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The “Pretty Little Liars” Guide to Warner Bros. Studio

Feb 25th, 2015 | By Lindsay | Category: TV Locations

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Pretty Little Liars is set in the fictional town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania.
The pilot episode was shot in Vancouver, but once the series got picked up, production moved to L.A.
Though the show has made use of pretty much every square inch of the Warner Bros. backlot, I will only be covering the main locations that have appeared onscreen during the first two and a half seasons, as that is the point I am up to in the series.
An aerial view of Warner Bros. Studio with coordinating numbers denoting each PLL locale is pictured below.

1. The Marin House – Used repeatedly throughout the series, the house where Hannah Marin (Ashley Benson) lives is a large Colonial-style estate located at the southern end of Warner Village. It is denoted as building 187 on the Warner Bros. Studio map. Only the exterior is used on the series. As is the case with all of the Liar’s residences, the interior of Hannah’s house is a set located inside of a soundstage. In real life, the inside of the structure serves as a production office.

2. The Fields House – The residence where Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell) lives also pops up regularly on Pretty Little Liars. It is the northernmost house located on Midwest Street. The same home was also used as Ross (David Schwimmer) and Monica Geller’s (Courteney Cox) parents’ house on Friends. It is a practical set, meaning both the interior and exterior can be utilized for filming. While the inside was used on Friends (Season 2′s “The One with the Prom Video”), it does not appear on PLL.

3. The DiLaurentis House – This abode has had quite a few different residents throughout the series. Formerly occupied by Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse) and then Maya St. Germain (Bianca Lawson), it is currently where Jason DiLaurentis (major cutie Drew Van Acker) lives. The structure is actually just a façade located on the shores of the Jungle and, as you can see in the photograph below, not even a full one at that. Yes, it is missing a roof, which is actually apparent sometimes onscreen.

4. The Hastings House – The façade that serves as the stately home where Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario, daughter of NCIS creator Donald P. Bellisario) lives is actually the rear side of the residence located next door to Emily’s house on Midwest Street. The same façade was used as Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory Gilmore’s (Alexis Bledel) house on Gilmore Girls.

5. Spencer’s Barn – The barn that Spencer painstakingly redecorated and that her sister, Melissa (Torrey DeVitto), then promptly moved into is located directly across from the Hastings residence, in what is actually the front yard of the property.

6. The Hastings Gate – The large gated entrance to Spencer’s estate is not a permanent façade – it is a piece that is set up in the Jungle, across from the DiLaurentis house, when needed. Because it is only put into place during an actual shoot, you will not catch a glimpse of it while on the Warner Bros. VIP Studio Tour. A photograph of the Jungle in its normal state, without Spencer’s gate, is pictured below.

7. Toby and Jenna’s House – The house where step-siblings Toby Cavanaugh (Keegan Allen) and Jenna Marshall (Tammin Sursok) live is located on Midwest Street, two doors down from Emily’s house.

8. Rosewood High School – The Liar’s high school is located on Midwest Street, near where it intersects with French Street. The structure appears regularly on the series, but, again, only the exterior is utilized. The hallways and classrooms are sets located inside of a soundstage.

9. Rosewood City Hall – City Hall is located adjacent to Rosewood High School.

10. Apple Rose Grille – The restaurant where the girls regularly hang out is located on the corner of Midwest Street and French Street. The same spot masked as Luke’s Diner on Gilmore Girls.

11. Rosewood’s Local Church – The Midwest Street church, located across the road from Emily’s house, has appeared countless times on the series. It was where Ian Thomas (Ryan Merriman) tried to kill Spencer in Season 1’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” where Ian’s funeral was held in Season 2’s “The Devil You Know,” and where Hannah tried to sabotage her dad’s wedding in Season 2’s “Over My Dead Body,” just to name a few of its appearances.

12. Anne Sullivan’s Office – Throughout Season 2, the Liars regularly visited therapist Anne Sullivan (Annabeth Gish) at her office, which was situated on Midwest Street across from the northern side of the church

13. Ezra Fitz’s Apartment Building – The exterior of the apartment building where Ezra Fitz (Ian Harding) lives is located in between French Street and Embassy Courtyard, across from New York Park. The edifice was featured in Season 1’s “If at First You Don’t Succeed, Lie, Lie Again . . .” and is denoted as Building 60 on the studio map.

14. Philadelphia City Museum – The Warner Bros. Courthouse masked as the Philadelphia City Museum, the site of Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale) and Ezra’s first real date, in “If at First You Don’t Succeed, Lie, Lie Again . . .” The Courthouse, which was featured regularly on the 1966 Batman television series, is located at the western end of Embassy Courtyard and is denoted as Building 61 on the studio map.

