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A scene from "The Artist" at the northeast corner of S. Hudson Avenue and W. 2nd Street.
The French film shot in Hollywood 'The Artist' won three Golden Globes on Sunday night: best picture in the comedy or musical category, best actor for Jean Dujardin, and score. The dog even came up on stage. George Clooney won a best actor globe as well for "The Descendants," which won for best picture in the drama category. (Full list of Golden Globes winners and nominees.)
I've been on a Hawaiian slack key jag ever since I saw "The Descendants," so I kind of hope the soundtrack picks up some music awards before the season is over. Better yet, the academy should bring some players from the islands over for the Oscars. While they're at it, if the Oscar producers are looking to go Hawaiian for a dance number, they could do a lot worse than send somebody to Hilo to find this girl.
"The Artist" seems to be winning the buzz race, though. John Bengtson, the author of some fun and deeply researched books on silent movie locations, has done the most exhaustive look yet at the many L.A. locations used in "The Artist." His takes the historical angle. He draws links back to the real silent movies of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and others — and even makes a connection to "Roger Rabbit."
In "The Artist," the ingénue character Peppy Miller, played by Bérénice Bejo, lives in the mansion at 56 Fremont Place that Mary Pickford shared with her mother for about a year before she married Douglas Fairbanks. Another silent star, Mary Miles Minter, lived there with her mother. That house and #55 across the street, Muhammad Ali's former home, show up in Chaplin's "The Kid" in 1921. Fremont Place wasn't behind walls then like it is now.
The dog in "The Artist" summons a policeman to a burning building at the forner of June Street and Oakwood, Bengtson says. The L.A. Times has a photo gallery up of other locations, including the Bradbury Building and Cicada restaurant downtown.