Ready for My Closeup: Touring Paramount Studios
If you haven’t noticed, I’m on a studio tour kick this spring. After visiting the Warner Bros backlot and Walt Disney Studios, I decided to check out the Paramount Studio Tour. Located on Melrose Avenue and butting up to Hollywood Forever Cemetery, I was very excited to see where two of my favorite movies, “Sunset Boulevard” and “White Christmas”, were filmed.
About the Paramount Studio Tour
Paramount Pictures offers three different tours of the Melrose Avenue studio lot:
Studio Tour — $69 (2 hours, weekdays and weekends)
Premier Tour — $150 (3 hours, weekdays only)
VIP Tour — $220 (4.5 hours, weekdays only)
I went back and forth between the Studio Tour and Premier Tour. Based on the description, I wasn’t sure if $150 would be worth it. And reading some underwhelming and lackluster reviews didn’t help. I ultimately decided to do the Premier Tour because I wanted to see the archives.
Paramount only offers the Premier Tour at 1:00 p.m. during the week. The confirmation email says plan on arriving 30 minutes before your tour. I have no idea why because you can walk around the waiting area, which includes six film costumes, three Academy Awards and a couple of props, in about 10 minutes.
I really lucked out because it was only me and another guy, so it was like getting a private tour. Our tour guide said filming is about to start picking up again for the different TV shows, so there wasn’t a ton of activity on the lot.
Parking Tip: There’s a parking lot directly across from the Paramount Studio Tour office where you can park for $20. If you’re like me and don’t mind walking, there’s plenty of free parking on Gower and Van Ness. Make sure to read the signs because some parking is only for 2 hours. (Seriously, I will walk great lengths to avoid paying for parking. And if you ask me, charging $20 for parking on top of tickets is greedy and insane.)
What You’ll See on the Paramount Studio Tour
Before getting into our studio cart, we had the opportunity to hold an actual Academy Award from 1953. (I can now say I’ve held two Oscars in my life. #blessed) The tour guide gave us water and cookies before driving to our first stop: the Blue Sky Tank.
When it’s not filled with gallons of water to recreate ocean scenes, which is often, it’s a parking lot. Very LA. Some of the films that used the water tank include “Star Trek,” “The Truman Show” and “The Ten Commandments.”
Sound Stages and Sets
Unlike the Warner Bros Studio Tour, which only lets you sit in the audience, the Paramount Studio Tour lets you walk around working TV sets. (Pictures aren’t allowed on any sets.) We got to see two sets: the law offices from “Matlock” and the police department from “The Rookie.” They were both massive and very impressive. I have to admit I haven’t seen either shows, but I want to now just so I can yell out “I’ve been there!”
Lucy Park
In the 1960s Lucille Ball’s production company, Desilu, had offices on what is now the Paramount lot. (It was RKO Pictures before Desilu bought it in the late 1950s.) Lucy’s bungalow was right next to Stage 25, where she filmed “The Lucy Show.” It later became the home of “Cheers” and “Frasier.”
Lucy got a lot of flack for being a working mom, so she designed the area outside her bungalow to look like her backyard. That way if paparazzi ever took pictures of her with her kids, it looked like she was at home. Lucy was also responsible for putting in a daycare, which is still there today.
Of all the stops on the tour, I really wish they did more here. It would have been really cool if they took a page out of Disney’s book and recreated her dressing room and bungalow like it was back in the 60s.
Paramount Studios Archive
Exploring the Paramount Studios Archives was my favorite part of the tour. We were first taken through “the stacks” where every film and TV show is stored. This wasn’t that exciting, but more like “oh my gosh how do they keep track of everything?”
On the upper level is where they have props and costumes from different movies and TV shows. The confusing part, to me at least, is how it’s poorly put together. When you compare it to Warner Bros., which displayed them in elaborate displays, Paramount looks more like an old department store.
My favorite pieces were Rosemary Clooney’s bracelet and Vera Ellen’s gloves from “White Christmas” as well as a dirndl from the iconic “Danke Schön” number in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” There were also some older suits worn by Bing Crosby and Cary Grant.
There were additional rooms down the hallway, between actual offices, with more props that you can only look at from outside the door.
While everything was really cool to see in person, it was giving disorganized estate sale vibes. It didn’t feel like a lot of thought was put into it and it wasn’t very polished. And a lot of the displays were dirty. I guess I expected better displays from a billion dollar film studio.
I’m also surprised they didn’t have a major exhibit dedicated to costume designer Edith Head. They did have some photos of her, as well as some drawings, but again I expected more.
New York Backlot
Like Warner Bros, Paramount also has its own New York City on its backlot. There’s a street for every part of the Big Apple, including the Financial District, SoHo, Brooklyn, Greenwich Village, the Upper and Lower East Side and Washington Square.
A ton of movies and shows have used this part of the backlot for exterior scenes, including some of my favorites like “Sunset Boulevard,” “Bridesmaids,” and “Breakfast at Tiffanys.” We also had the chance to walk into some of the buildings and look around.
Prop House
After a pit stop at the gift shop, our tour guide led us to the Prop House. It was nothing like the prop house at Warner Bros. In fact, it was mostly cars from different movies, a massive Bumble Bee Transformer, paintings and statues.
My favorite prop was on the second floor: a silver Christmas tree used in “White Christmas.” I was really sad that I couldn’t see it up close. (The second floor isn’t accessible to visitors.)
Paint & Sign Shop
Another stop on the Paramount Studio Tour is the Paint & Sign Shop. As the name implies, this is where all the graphics, signs and even money are printed for shows and movies. The head of the sign shop got his start hand painting signs for Disneyland, and now his son works with him.
There were some examples on display, but other than that there wasn’t that much to see here, especially since no one was working. That being said, I’m always in awe (and jealous) seeing talent like this. If these guys offered a handwriting or calligraphy class, I’d totally take it.
Production Park
One of the older parts of the studio, Production Park used to be where the movie making process started. Our tour guide described it as a production line: one building is where you found a writer, the other is where you got a producer, then you got a director and your actors.
The costume department used to be located on the ground floor. And at one point in time, Elvis Presley lived there to avoid the paparazzi.
You can also get a photo on the “Forrest Gump” bench, but without the box of chocolates.
Bronson Gate
The famous Bronson Gate marked the end of the tour, but we had to skip it due to filming. That’s show business for ya!
Is The Paramount Studio Tour Worth It?
Compared to the Warner Bros. backlot tour, the Paramount Studio Tour is less of a production and there aren’t a lot of interactive experienves. It’s very low fi, which isn’t necessarily bad, but as I mentioned before, I think they could do more. I also wish they leaned into the history more, but I also know there’s only so much you can cover in 3 hours. And honestly, I think a lot of it either isn’t available to show or burned down. (Yes, they also had fires.)
Where the Paramount Studio Tour edges out the Warner Bros. Studio Tour is access to the sound stages and sets. At Warner Bros. you looked at them from the audience, while at Paramount you got to walk through them.
Did I enjoy the tour? Yes. Did I get $150 worth out of it? Eh. The Walt Disney Studios Tour cost the same and I think that was a much better value. If you wanted to do the Paramount Studio Tour, I think the basic studio tour would be sufficient.
Have you taken one of the Paramount Studio Tour? Let me know what you thought in the comments!
