Fun First Episode of LOCATIONLAND Which Explores Famous and Forgotten Filming Locations in Southern California
PBS SoCal has launched a new streaming series that movie fans are sure to enjoy! It’s titled Locationland. It’s a road trip series that spotlights the secrets of iconic movie and TV locations.
It explores the stories behind Southern California’s most cinematic destinations, and this first episode focuses on the L.A. River. Other episodes will include the hidden history of the Hollywood Sign, and the graveyard from Plan 9 From Outer Space!
The descfiption of the first episode reads: “Grease Director Randal Kleiser joins Host Harry Medved on a road trip down memory lane, driving down the concretized L.A. River with recollections of filming the world’s greatest high school musical at Malibu’s Leo Carrillo State Beach and under the Sixth Street Bridge, where Olivia Newton-John’s Sandy cheered on John Travolta’s Danny in the climactic Thunder Road hot rod race.”
I’ve always enjoyed visiting old film locations, so this is a series that I know I’m gonna love! This first episode, which you can watch below, is great, and I’m excited to see what else the creative team had planned!
The list of guests featured in the series include filmmakers Joe Dante (Gremlins, Trailers from Hell creator), Will Gluck (Friends with Benefits, Anyone But You, Easy A) and Randal Kleiser (Grease, The Blue Lagoon), comedian Dana Gould (Seinfeld, The Simpsons), plus location managers, scouts and superfans who literally put these sites on the map.
The show will also look at the impact that film and TV have had on the local communities and “Set-Jetting” as a new form of movie tourism.