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How Many CAR Scenes Filmed in the LA River?


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With nods to the movie car conversation going on HERE Kurt Womack (89AKurt) got me wondering how many movies have been shot in the concrete canyons of the LA River. It's a setting familiar to all, because it seems half the car chases in California set films have to go to the gully. Is the big ditch really accessible for anyone to go driving in? Films would make you think so.

REPO MAN

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DRIVE

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GREASE

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TRANSFORMERS

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THEM (1954)

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TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA

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GUMBALL RALLY

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????

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19 hours ago, Richard Bartrop said:

Trucks and bikes, so I'm going to say, close enough.   Terminator 2

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Why is the 'Freightliner'  emblem covered with black tape????

The entire segment was filmed and them flopped....Arnold is really on the right side fake driving.......the real driver is in the normal left side but covered to look like a seat!!!! 

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On 11/29/2018 at 9:08 AM, Lunajammer said:

Is the big ditch really accessible for anyone to go driving in? Films would make you think so.

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There was a ramp under the 6th Street Bridge that led down to the river; you can see it here in the last picture of your post. I'm not sure if it was legal or not, but people did drive down there, and obviously it was very convenient for film shoots. Actually the ramp is still there, but blocked off due to the rebuilding of the bridge. I'm not sure what the plans eventually call for.

The closing scene of Buckaroo Banzai was shot at the Sepulveda Dam, quite a few miles upriver, but also a popular filming location.

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29 minutes ago, RancheroSteve said:

There was a ramp under the 6th Street Bridge that led down to the river; you can see it here in the last picture of your post. I'm not sure if it was legal or not, but people did drive down there, and obviously it was very convenient for film shoots. Actually the ramp is still there, but blocked off due to the rebuilding of the bridge. I'm not sure what the plans eventually call for.

The closing scene of Buckaroo Banzai was shot at the Sepulveda Dam, quite a few miles upriver, but also a popular filming location.

I was hoping someone from LA who knows the area would clarify. Thanks Steve. So the many chase scenes are plausible.

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2 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

They didn't want to pay for licensing, probably.. hiding/removing badging is common in movies/tv.

In a previous life I provided traffic control for numerous movies/commercials.  Very common for logos to be covered, even to the extent of covering "Ford" and "Dodge" logos on hubcaps.

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1 hour ago, Rob Hall said:

There was a scene in a series I saw a while back were a minor character was living in a motor home down in the LA River.  I think it was in season 1 of Goliath. 

Good call. I saw both seasons (very good) and I didn't remember this at all.

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