“American Beauty is a black comedy movie that focuses on Lester Burnham, an advertising executive who seems to have a perfect life, a stable job, and a happy family. But inside, he’s a sexually frustrated suburban father who suffers a midlife crisis when he falls in love with his daughter’s best friend, Angela.
Meanwhile, Lester’s insecure teenage daughter Jane begins to grow closer and closer to the shy boy next door, Ricky Fitts, who lives with an abusive father.
This cult classic touches on several sensitive and prevalent themes in its narrative, such as depression, paternal and romantic love, adultery, materialism, sexuality, and self-liberation, which will captivate all moviegoers.
The dramatic film features great performances from a talented cast of Kevin Spacey, Mena Suvari, Annette Bening, Chris Cooper, and Thora Birch. Additionally, the nearby neighborhood and high school scenes will probably make you think about the actual filming locations of “American Beauty.”
Where Was American Beauty Movie Filmed?
“American Beauty” was shot entirely in California, mainly in Los Angeles County and Sacramento. Filming for the main drama reportedly began on December 14, 1998, and ended after 50 days of shooting in late February 1999.
Although the story takes place in one of the suburbs of Chicago, the makers decided to shoot the film in California. The Golden State’s vast and versatile landscape made it a perfect fit for Chicago.
Los Angeles
Most of the key parts of “American Beauty” were produced in Los Angeles County, the most populous county in California and the United States. Although Burnham and Fitt are neighbors in the film, the exterior shots of their homes were filmed miles apart.
While the property at 11388 Homedale Street in Brentwood represented the Burnham home, the residence at 330 South Windsor Boulevard in Hancock Park doubled for the Fitts home.
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Interestingly, interior scenes involving both houses were recorded in two adjacent houses on Blondie Street at the Warner Bros. facilities. Ranch at 411 North Hollywood Way in Burbank. The production team strategically rearranged the houses on the property to incorporate scenes involving Ricky and Jane’s silent conversations from their windows and to create the correct sight lines between Ricky’s bedroom and Lester’s garage.
As for the rest of the house’s interior sequences, they were shot on backgrounds, on location, and on sound stages, especially the overhead shots.
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The high school scenes were filmed on location at two schools — South High School at 4801 Pacific Coast Highway in Torrance and Long Beach Polytechnic High School at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach. Carl’s Jr. at 20105 Saticoy Road in Canoga Park, also doubles for Mr. Smiley’s, where Lester gets a burger job.
For shooting the target shooting scenes, the cast and crew camped out at the Los Angeles Police Academy at 1880 North Academy Drive in Elysian Park. Scenes depicting Carolyn and her lover were filmed at the Top Hat Motel 9 (now the Travel Inn) at 8525 Sepulveda Boulevard in North Hills.
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Several other driving scenes involving Lester were recorded in South Bay, Chatsworth, and Alameda Avenue. In addition, the “American Beauty” filming unit used facilities from Warner Bros. studios. at 4000 Warner Boulevard in Burbank.
The sprawling studio consists of 37 sound stages ranging in size from 6,000 to 32,000 square feet, located on the main property and the Ranch facility combined. It also provides filmmakers with a wide variety of exterior scenes, making it an ideal filming location for all productions.
Sacramento
” American Beauty .”Some aerial shots at the beginning and end of the film, showing the landscape of Chicago and the suburbs where the story takes place, were taken in Sacramento, the capital of California.
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Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers, the City of Trees is known for its evolving contemporary culture and is therefore considered one of California’s hipster cities.
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