15. Noel Kahn’s Cabin/Lost Woods Resort – In the Season 1 episode of Pretty Little Liars titled “To Kill a Mocking Girl,” the Liars attend a party thrown at a cabin belonging to Noel Kahn’s (Brant Daugherty) parents. The building used in the episode is located in the Jungle and is known as the Practical House.

How Poldark's creator Winston Graham hated the BBC's first TV adaption

How Poldark's creator Winston Graham hated the BBC's first TV adaption

AS A remake of the period drama begins, it emerges that the author of the novels, Winston Graham, was furious over the portrayal of Demelza and wanted the 1970s series pulled

By ANNA PUKAS
PUBLISHED: 00:01, Mon, Mar 9, 2015 | UPDATED: 22:47, Sat, Mar 28, 2015

Robin Ellis and Angharad Rees in the 1970s’ version


POLDARK returned to our screens last night, back in the prestigious Sunday evening showcase slot it occupied 40 years ago.

Much comment and many column inches have been devoted to this revival that is said to follow the original novels more closely than the 1970s’ version.

If so that is a wise move for it transpires that Winston Graham, the creator of this tale of passion and betrayal set in 18th-century Cornwall, hated how the BBC chose to portray his characters.

In particular he detested the way Demelza, the feisty servant , was changed from spirited tomboy to a slut. According to his daughter, Graham was so angry that he wanted to stop the series being transmitted.

“Dad blew a gasket when he saw the first episode of the original series,” says Rosamund Barteau. “He was so angry about the way they had changed Demelza into a floozy that he wanted to get the production stopped.

He was absolutely livid. In the novel she was a tomboy but the producers had some salacious need to make her sexually loose. In one scene she even offered to pull down her knickers for a shilling. That was certainly not in any of the books. ”

The first BBC series was adapted from the fi rst four Poldark novels (there were 12 in all) and first shown in 1975. After viewing the first episode Graham feared the rest of the series would deteriorate into schmalz. His daughter reveals: “He tried everything to stop the show from airing but he didn’t have any editorial control.

It was not until the second series that he was able to have any input. ” By then Poldark had become such a huge hit at home that vicars were known to change the times of their evening services in order not to clash with it. The second series was based on the next three books.

In total Poldark ran for 29 episodes. It was sold to 40 countries and was especially popular in the US where it was shown on the prestigious Masterpiece Theatre slot. In a national poll in 2007 American viewers voted it the seventh best British series ever broadcast.

ROBIN ELLIS, who played Captain Ross Poldark, became a national heartthrob. Demelza was played by Angharad Rees, whose tumbling red hair spawned a fashion for perms.

The heart of the drama lies in the relationship between Ross and his future wife Demelza, which crossed the class divide. He though impoverished is from the officer and gentleman class while Demelza is only a servant.

The portrayal of Demelza as promiscuous was doubly uncomfortable for Graham because he had based the character on his own wife Jean.

Their daughter Rosamund reveals that Jean not only inspired Demelza but helped her husband in other ways. “Father was the author but my mother helped with the details because she was very observant. She saw everything and remembered it all.

"Dad would write something every day. Every afternoon he would have tea with my mother for an hour when he would bounce ideas at her.”

Though he was born in Manchester, Winston Graham moved to Perranporth, Cornwall, when he was 17 and lived there for more than 30 years, bringing up his children Rosamund and Andrew there and setting his 12 Poldark novels there.

The first, Ross Poldark, was published in 1945. The last novel Bella Poldark was published in 2002, only a year before Winston Graham’s death at the age of 95. He was hugely prolific, producing a book a year from 1934 until his death.

Graham’s last book was his autobiography Memoirs Of A Private Man, published in 2003 shortly before he died.

Though the cast of the 1970s’ series spent eight weeks filming the first series on location in Cornwall, it was sometimes all too obvious that the moving background had actually been projected on to a screen behind the characters. For Robin Ellis and Angharad Rees, their Poldark characters proved to be career-defining, forever linked to their names by the phrase “best known for ”.

Though both continued to work neither ever appeared in anything as high profi le again. Rees started a jewellery design company and died of pancreatic cancer in 2012, aged 63.

