Filming Location Madness At The Huntington Gardens! Serenity! Legally Blonde! American Wedding! Iron Man 2! 90210! Parks And Rec!

Today… It was a scorcher. So what is a fanboy to do?

Maybe visit some filming locations? Oh YEAH!

My friend Helen was celebrating her birthday and decided to spend the day at the Huntington Gardens.

First off, if you haven’t been to the Huntington Gardens, I highly suggest heading down. It is one of the most beautiful places in all of the Los Angeles area.

Several films and television shows have been shot here and taken advantage of the different landscapes at the gardens. Films like Bridesmaids, Iron Man 2, Beverly Hills 90210, Legally Blonde 2, and more!

The first place we headed to was the Lily Ponds. Now, over the years, several films have shot here. My favorite is Serenity by the mastermind known as Joss Whedon.

A small structure was built on the location that featured flashback sequences with a young River. I can see why they chose this spot, because it’s amazing!

Seriously, there is a waterfall and tons of huge Coy fish that swim right up to the edge of the pond.

Then I headed to Australia! The Australian garden was the locale for a quick shot of a bunch of football players running from a bus carrying flowers to the reception. The scene was done as Jim looks out his window as all hope it lost.

Australia is also a wonderful garden. While clearly not as lush as the lily pond, it’s wonderful. If it wasn’t 98 degrees outside it would have been nicer, lol. But we had a great time.

Next up was the Japanese Gardens. Now, the Japanese Gardens were not necessarily a filming spot but were kind of in Iron Man 2. The finale was clearly taking place in a Japanese garden, with all the explosions they couldn’t shoot on location, however, they used laser technology to recreate the Japanese garden at the Huntington.

From the Huntington website:
“They used a laser based measuring technology (called LIDAR) to photograph our Japanese Garden, then created their own computer generated location, infinitely more suitable for a high-tech explosive fight scene.”

Also Iron Man 2 was shot at the Munger Research Center. The steps were used during the final awards ceremony, sadly it’s under construction as you can see. Doh!

The Chinese gardens are a newer addition to the Huntington. They were used in an episode of Parks and Recreation titled Pawnee Commons. Leslie and Ben visit a park in Eagleton that is actually the Huntington.

The Rose Garden was the place that Brenda visited when she was in Paris as well. The amazing Lindsay from I Am Not A Stalker did an extensive recap of the 90210 locations at the Huntington. You should check it out.

This was also where A Cinderella Story was filmed as well.

The Rose Garden is also where Elle Woods had her wedding in Legally Blonde 2. Freeze dried rose petals were shot into the air.

Even a cute squirrel was getting into the act!

The Conservatory was the location of the wedding from American Wedding. A certain fanboy may have been in that scene, cough… cough… Now, the film was shot before the Conservatory was finished, so it looks remarkably different today. It’s filled with different kinds of plants and foliage. It’s very cool inside and fun to visit.

Thanks to Lindsay, I have a screenshot of said American Wedding photo.

Finally, our last stop was another Legally Blonde 2 location. This spot was where Elle Woods visited a park with Bruiser Woods while in Washington. It’s called the Mausoleum and looks exactly the same in person. This is also where the happy couple drives off after the wedding.

It’s so nice, but a little out of the way, so you have to really look for it. I really loved this spot. It’s also where Kristen Wiig pulled into the driveway during Bridesmaids.

And that is my fanboy day!

Check out the Huntington Gardens

1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino, CA 91108

Until next time kids…