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Rob on Location
  • Home
  • About
    • About Me
    • Location Hunting – Getting Started
    • Location Hunting Guidelines
    • FAQs
    • Contact
  • TV Shows
    • American Housewife
    • The Brady Bunch
    • Coronation Street
    • Dance Academy
    • Dog The Bounty Hunter
    • The Drew Carey Show
    • The Fosters
    • Fresh Prince of Bel Air
    • Friends
    • Full House
    • Fuller House
    • The Goldbergs
    • The Golden Girls
    • Grey’s Anatomy
    • Hawaii Five-0
    • I Love Lucy
    • The Jeffersons
    • Jeopardy
    • Leave It To Beaver
    • Lost
    • Married… with Children
    • Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
    • Modern Family
    • The Office
    • Perfect Strangers
    • Schitt’s Creek
    • Seinfeld
    • Stranger Things
    • Tiny Pretty Things
    • The Tom Green Show
    • The Walking Dead
    • Will and Grace
    • The Wonder Years
    • Young Sheldon
  • Movies
    • 50 First Dates
    • A Christmas Story
    • Back To The Future
    • Billy Elliot
    • Blades of Glory
    • Blue Crush
    • Blue Hawaii
    • Dance Academy: The Comeback
    • Elf
    • Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
    • Forgetting Sarah Marshall
    • Forrest Gump
    • From Here To Eternity
    • Ghostbusters
    • Ghostbusters 2
    • Hairspray
    • Home Alone
    • Home Alone 2
    • Isn’t It Romantic
    • It: Chapter One
    • Jurassic Park
    • Jurassic World
    • Kindergarten Cop
    • Lords of Dogtown
    • Love Actually
    • Love Simon
    • Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
    • Mrs. Doubtfire
    • My Big Fat Greek Wedding
    • Napoleon Dynamite
    • Notting Hill
    • Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
    • Pretty Woman
    • Sister Act
    • The Sum Of All Fears
    • Uncle Buck
    • Undercover Angel
    • Warm Bodies
    • Wayne’s World
    • The Wizard Of Oz
  • Film Studios
    • CBS Studio Center
    • The Jim Henson Studios
    • Kualoa Ranch
    • Lucasfilms
    • NBC Studios
    • Paramount Pictures
    • Sony Pictures Studios
    • Universal Studios Hollywood
    • Warner Brothers Studios – Hollywood
    • Warner Brothers Studios -The Making of Harry Potter
  • Live TV Tapings
    • The Big Bang Theory
    • Late Night with Conan O’Brien
    • The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
    • The Late Show with David Letterman
    • Live with Kelly and Ryan
    • Mom
    • The Price is Right
    • Saturday Night Live
    • The Talk
    • Will & Grace
  • Museums
    • CBC Museum
    • Lucy-Desi Museum
    • The Smithsonian
    • Star Trek Original Series Set Tour
    • The Walt Disney Family Museum
  • Destinations
    • Atlanta
    • Chicago
    • England
    • Hawaii
    • Los Angeles
    • New York City
    • Toronto
  • Famous Graves
    • Benjamin Harrison
    • Billy Wilder
    • Buddy Rich
    • Carl Wilson
    • Carroll O’Connor
    • Colonel Sanders
    • Daniel Boone
    • Dean Martin
    • Dino Bravo
    • Don Knotts
    • Donna Reed
    • Doris Roberts
    • Eva Gabor
    • Fanny Brice
    • Florence Henderson
    • Franklin Delano Roosevelt
    • Grace Kelly
    • Harry Truman
    • Heather O’Rourke
    • Jack Lemmon
    • Jackie Collins
    • Jeanne Sauve
    • Joanne Carson
    • John Abbott
    • Johnny Rougeau
    • Leonard Cohen
    • Lester B. Pearson
    • Lucille Ball
    • Marilyn Monroe
    • Maurice “The Rocket” Richard
    • Mel Torme
    • Minnie Riperton
    • Miss Elizabeth
    • Muhammed Ali
    • Owen Hart
    • Peter Falk
    • Rene Angelil
    • Richard Dawson
    • Robert Borden
    • Rodney Dangerfield
    • Roy Orbison
    • Roy Rogers and Dale Evans
    • The Titanic Victims
    • Thomas Darcy McGee
    • Tommy Douglas
    • Truman Capote
    • Vaslev Nijinsky
    • Walter Matthau
    • Wilfred Laurier
    • William Shakespeare
    • Yousef Karsh
  • Interviews
    • Stephanie Davy – Ottawa Film Office
    • Tim Dolan – Broadway Up Close
    • David Morgan – Kualoa Ranch
    • Bill Sindelar – Warm-Up Comedian
  • Extras
    • Billy Elliot The Musical
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    • Location News
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Sony Pictures Studios

The first Hollywood Studio tour I ever did was the Sony Pictures Studios Tour.  This studio is located in Culver City, quite a drive from our Hollywood motel.  In fact, we were stuck in traffic and arrived late.  The tours seemed to operate pretty often so I was hoping they could just put us on the next group. 

