For my first post, I have to start with the movie that got me into visiting movie locations: Planet of the Apes.
spoiler
Yes, Planet of the Apes was really what got me into this hobby, and I kinda stumbled upon one of the locations on accident. Before we get started, I should note that this entry is going to be pretty anecdotal, and the locations I show will be in the order of when I saw them, rather than when they were in the movie. Most of my future entries will strictly be about the locations themselves.
So this is going to sound crazy, but in the span of about a year, this University of Texas student went to California three times. Each situation was different from the next, including what I did there, but there was one thing I somehow managed to do every time: go to Malibu to see some apes. I'll split this up into three sections, for each one of my visits.
Trip 1: You MANIACS! Why is it cloudy?!
My first trip was when I was (almost) 19-years-old, in the summer of 2015. My little sister was celebrating her high school graduation, so she and my mom decided to take a trip to Los Angeles. Being the incredibly jealous brother I was, I coughed up the cash to go with them (thank you, part-time job!) We were there for about a week, doing the typical family Disney/Hollywood extravaganza. However, one of the days was partly unique. This was somewhat of a premature graduation trip, as my sister still had another year of high school to complete. Because of this, she was in the process of touring college campuses. One of the schools she was interested in touring was Malibu's Pepperdine University, AKA the most beautiful campus in the country.
As exciting as a three hour campus tour sounded, talks of classrooms and crippling student loans weren't all that appealing to me. Instead, I asked my mom if she could drop me off at a beach somewhere along the way. Thankfully, she obliged. I was already picturing the gorgeous view: warm sand, big waves, beautiful, blue water, and clear skies. Maybe I'd even spot a celebrity.
At the time, the only thing I knew about movie locations was that Finding Nemo was filmed in the Great Barrier Reef. I was a complete bozo, and in general, I didn't really prepare for things. So when we were driving down Pacific Coast Highway, I pointed to an exit and said, "Here's fine."
"It wasn't fine."
We made the exit, they dropped me off, and I was ready to bask in that gorgeous Malibu sunshine.
Oh.
Okay, so maybe this wasn't ideal. It was so cloudy that I couldn't even see the ocean. This was Malibu? Do the Kardashians fake the good weather too? I tried to remain positive and read a book I brought with me, but it had gotten so windy and rainy that I really couldn't even sit there. I ended up walking to a nearby Jack in the Box and plotted out what I could try and do next. I got out my phone and started googling things to do or see in Malibu. After I got past the Caitlyn Jenner pictures, I noticed something odd: a bunch of pictures of the Statue of Liberty.
While I was pretty clueless when it came to movie locations, I did know enough about movies to know that the pictures I was seeing were from one of my all-time favorite films, the 1968 sci-fi classic Planet of the Apes. "Wait, that beach is here in Malibu?!" I couldn't believe it: How cool would it be to see that area in person? Once my mom and sister were done with the tour, I told them of my tales of woe, and how I couldn't really do much at the beach I was at. I then told them about the Planet of the Apes beach, and asked if we could stop there before we had to head back to LA. My mom was thankfully okay with it, and so we continued heading west.
On the way there, I was telling my sister how iconic that scene is in the movie.
"You have to understand how important that scene is to movie history. Charlton Heston realized that he was on Earth the whole time! Who knew?"
It turns out that while 18-year-old girls don't care much for science fiction movies from the 1960s, they do care about getting spoiled on movies they haven't seen. (Considering it's arguably the most famous movie ending ever, I figured she knew about it, but alas, she didn't. Whoops.) That was an awkward car ride.
As we ventured on, Google was telling me a number of things for where it was. Zuma Beach, Westward Beach, Point Dume, among others. I had no idea what any of those words meant, but it looked like the locations were all in the same proximity. 15 minutes later, we were there.
Point Dume
Point Dume has been a location for tons of movies, TV shows, and commercials, such as The Big Lebowski, How I Met Your Mother, Angel, Modern Family, I Dream of Jeannie, and Iron Man. I'll probably make it its own entry at some point, as it's pretty amazing to see all of the ways they've used it over the years.
