This off-the-beaten-path Mexican restaurant masquerades as an Arizona gas station/diner in the 2018 drama “A Star Is Born.” It is there that Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga share a meal and a pump-side kiss while on the road at the start of a concert tour. The eatery (which serves up some stellar tacos in real life!) also appears briefly at the beginning of the 2005 thriller “Constantine.”
Celebrities have long flocked to the exclusive Parker, so it is only natural that the resort made its way to the screen. Not only did Lisa Kudrow vacation there on the HBO series “The Comeback,” as did the Kardashians in a season 13 episode of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” but the property also hosted a very awkward bachelorette party in the 2023 romcom “You People.” The hotel was even the subject of its own reality show, “Welcome to the Parker,” in 2007, though the venture was short-lived, lasting only one season.
A very young Richard Gere headed to this clean-lined modernist dwelling for a rather voyeuristic job opportunity at the beginning of the 1980 thriller “American Gigolo.” The one-story pad, located on the grounds of the Indian Canyons Golf Resort, has since been renovated and looks somewhat different than when Gere pulled up to its sleek confines, though it remains a masterpiece of architecture and design.
Patricia Arquette and Christopher McDonald call this Indian Canyons midcentury gem home on the 2023 Apple TV+ series “High Desert” – until being busted for selling narcotics, that is. It is here that a SWAT team descends upon the duo in dramatic fashion during a Thanksgiving celebration in episode one. The polished property also served as the popular Christopher Kennedy Compound during Modernism Week in 2019.
This pad in the Canyon View Estates complex figured prominently in the 2022 thriller “Don’t Worry Darling” as the residence of Harry Styles and Florence Pugh, with Oliva Wilde residing right next door. Crafted by William Krisel and Dan Palmer for developer Roy Fey, the picturesque community, completed in 1965, is marked by a smattering of low-slung duplexes dotted around quaint cul-de-sacs with striking mountain views. Undeniably screen-worthy, the setting brought the film’s idealistically planned Victory neighborhood to brilliant cinematic life.
Originally built in 1963 as part of Ken Kimes’ motor lodge chain, this tiki-themed motel was THE place to be in its early days, with everyone from the Rat Pack to Elvis hanging out there. More recently, it enjoyed a role in “Alpha Dog” as the spot where Anton Yelchin partied – and swam with Amanda Seyfried and Amber Heard – while being held as collateral for his brother’s drug debt. The hotel also appeared in the 1997 thriller “City of Industry” and in a season 2 episode of “The Anna Nicole Show.” And it has a true crime connection, as well! Founder Ken was the longtime husband of murderous con woman Sante Kimes, aka the “Dragon Lady,” and fathered her co-conspirator, Kenneth Jr., in 1975.
Oozing mid-century charm, this Deepwell Estates residence enjoyed a starring role as Justin Timberlake’s home in the 2006 crime drama “Alpha Dog.” Known as the Koerner House in real life, the shed-roofed property was designed in 1955 by legendary architect E. Stewart Williams for industrialist Leon Joseph Koerner. The dwelling underwent a massive renovation in 2018 and is now, unfortunately, enclosed by a large fence, rendering it far less visible from the street than it was when “Alpha Dog” was shot nearly two decades ago.
In a case of art imitating life, not only was a memorial held here for musician Liberace following his passing in 1987, but the Spanish Revival-style church was also the site of the showman’s funeral in the 2013 biopic “Behind the Candelabra.” Designed in 1930 by legendary architect Albert C. Martin, Sr., the parish has a few additional claims to fame. President John F. Kennedy reportedly attended mass on the premises whenever he found himself in the desert and actor Jackie Coogan was a parishioner, as well.
It is at this modernist estate that a ragtag gang of thieves, led by George Clooney, hatches a plan to pull off a major Las Vegas heist in the 2001 hit “Ocean’s Eleven.” Purported to belong to Elliott Gould onscreen, in actuality, the mid-century gem was designed by A. Quincy Jones for controversial Chicago businessman Jerome Robinson, aka “Mr. Parking Meter,” in 1957 and is known as the Jerome J. Robinson House.
Way back in 1963, this place served as a lunch destination for Robert Conrad and Connie Stevens in the slapstick bedroom comedy “Palm Springs Weekend.” The property has undergone several renovations and changes in ownership since then, even known for a time as the Jimmy Buffett-themed Margaritaville Resort, but recently was returned to its original name. Though it looks quite a bit different than it did onscreen, the lodging is still worth a visit.