L.A. Cameo: Slate on "Modern Family' And Its Accurate Los Angeles Geography

Over the years "Modern Family" has gone from barely acknowledging its setting to taking full advantage of its Los Angeles locale. The comedy's characters shop at the Grove, regularly show up at the Century Plaza Hotel (above, which doubles for many locations) and plenty of other West L.A. locales.

In a column for Slate, writer Andy Bowers sees even more similarities between the show and his life on the westside:

Mitchell Pritchett has taken over my office. I mean that literally, or as literally as possible when one is discussing a fictional character. If you watch last week’s episode of ABC’s Modern Family, you’ll see Mitch start a new job at the Center for Justice. They give him an office with an exposed brick wall, the office in which he finds several intriguing notes left in the desk drawer by the previous occupant. But in real life, the previous occupant of that room was me. (I recently moved to another office that also appears briefly in these scenes; it’s the one to the right of the vending machine, a machine that, sadly, they only brought in for the shoot.

If you live or work in West L.A., you’ve probably had a few Modern Family encounters of your own. And if you live around here and watch the show, it’s easy to forget these people are fictional. They feel like real neighbors who inhabit the same world we do, much more so than any other TV show I’ve ever seen. They’ve filmed at my daughter’s middle school, and Luke and Manny currently attend the public high school (Pali) that they’d probably attend if they were, you know, real people. The Pritchett and Dunphy kids use the playground and sports facilities at the same park we do. Claire’s firing range is in a strip mall that is walking distance from my house (although that particular business does not exist), and the intersection where she tried to get a stop sign installed is one I pass through every day on my bike ride to work (thankfully, it already has a four-way stop). We also regularly see the MF crew as they shoot driving scenes—which involve complicated rigs in front of the characters’ car—all over the local streets.

That's nothing new in Los Angeles, even in this age of runaway production. Film shoots are a regular way of life here, of course. And we regularly chronicle how "Mad Men," "Parks and Recreation" and some of our other favorite shows use Los Angeles spots to double as out-of-town settings. But Bowers points out a rare opportunity: "Modern Family's" Dunphy house is actually on the market right now, and for sale at $2.3 million.

OK, the fantasy of living in pricey Los Angeles real estate. That is the stuff that Hollywood dreams are made of.

Backstage at the Primetime Emmys

Another year covering the Emmys, and this year I was once again stationed backstage to watch the show and also keep an eye on winners as they headed into the press room. A few dull winners, a few surprise choices, and a good night for Showtime's "Homeland" -- as well as for 20th Century Fox TV, the studio behind both "Homeland" and "Modern Family." If you're not sick of Emmy coverage yet, I talked to Jimmy Kimmel's head writers to get the backstory on this year's Emmy gags; read about it here. Below, a few shots from this year's awards.


Amazing Race's Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri outside Nokia, hoping for their 9th Emmy.


Bitter rivals, right next to each other: ET and Access Hollywood press booths backstage.


Guillermo from "Jimmy Kimmel Live," backstage at the Emmys.


Supporting actor winner Eric Stonestreet kicks off "Modern Family's" dominant night at the Emmys.


Supporting actress Emmy winner Julie Bowen.


Comedy actress winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus.


Another win for "The Amazing Race"!


Louis C.K. took home two Emmys on Sunday night.


Sofia Vergara and the cast and producers of "Modern Family."


Emmy winner Claire Danes speaks as she's flanked by the cast and producers of "Homeland."


Winners Tom Berenger and Kevin Costner ("Hatfields and McCoys") back stage.


John Legend performs at Showtime's Saturday night party.

Mike on Radio: Talking 'Modern Family,' 'Idol' and 'The Hobbit' on KCRW

I'm back on KCRW's "The Business" this afternoon once again doing a little Hollywood biz bantering with the Los Angeles Times' John Horn (as regular host Kim Masters is on assignment). This week we chat about how the 'Gangster Squad' release date was pushed in wake of the movie theater massacre; how 'American Idol' will try to now reboot with Mariah Carey as a new judge; the background on how the 'Modern Family' cast sued 20th Century Fox TV over their contracts (keep in mind this was taped on Thursday, a day before the dispute was resolved) and Peter Jackson's desire to make a third 'Hobbit' movie.

Click above to listen to "The Business."

L.A. Cameo: 'Modern Family' Goes Hiking

From this week's episode of "Modern Family": Several characters go hiking at Westridge-Canyonback Wilderness Park in Encino.

Here's a shot from LAMountains.com of that same sign:

Los Angeles Cameo: Howard Hughes Center on 'Modern Family'

On Wednesday night's "Modern Family," Cameron and Mitchell go shopping at a local mall to find a present for Manny -- but then Mitchell stuns Cameron by suddenly participating in a flash mob dance performance to En Vogue's "Free Your Mind."

But where was that shopping mall? It wasn't The Grove, which Modern Family has visited in the past.

Nope -- but thanks to the power of Google and a lengthy shot of the mall's directory, I was able to piece it together.



Thanks to this shot, I was able to see the shape of the shopping center, plus see a big "Nordstrom Rack" on the directory. Later, both a Johnny Rocket's and a Happy Nail could be spotted in scenes.



Type "Los Angeles mall," "Nordstrom Rack," "Happy Nails" and "Johnny Rockets," and you get this: The Promenade at Howard Hughes Center. Far, far west of us, which is why we couldn't place it at first.

And the web site for the Promenade at Howard Hughes Center includes this:



Yep, looks identical to the map behind Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) in the pic above.

Question solved. Oh, by the way, that Maggiano's in the opener appears to be the one at the Grove:

Los Angeles Cameo: The Grove on "Modern Family"

While the media world was abuzz with questions over the iPad placement on Wednesday night's "Modern Family" (turns out Apple didn't pay for the appearance, they just loaned the device), I was just as intrigued over the episode's other major product placement.

I'm talking about The Grove. The Fairfax district shopping center was name-checked on Wednesday night's episode, as Claire (Julie Bowen) specifically announces her intention to buy an iPad at the Grove's Apple store.

Here's the weird part: Up until now, "Modern Family" has existed in Anywhere, USA. The show has definitely shot at L.A. area locations, such as the Century Plaza Hotel and the Santa Monica Pier -- but they've never actually identified where they were. The Pier could have been any pier (although we Angelenos clearly knew where they were), and the Century Plaza could have been any hotel.

That's why it was particularly strange that the characters made a point of specifically saying which shopping center they were heading to. Are they suddenly coming out as a show set in Los Angeles? Or was the Grove namecheck a sort of "thank you" for allowing the producers to shoot there?

AdAge estimates that the value of iPad's "Modern Family" appearance may have been worth $1 million to $2 million. The Grove didn't get nearly the same amount of attention on the show... but it still definitely got some nice publicity on one of TV's hottest new shows.

Rick Caruso strikes again!

Los Angeles Cameo: The Century Plaza Hotel on "Modern Family"

Perhaps the Los Angeles Conservancy should enlist the cast of ABC's hit comedy "Modern Family" to help save the endangered Century Plaza Hotel.

The hotel played a large role in this week's Valentine's Day-themed episode, as Phil and Claire look to recharge their marriage by getting a room at a hotel -- while downstairs, Jay and Gloria go to see a standup routine by comedian David Brenner.

Above, a scene shot in the lobby (and below, how the lobby normally looks.)



A few more shots, as Claire is stuck on the escalator:





And how that part normally looks: