Watching 1990’s “Mermaids” last night, a few of the locations seemed eerily familiar to me. The film, starring Cher, Winona Ryder, Christina Ricci, and Michael Schoeffling (hello, Jake Ryan!), takes place in small-town Massachusetts in the early 1960s. I instantly fell in love with the tone of the film, the 60s music and outfits, and the sarcastic but sweet sensibility of the lead characters. (Christina Ricci’s Kate is positively adorable, and Winona Ryder’s Catholicism-obsessed Charlotte is hilarious.) In fact, it reminded me of several other witty and intelligent young women: Lorelai and Rory Gilmore.
The WB’s hilarious and heartwarming dramedy “Gilmore Girls,” starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, was filmed on the WB studio lot in Burbank, CA for its entire seven-season run. The small town of Stars Hollow was created using the WB’s elaborate town square set, which has been used in countless films (perhaps most notably “Back to the Future”). This set also took center stage in “Mermaids.”
Luke’s Diner from “Gilmore Girls” is the same set that was used for Lou’s shoe store in “Mermaids,” and you can see Winona Ryder walk the same streets that Lorelai and Rory did all those years. The town square set still stands on the WB lot, which offers VIP tours daily, Monday through Friday from 8:20 am to 4:00 pm.
The WB lot is located at 3400 Riverside Drive in Burbank, CA. The VIP Tour will run you about $45, but it’s totally worth it to get an up-close look at film and television history.
- Story by Christina LeBlanc, Executive Editor
