Hollywood Escapes: The Moviegoer's Guide to Exploring Southern California's Great Outdoors

This book is PACKED with info about Southern California: places to visit, restaurants, hotels, parks, and attractions. It appeals not only to movie buffs but anyone who wants to know more about the history of the area. It serves as tour guide as well. Everyone in Southern California should have a copy of Hollywood Escapes to use when visiting a new spot, or looking for a weekend adventure.

While Harry Medved is clearly a movie maven, it isn't necessary for you to be one in order to appreciate what his great guidebook has to offer. For folks who live in California, there will be lots of those "oh yeah, I remember that" moments when Medved explains where a particular scene in a movie was filmed, like the carousel scene in "The Sting" for example (Santa Monica Pier.) But Medved goes far beyond the beaten track, recalling scenes from "Grapes of Wrath" on the Needles Bridge, and even making a stop north of Santa Barbara to El Capitan State Beach for "The Frisco Kid." The many places that are discussed are generally interesting in and of themselves, Hollywood aside. I certainly wasn't familiar with all the films mentioned here, especially the older ones, but the descriptions of the various destination points, supported by hand drawn maps and photographs, have piqued my interest to get out and explore some of the more obscure and overlooked spots around our state.

This book is thoroughly researched and also a fun read! Even if you live in Timbuktu and have no intention of visiting these movie locations, the trivia and backstories about the films and cast & crew are interesting and funny! I strongly recommend this both for film fans and anyone living in or planning to visit So Cal as an off-beat reference source and tour book.

Great book for people interested in movie lore and making a trip to LA or who live there and like to make day trips. Lots of information and the organization of the material makes it very user friendly, and easy to find again when you are driving or trying to show a friend. I bought it for my husband who is a history buff and he loved it! In California our history is limited sometimes, but this opened up Southern California for him.

Armchair movie aficionados beware! Leave your remote control behind and visit hundreds of famous movie locations in person! This one-of-a-kind travel guide (very few authors can claim that) is the result of exhaustive research covering hundreds of film shooting sites and is a must have for anyone who loves movies and the great outdoors. I liked this book so much, I bought TWO copies - one to keep clean and one whose margins are already filling up with notes as I visit the places featured. Get this book and go touch Hollywood history in person!