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Hollywood Studio Lot Tours
Movie and TV Studio Lot Tours
Overview: “Mr. President, bend to my will and release the prisoner. Now Mr. President. We don’t have time!” I vote to put Jack Bauer in the presidential seat. He’s stronger, tougher, less diplomatic and above all, he gets the job done. These are the kinds of lines said on the Fox Studio lot on the set of 24. Yes, most television shows and movies are on studio lot sets. Unfortunately, Fox doesn’t allow studio tours but there are plenty of other companies that do!
I’ve been on the studio lots of Fox, Paramount Pictures, Sony Studios (you know Spiderman), Warner Brothers and Universal Studios either to check out the lots for fun or for work reasons. Either way,it was a lot of fun to see the sets that are commonly used in television shows and movies. If you love movies (or just like mindless entertainment!), arrange a studio tour. On the Warner Brothers lot, you can check out a life-sized replica of the Bat Mobile. On the Fox Studio Lot, cruise around the grounds to check out the various sound stages where television shows are filmed as well as streets and buildings commonly used in Fox shows. The Paramount Pictures Studio lot is a beautiful lot with tons of sound stages and gorgeous decor. Paramount and Universal lots are the hardest to reach unless you are around those areas (Hollywood and North Hollywood). Warner Brothers is also out there in Burbank. Sony Studios is also very cool with the elaborate street sets and sound stages.
You may be wondering which studio to check out. Go to Warner Brothers. Even though the Warner Brothers’ studio lot tour is pricey (around $50), I’d rank their lot tour the highest because of the sheer quantity of their legendary replicas of famous characters, museum and they seem to pump out some great movies. Also, their tours are about two and half hours.
Enjoy the tour!
NBC STUDIO TOUR
Address: 3000 West Alameda Ave, Burbank, CA 91523
Ph: (818) 840-3537 (NBC), (818) 295-2700 (On Camera Audiences)
Website: NBC has On Camera Audiences distribute and sell tickets to their shows.
Email: tickets@ocatv.com
Cost: $7.00 for the studio tour
PARAMOUNT STUDIOS
Address: 5555 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Ph: (323) 956-1777
Website: Paramount Studios
Cost: $35.00
Hours: 10am, 11am, 1pm, 2pm
SONY STUDIOS
Address: 10202 W. Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232
Ph: (310) 244-8687
Website: Sony Pictures Studios
Cost: $33.00
Hours: 9:30am, 11:30am, 1:30pm, 2:30pm
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS TOUR
Address: 100 Universal City P100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608
Ph: 1 (800) 864-8377
Website: Universal Studios Tour
Cost: $69.00. This is the price of admission to the theme park itself but it includes a 1 hour tour of the lot
Hours: 9am – 7pm
WARNER BROTHERS STUDIOS
Address: 3400 Riverside Drive, Burbank, CA 91522
Ph: (818) 972-8687
Website: Warner Brothers Studio Tour
Cost: $48.00 (via www.ticketweb.com)
Hours: 8:20am – 4:00pm. The tour is 2 1/2 hours.
Getting There: www.bigbluebus.com, http://www.culvercity.org/bus/bus.asp, www.metro.net, www.ladottransit.com