Somewhere Over the Rainbow: An Inside Look at the Sony Pictures Studio Tour
This year I went on a quest to visit the major Hollywood film studios. I toured Warner Bros. Studios, Paramount Studios and Walt Disney Studios by spring, but I still had one to go: Sony Studios. I had a good reason for leaving it to the end, though. I interned on the lot for nearly a year after college. But a lot has changed since then. So after a long break due to travel (I went to Amsterdam, took a 15-day European river cruise, visited Vienna again and Peru), I followed the yellow brick road to Culver City. Was the Sony Pictures Studio Tour worth the wait? And is it something you should do? Click your heels together and keep reading to find out!
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About the Sony Pictures Studio Tour
Sony Studios offers four different studio tours:
Daily Tours — $55 (2 hours, multiple tours on weekdays and weekends)
Premium Studio Tour — $150 (2 hours, offered twice daily, Monday-Friday)
VIP Lunch Tours — $200 (3 hours, 11:00 am Monday-Friday)
Twilight Tours — $55 (2 hours, 6:00 pm Thursdays only)
Unlike the Warner Bros. Studio Tour and the Paramount Studio Tour, where I chose a premium tour, I opted for the lowest Sony Pictures Studio Tour. I couldn’t rationalize paying nearly three times more for a ticket when the only differences were a smaller group, a cart and free drink at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
Regardless of which Sony Pictures Studio Tour you choose, the biggest included perk is the free parking in the Overland Parking Structure. (This is how I know I’ve lived in Los Angeles for too long.) But the perks don’t stop there! You also get a free souvenir photo.
If you want to take the Sony Pictures Studio Tour to see a real film and TV studio in action, don’t go on a federal holiday, like I did. The lot was relatively dead, minus a couple of crews putting sets together for “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” (I interned at a literary management company on the lot many years ago, I already knew what a normal day looked like.)
What You’ll See During the Sony Pictures Studio Tour
The daily Sony Pictures Studio Tour starts in the no-frills waiting area of the parking lot. Once everyone in your group is there, you walk to the first stop on the tour: the Sony Pictures Museum.
Sony Pictures Museum
The Sony Pictures Museum houses props and costumes from some of the biggest films and TV shows in the Sony library from the last 20-30 years. For example, they have an entire wall dedicated to “Breaking Bad” and a nice selection of props from “The Crown.” And if you’re a “Seinfeld” fan, you can walk around Jerry’s apartment and sit on his couch on the recreated set.
This part of the Sony Pictures Studio Tour isn’t guided. You have 15 minutes or so to browse and take pictures before the tour starts. (I actually had no idea the tour started because our tour guide didn’t make any sort of announcement. She just started talking.)
Sound Stages
After watching a short film that was basically a 15 minute ad for Sony, we walked past the different sound stages. Notice how I didn’t say “walk through” or “walk around” the sound stages? That’s because you literally walk by the most famous sound stages, like Stage 27, where the “Wizard of Oz” was filmed back when MGM owned the lot.
On the one hand, I get why they don’t take you in. Most of the stages are working sets and/or there’s really nothing to see from when a movie was filmed 70+ years ago. However, if you’ve never seen everything that goes into creating a set, it’s kind of a let down.
Moral of the story: If you want to walk around a real set and sound stage, the Paramount Studio Tour would probably be a better option.
“Wheel of Fortune” & “Jeopardy!” Sets
Maybe the biggest highlight of the Sony Pictures Studio Tour is seeing the “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” sets. Each show has its own mini museum with awards, wardrobe and other momentos. Neither show filmed on the day of my tour, so we watched the crew work on the sets for upcoming episodes. (BTW, you can attend a live taping of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! for free.)
ADR Recording Studio & Foley Stage
Next we stopped into the ADR Recording Studio to see where actors re-record their lines. (In case you’re wondering, ADR stands for Automated Dialogue Replacement.) Since there weren’t any demonstrations, I think we could have skipped this stop.
We then circled back around to the Foley Stage. At first glance, it looks like a large, chaotic storage closet that’s under construction. But it’s actually where the Foley Artists recreate sound effects for film. I thought it was cool to see the different materials they use to do it, and how they must have incredible hearing abilities.
Barbra Streisand Scoring Stage
The Barbra Streisand Scoring Stage dates all the way back to when MGM occupied the lot — and it has remained unchanged since the 1930s to maintain the acoustics. In fact, it’s the actual sound stage where Judy Garland recorded “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Our tour guide mentioned it’s Steven Spielberg’s favorite stage to work with John Williams on scores for his films. (It might have something to do with the couch he naps on.)
When I go on tours, this is the kind of thing I want to see. You walk in and you can feel (and even hear) the history radiating from the walls. It kind of blows your mind to be in the same room where iconic pieces of music were recorded.
Famous Cars
Before the tour ended at the studio store, we got up close and personal with famous on-screen cars. The most recognizable were the Ectomobile/Ecto-1 from “Ghostbusters” and the 1986 Fleetwood Bounder RV from “Breaking Bad.”
Hotels in Culver City
The Sony Pictures Studio tour is located in Culver City. When measuring distance in LA, miles don’t matter. We speak in minutes. From Hollywood, it could take anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes. It all comes down to traffic.
Compared to Hollywood, Culver City is a much nicer area. Downtown Culver City has a lot of great restaurants and it’s very walkable. It’s also close to the 405 and 10 freeways, as well as LAX. If your LA plans include stops in Santa Monica, Venice, Westwood or Beverly Hills, look into staying in Culver City.
đź“Ť Super 8 by Wyndham ($)
Why you should book it: You want to be in a good location that’s inexpensive. (Bonus: It’s close to Venice Beach!)
đź“Ť Mayumi ($$)
Why you should book it: You prefer a modern hotel with good vibes, free continental breakfast and complimentary happy hour.
đź“Ť The Culver Hotel ($$$)
Why you should book it: You want to stay in a historical hotel with “Wizard of Oz” ties and potential celebrity sightings.
Is the Sony Pictures Studio Tour Worth It?
Out of all the major studio tours, the Sony Pictures Studio Tour was my least favorite. And it all started with our tour guide. She spoke very softly and I could never hear her unless I stood two feet away from her. Sony could fix this with smaller groups (my group had almost 20 people) or using a QuietVox.
Content-wise, the Sony Pictures Studio Tour really lacks substance. After two hours, I didn’t really learn much about its history as a studio. And other than the plaques on stages, you didn’t see much besides props from recent productions.
I’m also surprised they’re not capitalizing on the “Wicked” mania with a “Wizard of Oz” or Judy Garland exhibit since it was filmed there. (I’m guessing it might have something to do with Warner Bros. owning the rights for another 10 years.) However, they could have taken us to the Crawford and Thalberg buildings, which are both featured on their interactive map.
The most disappointing thing, though, was not being able to take pictures with the giant rainbow arch that goes across the studio.
All that to say, if you’re dying to visit a film studio and Sony Studios is your only option, it will probably be fine. But if you have more time, I would suggest one of the other best studio tours in LA, like Warner Bros or Paramount, instead.
