If you’re a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal or dark narratives, chances are you’ve heard of the 2001 cult classic “Donnie Darko.” This film, which features time travel, teenage rebellion, and inevitable death, made Long Beach one of its prime filming locations. The film, which is based in Middlesex, Virginia, was filmed on Country Club Drive in Bixby Knolls due to its the suburban nature. Two houses, specifically, are on display in the film—one serves as the home of Donnie Darko (Gyll

Starring Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon, “Pleasantville” (1998) tells the story of David Wagner (Maguire), a kid obsessed with the fictional ‘50s sitcom television show, “Pleasantville.” Everything is simple in Pleasantville—a place where all citizens live in harmony—until David and his sister, Jennifer (Witherspoon), are given a mysterious remote control from an eccentric television repairman. The remote transports them into Pleasantville and they become characters in t

The history of movies and television shows filmed in Long Beach is as extensive as it is storied, and for the last 30-plus years, Long Beach native John Robinson has been at the center of all the action—both as a film coordinator-photographer for the city of Long Beach and through running his own location service for films: Long Beach Locations. Name a spot in Long Beach, and John Robinson, at the drop of a hat, can tell you what has been filmed there. Take a spot in East Lon

The 1999 murder mystery “8MM,” starring Nicolas Cage, has a scene set in Sunnyside Cemetery, located on 1095 E. Willow St. in Long Beach. While investigating the authenticity of an eight-millimeter film involving someone’s murder, Cage ends up at the cemetery, and there, gets into a fight with a foe. Cage crashes out of a window atop the second floor of a house on the premises of the graveyard. “We built an entire back of a house on site [at Sunnyside Cemetery] in order to sh

When two races of robots descend upon Earth, war and massive destruction break out in the film series, “Transformers.” It is up to Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf,) to ally with the Autobots to save the world from utter annihilation. In “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” a secret military base handling extraterrestrial threats, known as NEST, works to combat the Decepticons. Part of this facility was shot at the old Boeing facility in Douglas Park. “The exterior of the secret milit

From our August 2018 magazine: In the 2008 film “Get Smart,” Steve Carell plays awkward Control Agent 86, aka, Maxwell Smart. Smart and his partner Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) journey to Washington D.C., Moscow, and finally, Los Angeles to thwart a terrorist attack by Russian spies in Los Angeles. The exciting, action-filled conclusion of “Get Smart” was shot in Long Beach. “You go with what fits,” said Kokayi Ampah, location manager of “Get Smart,” about pairing the perfect loc

From our August 2018 magazine: Starring Justin Long, Jason Lee and David Cross, the 2009 film “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” features the classic animated characters Alvin, Simon, and Theodore Seville as they take a break from stardom to go to high school. The chipmunks are tasked with saving the school’s music program by winning a battle-of-the-bands contest. One scene in the film features Alvin in a football game as a receiver on Woodrow Wilson Classical High Sch

From our August 2018 magazine: The 1998 film “The Parent Trap,” starring Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, and Natasha Richardson, opens on the wedding day of Nick (Quaid) and Elizabeth (Richardson) Parker. Nat King Cole’s “L-O-V-E” smoothly sets the tone for this elegant, romantic scene, fictionally taking place aboard the Queen Elizabeth II ship in 1986. In actuality, the sequence was shot aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Selecting the Queen Mary for this opening montage hel

From our August 2018 magazine: The 2007 film “License to Wed” tells the story of an engaged couple from Chicago, Ben and Sadie. Ben (John Krasinski) wants to get married in the Caribbean while Sadie (Mandy Moore) wants to get married at the church her grandfather built—St. Augustine’s. Ben agrees, but there’s a catch. Sadie’s pastor, the Rev. Frank (Robin Williams,) mandates an arduous marriage preparation course before the couple’s wedding, ensuing comedic situations through

Paramount Pictures’ 1997 film “Face/Off,” starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, pits an FBI special agent named Sean Archer (Travolta) against a vicious terrorist named Castor Troy (Cage). Archer has hunted Troy for the last eight years and is consumed by revenge after Troy killed Archer’s son. To thwart his nemesis, Archer must "borrow" Troy's face using a surgical procedure to go undercover as Troy, but chaos ensues when Troy assumes the identity of Archer as well. Towar

From our August 2018 Magazine Issue: Sitting at the counter at George’s 50s Diner on Atlantic Avenue one day, 908 resident Sylvia Chandler ate her lunch while a film crew worked around her preparing to film a Hyundai car commercial. “They were really nice and offered to pay for my meal,” Chandler said. Chandler is just one of many loyal customers at George’s 50s Diner, a Long Beach historical icon, owned by George Alvarez and his wife Helen. While the diner is known to many a

For Patrick Mignano, Long Beach is more than just home; it’s a place to make movie magic. Learn more about the Long Beach native who is best known for working closely with Clint Eastwood on films like “American Sniper.” (From our August 2018 Magazine Issue) Patrick Mignano is a local resident who has brought several film projects to Long Beach in his 28 years as a location manager. Formerly residing in the 908 on E. Second Street, he now lives in Lakewood and is always on-the