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Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood

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TCM Classic Films Tour

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Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood Reopens With New Ways for Fans To Get Closer to the Entertainment They Love

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Classic film lovers: See James Dean’s apartment and more on new TCM tour at Warner Bros.

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In 2021, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour created new interactive exhibits focused on the company’s recent history, unveiling areas dedicated to the DC Comics universe and the “Harry Potter” franchise.

This week, the popular Studio Tour in Burbank is doubling down on its more distant past.

Warner Bros. is now offering a Turner Classic Movies-branded version of its studio tour that will bring guests to previously off-limit areas of the lot, including vintage animation buildings, a mini rose garden and an apartment that once housed James Dean. The 90-minute tram portion of the jaunt — about 30 minutes longer than the studio’s standard tram excursion — will allow guides to go deeper into the history of the studio’s catalog to deliver factoids related to such films as “Casablanca,” “My Fair Lady,” “Rebel Without a Cause,” “Auntie Mame” and many more.

“We’re off the leash,” says Brad Taylor, a 15-year tour guide veteran with Warner Bros., noting that the TCM excursion will include time for guides to chat with visitors about their favorite films.

“We get to talk to the guests and really hang out with people who have the same passion that we do,” Taylor says. “I find that ‘classics’ guests are less about behind-the-scenes and more, ‘I can’t believe this is where we are.’ It’s just the look on their faces when they realize ‘Casablanca’ filmed here, or James Dean stood right here.”

The launch of the TCM tour arrives during the network’s 30th anniversary and close to 12 months after classic film fans were given a scare. In June, Warner Bros. announced that layoffs would hit TCM, including some of the network’s top executives, prompting concern from prestige directors such as Steven Spielberg, Paul Thomas Anderson and Martin Scorsese. After garnering national attention, key cuts were reversed and Warner Bros. sought to assure fans that TCM would continue to be handled with care.

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Without Turner Classic Movies and other channels for movies on TV, we’d lose the instructive pleasures of the happy accident, the unexpected discovery.

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TCM network hosts — Eddie Muller, Jacqueline Stewart, Ben Mankiewicz, Alicia Malone and Dave Karger — recorded new video segments for the outing. The tour will take guests into the lot’s Property House, an area not visited by the standard tour. Here, visitors can get glimpses of materials for a full set, including items for a complete Oval Office setting, but expect guides to highlight vintage items, such as a throne from the Errol Flynn pirate film “Captain Blood.”

Danny Kahn, vice president-general manager of the studio tour, says there have been numerous requests over the years from guests to delve a little deeper into the studio’s animation history. That’s why the TCM tour will for the first time take visitors to an area of the lot once known as “Termite Terrace,” which from 1955 to 1964, says Taylor, housed the animation department, a building with a sloped roof designed to capture sunlight. Animation legend Chuck Jones, says Kahn, had an office in the Termite Terrace area in the 1990s despite Warner’s moving animation production elsewhere.

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Another unique tour locale is the exterior of the Dean apartment. When Dean resided there during filming of “East of Eden,” it was actually across the street from the lot, the apartment nesting above a pharmacy. But gradual studio expansion has led to the area now being on Warner Bros. property.

“That was an actual drugstore with apartments, and the studio rented it for him,” Kahn says. “I think it was to keep an eye on him and keep him on a short leash.”

The tour will also give tram riders a look at executive life at the studio, allowing them to briefly walk around a rose garden. The manicured spaces once held a tennis court as well as offices and personal screening rooms for the likes of studio mogul Jack Warner, with many of the structures dating to the 1920s. “It’s a really historic area of the lot that hasn’t really changed a lot in all these years,” says Kahn, noting the area is still in use by studio principals. “Jack Warner, when he ran the studio, privatized the first floor. That was a massage parlor that he had beneath his office.”

