Scenes from driving around downtown Los Angeles looking for scenes similar to those in the recently released Grand Theft Auto V, Oct. 21, 2013.
(
Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
/
Los Angeles Times
)
Topline:
The city of L.A. and Southern California are at the heart of so many films, TV shows, and even some iconic video games. So what are some that depicted L.A. best?
AirTalk, LAist 89.3's daily news program, asked listeners about their favorite L.A. depictions.
The biggest themes:
The scenery has to be top notch
Characters have to resonate
Sense of place is important
Some top picks:
Michael Mann's action-thriller films Collateral and Heat for their scope of the city
Training Day, which stars Denzel Washington, for its locations
Keeping up with the Kardashians for it's visually pleasing drone footage
The video game L.A. Noir for its historical accuracy
Keep reading ... for some more favorites.
Los Angeles media depictions come in all shapes, sizes, and even misinterpretations of local freeway traffic.
As a lifelong Angeleno who grew up in Boyle Heights, I've always had an appreciation for the 1993 film Blood In Blood Out, particularly for its location scouting. It includes historical landmarks like "El Pino" and carneceria Los Cinco Puntos, which has since had a mural of the film added to one of its exterior walls.
AirTalk, LAist 89.3's daily news program, asked listeners about their favorite depictions of L.A. in popular media. Here are some of the ones they loved.
The scenery
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is depicted in many media forms, for better or worse.
(
David McNew
/
Getty Images North America
)
Mark in El Sereno noted that the Michael Mann film Collateral does a great job of depicting the scope of L.A.
" The diversity that they show from Koreatown to the Latin Quarter to the skyscrapers ... it encapsulates the incredible diversity of L.A.," he said.
Raffi in the Hollywood Hills, echoed this sentiment, noting Mann's action-thriller films Collateral and Heat do "such a wonderful job of encapsulating the sprawl of the city and the cultural neighborhoods that make up the part of Los Angeles that's not always depicted in media."
Sharon McNary, a former reporter, now LAist host, said Training Day, for how it showcases different locations from Echo Park to the L.A. Police Academy to LAX.
Monica in Ventura raised a hand for reality TV, specifically Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
" [I] find myself pausing my television so I can take a look at the drone footage ," she said.
The characters
Jesse in Pasadena grew up on the East Coast and, after moving here, was shocked by the accuracy of some of the L.A. depictions he'd seen.
" I remember seeing a movie Down and Out in Beverly Hills ... thinking how crazy and absurd it was," he said. "My work now brought me to L.A., and I work with those kinds of people in Beverly Hills."
Yawn in Hancock Park said Columbo was a show that chronicled L.A. over decades. It starred Peter Falk as a homicide detective in the LAPD, solving cases over the course of each episode.
" Even places like Barney's Beanery, where he would solve crimes, still exist," Yawn said.
Avi Fattal, left, and David Houston, co-owners of Barney's Beanery in West Hollywood, photographed outside the front entrance to the establishment on Santa Monica Boulevard.
(
Mel Melcon
/
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
)
Xander in Cyprus Park called the part animated, part live-action movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit a great depiction, saying, "Los Angeles is just at its best when it's a cartoon."
The history
Eric in Glendale applauded Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, a 2019 film depicting the late 1960s, for its attention to detail of that era.
Elizabeth in Temple City shouted out the video game L.A. Noir as an interactive example of showing the history of the city.
" You play a L.A. detective in the 1940s, and you get to drive around. The map is true to how L.A. used to look," she said.
Nic Perez, an AirTalk producer, praised another video game — Grand Theft Auto V. The inclusion of local radio host, Big Boy, hosting one of its fictional music stations adds to the game's L.A. charm.
" Driving around the freeways, having the sun shine down on you while listening to fake radio stations is so pleasant," he said.
