"Crossroads"

 

The karaoke contest at the fictional Club Bayou in New Orleans that's seen in "Crossroads" (Paramount, 2002) was shot at the Variety Theatre, 5253 W. Adams Blvd. Here Britney Spears, Zoe Saldana and Taryn Manning are in the theatre's dressing room before the show agreeing to just get along and put on the best show they can. 

 

They've run away from home and on the way west the car broke down. See, they've just got to win this contest to pay the repair bill and pay for motels on the way. The film also features Anson Mount and Dan Aykroyd. Shonda Rhimes wrote the script and Tamra Davis directed.

 

 

A look toward the stage at the Variety as the girls get announced.  

 

Another shot toward the stage with Britney, Zoe and Taryn doing their thing. 

 

 

Yes, she's a hit! The tip jars are overflowing.

Thanks to Lindsay Blake and her blog "I Am Not A Stalker" for identifying the shooting location of the scene. See her post "Café-Club Fais Do-Do from Crossroads" for more shots at the Variety from this film as well as from other movies and TV shows shot there. Kudos to Jonathan Raines for spotting the article. Also check out Lindsay's entertaining 2009 article about being at the Variety for the scene's three day shoot in 2001.

See the page about the Variety Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about the building.

 

 

Britney says goodbye to her on-the-road boyfriend, played by Anson Mount, on the Orange Dr. side of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. In the background, Grauman's Chinese is running "Spy Kids." Beyond the theatre, the steel is starting to rise for the Hollywood & Highland complex. 

 

We're near the end of the film and it's time to go home. Her father, played by Dan Aykroyd, has came west to bring her home to go to med school.

Friends Zoe and Taryn wait with dad as she goes back to the boyfriend after announcing that she's staying in Hollywood. And going to a big audition.

See the pages on the Chinese Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for the history of the 1927 vintage film house along with hundreds of photos.

 

The judges at the big audition scene shot at the Belasco Theatre, 1050 S. Hill St. Some of the arched paneling of the theatre is visible at the back of the main floor.

Although dad came west to bring her home at this moment he's somehow enthusiastically resigned to having her be a singer as he claps along during her number.

This shot toward the house lets you know you're definitely at the Belasco. The giveaways are the plaster decorations on the front of the balcony as well as the lit ovals. It's pre-renovation. In the upper right we can see there are still seats in the balcony.

A look down from the balcony. The auditorium floor hadn't yet been leveled to turn the place into a nightclub. We're looking at the original 1926 stage floor plus a little extension they had built out in front.

A Belasco shot appearing during the end credits. 

A view from a "making of" featurette that's on the film's DVD. Thanks to Lindsay Blake for noting the appearance of the Belasco in the film in her Discover L.A. article "Go On Location: Historic Los Angeles Theatres Featured in Film."

See the pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site about the Belasco Theatre for a history of this 1926 legit house as well as many photos.

On IMDb: "Crossroads"