![]() ![]() “I loved the whole vibe of the Tail o’ the Cock,” Anderson says of the Studio City restaurant, which was on Ventura Boulevard near Coldwater Canyon. The guy behind the counter obliges without asking any questions. An old-timer like you can’t figure out how to get out of a Tesla”), we head to the pro shop, such as it is, to see if we can get the keys to open the old Billingsley’s. the one you have your finger on,” Anderson tells me. We arrive at the golf course, park and, once I figure out how to open the passenger door (“That button there. “A hundred years from now, all those grievances against L.A. A transplanted New Yorker, Bitzer complains about the same things Angelenos gripe about a century later: out-of-place palm trees that provide no shade, eucalyptus trees dripping sap, what the Santa Ana winds do to his sinuses. Griffith’s groundbreaking cinematographer. And Alana HaimĪlana Haim and Cooper Hoffman star in this winning ‘70s set San Fernando Valley romp.Īs we’re driving around the same streets Anderson traveled by bike as a teenager, he’s telling me about this biography he’s reading about Billy Bitzer, D.W. Movies Review: Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Licorice Pizza’ is a valentine to the Valley. Yet it’s 1973, not the recent past, that’s the setting for “Licorice Pizza,” a laid-back, loose and thoroughly lovable coming-of-age story that finds Anderson returning to his home turf (“Boogie Nights,” “Punch-Drunk Love” and the aforementioned “Magnolia” were also set amid the Valley sprawl), a choice, he says, that was “not on his bingo card,” but the writing - begun while he was stuck on another project - took on a joyful momentum that he had no inclination to fight. But I am nostalgic for at least let’s say. But it’s pretty hard not to be nostalgic these days - even for last week, for that matter.” “Don’t forget, it wasn’t that long ago that nostalgia was considered kind of a medical condition, something that dissuades you from moving forward or living in the present. It’s this edge of sounding cranky,” Anderson, 51, says. “This is a dangerous one, isn’t it? You start getting into nostalgia. “I thought you wanted to do this,” he responds, laughing) because it could easily deteriorate into a conversation between a couple of old-timers whining about how a beloved Ventura Boulevard coffee shop has been demolished and turned into a Sephora. It’s a warm autumn day, absolutely perfect unless you’re into the whole four seasons thing, and Anderson and I are roaming the west Valley, an idea that neither of us wants to claim (“I heard this was your idea,” I tell him. (Perhaps “landmark” is a bit much, but not if you celebrated your uncle’s birthday with a prime rib dinner there or heard the great stride pianist Johnny Guarnieri play on a Thursday night.) Reilly and Melora Walters where they promise to tell each other the truth - and he returned again for his latest film, “Licorice Pizza,” re-creating, with loving care, another defunct Valley restaurant, the landmark Tail o’ the Cock. ![]() Anderson shot a scene here for his audacious, operatic, Valley-set 1999 drama “Magnolia” - the dinner date with John C. It is a friendly place to spend an hour and score 40,000 points for hitting Indiana Jones’ secret hoard.Paul Thomas Anderson is behind the wheel and we’re headed north on Balboa Boulevard to the Van Nuys Golf Course, a nice little pitch-and-putt that the filmmaker knows, like just about every nook and cranny in the San Fernando Valley, quite well.īack in the day, he’d come out here and play a round with friends in the early evening, then walk over to the bar at Billingsley’s steak house, sip a beer or three and watch the Dodgers game on the little TV mounted in the corner.īillingsley’s closed in 2004, but the building - and the red leather booths and low bar inside - remain. Open seven days a week, Free Gold Watch feels like a hidden club for the neighbourhood. Play the Addams Family pinball or Lord of the Rings – can you reach Mount Doom? Sounds and lights and bonus points add up to an amazing way to spend an hour before exploring the entrance to Golden Gate Park or diving back into the Haight. There is a room with some very old-school games from the 1950s that feel like a trip back in time, but the majority are classic movie and pop culture machines from the 80s, 90s and 2000s. Started in the spare room of a tee shirt printing company, there are now about 100 true pinball machines waiting for a couple of quarters to spring into life. It is real pinball with flippers and an extra ball if you match. This is not a fancy place for hipster drinks or electronic gaming. Located on Waller, a block off Haight, a garage door opens onto the largest collection of classic steel pinball machines in the city. ![]() When I can hear the sound of spare coins jingling, I get an itch for a real pinball fix and head to the Haight and Free Gold Watch. ![]()
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