf course.

         



More "Extant" locations!

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