Flying Gremlin Attack

Location: Burbank, California, USA
Address: 3400 West Riverside Drive
Date: Feb 2014
Website:  vipstudiotour.warnerbros.com

  In Gremlins 2 there are all sorts of gremlins loose in a science lab.  The poor Futtermans, who surprisingly survived the first movie, are in New York visiting Billy & Kate.  Once again they find themselves in a situation with one of the creatures.  As a result of one gremlin becoming mixed with a bat and some genetic sunblock it flies out into the city.  The Futtermans are standing in front of  the Cathedral of Saint Eva Marie when it swoops down from the sky.  The joke here is that Eva Marie Saint is an Academy Award winning actress for her work in On The Waterfront.

  This scene was filmed on New York Street at Warner Brothers Studios.  The gremlin flies down and attacks Mr. Futterman in front of A Taste Of Greece restaurant.  This was located just to the right of the awning in the photo above.  He struggles with the gremlin as they move down the sidewalk past two big store windows.  He finally manages to get the better of the gremlin and dunks him into some freshly poured concrete.  This happens at the end of the block in front of the entrance to the building below and just behind the pillar on the left.  The gremlin gets covered in concrete but still manages to fly up and land back on the church before the concrete finally hardens and he becomes a permanent gargoyle.  Concrete?  Reviewing our gremlin rules we know that you never want to get them wet or they will multiply.  We also know that concrete is a mixture of water and cement.  This scene could have ended quite differently. 

    The front of this building may already be familiar to fans of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.  It served as the Daily Planet newspaper building, but in the picture above it is missing it's giant metal globe.  The stars of the show were a pre-Desperate Housewives Teri Hatcher as Lois and Dean Cain as Superman. 

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See more locations from the Warner Bros. Studio Backlot.

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Flying Gremlin Attack

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Post # 56

Clamp Center

Location: New York, New York, USA
Address: 101 Park Ave.
Date: Nov 2014
Website:  www.101park.com

  Gremlins 2 takes place primarily inside one skyscraper.  In the movie it is Clamp Center, but in reality it is 101 Park Avenue in New York City.  The main tenant is Clamp Enterprises and they are involved in all sorts of scientific testing.  Mix Gizmo the mogwai with a little water and then some eating after midnight and eventually the building is crawling with gremlins.  Unlike the original Gremlins, the sequel is out of control.  It seems that any idea is fair game and nothing ends up on the cutting room floor.  As a result we end up with a new batch of gremlins. These include a spider gremlin, a flying gremlin, an electric gremlin, a vegetable gremlin and even one that sounds like Felix from The Odd Couple.
 

  In one scene you can see Billy (Zach Galligan) and Kate (Phoebe Cates) crossing the street and Grand Central Station is visible behind them.  This is because the real building is just south of Grand Central.  Also visible in the movie is the big 101 over the main entrance.  The CEO of Clamp Enterprises decides to hang a huge curtain over this entrance and trick the gremlins into thinking it is night time.  Once all of the gremlins have congregated in the lobby then the curtain will be dropped and they will meet their demise.  If you are unfamiliar with the rules pertaining to mogwai and gremlins please watch the original Gremlins movie.
  If you are in New York and visiting Grand Central Station then you are just a short walk from where all the mayhem of Gremlins 2 took place.  Now let's join Tony Randall and the gremlins in a rousing chorus of the classic Frank Sinatra tune "New York, New York".

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Clamp Center

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Post # 55

Captain John's

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada 
Address: 1 Queen's Quay West
Date: Oct 2006

  Captain John's Harbour Boat Restaurant has been floating at the foot of Yonge Street in Toronto for about 40 years.  The ship's real name is the MS Jardin and it used to be a cruise ship before sailing over from Yugoslavia to take it's place as part of Toronto's waterfront.

  We went to eat at the restaurant once.  It was much later in the life of the restaurant when it was no longer the glory days.  We enjoyed ourselves, but we both agree the meal tasted more like we were eating at someone's house rather than in a restaurant.  On the way out there was a chance to win a free dinner for two so we threw a business card into the bowl.  Sure enough we got the call.  We went to eat at the restaurant again.  While the food tasted the same, our stomachs were thankful both times that it never felt like we were on a boat.  Lake Ontario doesn't usually get that rough, especially on a large ship moored in the harbour.

  Time passed on and eventually Captain John's Restaurant was closed.  There was much debate on what to do with the now vacant ship.  The boat was unable to move under her own power and had never moved during her entire stay in the harbour.  It was finally decided that the ship and this part of Toronto's history must go.  In May 2015, tugboats pushed the ship out into the lake.   The whole thing was hauled off to the scrap yard with Captain John himself standing on the deck waving goodbye.

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This location is near Queens Quay station. Visit other Toronto TTC stations.

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Captain John's

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Post # 54