Also visit Movie Locations in Orange County an interactive map of films and filming locations in Orange County.
HANGOVER 3 (2013) ****
The Hangover saga ends in Las Vegas, where it began. But along the way Alan (Zach Galifianakis) drives down the 73 freeway next to
UC Irvine in his convertible with a large giraffe in tow. Unfortunately, the campus overpass is lower then the giraffe's head.
Then a big accident followed, and the tire marks were visible on the freeway for the next weeks.
So next time you take the 73 freeway heading south, look for a giraffe skull by the side of the road before you exit for the campus.
Then the guys eventually return to Vegas to end the journey they began in the first film--a trip down memory lane.
It just shows that the road to Vegas runs by UC Irvine.
(See a photo of the exit sign the giraffe hit in the movie. A three day shoot on 73 freeway for this scene.
OCEAN'S ELEVEN (2001) ****
Ocean's Eleven improves on 1960's Rat Pack original with supernova casting, a slickly updated plot,
and Steven Soderbergh's graceful touch behind the camera. Soderbergh reportedly relished the
opportunity "to make a movie that has no desire except to give pleasure from beginning to end," and
he succeeds on those terms, blessed by the casting of George Clooney as Danny Ocean, the title role
originated by Frank Sinatra. Fresh out of jail, Ocean masterminds a plot to steal $163 million from the
seemingly impervious vault of Las Vegas's Bellagio casino, not just for the money but to win his
ex-wife (Julia Roberts) back from the casino's ruthless owner (Andy Garcia).
The scenes where Danny Ocean and his team steal a "pinch" to create an electromagnetic pulse was filmed at the Gillespie Neuroscience Research Facility on the UC Irvine campus.
The scenes were filmed at night and when the university was closed over the weekend. During
the shooting, Clooney and the rest of the gang had a late night bite at the Anteatery!
(See a photo of the Brad Pitt on the back roof of the Gillespie facility as Clooney and the guys (in the truck) steal the 'pinch' from UCI.)
EXTREME DAYS (2001) *
You had to look quickly to find this in the movie theater. A remake of the classic roady theme.
A sneak peek into the lives of a group of friends taking a journey to
the extreme. A bit on the crazy side, they unleash their passion for alternative
sports, the outdoors and the excitement of the unknown. In short, ESPN extreme sports goes on a road trip: surfing, BMX, snowboarding, skateboarding.
Some of the lunch scenes at the beginning of the movie were film in the Ariba Baja Grill and other scenes in front of Urban Guerilla at the University Center across from the UCI campus.
CREATOR (1985) **
Do you ever wonder what really happens in the basement of BIOSCI? This is the movie to answer your questions, and convince you to switch majors. In this movie,
an eccentric, brilliant scientist sets out to "recreate" his wife who died 25-years before.
To complicate matters, just when he's about to succeed he falls head-over-
heels for a beautiful coed. Based on the novel by Jeremy Leven. Peter O'Toole stars, he
must have needed the money.
No this isn't a 199 independent study class in the lab. But portions were filmed in Aldrich Park and at the UCI Medical School in Orange.
POLTERGEIST (1982) ****
A family's ordinary tract home suddenly becomes
a gateway for enraged ghosts who kidnap their little girl and take her to their twilight
world. Hiring paranormal experts, the family attempts to discover why she was
taken and how to get her back. Great performances by all in this deluxe ghost
story. It won several Academy Award Nominations.
If you have been to Irvine, then this film must have seemed familiar. The tract home of
the family looks like its in a development built by the Irvine Company. But the really scary
part is that some scenes were film at the UC Irvine Main Library (when Steve Freeling goes to visit Marsh Lesh, the person who exorcises the spirits from the home.). Think of that when you are studying alone late at night...
(See a photo of the library from the film.)
SILENT MOVIE (1976) **
Silent Movie is director Mel Brooks's comic tribute to the
golden days of the silent screen. A movie within a movie, SILENT MOVIE stars Brooks
as Mel Funn, a filmmaker who has seen better days--for one thing, he's just come out of a
bout with the bottle. When his best friends
(Marty Feldman and Dom DeLuise) rescue him from despair and convince him to make another
attempt at moviemaking, Mel comes up with an idea--a silent picture.
Portions of this film were shot in several locations across the UC Irvine campus, such as the Main Library, Aldrich Park, and the Gateway Plaza.
Do the movies imitate reality: when they enter Aldrich Hall in the movie, it is a geriatric center.
(Photo of Feldman, Brooks and DeLuise on electric wheelchair race around ring road.)
CONQUEST OF PLANET OF THE APES (1972) **
The fourth movie in the five film series.
