Paramount+ is currently pursuing a love affair with the 1980s, it seems, as evidenced by the platform’s plans to revisit such era hits as “Flashdance,” “Urban Cowboy” and “Pet Sematary.” Even Adrian Lyne’s fabled 1987 psychological thriller “Fatal Attraction” is getting the reboot treatment courtesy of producer/writer Alexandra Cunningham (of “Desperate Housewives” and “Dirty John” fame), who transformed the erotic story into an eight-part miniseries for the streamer. Set to debut on April 30, the revamp stars “Mean Girls'” Lizzy Caplan as jilted mistress Alex Forrest, the character made famous by Glenn Close in the original film, with “Dawson’s Creek’s” Joshua Jackson taking on Michael Douglas’ Dan Gallagher role and Amanda Peet stepping into Anne Archer’s shoes as his beleaguered wife, Beth.
Of the reimagining, Caplan told the Television Critics Association, “We’re poised to ask more questions about characters. In this case, it’s not an hour-and-a-half-long film, it’s an eight-hour series. We’ve got lots of time to dig around into Alex’s backstory, her childhood, where she’s coming from, seeing things through her eyes. And yes it’s a remake but it’s really more of a jumping-off point. We’re familiar with the characters but what we’re trying to do is ask the questions that would have been impossible to ask in the film because we wouldn’t have had the time, and also, questions that people didn’t care to ask back then.”
Unlike the movie, the miniseries will be told across two timelines, according to People magazine, beginning in 2008, when Dan first carries out his illicit affair with Forrest, and then 15 years later in the present day as he sits before a parole board and tries to explain how he wound up in prison for her murder.
The show’s backdrop is also a significant departure from its predecessor. While the film takes place in New York, the reboot’s setting, though not explicitly identified in the trailer, is undeniably Los Angeles, with scenes shot in such well-known spots as the oft-filmed Prince Restaurant in Koreatown, Los Angeles Center Studios’ towering Home Office Building, downtown L.A.’s historic Original Pantry Cafe and the ultra-chic V Los Angeles lounge.
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Image Credit: Lindsay Blake for Dirt The Gallagher home is also an area landmark. The shingled stunner, which can be found standing far back from the road exuding an insane amount of curb appeal at 1230 Milan Ave. in South Pasadena, is a longtime location manager favorite, having appeared in a slew of big-name productions over the years. One look at its gorgeous façade and it is not hard to see why. (Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.)
The four-bedroom, five-bath abode oozes traditional Americana from each of its 4,800 square feet. Erected in 1922, the pad was initially occupied by Thomas Rathbone Lee, an ironworks official and one-time Commander of the South Pasadena American Legion, and his wife, Mabel, who lived on the premises from its inception through 1946, according to an article in the South Pasadena Review.
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Image Credit: Lindsay Blake for Dirt The couple’s son, First Lieutenant Henry G. Lee, was tragically killed on December 15, 1944, when an American submarine sunk the Japanese ship on which he had been taken prisoner while serving in the army during World War II. The young soldier had come to fame a couple of years prior via a letter he had penned to his parents in February 1942 that was subsequently published by The Los Angeles Times, with the paper noting it “may become one of the prose epics of World War II.” The prediction held true. As a later article detailed, the missive went on to receive “universal recognition” and “was reprinted in papers and magazines throughout the country, was quoted in books and read and dramatized on radio programs,” serving as a message of hope for those stateside.
Lee’s poignant words read in part, “My prayer each night is that God will send you, who are suffering so much more than I am, His strength and peace. During the first few days of war, I also prayed for personal protection from physical harm, but now I see that is something for which I have no right to ask and I pray now that I may be given strength to bear whatever I must bear and do whatever I must do so that those men under me will have every reasonable chance.” The Greatest Generation, indeed! Upon his death, Lee was awarded the South Pasadena Junior Chamber of Commerce’s Outstanding Citizen award. His parents moved out of the house the following year, relocating to nearby San Marino.
The pad has only changed hands a handful of times since, last selling in 1998 for $1.225 million. Zillow estimates its current worth at north of $5.1 million – and that’s not even taking into account its abundant filming revenue!
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Image Credit: Paramount+ The residence looks to be one of “Fatal Attraction’s” most prominent locations, appearing frequently throughout the series’ one-minute and 36-second trailer, as Dan’s seemingly happy home life is continually threatened by Alex.
Showcasing the dwelling’s 0.55-acre grounds beautifully, the teaser features both the front and rear yards, including the detached two-car garage/guest house (pictured above), the pool and the spa. The property also boasts a shaded patio, a grassy expanse, a built-in BBQ and a dining terrace complete with a fireplace.
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Image Credit: Paramount+ “Fatal Attraction” makes use of the interior of the house, as well – along with some of the homeowners’ existing furnishings – though not much of it can be seen in the trailer.
Chock full of classic detailing, the abode is tailor-made for the screen with arched openings, a plethora of built-ins, hardwood flooring, multiple fireplaces, handsome moldings and wainscotting dotted throughout. Inviting living spaces include a formal dining room, a family room with knotty pine accents and a bright eat-in kitchen with beveled glass cabinetry, muraled tiles and a central island, all of which have been immortalized by Hollywood cameras at various points in time.
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Image Credit: ABC The property most famously served as the home of Nancy Lawrence Maitland (Meredith Baxter) and her parents, Kate (Sada Thompson) and Doug (James Broderick), on the highly acclaimed 1970s television drama “Family,” seen regularly in establishing shots, in on-location footage and in each episode’s opening credits.
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Image Credit: Paramount Pictures Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) propels himself from a trampoline situated at the rear of the dwelling into his own backyard during the truant teen’s epic run home at the end of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” (That’s the residence’s guest house pictured in the background of the screen capture above.)
But wasn’t “Ferris Bueller” filmed in Chicago, you ask? While the 1986 comedy did take place in the Windy City and was partially shot there, many of its locations can be found in the Los Angeles area, including quite a few from the legendary race home sequence.
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Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Inventor Wayne Szalinski (Rick Moranis) lives at 1230 Milan Ave. in the 1997 Disney family comedy “Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.”
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Image Credit: Universal Pictures Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) calls the place home in “Jurassic Park III.”
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Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Peter Sanderson’s (Steve Martin) ex-wife, Kate (Jean Smart), resides there in the 2003 comedy “Bringing Down the House.”
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Image Credit: Sony Pictures It plays the supposed Chevy Chase, Md. home belonging to Augustus Eugene Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson), where the NSA agent is purported to have been killed in a fiery explosion, in the 2005 action film “XXX: State of the Union.”
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Image Credit: CBS State’s witness Justin DeGeorge (John Mese) is murdered on the premises while under the protection of CBI Special Agent Grace Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti) in the season three episode of “The Mentalist” titled “Blood for Blood.” (Fun fact – Justin’s daughter, Trina, is played by a very young Kaitlyn Dever in one of her early roles.)
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Image Credit: ABC And an invisible spirit named Drill lures a young mom to her death at the house in the premiere episode of Steven Spielberg’s short-lived science fiction series “The Whispers.”