THE WARNER BROS. STUDIO TOUR
(818) 954-6000

Shhh! We’ve got a secret to tell you. The best studio tour in Los Angeles isn’t Universal Studios. Its one that is offered few miles down the road in Burbank. Warner Bros. Studios has been offering a studio tour for several years now. Unlike Universal, Warner’s chooses not to promote their tour. In fact, you’ll find little (if any) advertising for it. The studio doesn’t consider their tour an attraction but more of a service it offers to the studio’s fans who want to know about the movies.

Over the course of two hours, you will be taken on an extensive and informative showcase of the studio that made Casablanca, Superman and the Lethal Weapon movies as well as some of today’s most popular television shows. What makes this tour so special is that it offers opportunities that no other studio gives to the average movie fan. Not only does the tour give you the chance to see and sometimes walk through the sets of the movies and t.v. shows that are being made there, sometimes you are even allowed to watch actual scenes being shot. A few years back, friend of mine took the tour and was taken on to the set of E.R. to watch George Clooney shoot a scene. Other times, the tour will take you onto stages where rehearsals are taking place. It’s not unusual for the tour to stop by the Drew Carey Show and watch a private rehearsal for a show that will be filmed later that week. Because the tour will make stops like this, everything you will see is contingent to what the studio is doing that day. As a result, every tour might feature something the the last one didn’t and vice versa. There is simply no way of predicting what you might see that day.

Warner Bros. is also a small studio in size and because of the low key nature of the tour, stars feel comfortable walking through the lot. It’s a great opportunity for celebrity sightings. Perhaps because the tour is so special is one reason that Warner’s chooses not to promote it. They call it the V.I.P. tour and while you are there you are treated like one. This is one of the best kept secrets in Los Angeles. Don’t tell anyone.

Helpful Hint:
For information about the tour call the studio directly at 818-954-6000.

The tour requires reservations so be sure to call in advance.

Because the tour sometimes visits sets that are filming, small children are not allowed.

 

THE PARAMOUNT PICTURES TOUR
(323) 956-5000

Paramount Pictures is the only major studio that actually resides in Hollywood. This studio has it’s own unique history and has been the home of some of the most famous movies and television shows ever created. This tour doesn’t have the sensationalism of the Universal Tram tour. In fact, it doesn’t even have a tram! Instead, Paramount offers an extensive walking tour of it’s studio. The tour is small and intimate with informative guides that know their history of the studio. This tour is an in-depth look at a major studio, it history, and it’s acheivements. You don’t feel like a tourist but more like a V.I.P. that the studio is hoping to impress.

On this tour, you’ll see the gates that Norma Desmond went drove through in "Sunset Boulevard" , the backlot false fronts that have provided some memorable moments in T.V. and movies. (including the opening to "Laverne and Shirley". You might even have the chance to see a Star Trek set or a wandering alien as you walk through the lot.

Today, Paramount is also the home of such popular shows as "Frasier" and "Becker". It also probably the most architecturally beautiful of the lots. This tour is interesting and inciteful. It offers a very special look at one of the premiere stuidios in the world. Highly highly recommended.

Helpful: 
For information about the tour call the studio directly at 323-956-5000.

Since the tour is a walking one, make sure to wear comfortable shoes!