Universal Studios will use Santa Anita Park for five weeks of filming for the movie "Seabiscuit." An open casting call will select thousands of extras to be used when shooting begins in November.
Featured articles on Seabiscuit include quotes from the book, readers remembering the horse, locals used as extras in the filming of the movie at Santa Anita Park, silver lined hooves on display at the California the Thoroughbred Association's library, information on Gary Stevens, and interviews with author Laura Hillenbrand.
Filmmakers will spend 5 weeks on a location shoot at Santa Anita Park for "Seabiscuit," a movie about the legendary horse that captured national attention in the 1930's.
Community meetings will be held to determine public preference on the name for the Arboretum. The County prefers that the facility be called Botanic Garden.
Historical information on Baldwin Lake, the four-acre body of water that adjoins the Queen Anne Cottage in the historical section of the Los Angeles County Arboretum, is presented. The history of lake extends from time of the Native Americans (they called their village Aleupkigna), to Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin's ranch in 1873, to the movies and television shows in which it has appeared. Baldwin Lake played host to movie stars Johnny Weismuller, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. The lake has appeared in Safari, Roots, and Fantasy Island. See also VF "Arboretum" for hard copy of article.
An audit of the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Gardens shows that the facility exceeded its operating budget by nearly $1.5 million over the past three years. The Arboretum will be tightening its belt on spending.
Arts & Culture spotlight on the new exhibit at the Ruth & Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum. The exhibit is called "Roll 'em!: Motion Pictures Filmed in Arcadia and Surrounding Communities." Photos include Dana Dunn, curator at the museum, and movie posters of "A Star is Born" starring Judy Garland and James Mason, and "The African Queen," starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.
The Universal Studios film, Seabiscuit, based on the non-fiction book by Laura Hillenbrand, will be filmed at Santa Anita Park race track in November and December. Arcadia mayor Gail Marshall will be an extra on the film.
The water in Baldwin Lake at the Los Angeles County Arboretum, which is actually a sag pond, is evaporating, and the water is not being replenished by the artesian well because of low levels in the water table. The lake is famous from the television show Fantasy Island. The last time Baldwin Lake was dry was 1991.