We arrived at the Sony Pictures Plaza where the tours started from.  The agent at the desk informed us we could actually join our original group, as they were watching a short video that was included in the tour.  We were ok with missing the video as our schedule was pretty jam packed.  We met our guide and the group as they came out of the video.  The group size itself was a bit larger than WB and Paramount, about 12-15 people.  Unlike the other tours which use carts, this tour is all walking, so make sure you wear good shoes.

Update: The Sony Pictures Tours recently opened a new museum and lobby off Overland Ave.  This is now where tours meet and depart from.  The pictures below do not reflect the current tour lobby.

  • Sony Pictures Plaza

The tour began with walking from the Sony offices Lobby across the street into the studios themselves.  You pass under the Sony archway and the first thing you see is a giant rainbow. This was erected to honour the filming of The Wizard of Oz.  The guide spoke about some of the history of the site, as many classic films were produced here.

  • Sony Pictures
  • Over The Rainbow at Sony Pictures

As we entered the lot, we stopped at the original offices of MGM Studios, the original owners of the lot. The building currently still has the Columbia Pictures sign on it.  You may recognize the building as the façade has been used numerous times over the years, including the school setting on The Goldbergs.  We were able to go into the lobby where Sony has many of it’s Oscar awards on display.

  • Columbia Pictures Building at Sony Pictures
  • Columbia Pictures building at Sony Pictures

Movie Vehicles

The studio has a few vehicles on display from various productions.  They have a car from Talladega Nights and the RV from Breaking Bad. The highlight for me was Ecto-1, from my all-time favourite movie, Ghostbusters.  It has been restored and you can get up close to it, with no barrier.  They ask you not to open the doors, but you can touch the car and peek right in the windows.  It’s a really thrilling experience for any fan.

  • Breaking Bad RV
  • football car at Sony Pictures
  • me with Ecto-1
    Ghostbusters
  • Ecto-1

The Scoring Studio

We walked by some soundstages and entered the Barbra Streisand Scoring Studio.  This large studio was created in the 1930s and hasn’t been altered since.  Almost any iconic movie score that you can think of has been recorded in this room, from The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind, to ET and La La Land.  Our guide told us that iconic composer John Williams will only record in this studio.

Jeopardy

Most studio tours promise to take you into one set, although there is never a guarantee as to which set it will be.  On this tour, one set that is virtually guaranteed is either Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy. On our tour, we visited the Jeopardy set.  When you enter, there are some displays, including a Jeopardy podium that you can take your picture with.  Then you get to enter the studio and see the set itself.  They did allow us to take photos which was nice.  Usually photos aren’t permitted inside sets.  The set here is not lit up, so it doesn’t look as impressive as it does on TV, however it gives you a great idea of the space and layout.

  • Jeopardy
  • Jeopardy
  • Jeopardy Studio at Sony Pictures

The Soundstage visit

After this, we were able to go into the set of another show, The Goldbergs.  We went in to the set of the basement and got to look around.  We weren’t able to take photos unfortunately, but I loved the set, as it takes place in the 80s. It was filled with classic toys, furniture, and even an old VCR.  I love seeing the basement on the show now as I have been inside that set!  It adds a whole new aspect when you watch the show. 

On our way out, we actually got to see Troy Gentile, who plays Barry Goldberg. He was rehearsing a dance choreography that was going to be featured on an episode.  We didn’t get the chance to talk to him as he was busy, but that definitely counts as a celebrity sighting!

The Lobby

Once we returned to the Sony Building, we were able to wander through the lobby, as they have some props on display.  These include a Ghostbusters proton pack, some props from The Da Vinci Code, and Andrew Garfield’s skateboard from the Amazing Spiderman.

  • Ghostbusters Proton Pack
  • The Da Vinci Code
  • Spiderman skateboard
  • Andrew Garfield Spiderman Skateboard

Overall the Sony Pictures Studios tour was pretty good.  It lacks in certain departments (such as backlots) but it makes up for it in other areas, like the cars on display, and the historic scoring studio.  If you decide to do this tour, remember to wear comfortable shoes as it is a walking tour.  Also, it seemed to be the tour that had the least amount of opportunities for photos, so if you are a photographer, you may want to consider one of the other tours.

Since my visit to the Sony tour, they have modified it somewhat. The tours now leave from a separate location and have a small museum, including a recreation of the Seinfeld set. I haven’t had a chance to visit since these changes, but I hope to soon.

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