Robin Ellis now lives in France and writes diabetic cookery books although he does ha ve a cameo role in the new series. The mantle of Ross and Demelza now passes to the brooding Irish-born Aidan Turner, 31, whose biggest role to date is the dwarf Kili in The Hobbit and Death Comes To Pemberley actress Eleanor Tomlinson, 22, who coincidentally also has a brother called Ross.

With the 2015 version the Cornish landscape is likely to become an important character in its own right and the production will also benefi t from much-improved special effects. In the end Winston Graham embraced the 1970s’ Poldark series and so has his daughter, who runs a Poldark-themed guesthouse in Idaho.

But she says her father would have liked the 2015 adaptation much more. “I’ve seen the fi rst episode and I could sit and watch it again and again. Eleanor’s Demelza is wonderful and her Cornish accent is good, not too strong but enough to know where she is supposed to be from. My dad would be proud of what the BBC have done.”

THE TRUTH ABOUT POLDARK

THE TRUTH ABOUT POLDARK

Millions of viewers are hooked on the BBC’s new adaptation of Poldark. We’re seduced by breathtaking images of the Cornish coastline and countryside, and stirred by complex personalities and relationships.

We can all still clearly see the magnificent scenery that inspired the novel’s author, Winston Graham, but what about the characters?
According to Mr Graham, they too were based on real Cornish people, living in the county at the time the first novels were set.

Many years ago, during lunch with the head of one of Cornwall’s oldest and most respected families, Michael Galsworthy, Mr Graham explained that the Cornish ‘gentry’ in his stories were based on people like Mr Galsworthy’s ancestors.

Mr Galsworthy’s family has lived at Trewithen for 300 years. It’s an elegant house built in 1715 at Grampound Road near Truro. At the time the Poldark saga begins, the Trewithen estate belonged to Thomas and Anne Hawkins.

Mr Galsworthy explained: “I met Winston Graham during a lunch. We were discussing his novels and he explained to me that he used people like Thomas and Anne Hawkins when creating his characters.”

There are surprising parallels between the two families. Like Ross, Thomas owned lucrative mines and their success kept hundreds of locals in work. Like Ross and Demelza, Thomas and Anne suffered terrible losses. Their eldest son drowned in the Thames aged just 13 whilst he was at Eton. Keen to have their child buried in the family plot, Thomas and Anne sent a deputation from Trewithen to the school and brought his body home preserved in a barrel of brandy. Tragedy struck a second time when another son died of a chill, believed to have been brought on by eating ice cream after a vigorous bout of dancing.

Thomas’ sense of responsibility for the people who worked for him resulted in premature death. At that time smallpox was a killer and medicine was being developed to fight the disease. As an example to his tenants, Thomas volunteered to have an early form of the smallpox vaccination. He died of the disease, almost certainly as a result of that injection.

Ross is also portrayed as having a great sense of responsibility for the people who live on – and work – his land and mines. As the series continues we will watch him, like Thomas, put his own life at risk to secure their future.

Poldark filming locations in Cornwall

Poldark filming locations in Cornwall

Posted by Clare Willcocks on April 3rd 2015

The long awaited remake of the popular Poldark series went down a storm after a break of almost 40 years since the final show of the last series.

Based on The Poldark Novels by Winston Graham, the period drama tells the story of Ross Poldark as he returns from the American Revolutionary War where he was serving as a British Officer. He discovers life has changed dramatically while he has been away, resulting in a series with hardship, intrigue and romance in equal measure.

Playing the lead role of Ross Poldark is Aidan Turner, best known for his roles in Being Human and The Hobbit trilogy. But the love for the series is as much down to the Cornish locations it showcases as the allure of the 30 year-old heartthrob.

Filming took place last summer in a number of locations across the South West of England, primarily Cornwall. So for those who’d like to follow in the footsteps of the Poldark cast, we’ve put together a list of the Cornish towns, villages and beaches which took the limelight as filming locations. Enjoy a stay in one of our beautiful Cornish cottages and make sure these locations feature on your itinerary.

Gunwalloe, Lizard Peninsula

This secluded beach near Helston is the backdrop for a shipwreck scene in the series, filmed during the early hours of the morning. Filming depicts fires being lit to lure in unsuspecting vessels in an attempt to pillage their cargo. Gunwalloe is no stranger to coastal crimes, in fact, nearby Dollar Cove is said to be the location of lost Spanish treasure.

Charlestown Harbour, near St Austell

Charlestown is somewhat of an old hat when it comes to filming locations. It featured in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and an episode of Dr Who, to name but a few. Parts of the new Poldark have been filmed here due to its collection of old ships and historical appearance. It is still a working port and is a fascinating place to visit.