Set in 1991, North America is a police state in which cats and dogs have been
wiped out by a virus brought back from space by astronauts, and the
human race has enslaved and domesticated all primates under the leadership of Governor Breck (Don Murray). Though the
previous film's heroes, Zira and Cornelius, were murdered two decades ago
simply for having the ability to think and speak, their son Caeser (Roddy
McDowall) was spared through the generosity of Armando the circus keeper
(Ricardo Montalban). Now, a grown-up Caeser senses that the time is ripe for
revolution, and he declares vengeance and foments war between humans and
apes when Armando perishes trying to keep the smart simian's identity a secret.
The openning sequence is on the steps of Social Science Tower leading to the ring (see photo below).
The large protest and demonstrations scenes were filmed on the UC Irvine campus.
Tt one point the apes storm the University Administration building to overthrow their human rulers.
This metaphor raises an inevitable question among students, faculty and UCI administrators:
who amongst us are the humans, and who are the apes?
(Photo of apes are going down the stairs from Social Science Tower to the ring road. Notice the absence of trees since UCI was so new, it gave the stark look the director wanted.)
Google map of filming locations in Orange County
View Movie Locations in Orange County in an interactive map.
The future begins here . . . again. The eleventh movie in the epic Startrek series returns to the beginning, with a
new cast for the Starship Enterprise 1701. A new Captain Kirk, Spock, Dr. McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu and the rest of the crew for
a new generation of fans. Leonard Nimoy also appears in the film, talk about the longevity of Vulcans. And for the old fans who have waited years for their Startrek fix, this will
be a return to their youth when the goal of life was to go where no one has gone before. Now they are going there again.
Set in West LA, this is the story of a Jiu-jitsu master who has avoided the professional fight scene
to teach self-defense courses and live by the samurai code of honor. But life puts challenges in his path,
including a run-in with the LA police, economic struggles, and scheming fight promotors. This leads him into the ring for
his first fight to regain his honor and pay off his debts. Chiwetel Ejiofor is the Jiu-jitsu master, and
Tim Allen is surprisingly cast as an over-the-hill Hollywood actor. If you like violence, cagefights, and nasty
LA cops, this is the movie for you. The ultimate fighting championship on the big screen. The film was
written and directed by David Mamet
If you like wierd, this is your movie. Its the story of a boy whose mother (a poet) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus.
So at the age of twelve, he finds himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor's bizarre family, and befriending a pedophile who resided in the backyard shed.
The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, and the Christmas tree stayed up all year round, where Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull an electroshock- therapy machine could provide entertainment.
A story like this deserves an all-star cast: Annette Bening, Gwyneth Paltrow, Brian Cox, Evan Rachel Wood, Joseph Cross, Joseph Fiennes, and Viola Davis.
Who says the OC isn't cool?
Borat Sagdiyev is a TV reporter of a popular show in Kazakhstan as Kazakhstan's sixth most famous man and a leading journalist.
He is sent from his home to America by his government to make a documentary about American society and culture.
While watching Baywatch on TV, Borat discovers how beautiful their women are in the form of C. J. Parker, who was played by actress Pamela Anderson (who lives in California, of course).
He decides to go on a cross-country road trip to California in a quest to make her his wife and take her back to his country.
Someone got a good laugh from this movie . . . all the way to the bank.
This is the third in the series of American pie movies, and each is worse than its predecessor.
In this version, Stifler nearly ruins the frantic nuptials of Jim and his band-camping sweetheart Michelle.
Half of the original cast is missing, and almost all the entertainment; if you like this, don't tell your friends, they'll start to wonder about you.
The only thing that is certain, is that you won't want to eat apple pie again.
Do you want to remember the trauma of SATs and applying to college?
A funny poke at California stereotypes, and especially Orange County.
Life's a beach, then it's not.
Who can figure why Stanford didn't except this stellar student from Cota de Caza?
The two brothers head north to Palo Alto to set things straight.
Stars the kids of the stars (Tom Hanks' son and Sissy Spacek's daughter),
and cameos some of the best names in comedy (Ben Stiller, John Lithgow, Catherine O'Hara, Kevin Kline, Garry
Marshall, Harold Ramis, Lily Tomlin and Chevy Chase).
Rat Race is the modern remake of "Its a Mad, Mad, Mad World." An eccentric casino owner in Las Vegas
stages a race to win $2 million, and the craziness follows. Who can forget the bus full of Lucy Ricardos, the
stop at the Barbie Museum, or those loving squirrels ("they make crackerjack pets). You laughed so hard
in the theatre, that your soda came out your nose! Includes an all-star ensemble cast of comics: Jon Lovitz (UC Irvine Grad!), Rowan Atkinson, Lanai Chapman, John Cleese, Whoopi Goldberg,
Cuba Gooding Jr., Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, Kathy Najimy, Paul Rodriguez, Amy Smart, Dave Thomas and Vince Vieluf.
