My Cozy Cat Press--friend, Sally Carpenter is a mystery writer who has worked as an
actress, freelance writer, college writing instructor, theater critic, jail
chaplain, and tour guide/page for a major movie studio. She’s now employed at a
community newspaper. Learn more about Sally and her books at her blog. Today Sally joins us
to give a virtual tour of Paramount Studios.
Behind the Scenes of a Movie Studio
Tourists who travel to Hollywood, Calif., to find some “movie
magic” will have to look hard to find it. Celebrities don’t actually live in
Hollywood, and Sunset Boulevard, the main attraction, is mostly full of tacky
souvenir shops. Two places that are worth a visit are the Hollywood Forever
Cemetery and Paramount Pictures.
These two places adjoin each other, sharing a common wall.
Legend says ghosts from the cemetery have walked through the studio back lot at
night.
Many of the classic movie stars and noted directors are buried
here, often with ornate and ostentatious grave markers. One actor even has a
reflecting pool in front of his huge grave marker. Others, like Rudolf
Valentino, have their urns tucked away in regular niches. My personal favorite
is Mel Blanc’s simple headstone that reads, “That’s All, Folks!”
Non-celebrities are buried here as well and anyone can purchase
a plot. Tourists can walk in and look around for free during business hours.
Docent tours are available as well.
In 2000 I was hired as a page at Paramount. The pages gave
studio tours during the day and ushered the sitcom audiences in the evening.
The tour is different today, but I’d like to talk about what you might have
seen on one of my tours.
I led groups of 15 to 21 people on a two-hour walking tour, rain
or shine (yep, I was in the rain a few times with some hardy and determined
guests.)
The Universal Studio tour is entertainment-focused, but the
Paramount tour is educational in nature. As I led my tour group around the lot,
I talked about the history of the studio.
A studio lot is rather bland in appearance. The lot is mostly
comprised of enormous and nondescript soundstages where shooting takes place.
Some of the sitcoms that shot on the lot would let the groups come inside and
look at the sets when they were not rehearsing. Some of my best tours were
during the winter hiatus (vacation) when the guests could see the sets for both
Frasier and Becker.
A couple of shows, such as Bob Saget’s Raising Dad, let
the groups inside during rehearsals as long as the guests didn’t talk or take
pictures. We’d watch from the bleachers where the audiences would sit during
the taping.
The Entertainment Tonight people let the guests stand on
the actual set that was used for the broadcasts. Up close, a set is made of
word and canvas and isn’t a bit glamorous. Once the ET people let my group go
back into the control room.
Paramount has a huge back lot, several streets lined with
facades (fake fronts) to resemble various sections of New York City (Castle
is a modern show that uses this back lot). The “buildings” have nothing inside
them except scaffolding to hold them up. The streets can be decorated with
potted trees, fake street lamps and mailboxes. The windows of the storefronts
can be repainted and decorated to suit the need. The streets are rigged for
rain and snow effects.
The back lot was often used to make commercials, music videos
and outdoor scenes for the sitcoms. During a shoot, the ends of the street were
blocked off with sawhorses. Tour groups could stand behind the barricades and
watch.
At the far end of the lot stood the mill where sets were
constructed. A large garage-style door was usually open, and the groups could
see the workers painting, molding plastic, or making a set.
The Paramount Theater, usually our last stop, was a
state-of-the-art film theater used for movie premieres as well as screenings
for directors, producers, and studio employees (the lot also had two smaller
theaters for viewing dailies).
A full-time projectionist worked for the studio, and he often
let my groups inside the projection room. He’d demonstrate how the 35mm film
projectors work. Now that more shooting is done digitally, the projection room
might be quite different today.
The tour ended by the gift shop so the guests could purchase
souvenirs and videos/DVDs of Paramount shows.
Sally Carpenter was born in and grew up in Southern Indiana, but now lives in Southern California. While she was working on a master's degree in theater at Indiana State University, two of her plays were regional finalists in the American College Theater Festival's one-act play competition. One play, "Star Collector," was eventually produced in NYC and the characters became the basis for her book, "The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper." Her book was recently named a Eureka! Award finalist for best first mystery novel. Sally also has a black belt in tae kwon do and a master's degree in theology. She is a member of Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles and her publisher is Cozy Cat Press.
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