West Wheal Owles Engine House, near Botallack
For the purpose of filming, several additions were made to the engine house but you can visit Wheal Owles in its natural state by walking along the section of coast path between Levant and Botallack. This scenic 3.7 mile cliff top route also takes you past other vestiges of mining history, including Botallack Mine and the Crown Engine Houses.

Porthgwarra, St Levan

Before it found itself in front of the cameras, Porthgwarra was a relatively unknown cove. A tiny beach is revealed at low tide and a cave runs through part of the cliff which can be accessed but it is extremely slippy. The steep hidden cove was flooded with camera crews and production assistants over the summer for the filming of some Poldark scenes.

St Breward, Bodmin Moor

St Breward was among one of the first locations descended upon by Poldark crew, little pink signs bearing the initials PDK were to be found to alert people to their presence. The little village is nestled into the dramatic Bodmin Moor, and boasts the highest church in Cornwall at 700ft!

Poldark Mine, near Helston

Take an underground tour of this disused mine to discover more about the conditions the miners worked in during the 18th and early 19th centuries, the time in which the Poldark novels were set. Filming at the mine has been taking place this summer for the 2015 series, so keep an eye out for recognisable scenes! The mine was used for all the underground sequences and a number of the museum’s artefacts were used as props and off site filming including the unique 1844 Ting Tang Tin Mine bell that weighs in at three hundredweight and some tools.

Botallack Mine

The vulnerably-looking Botallack Mine, perilously perched on the cliffs near St Just, became Ross Poldark’s Wheal Leisure for the historical drama, the family mine Poldark tries to restore back to prosperity.

Map: Poldark 2015 filming locations around Cornwall

Stay in Poldark Country

St Breward: The cottage used as Nampara, Poldark’s home as well as some of the miner’s cottages were located near this village. The actors also filmed some of the other scenes, including a duel, when the sun appeared en cue with dramatic timing.

Stay at: Hallegenna Riding Stables and Cottages. Explore the moors from this base in St Breward at the edge of the moor and the place where Action Horse Riding who provided the horses for the film stayed during filming. www.hallagenna.co.uk

Botallack to Levant: There is beauty and rich mining heritage along this stretch of west Cornwall coast linking Botallack (just north of St Just) and Levant. Levant Mine playing was the setting for Tressiders Rolling Mill while Owles and Crowns near Botallack depicted Wheal Leisure.

Stay at: Boswedden House is a beautiful retreat, with wonderful facilities and breathtaking location boswedden.org.uk, Alternatively enjoy the former coaching house which is The Commercial Hotel in the heart of St Just.
www.commercial-hotel.co.uk

Porthgwarra: This cove with its crystal clear waters was where the little beach cafe stayed open until 4am serving pasties to the cast and crew.

Stay at: Porthgwarra cottages right on the cove are available to rent through St Aubyn estates www.staubynestatesholidays.co.uk/holiday-cottages

Gunwalloe: the beach at Church Cove here was where the shipwreck scenes were filmed, appropriately as it is next to Dollar Cove, site of many famous shipwrecks and named for the silver coins which are still said to wash up on the beach.

Stay at: Mullion Cove Hotel. Cast and crew stayed here during the filming of this scene, and it is an enjoyable coastal walk from Gunwalloe.

Charlestown: This historic port, a berth for tallships is also seen in the TV series and in many other films including the Three Musketeers and The Eagle Has Landed.

Stay at: The Rashleigh Arms. A traditional pub with newly refurbished rooms and a popular restaurant. www.rashleigharms.co.uk

Porthcothan: The crew filmed around the Padstow area, and many will recognise views over the Camel Estuary. Porthcothan is used to portray Nampara Cove.

Stay at: The cast stayed at the Treglos Hotel and the Retallack Resort and Spa while filming near here, although there are plenty of wonderful places to stay. www.tregloshotel.com, www.retallackresort.co.uk

St Agnes Head: With it’s world famous engine houses set on dramatic coastline, this area was a natural choice for the BBC location scout (who hails from Penzance). This area doubles as Nampara Valley during the series.

Stay at: The Driftwood Spars is at the heart of beautiful St Agnes and offers four star accommodation in a beautiful traditional pub. It also has it’s own brewery. www.driftwoodspars.co.uk

Caerhays

Stay in an exclusive wing of the Castle itself.

A totally unique opportunity to holiday in the beautiful surroundings of the Caerhays Gardens renowned for its magnificent Magnolia's and Camellias.

A two bedroom apartment situated in the West wing of Caerhays Castle.