THE FIRST FAMILY, new TV show, filmed at a warehouse located at 8500 Higuera St. on Thursday, Sept. 6. “The First Family” is about an African-American family that resides in the White House. Produced by Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios. Network and premiere date has yet to be announced.
AMERICA’S COURT, TV series, was filmed at a warehouse located at 8500 Higuera St., on Friday, Sept. 7. In this CW Network’s weekday daily series, former judge and prosecutor Kevin Ross adjudicates real cases, in which he tries to show litigants alternative ways of dealing with their issues and make them consider the consequences of their actions.
HELL’S KITCHEN still cooking and filming at a warehouse located at 8600 Hayden Place Friday and Saturday, Sept. 7 – 8. Chef Gordon Ramsay will spice up the tenth season of FOX TV’s “Hell’s Kitchen” with 18 new competitors. These aspiring restaurateurs will brave Ramsay and his fiery command of the kitchen as he once again puts the competitors through an intense culinary academy.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT, a new film by Screen Gems Productions, conducted a photo shoot at HD Buttercup, 3225 Helms Ave. on Tuesday, Sept. 11. Screen Gems is remaking this 1986 romantic comedy and Kevin Hart has been cast in the lead male role, Danny, in the project that centered on a man and woman who try to have a romantic affair, but are hindered by their own personal problems, as well as the interference of their disapproving friends.
Edward Zwick directed the original that starred Rob Lowe as Danny and Demi Moore as Debbie, the couple who meet, and James Belushi played Danny’s best friend, Bernie. No word on whether this will be an entirely African-American cast remake of the film, which itself is based on the 1974 David Mamet play “Sexual Perversity in Chicago.”
COUGAR TOWN, the TV series, filmed in the Studio Estates area, Tuesday, Sept. 11. “Cougar Town” the former hit ABC TV series has moved to TBS and the new season is to start airing early 2013. Courteney Cox stars as Jules Cobb in her Golden Globe® nominated role as a recently divorced mom in her forties facing the often humorous challenges of life’s next chapter.
DID YOU KNOW: The MGM 1959 production of Ben-Hur and starring Charlton Heston won a record 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, an accomplishment that was not equaled until “Titanic” in 1997 and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” in 2003.
One notable change in this MGM film involved the opening titles. Concerned that a roaring Leo the Lion, the MGM mascot, would create the wrong mood for the sensitive and sacred nativity scene, the film’s director, William Wyler received permission to replace the traditional logo with one in which Leo the Lion is quiet. It was the first time in MGM history that the lion logo was not seen roaring.
Culver City, also known as “The Heart of Screenland”, has waived all location permit fees for film and television production within its boarders. If interested in filming in Culver City contact the Filming Office at the Culver City Police Department, (310) 253-6212.