One of the films that used it was actually Escape from the Planet of the Apes. It was shown at the very beginning of the movie when Cornelius, Zira, and Milo landed on Earth.
I actually didn't realize they filmed this on Point Dume until I rewatched the movie a year or so after I went. Escape is a movie that I think is severely underrated, so it was cool to know that I've been to one of the locations from it.
Part of the first Planet of the Apes was filmed on this side of Point Dume as well. A tall metal structure was built in front of the point, housing a piece of the Statue of Liberty prop (the rest of the statue was a painting, which I'll explain in a minute).
Despite the weather, it was a really pretty area. We walked around the beach for a bit, and saw some cool sea life.
Some cool sea life
A cool sea lion
So this was a pretty nice area, but I was still confused. We were at Point Dume, but Google was showing me some sort of cove. This cove was where the last act of the movie took place, and where the crew placed a giant canvas (which had the Statue of Liberty painted on it). The canvas and wooden structures from the movie were obviously gone, but the cove certainly wasn't. Nonetheless, I couldn't find it. Where in the Lawgiver's name was this place?
That's when I noticed that at the base of the point, there were several large rocks.
The rocks of death
With my worn-out flip flops, I decided to try and climb over them to see what was on the other side. The rain from earlier had made the rocks really slippery, so to say I had trouble doing this would be an understatement.
The locals who have photographic
evidence of me falling all over the place
Oh yeah, and there were giant spiders everywhere. Dr. Zaius didn't warn me about that. But alas, I finally climbed over the rocks and got to see what was on the other side.
Whoa.
It was cloudy as all get out, but I had made it. (I later found out that this area is called Pirate's Cove.) I walked on down to the beach and was surprised to see that there were a few other people there too, none of whom were older than about 20.
I have no idea where my flip flops went
The circumstances weren't ideal, but I was still really happy to be there. Not only did it serve as the backdrop for the iconic Statue of Liberty finale, but other characters had scenes here too.
The annoying teen no one remembers, the guy who sounds like Roddy McDowall,
Amadeus, and the one you feel guilty being attracted to because she's an ape
Some side shots of the cove. There isn't a cave up there like there is in the movie.
It's really impressive how they were able to get all of the equipment over to the cove. Since the only way to get to the cove by foot is by getting through the narrow area mentioned above, the crew had to transport the equipment by helicopter. Once everything was transported, they built the wooden structure seen below.
The helicopter was good for some of the bigger objects, but an easy way to get from Westward Beach to the cove by foot was still needed. So they wouldn't have to climb over boulders all the time, the crew constructed metal platforms that allowed easy access.
When I was there, I wondered how in the world the horses could casually gallop over that area, as none of it was flat. Thanks to the metal platforms, it wasn't an issue. Gotta love movie magic. (The documentary Behind the Planet of the Apes
explains a lot of this in detail. I encourage you to go check it out. I think it's one of the best film documentaries ever made.)
explains a lot of this in detail. I encourage you to go check it out. I think it's one of the best film documentaries ever made.)
I eventually climbed back over the rocks and returned to reality. I ecstatically told my mom how cool the cove was, and she politely smiled and nodded.
Thanks mom
For the time being, my Planet of the Apes adventure was over. As we drove back to LA, I started to realize that there was something about visiting a movie location that had excited me. By climbing over those rocks, I was stepping into another world - a world that I only knew about through a TV screen. Suddenly, it became real, and I was a part of it. Once we were back at the house, I told my mom and sister that I would go back to Point Dume some day. Little did I know that it would be sooner, rather than later.
Point Dume State Beach
6800 Westward Beach Rd, Malibu, CA 90265
[This is part 1 of 3 of my trips to the Planet of the Apes filming locations. In my next post I'll discuss my return to Point Dume and my trip to Malibu Creek State Park, or as I like to call it, Ape City.]
For further reading, check out these reviews of the Planet of the Apes films: http://www.star-telegram.com/entertainment/movies/article160501659.html
