Filming locations
Filming locations
David Ng of the Los Angeles Times describes architecture as a star of the film. Tom is seen reading Alain de Botton's The Architecture of Happiness. The film was originally set in San Francisco but was later moved to Los Angeles and the script rewritten to make better use of the location. Buildings used include the Los Angeles Music Center (which includes the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion) and the towers of California Plaza. The older Fine Arts Building is featured in the film, in a scene where Tom shows it to Summer and mentions its designers, Walker and Eisen, two of his favorite architects. The Continental Building is also visible from Tom's bench at Angel's Knoll, and has become a notable symbol of the film.
Christopher Hawthorne of the Los Angeles Times describes the film as having "finely honed sense of taste" to include the Bradbury Building where Tom goes for his job interview.
Tom's favorite spot in Los Angeles was shot at Angel's Knoll, which became a popular tourist attraction after the film's release. Since July 2013 it has been closed off to the public due to state cutbacks. In his article about cinematic cartography, Dr. Chris Lukinbeal suggests that the location of Angel's Knoll mirrors Tom's view of the world. He argues that Tom only perceives the beauty of the buildings surrounding them and only acknowledges the parking lot when Summer points it out to him. He states that "Tom is also unable to see beyond his expectations of hopeless romance."
- ^ a b David Ng (June 9, 2009). "Downtown L.A. architecture stars in (500) Days of Summer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- ^ Gluck, Marissa (June 8, 2009). "Screenwriter explains 500 Days Focus on Architecture, Downtown LA". Curbed LA. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2009.
- ^ Hawthorne, Christopher (July 31, 2009). "L.A. as filtered by love in (500) Days of Summer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- ^ Hawthorne, Christopher (July 30, 2009). "500 Days of architecture". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- ^ MERLE GINSBERG; GARY BAUM (August 22, 2013). "L.A.'s Famous '(500) Days of Summer' Bench Closed in Budget Cuts". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ "Necsus | The mapping of '500 Days of Summer': A processual approach to cinematic cartography". necsus-ejms.org. December 9, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2020.