In 2021, Warner Bros. Studio Tour has created new interactive exhibits focusing on the company's recent history, featuring areas dedicated to the DC Comics universe and the “Harry Potter” film series.
This week, the popular Studio Tour in Burbank is doubling down on its more ancient past.
Warner Bros. is now offering a Turner Classic Movies-branded version of the studio tour that will take guests to previously off-limits areas, including classic animation buildings, a small rose garden, and a former apartment James Dean's residence. The 90-minute tram outing — about 30 minutes longer than the studio's standard tram tour — will allow guides to delve deeper into the history of the studio's catalog to provide provides factual information related to movies such as “Casablanca”, “My Fair Lady”. ,” “Rebel Without a Cause,” “Auntie Mame” and many others.
“We are no longer tied down,” said Brad Taylor, a 15-year veteran Warner Bros. tour guide, noting that the TCM tour will include time for the tour guide to chat with visitors about their favorite movies.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour will now offer a TCM-branded trip to focus on classic films. The TCM hosts – from left, Eddie Muller, Jacqueline Stewart, Ben Mankiewicz, Alicia Malone and Dave Karger – recorded segments for the outing.
(Warner Bros. Hollywood Studios Tour)
“We get a chance to chat with guests and really talk to people who share our passion,” Taylor said. “I find that the 'classic' guests are less interested in the backstage and more, 'I can't believe this is where we are.' It's just the look on their faces when they realize 'Casablanca' was filmed here, or that James Dean was standing right here.”
The launch of the TCM tour comes on the network's 30th anniversary and nearly 12 months after classic film fans were terrified. In June, Warner Bros. announced that the layoffs will affect TCM, including some of the network's top executives, Prompt concern from prestigious directors such as Steven Spielberg, Paul Thomas Anderson and Martin Scorsese. After attracting national attention, The cut keys have been reversed and Warner Bros. sought to assure fans that TCM will continue to be handled with care.
TCM network hosts – Eddie Muller, Jacqueline Stewart, Ben Mankiewicz, Alicia Malone and Dave Karger – recorded new video segments for the outing. The tour takes visitors into the Estate, an area that the standard tour does not visit. Here, visitors can peruse the materials for a full set, including items for the complete Oval Office set, but expect guides that highlight classic items, e.g. like the throne in the Errol Flynn pirate movie “Captain Blood”.
Danny Kahn, vice president of studio tours, said over the years many guests have asked to dig a little deeper into the studio's animation history. That's why the first TCM tour takes visitors to an area once known as “Termite Yard,” home to the animation department, a building with a sloping roof designed to capture light. sunlight from 1955 to 1964. . Kahn said animation legend Chuck Jones had an office in the Termite Terrace area in the 1990s even though Warner moved animation production elsewhere.
Another unique tourist destination is the exterior of Dean's apartment. When Dean resided there during filming of “East of Eden,” it was actually across the street from the property, the apartment located above a pharmacy. But gradual studio expansion has resulted in the area now being owned by Warner Bros.
“It was actually a pharmacy with an apartment and the studio rented it to him,” Kahn said. “I think it's to keep an eye on him and keep him on a short leash.”
The tour will also give tram riders a glimpse into executive life at the studio, allowing them to take a short stroll around the rose garden. The manicured spaces once served as tennis courts as well as offices and personal screening rooms for the likes of studio mogul Jack Warner, with many of the structures dating from the 1920s “It's really a historic area and hasn't really changed much over the years,” Kahn said, noting that the area is still used by studio principals. “Jack Warner, when he ran the studio, privatized the first floor. It's the massage parlor below his office.”
Key highlights of the tour, such as a journey around the city streets, a visit to the “Friends” set and cafe, as well as recent additions highlighting modern franchise films from studios are included in the TCM trip, as well as a reception with pre-tour drinks and cake. With that said, expect the tour to last about 3 and a half hours. The first TCM-branded outing is scheduled for Wednesday, with trams expected to depart daily after that date, a tour spokesman said. Adult tickets are $95, but discounted tickets are available for Southern California residents for $75.
“It's great to have TCM here,” Kahn said. “People understand that the TCM brand is synonymous with classic movies.”