This story about street racing in LA almost has a script and plot. But the real reason for
watching is to see LA sights flyby. Vin Diesel (as Dominic) rebuilds high
performance racecars by day and races them on the LA streets by night.
It starts in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium and then careens around LA and Orange county.
For a change of pace, and a little spare change, they hijack electronics-filled 18-wheelers.
A film that will live in infamy, the Disney blockbuster that didn't break records but almost broke the bank.
An attempt to merge the love interest from "Titanic" with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Impressive special effects, and a top flight cast. The best imagery of December 7th that has ever been produced.
One can't say the same for the script; if you are interested in history, see "Tora, Tora."
Does your instructor want you to read King Lear? Instead, you can watch Little Nicky for the modern, Cliff-Notes version.
Adam Sandler plays the sweetest of three sons of Satan (Harvey Keitel), who's
got to go to Earth and retrieve his nasty, power-hungry brothers lest they take over Hell and make
it a thoroughly evil place. This weird premise is just an excuse to trot out a hodgepodge of comic bits and cameo performances.
Admittedly, a lot of the jokes are aimed at adolescent, bathroom humor; but sometimes
bathroom humor is funny. If you like Sandler, you might enjoy this--otherwise avoid it.
This is an adaptation of Sebastian Junger's seafaring bestseller is a faithful if by-the-numbers
true-story account of a monster storm that rocked New England in 1991. Setting out for the one last catch that will make up for a lackluster fishing season, Captain Billy
Tyne (George Clooney) pushes his boat the Andrea Gail out to the waters of the Flemish Cap off
Nova Scotia for what will be a huge swordfish haul. While his crew is gathering fish, three storm
fronts (including a hurricane) collide to create a "perfect storm" of colossal force, and Billy's path
back to Gloucester, Massachusetts, takes them right smack into the middle of it. In the end, they all perish...victims of the
perfect storm. A wonderful screenplay, great action, good acting, a real adventure.
Do you think you miss all the action of the Big Apple by living in Irvine? This remake of the 1960s classic has
Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn visiting New York City. Obviously this is before Mayor Guilliani cleaned up the place,
since they run into one "friendly" New Yorker after another. Teaches you to put some money in your shoe, and don't trust strangers.
Of course, in the end it all works out and Steve and Goldie
live happily every after in NYC.
Drawn from Robert Heinlein's classic sci-fi novel, Starship Troopers creates a special-effects
extravaganza that functions on multiple levels of entertainment. The film might be called "Beverly Hills 90210 Goes Into
Space," with its youthful cast of guys and women who look like
they've been recruited (and in some cases they were) from the original cast of 90210.
The film also has incredible, graphically intense action sequences (definitely not for
children) in which heavily armed forces from Earth go to off-world battle against vast hordes of
alien "bugs" bent on planetary conquest. Stars Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Neil Patrick Harris and Denise Richards.
After watching the shower scene, you'll want to enlist.
Surprisingly overlooked at Oscar time. This is a way to get ready for your future. Romy and Michelle go to their
high school reunion, and lie about their lives since graduation.
This is a test of life that awaits UCI students. As soon as you are old enough to forget the HS cliques, its time for your HS reunion.
Why didn't Lisa Kudro just admit she was on "Friends."
One of the best romantic comedies of the 1990s, this box-office hit cemented writer-director
Cameron Crowe. This is a story about a sports agent (Tom Cruise) whose fall from grace motivates his quest for professional recovery, and the slow-dawning
realization that he needs the love and respect of the single mom (Renée Zellweger in her
breakthrough role) who has supported him through the worst of times. Arguably
one of Cruise's best, most underrated performances, and in an Oscar-winning role, Cuba Gooding Jr. plays the football
star who remains Jerry Maguire's only loyal client on a hard road to redemption and personal growth.
The third installment in Tom Clancy's series about CIA analyst Jack Ryan. If you thought of
interning at the CIA this summer, see this first. Ryan is embroiled in a failed White
House bid to wipe out a Colombian drug cartel and cover up the mess. Ryan places himself in harm's way
to extract covert soldiers abandoned in a Latin American jungle.
A classic spy thriller staring Harrison Ford, Willem Dafoe, Anne Archer, and James Earl
Jones. This is one of the best in the Jack Ryan series.
