Sunday, January 13, 2013

The Zero Effect (1998)

dir. Jake Kasdan

Arlo (Ben Stiller) driving to see his employer, famous detective Zero (Bill Pullman) - Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, California. Century Plaza Towers are visible on the left.

Zero's apartment building - Westin Century Tower, 2055 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, California. The tower was built in 1984, as an addition to the Century Plaza Hotel. In 2000, after Westin was acquired by Starwood, the Tower was converted into a separate hotel, The St. Regis Los Angeles. That hotel was then sold by the owners of the Century Plaza in 2005 to developers, and the building was demolished to make way for The Century, a high-rise condominium completed in 2009. Many thanks to Russ Burlingame for identifying this location.
Zero arriving in Portland – Portland International Airport, Portland, Oregon

Zero observing Stark (Ryan O'Neal) – Portland Athletic Club, 5803 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, Portland, Oregon

Stark’s office building – W. Burnside Street at SW 6th Avenue, Portland, Oregon

Zero following Stark - SW Broadway at Salmon, Portland, Oregon

Stark at the intersection of "Powell and Green" – SW 4th Avenue at SW Washington Street, Portland, Oregon

Stark driving to deliver the ransom – SE Morrison Bridge, Portland, Oregon

Stark crossing the bridge and then waiting at the bus stop – St. John’s Bridge, Cathedral Park, Portland, Oregon

Stark’s itinerary continues – Pioneer Place Mall, 700 SW 5th Avenue, Portland, Oregon

Stark leaves the ransom in the men's room – Northwest Neighborhood Cultural Center, 1819 NW Everett Street, Portland, Oregon

Zero follows Gloria (Kim Dickens) – St. Francis Hotel, 1110 SW 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon. The old hotel was demolished in 2001 to make way for the new St. Francis Apartments at the corner of SW 11th and Main.

"Senior & Disabled Facility of Portland" - 528 Wall Street, Los Angeles, California. Only the entrance was filmed there. The later scene where Gloria tends to Kragen Vincent was actually filmed in Portland.

Stark meets with Arlo - 113 SW Naito Parkway, Portland, Oregon

Zero and Arlo discussing the Stark case on the rooftop – 202 NW 1st Avenue, Portland, Oregon

Zero watches Gloria tending to Kragen Vincent – 1107 SW 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon

Zero examines the scene of Clarissa’s murder – Powell Motel, 12625 SE Powell Boulevard, Portland, Oregon

Arlo startles Stark in his car – 833 SW 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon

Arlo listening to Stark’s confession – Ruth's Chris Steakhouse (now closed), 309 SW 3rd Avenue, Portland, Oregon

The motel where Zero and Arlo staying - Econo Lodge Inn & Suites, 622 SE 10th Avenue, Hillsboro, Oregon

Zero and Gloria on a date in a diner – Ford's Cafe (now Pac Thai restaurant), 1923 Pacific Ave, Forest Grove, Oregon

"McFetridge Planetarium" – Vista House, Crown Point, approximately 15 miles east of Portland, Oregon. The Vista House was built in 1916 at the same time as the Historic Columbia River Gorge Highway, and was designed to be a place of refreshment and enjoyment of the Columbia Gorge. There's no planetarium there but it houses a museum, gift shop and interpretive display of historic and geologic points of interest in the Gorge.

Gloria's house – 1134 NW 25th Avenue, Portland, Oregon

Arlo's wedding – St. Alban's Episcopal Church, 580 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, California

8 comments:

  1. When Zero looks at Gloria behind the St. Francis door, the glass reflect the actual building still standing on the other side of the road.
    Nice blog, greets from Rome ;)

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  2. This was a really fun and clever movie, and being from Portland originally, I enjoyed seeing landmarks. In my callow youth I worked on a crew that painted all those lampposts you see all over town. Like many who know I suppose, I laughed at jumping from downtown to the St. John's Bridge to Crown Point where there was a planetarium and here and there. Kudos to Mr. Kasdan for a really unique movie.

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  3. The diner scene was Ford's Cafe in Forest Grove, Oregon.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. Does it still exist?

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    2. It does, but not as Ford's. Address is 1923 Pacific Ave, Forest Grove. A Thai restaurant currently. :)

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  4. It's no longer a diner, but still a restaurant. It's called the Pac Thai now.

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  5. Zero's apartment appears to be the St. Regis Hotel (former Westin Century Plaza Tower) - 2055 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles (which tracks with Arlo driving Daryl down that street at another point). From what I can tell, it no longer exists, but was also used in Dynasty, which is how I managed to put it together. You can see some more information here: https://carringtondynasty.fandom.com/wiki/The_Excelsior

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