‘24’ and ‘Ugly Betty’ have been shot at pier
SANTA MONICA PIER Former Santa Monica Pier Board Chairman Jean McNeil Wyner was standing on the city’s most famous landmark one day, chatting up a blonde woman while waiting for her meeting to start. A few moments into the conversation, a short man approached Wyner and rudely asked her to move.
“Jean looked at him and started to respond and realized it was Danny DeVito,” chuckled Ben Franz-Knight, executive director of the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation. “The blonde was Alicia Silverstone.”
Soon after, Wyner ran up to the main office, excited that she had just seen actor/director DeVito and Silverstone, most famous for playing Cher Horowitz in the 1995 hit teen film “Clueless.” She had no idea who she’d been talking to, Franz- Knight said.
For the millions of tourists who visit Los Angeles every year with a camera in hand and hopes of catching a glimpse of a famous Hollywood star, their best bet for a celebrity sighting may not be Rodeo Drive or Mann’s Chinese Theatre. It’s likely the Santa Monica Pier.
A symbol of Santa Monica and Los Angeles, the venerable pier is a favorite shooting location among movie and television directors and producers, with at least one filming occurring at the pier each week, according to Rachel Waugh, spokeswoman for the Santa Monica Pier.
Just in the past few months, the pier has appeared in the opening sequence for the 79th Academy Awards, which depicted Mumble, the penguin from “Happy Feet,” being picked up by the Volkswagen bus from “Little Miss Sunshine” in front of the famous pier sign. The pier also made cameos in the Fox hit drama “24” and ABC drama “Ugly Betty,” and commercials for Dr. Pepper, Nissan and Time Warner Cable.
Perhaps the most famous shot at the Santa Monica Pier was for the 1973 hit film “The Sting.”
“It’s a great place to shoot because it’s not just the pier, it can double for many other different types of location,” said Myrl Schreibman, a professor of production at UCLA. “Santa Monica Pier is not just a pier out of which people fish, but it has the amusement (park) on the pier, it has a life of its own that is indigenous to the pier and makes it a popular place to shoot.”
The Santa Monica Pier has appeared in many forms in movies and television. In an episode that aired on Feb. 8, “Ugly Betty” co-stars Rebecca Romijn, Judith Light and Eric Mabius were filmed striking each other in bumper cars in Pacific Park. However, in the show, the scene took place on Coney Island. The pier has also been transformed on television to be Brighton Beach in the United Kingdom, and Point Pleasant Beach in New Jersey.
One of two professors who teach a class on shooting locations, Shreibman said the pier lends itself to being used in several different ways on camera. The pier up above with Pacific Park and stores and restaurants can be shot for a light-hearted scene. The area underneath can be used for darker, more dramatic scenes.
“The pier itself can have a variety of different looks depending on the needs of the story,” he said.
PERMISSION GRANTED In order to film on the Santa Monica Pier, production companies must first receive permission to film in the city limits from the Environmental Programs Division with the city of Santa Monica. A permit must then be filed with the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation, a permit that can cost anywhere from $100 to more than $2,000. Rates vary depending on whether it’s a permit for still photography or movie filming.
The pier is usually open during filming and film crews must maintain public access of at least 20 feet. The pier has been closed in the past to accommodate scenes that recreate car chases, which usually requires police presence to stop traffic from Ocean Avenue down to the pier ramp.
For shoots in the amusement park, a separate entity on the pier, producers must apply for a separate permit from Pacific Park, where “Curb Your Enthusiasm, “Iron Man” and “Shark” have recently shot.
Filming, no matter how small the project, is usually a big draw for tourists who crowd around a shoot to snap pictures. Even the staff gets a little star struck sometimes, though they try to remain professional and are instructed not to ask actors for their autographs, said Kristin Wasiluk, filming and private events manager for Pacific Park.
“It’s such a LA icon,” Wasiluk said of the pier. “It’s a one-of-a-kind venue.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 6, 2007. Read the original PDF.