Arka Mukhopadhyay
Julia Hart helmed the coming-of-age jukebox musical drama movie ‘Hollywood Stargirl.’ Based on ‘Love, Stargirl,’ Jerry Spinelli’s bestselling second installment in the ‘Stargirl’ series, the Disney original sequel retains much of the cast of the 2020 film ‘Stargirl.’ It follows Stargirl and her mother, Ana, in an exciting new chapter of their lives. They move to Los Angeles after Ana lands a job in a movie’s costume department. In a nocturnal pub, Stargirl performs phenomenally and meets her neighbor Evan, who happens to be looking for a female lead for a movie he is making.
With the avenues opening, Stargirl strives to seize the day and make the best of the adventure that’s life. Most of the movie unfolds in the outskirts of Los Angeles while painting the nocturnal city with dreamy tungsten lights. However, you must be eager to identify all the locations where the production team set up the shoot. Then, without much ado, let us take you to the places.
Hollywood Stargirl Filming Locations
‘Hollywood Stargirl’ was mainly filmed in California, specifically Los Angeles and Orange County. Some parts were seemingly recorded in New Mexico, particularly in Belen. Principal photography likely commenced on May 14, 2021, and was wrapped up by July 8, 2021. The first movie was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and for the second outing, the creative team opted to film in California.
Bryce Fortner, the cinematographer of ‘Shadowplay’ and ‘Parallels’ came on board as the director of photography. Gae S. Buckley (‘Open Range,’ ‘The Book of Eli‘) joined as the production designer. California has been an iconic junction in cinema history, thanks to its hundred years old boastful movie production landscape. Now, here is a closer look at the filming sites of ‘Hollywood Stargirl.’
Los Angeles, California
Some filming went underway in Los Angeles, the sprawling west coast metropolis in California and a prime movie production hub in the country. The city holds a special place for the director who lives in the tinsel town. But Julia Hart did point out that they initially set the production somewhere else, but the pandemic confined them near home.
The director weaved the movie as a love letter to the city and the people Julia and her husband and co-writer Jordan Horowitz were missing while being stuck at home. The director also looked forward to placing Stargirl out of her Arizona home into a bigger, more bizarre world in the company of similar zany and weird geniuses. However, they deviated pretty far from the original story in the process.
Orange County, California
Most of the production took place in and around Orange County in Southern California. Orange County is known for its theme parks and sunny beaches. One of its major cities, Anaheim, is a prominent tourist spot due to it being the home of the Disneyland Resort, one of the largest and most iconic theme parks in the entire world. The other two major cities in the county are Irvine and Santa Ana, the former of which holds Pretend City Children’s Museum, a unique interactive museum.
Belen, New Mexico
The first movie was taped at length in New Mexico, a desolate state in the Southwestern United States. The crew (possibly a second unit) headed to the same state to lens some additional segments for the sequel. Filming in the state reportedly went underway in Belen, the second-most populous city in Valencia County, around 34 miles south of Albuquerque. The movies ‘The Marksman,’ ‘Cry Macho,’ and ‘Transcendence’ were also shot in Belen.
Read More: Where Was Stargirl Filmed?
