"Tapeheads"

We see lots of various L.A. locations in the Bill Fishman film "Tapeheads" (Avenue Pictures, 1988). The last fifteen minutes is spent at a concert (with complication) at the Raymond Theatre in Pasadena. John Cusak and Tim Robbins play two former security guards who find improbable success in the music video business.

Also along for the very fun ride (in parts large and tiny) are Katy Boyer, Mary Crosby, Clu Gulager, Connie Stevens, Michael Nesmith, King Cotton, Courtney Love and Jello Biafra. Thanks to Marc Edward Hueck for noting the appearance of the Raymond in the film.

Katy Boyer doing a marquee change to reflect a last minute program change. She plays an artist who is hiding the fact from Robbins and Cusak that she's also the daughter of the slimy presidential candidate played by Clu Gulager.

Cusak heading backstage.

On the south side of the theatre with hit men employed by the presidential candidate arriving to find an incriminating video tape of their boss. The hit men end up doing a bit of dancing in the show.

Mary Crosby running up to the booth with the tape the guys are looking for. It's a great shot swirling around the curved ramp. The problem is that at the Raymond the booth is on the main floor.

The candidate's hit men swarming into the booth. 

Crosby with the tape. The booth's front wall is behind her. 

Cusak with the tape in front of the right wall of the booth. It's an interesting equipment display. There's a Simplex brand 4 channel mag/optical amp rack on the left.  Directly behind him it's generator controls and switching for various arc lamps. On the right with an exotic copper metalflake paint job it's a Simplex XL projector with a Simplex SH-1000 soundhead that has been shoved out of the way. That's a Strong arc lamp behind the projector.

There are video monitors all over the booth because the event is to go on national television. When Gulager bursts into the booth demanding the tape that was shot at one of his sex costume parties, Robbins suggests putting it in a player to even see if it's the right one after all the chasing. Of course he sends it out nationally.

A murky view of the auditorium during the show. 

 Backstage looking off left. 

The best shot we get of the theatre's decor. The guy is a record executive played by Don Cornelius.

See our page on the Raymond Theatre for more about the 1921 vintage building. Much of the decor remains inside but, sadly, the building has been condo-ized and is no longer a theatre.

On IMDb:"Tapeheads"

"Pulp Fiction"

Looking east on Hollywood Blvd. in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" (Miramax, 1994). Note the Pacific neon lit on the former Warner Theatre, 6433 Hollywood Blvd.

Uma Thurman has just overdosed and John Travolta is frantically driving her to Eric Stoltz' house for a shot of adrenaline. With a big syringe. Right in the heart. Also starring in the film are Samuel L. Jackson, Ving Rhames and Bruce Willis. Thanks to Jonathan Raines for spotting the shot.

See the pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site about the Warner Hollywood for a history of this 1928 movie palace along with hundreds of photos of various areas of the building.

"You lost all your L.A. privileges." Pasadena's Raymond Theatre, 129 N. Raymond Ave., was used for the exterior of the building for Bruce Willis' boxing match. He was supposed to take a dive in the 5th and didn't. The film also shot scenes nearby in Kendall Alley off of Union Street and Raymond Ave.

See our page on the Raymond Theatre for more about the 1921 vintage building. Much of the decor remains inside but, sadly, the building has been condo-ized and is no longer a theatre.

On IMDb: "Pulp Fiction"

"This Is Spinal Tap"

The band is in New York for this shot in Rob Reiner's "This is Spinal Tap" (Embassy Pictures, 1984) but the shot was done at 8th and Broadway in Los Angeles with the marquee of the Tower Theatre visible out the window and the Rialto down the block. At the Tower it was "Sorceress" and "The Sender." Bruno Kirby played the driver. 

See the pages about the Tower Theatre and the Rialto Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site fr histories of the two venues and many photos. The Tower is now an Apple store and the Rialto an Urban Outfitters. The film features Reiner along with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Ed Begley, Jr. The cinematography was by Peter Smokler.  

 

Although the Raymond Theatre at 129 N. Raymond Ave. in Pasadena was the venue for many of the  film's concert scenes, we never get any good views of the theatre. Here's a shot looking off right from near the beginning of the film. 

 

 

A bit of a look at the auditorium sidewall.  

Another look house right with a glimpse at the murals. 

A peek toward the rear of the house. 

A better look at the booth at the rear of the main floor.

 

See the page about the Raymond Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for more about the 1921 vintage building. In its later years it was renamed the Crown Theatre and then as a concert venue it was rebranded as the Perkins Palace. Much of the decor remains inside but, sadly, the building has been condo-ized and is no longer a theatre.

 

James Blair notes that they also filmed at the Variety Arts Theatre, where he was technical director in the 1980s. This is a shot from the Chrysalis number, one he remembers being filmed there. 

 

Another scene at the Variety Arts was with the band lost in the basement and wandering various corridors as they try to find their way to the stage.  

 

The Stonehenge concert scenes were also done at the Variety Arts. James notes: "I freaked out when I overheard the crew talking about flying in a Stonehenge set..." It was a piece that was supposed to be 18' high but, as we learn in the film, the drawing given to the woman who built it mistakenly showed the dimension as 18". 

See the pages about the Variety Arts Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the 1924 vintage building. In addition to the 1,200 seat main theatre, there's a ballroom, library, several bars, and a smaller theatre space on the 3rd floor. It's at 940 S. Figueroa St, across from the Hotel Figueroa and just north of L.A. Live.  

On IMDb: "This Is Spinal Tap"  

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"The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years"

One location for shooting Penelope Spheeris' documentary "The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years" (New Line Cinema, 1988) was the Raymond Theatre in Pasadena, known at the time as Perkins Palace. The film is mentioned in Matt Hormann's 2010 Hometown Pasadena article "Remembering Pasadena's Palace of Rock and Roll." It's on Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.

 

The crowd at the Perkins Palace watches Lizzie Borden perform "Born To Be Wild."

Thanks to Jonathan Raines for sending this one our way. Information about the theatre, now condo-ized, is on our Raymond Theatre page.

On IMDb: "The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years"