One of my favorite romantic comedies of all time is A Lot Like Love starring Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher – and while I was watching it I absolutely fell in love with the building used as Amanda Peet’s apartment. But as hard as I tried, I couldn’t seem to find this location by searching Google or any of my go-to filming location sites.
For this location, I turned to the director’s commentary on the DVD. Many times, during a DVD commentary, a director will mention in what part of town a scene was filmed, which helps to narrow locations down. In this case, the director mentioned the exact street where her apartment was located- Vine St. in Hollywood- and from there I was on my way!
My boyfriend and I drove south down Vine Street until we found the red brick apartment building near the corner of Fountain and Vine. While it definitely looks better on the big screen, the building is pretty incredible in person. The front doors happened to be open, so we ventured inside.
It is amazing how quiet and peaceful the interior courtyard is, being that it is located only a few blocks from the busy corner of Hollywood and Vine.
The courtyard is full of flowers and plants of all sizes and wrought iron benches and looks like an amazing place to spend a summer afternoon. The courtyard is where Ashton sang his heart out to Amanda Peet towards the end of the film. Her front door was the first door on the right hand side when you enter the courtyard.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: Amanda Peet’s character lived in the Villa Elaine Apartment building, located at 1245 Vine Street in Hollywood. Frank Sinatra, Orson Wells, May Ray, and Remy Zero have all called the building home at one time or another. You can park in the Payless Shoe Source parking lot across the street and walk to the building. If the front doors aren’t open, you can peek inside them to see the amazing center courtyard.
I was 5 years old in 1979 and my single mother and I lived in this exact apartment. It was heavily infested with enormous roaches (core memory, oof), being so near to the storefront restaurant.
The infamous and deliciously seedy Hollywood Ranch Market was right across the street back then, before it burned down the following year. I have a distinct memory of my mom stressing to get us there and done with our shopping before sundown, when she didn’t feel safe on the street after dark with a young child. I also remember being grossed out by the thick clouds of fruit flies always covering the produce section. Yeah, we were poor and apparently the rent was cheap then.
Casey Cola lived in the Villa Elaine at the time, too. She was the woman who survived a heroin suicide pact with Darby Crash, singer of the influential punk band The Germs (she survived, but he didn’t). I remember my mom babysitting Casey’s daughter Arwen a handful of years later. When I was a teenager, I was watching a Nirvana performance on MTV and my mom recognized one of their guitarists as a former guitarist for The Germs. Only many years later did I learn just how big of a POS Casey Cola truly was. Apparently she got together with Arwen’s father when she was in her late 20’s and he was only 16. They had another daughter together after Arwen, who was born addicted to heroin. She also talked this poor guy into robbing banks to support their addictions, and he spent years in state and federal prisons for it. She abandoned their daughters and they went into foster care. She died of an overdose in 2012.
Another neighbor of ours in that building was aspiring actor Terence Knox, whom we just knew as Terry. He hadn’t had his big break yet, but after we moved away he was cast as a doctor on the show St. Elsewhere who ended up being a serial r–ist. In real life he was a nice guy though, and he carried me back to our apartment once when I’d cut my foot on a piece of broken glass near the building’s pool.
I’ve looked online at these apartments recently, they look really nice now. Back in those days it was a real sh–hole, but it was definitely a source for some interesting stories for people who were around then. It’s a wonder I survived, though.
I was born and brought to the Villa Elaine Apartments in 1953. My father was George Auerbach a movie director and writer and my mother was a young actress, Noelle Kent.
I know this has nothing to do with the movie, but one of my favorite albums ever (because I was listening to it while dating my wife) is called Villa Elaine by a band called Remy Zero. They called it that because that’s where they were staying temporarily while they wrote and recorded the album. There used to be a sign hanging off the building that said “Villa Elaine,” and that was the album cover. I’ve put a link to a picture in my comment. (Sorry to go off on a tangent.)
I was keen on finding this place a few years ago~!
I appreciate that you kindly let me know now where this gorgeous place is ; ▷ !!!
OH, I’m envious of that you actually went there ㅠv ㅠ(here is Korea…). Anyway thank you again * v *!
I just love this movie so much! It makes me cry every time I watch it. 🙂 I fell in love with Emily’s apartment immediately. It reminds me a lot of the one in ‘Til There Was You.
do you know if the interior scenes were from that apartment or was it on a set ?
I’ve been looking for this place everywhere as well- for years!! It’s soo beautiful
Just spent the weekend here with my nephew (who lives in the apt. just to the right and above the arch overlooking the courtyard)