TCM Classic Films Tour

Where: The Warner Bros. Studio, 3400 Warner Blvd., Burbank 91505

When: Most days, 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Cost: $95 for adults; $82 for children. A SoCal resident discount is available for $75

Info: (818) 977-8687 or wbstudiotour.com

Staples of the tour, such as a journey around the backlot city streets, a visit to the “Friends” set and cafe and recent additions highlighting the studio’s modern franchise films are included in the TCM trek, as is a pre-tour reception with beverages and pastries. All told, expect the tour to last about 3½ hours. A tour spokesperson says the first TCM-branded outing is scheduled for Wednesday, with trams expected to depart daily after that date. Adult tickets are $95, but there is a Southern California resident discount available for $75.

“It feels so good to have TCM here,” Kahn says. “People understand that the TCM brand is synonymous with classic film.”

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Todd Martens joined the Los Angeles Times in 2007 and covers a mix of interactive entertainment (video games) and pop music. Previously, Martens reported on the music business for Billboard Magazine. He has contributed to numerous books, including “The Big Lebowski: An Illustrated, Annotated History of the Greatest Cult Film of All Time.” He continues to torture himself by rooting for the Chicago Cubs and, while he likes dogs, he is more of a cat person.

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Warner Bros. Studio Tour

Walk in the footsteps of past and present Hollywood stars at one of the most famous filming studios in the world -- the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank, just outside of downtown LA.

Visitors will have the chance to explore one of the busiest working studios in cinema today, alongside one of the company’s expert on-site tour guides who will show entertainment lovers a true “behind-the-scenes” look at this beloved destination which has been creating TV and movie masterpieces for nearly a century.

From the iconic “Central Perk” set from Friends, to “Sheldon's spot” inside the actual apartment 4A where The Big Bang Theory is filmed, this tour experience will transport guests into another (more fun?) world entirely, while bringing on-screen movies and television to life. “Off set” there are also a variety of educational museums, such as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and DC Universe: The Exhibit, where guests can enter the world of Aquaman and Wonder Woman, taking in the real costumes and props that are seen on the silver screen -- all while learning new fun facts about these beloved TV and movie features. It’s a dream come true for film fanatics and celebrity lovers alike.

Take the Metrolink Antelope Valley or Ventura County Line to the  Burbank-Downtown Station

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Warner Bros Studio Tour Center

Warner bros studio tour center .

Project Description   

• Winter 2018 - Project reviewed by City's Internal Development Review Committee (IDRC).
• Spring 2018 - Project construction commenced.
• Spring 2020 - Project construction completed.
• June 26, 2021 - New Tour Center opened to the Public.

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Movie lovers, a new TCM Classic Films Tour is rolling at the Warner Bros. Studio backlot

Call it a fresh way to time travel: the lot look-around will include deep peeks at the golden age of hollywood., by alysia gray painter • published april 19, 2024 • updated on april 19, 2024 at 5:13 pm, what to know.

• TCM Classic Films Tour at Warner Bros. Studio
• The new tour celebrates the 30th anniversary of Turner Classic Movies with lot stops spotlighting treasures of Hollywood's Golden Age
• Tickets start at $95; find yours on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood site

Time travel machines, at least in the movies, often boast blinking knobs and glowing wheels and the truth is this: You're never sure where they'll take you, once they're off and flying.

But what if you could board an open-air vehicle that also services as a time-traveling device, the sort of airy auto that takes you to stops and spots where some of Tinseltown's titans once worked, created, dreamed, and occasionally lived?

Such a wondrous mode of transportation exists, and you won't need to pass through a silver screen to reach it: It's located at Warner Bros. Studio, where the brand-new TCM Classic Films Tour is now on the movie-loving move.

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The tour was unveiled just ahead of the TCM Classic Film Festival , which is shimmering in Hollywood through April 21.

Launched to honor the 30th anniversary of Turner Classic Movies, the tour is putting "a focus on the studio's early days, delving into the timeless allure of classic cinema and feeling the magic of Hollywood’s rich history firsthand."

Television will also receive its due, as well as the many films that famously found their first footing at the Burbank studio.

