Beyond the Backlot

Beyond the Backlot taps into our hunger for nostalgia by visiting the current day filming locations of The Goonies up in Astoria, Oregon. Superfan Curtis Templeton and crew take us on a treasure-hunt style adventure tracking down these locations and sits down with Richard Donner to hear from The Goonies director himself. Mikey, Brand, Data, Mouth, Chunk, Andy, and Stef would be proud! ...Sloth too. Goonies never say die!

"This is heavy, Doc." (You better hold tight until the end to know what Marty is talking about...). In this episode of On Location, Curtis and crew travel around Southern California to hunt down the filming locations that made a 1985 science-fiction classic - Back to the Future! Buckle up and join us on our journey. Stay tuned until the end because we take the DeLorean Time Machine back to the original location (Puente Hills Mall - City of Industry, CA) where time travel first happened … and make it happen again more than 30 years later. Back to the Future Filming Locations ... not where, but when? Enjoy :)

Wax on, wax off. And welcome to the dojo. The Karate Kid dojo. Beyond the Backlot kicks it in the San Fernando Valley for The Karate Kid (1984)! We jaunt about filming locations and relive some movie magic in the shoes of Daniel LaRusso. This time, though, Curtis preps for the fight of his life. Chasing the sun. Crane kicking on the beach. Running from the Skeletore Army. Gaming montage at Golf N' Stuff. Training in the Cobra Kai Dojo. And interviewing actor Martin Kove - aka John Kreese, the Cobra Kai sensei! This episode has it all. Hop aboard the Beyond the Backlot bus as we revisit one of the most quintessential 80s movies of all time!

Ah, now eventually you do plan to have dinosaurs on your, on your, dinosaur tour, right? Beyond the Backlot travels to Isla Nublar to visit the living breathing backlot that are the Jurassic Park filming locations! The adventure is out there! Are there dinosaurs on our adventure? Will we make it to the T-Rex Paddock? How about Jurassic Falls? Join us as Curtis, and the crew, track down these iconic and memorable locations of one of the biggest movies of all-time.

We slept in! -- Home Alone Filming Locations 30 years later! Home Alone is THE Christmas movie of a generation. Right after Thanksgiving, this Chris Columbus-directed film is on repeat, and for good reason. Although there are plenty of funny, slapstick scenes with Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) and the wicked Wet Bandits (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), this movie hits on what the true meaning of Christmas is: love and family. You can't help but feel good (and fully entertained) at the end.

Watch out for that first step -- it's a doozy! Beyond the Backlot heads to Woodstock, Illinois (aka "Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania") for Groundhog Day (1993) filming locations! Harold Ramis. Bill Murray. And Phil the Groundhog. This existential comedy has excited the imaginations and souls of its audience for nearly three decades. This quintessential American town that director Harold Ramis selected for Groundhog Day (1993) looks like a Hollywood studio backlot -- a gorgeous town square, cobblestone roads, local shop fronts, and an idyllic bell tower (in a opera house, no less!). Curtis and the Beyond the Backlot crew bounce around this tucked-away suburban Chicago town to spot all the movie's memorable filming locations. And what a journey we went on! Beyond the Backlot was joined by actor Stephen Tobolowsky to discuss his iconic roll of Ned Ryerson, that pesky and hilarious insurance salesman. We also browsed the Groundhog Day film relics at the local library, caught a movie at the Harold Ramis Auditorium, and -- most importantly -- discovered the love, warmth, and hospitality of Woodstock's wonderful residents. Undoubtedly, these people and their town are synonymous with the movie, playing a huge part in what transformed the cynical Phil Connors into a selfless and empathetic character. Thanks for joining us on this adventure! Happy New Year and Happy Groundhog Day! Has there been a more "Groundhog Day" year than 2020 with COVID?! Let's hope spring comes soon! Bing!