Location filming
Several bronze plaques commemorate elevator scenes from three major films:
It has been featured in many movies and television series over the years, including The Driver,[16] Interstellar,[17] Strange Days, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (as part of the city of New Chicago), Wonder Woman,[18] Blue Thunder, It's a Living,[19] Starsky & Hutch, L.A. Law, The A-Team, Breathless, Matlock, This Is Spinal Tap, Playing God, Chronos, Nick of Time,[20] Rain Man,[20][21] Ruthless People,[20] Logan's Run,[20] My Fellow Americans,[20] Midnight Madness, Moonlighting (TV series), Showtime, Hard to Kill, The Lincoln Lawyer, Chuck, Heaven Can Wait, Xanadu, The New Dragnet, Time After Time, Moby Dick,[22] Zoolander,[23] MaXXXine, Lethal Weapon 2,[20] The Fantastic Journey[24][25] and was destroyed (via special effects) in Escape from LA, Epicenter, and San Andreas. The front of the hotel was also featured in the British children’s television series Tots Tv ‘American Adventure’ special where Tilly, Tom and Tiny went to explore a different country and were observing tall buildings and went onto the roof of the hotel to observe the view of Los Angeles.[26] While under construction, it appeared in the 1975 film The Wilderness Family (released a year before the hotel opened). In cartoon form, the building can be seen in the first shot of Jem in the episode "The Beginning", and in the anime Steins;Gate. In November 1979, the ABC soap opera General Hospital videotaped some on location scenes there dealing with Luke Spencer, played by Anthony Geary who was hired to assassinate Senator Mitch Williams. In 1999, Power Rangers Lost Galaxy used the building as the administration building of the space colony Terra Venture, with Red Ranger Leo falling from the building after a battle with main villain Trakeena.
In 2002, the hotel was the location for a Fear Factor stunt which involved crossing a bridge of plexiglass discs on cables suspended on the lobby's fifth floor.[27] The television series It's a Living was set in a restaurant atop the Bonaventure. The hotel is also showcased in episodes of CSI and its exterior can be seen in Americathon, Mission: Impossible III, Almighty Thor, Hancock, and at the beginning of the Lionel Richie "Dancing on the Ceiling" music video. The building made appearances in the 2002 Aaliyah music video "More Than a Woman", 1991 Kylie Minogue music video "Step Back in Time", the 1985 Survivor music video "The Search Is Over", the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the 2012 video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II (in the "Aftermath" multiplayer map) and in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V with the name "Arcadius Business Center" (having three towers instead of four towers and featuring glass elevator animations).
The hotel was also used as a setting for R&B singer Usher's music video for the 2002 hit single, "U Don't Have to Call". A pivotal scene in the season four (2005) episode "Another Mister Sloane" of the espionage drama Alias took place in the Bonaventure Hotel as well, while it was also featured in season one (2017), episode five of another espionage drama, Counterpart. In 2021, Rihanna's "Savage x Fenty Show Vol. 3" was filmed entirely on location at the hotel.[28][29] The hotel also hosted the first task for the final leg of The Amazing Race 33, which aired in 2022.[27]
- In the Line of Fire,[14][15] September 1993, "Green Square" elevator
- True Lies,[15] September 1993, "Red Circle" and "Yellow Diamond" elevators
- Forget Paris,[15] November 1994, "Yellow Diamond" elevator