The Eastwood Scoring Stage, which will celebrate its centennial in just five years, is on the tour, as is a look at the exterior of an apartment that James Dean once lived in, a nearby abode he could retreat to while putting in the hours on a film shoot.

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And a rose garden isn't just about the flowers but also love, in the tennis sense: A court once stood there, and none other than Jack Warner, one of the studio's founders, enjoyed some time at the net.

The Property House — the name reveals the structure's purpose — will also be visited, and prop mavens will get to check out artifacts seen in some of the cinema and television's best-known works.

"For 100 years, Warner Bros. has stood for the very best in moviemaking and TCM has continued to spotlight the legacy of the studio with incredible program offerings throughout its 30 years," shared Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy. 

"We are thrilled movie lovers from around the world can visit the iconic Burbank lot to experience the TCM Classic Films Tour and celebrate the rich history of the studio's contributions to cinema."

The tour begins with a welcome video from the TCM hosts; look also for historical snapshots, iconic costumes — including outfits seen in "The Music Man," a beloved musical that is synonymous with the lot's charming Midwest Street — and other treats for those who regularly revisit some of the starriest cinematic offerings of the past.

Tickets start at $95 and are available on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour site.

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Warner Bros., TCM Debut Studio Tour

The Warner Bros. Studios Tour Hollywood has kicked off a special tour of its backlot in conjunction with Turner Classic Movies .

The TCM Classic Film Tour is a permanent part of the tour since launching on April 16 and takes visitors to some rarely seen portions of the studio.  

Guests can visit new points of interest including the exterior of James Dean’s apartment in which he resided while working on the lot, and the rose garden, which in the early years was Jack Warner’s tennis court and was surrounded by talent dressing rooms.

Visitors will also have the chance to stop at the Property House, which has over a half-million television and movie props, including the pirate chair from “Captain Blood,” a 1935 film starring Errol Flynn, and the Tiffany chandelier from “The Letter.”  

Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group’s Co-Chief Executives Mike De Luca  and  Pam Abdy  said that for 100 years Warner Bros. has stood for the very best in moviemaking, adding that TCM has continued to spotlight the legacy of the studio with program offerings.

“We are thrilled movie lovers from around the world can visit the iconic Burbank lot to experience the TCM Classic Films Tour and celebrate the rich history of the studio’s contributions to cinema,” De Luca and Abdy said in a statement.  

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How ‘The Sympathizer’ Makeup and Hair Artists Believably Transformed Robert Downey Jr. Into Four Different Characters

By Jazz Tangcay

Jazz Tangcay

Artisans Editor

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When “ The Sympathizer ” showrunner and director Park Chan-Wook brainstormed ideas for HBO’s newest miniseries, one scene struck him as a “quintessential American institution and represented the idea of America.” It took place in a steakhouse with several characters coming together.

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But it took a group of artisans to transform the actor into the various characters. Here, they break down the looks and what went into transforming the actor.

The idea of Claude’s relationship with the Captain was that he was a paternal figure to him.

Downey’s transformation began with Vincent Van Dyke (FX prosthetic designer). Due to time constraints, he opted not to go into any digital concept work. “I started sculpting immediately and I had all four plaster heads on one table,” Van Dyke says. “I was sculpting hair, eyebrows and mustaches trying to get an overall feel and vibe for what these characters would look like.”

The approval process also differed. Rather than send photos back and forth, Park, Downey and executive producers Susan Downey and Amanda Burrell came into his Burbank studio and discussed ideas in person.

Susan Downey notes Claude’s hair was something that changed. Given his military background, there were conversations about whether he should be given a buzzcut.

“Robert specifically wanted him to be incredibly innocuous. Just somebody you pass on the street and wouldn’t think twice about,” Susan Downey says. “As you see him each time, especially once he’s in America, he’s always in some disguise but it’s subtle. He has a book when he plays a tour guide, and he always has a dog.”

She adds, “Claude is that balance of the friendly guy you’d pass on the street and not think twice about, but maybe in a dark alley, he could handle some business.”

