A Visit to the WB Lot

In an earlier post from October, I spoke about my visit to the new offices of DC Comics (and other Warner Brothers departments) out in Burbank, CA. Last month, I visited WB’s adjacent movie lot.

Being a movie buff, I always enjoy visiting movie studios, so it was a treat to walk around the standing outdoor sets and through sound stages. I have to say, it’s amazing how relatively open the lot is once you have a pass/authorization to be on the premises—areas were only off limits if  filming was occurring. 

By coincidence, I also recently released a teaser that my next issue of Rob Hanes Adventures would involve Hollywood and the entertainment industry—though it was too late for my visit to serve as research per se, it was fun to soak in the atmosphere given that context. My only true film geek moment was when I walked into a garden area that I immediately recognized as the location of a couple scenes in the Coen Brothers film, “Hail, Caesar,” which I had coincidentally re-watched just a few months prior. (The scenes are those where Josh Brolin’s Hollywood fixer character, Eddie Mannix, keeps separately running into the feuding twin sister gossip columnists, Thora and Thessaly Thacker, both played by Tilda Swinton.)

A highlight was walking through the props department, where we saw sundry props and items, like paintings of various U.S. presidents and what appeared to be the leg lamp from in the film A Christmas Story. (I’m assuming it’s in the current sequel since we saw TWO such lamps in the warehouse in good condition, though I haven’t seen it yet.)

I didn’t realize that the lot actually also has a relatively active and busy studio tour, so we often saw trams running past us and making stops during our visit. In fact, I spotted a tour group walking through the prop warehouse I mention above. The tram tour ends at a WB museum of sorts (and gift shop), which we visited as well.

I should note that this friend actually hosted me for a visit to the lot back in the early ‘90s. I recall we walked through the empty and darkened sound stages for the West Wing and ER, and I saw outdoor sets (and a prop Batmobile) for a Batman film. (In fact, in the props department, I spotted a variety of lecterns with the presidential seal on it and wondered if one of those was the one I saw back on the West Wing set.)

Anyway, it was a fun day roaming through the lot! More below and in the photo gallery.