What is the best studio tour in Los Angeles?
I get asked this question a lot, and I have to say it is Warner Brothers Studio Tour, with a caveat. If you’ve never seen the inside of a studio, and you are an TV/Movie lover, Warner Brothers studio tour is a good one, but honestly, its somewhat dated. With streaming, reality, and the changing landscape of production to other states and countries, not a lot of shows are made the old studio way. If you do go to Warner Brothers hoping to see a star, you’re more likely to spot one at the Whole Foods down the street on Olive Ave. Check out my other blog on star sighting if that’s what you’re really hoping to get out of a trip to Los Angeles.
Go See a Real Working Studio
Another way to see a real working studio is to book tickets for a show, then you can see the grips, camera men, and stars in action. I book Jimmy Kimmel tickets every now and then, especially when they have a good musical guest. Kimmel is a well run machine, and they won’t waste hours of your day, like some other live audience shows. I like Kimmel because it shoots right on Hollywood Blvd, and I can pop in to Musso and Franks after. Book Kimmel tickets, and a few other shows here at 1Iota.
On Location Filming in Los Angeles
On our bike tours we routinely ride by film crews shooting on location. DTLA doubles for cities all over the world. I tell guests Hollywood is where they used to make movies, but downtown is where they still do. Its pretty rare to see a star on these location sets. We have seen Al Pacino, Lady Gaga, and Ben Foster out on our tours. Even if we don’t see a star, TV/Movie fans will see a lot of iconic locations on our Downtown Los Angeles Tour. For example, City Hall featured in films like LA Confidential and Speed, Angel’s Flight seen in La La Land, and the Bradbury Building seen in Blade Runner, The Artist and 500 Days of Summer. Gamers will recognize many of the streets we ride from GTA San Andreas.
Our first year in business we had a ring side seat to the filming of Bosch at Angel’s Flight. Being a Michael Connelly fan, I had to crash the set and meet him(pictured).
What’s the best studio tour? Warners, but if you want to see screen entertainment made in real time go see a show being filmed, or take a Handlebar Bike Tour!