Hair department head Katherine Kousakis brought various ideas to the table during the discussion.

“We started with a Robert Redford look,” Kousakis says. But the look didn’t click for anyone. She reveals there was at least a two week process of bringing in pictures and brainstorming ideas, including a mold with a flat top, but nothing jumped out.

“Ultimately, Robert sent me a picture of a friend of his, and it was just this balding, very erratic and curled hair, and we went from there,” Kousakis says. “We punched up the color and there was more reddy-orange.”

Once they had settled on the hair, it was about enhancing nuances to bring the character to life, such as a cauliflower ear and a nose that looked like it had been broken and reset a few times.

The application process of transforming Downey into Claude took no more than an hour. Van Dyke says, “We were limited with time, so I made sure we were streamlining things. There were earpieces on both: one to kick his ear out to give him a subtle cauliflower ear; the other ear was pinned back a little, so there’s a real asymmetry to that.”

Downey had a nose piece running along his bridge, giving him a “boxier nose.” He also had jaw pieces, as well as custom contact lenses, which Van Dyke says were hand painted to change his eye color.

Kousakis adds, “We decided his complexion would be lighter and he’d have freckles with gingery-color hair.” Those additions, along with giving him blue eyes, were some features that evolved along the way.

Professor Hammer

Like Claude, Professor Hammer is a mentor and paternal figure to the Captain. First introduced in Episode 2, the Professor is an old college professor who the Captain knows.

The Professor came to life swiftly since Downey had a vision for how he would look.

It was during the discussion process of how the Professor would look that Downey suggested the port wine stain on the Professor’s head, as well as the large abdomen scar. In Episode 2, the Professor changes into a kimono, revealing his pot belly and a scar, for which Van Dyke created a full prosthetic piece. Downey proposed the Professor had needed his spleen removed, hence the scarring.

“It’s a full wraparound piece that goes from the upper chest down to his belly. The chest hairs were individually punched in, and there’s hair around his nipples, and this grotesque scar — all art directed by Robert,” Van Dyke explains. “I also wanted him to have this John Waters mustache, thin mustache.”

The application process took makeup artists Chris Burgoyne and Mike Mekash 90 minutes. Burgoyne’s story behind the scarring was that it “was primitive by modern-day medical standards. He had been partying in a third-world country and had come under a medical complication and they had to do an emergency triage on him.”

And while Claude had a boxier shape to him, the Professor was rounder and softer. “We wanted to age him a bit too, so he’s wearing little prosthetic pieces to extend his earlobes and give him this nice fleshy elongation,” Burgoyne says. “He’s wearing eye bag pieces. His nose piece is split into two, and that widens his tip.”

The Congressman

The congressman was the least nuanced by design, according to Susan Downey, and the only interesting detail was the actor’s black contact lenses. “There is no light in those eyes.”

Van Dyke says the team wanted to create a character that “instantly feels smarmy. You don’t know if you trust this guy, and yet, he’s incredibly charming and appealing. Robert really wanted that to come through in this design.”

For Kousakis, getting the hair correct was easy since he would be a textbook 1970s politician. “We knew how to part the line further back. The color was easy, we also saw him as a little bit older and gray.”

Van Dyke wanted to give him a chiseled look, so he created a prosthetic piece that reshaped Downey’s lower lip, resulting in a distinct profile.

The Auteur, who’s introduced in Episode 3, is someone the Captain meets in Los Angeles. His vibe is European and oozes that 1970s-endearing charm. Van Dyke says, “His hair is tussled and he’s got this vibrato to him. You’ve got this sense that he’s an oil painter by night, and shooting films by day.”

Kousakis built a wig that was permed with free-flowing curls to give him that tussled look. For the color, she opted for chocolate. “The punch of chocolate livened him up, and showed the dimension of the curl on camera,” she says.

In crafting his look, Van Dyke wanted him to have a distinct nose. “Robert chimes in and says, ‘Let’s give him a mole.'”

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