Westfield Culver City

Westfield Culver City is a large enclosed shopping mall at 6000 Sepulveda Boulevard in the Fox Hills neighbourhood of Culver City, California, near the intersection of the San Diego Freeway and Marina Freeway. Originally known as Fox Hills Mall, it opened on 6 October 1975 as one of California’s first three-level indoor shopping centres. The $70 million development was built by Ernest W. Hahn Inc. and Carter Hawley Hale Properties, with Gruen Associates responsible for the overall architectural design. Covering approximately 50 acres, the original complex contained more than 900,000 square feet of retail space and was anchored by The Broadway, May Company and JCPenney department stores, the latter opening in January 1976. Its most unusual architectural feature was a towering red glass-and-steel staircase in the central atrium, connecting the three shopping levels alongside a network of angled pedestrian bridges, ramps and escalators. Skylights admitted natural light into the otherwise enclosed structure, while the interior featured distinctive diagonal red-striped flooring. The mall also contained a video arcade called the SEGA Center, later renamed Time-Out, which became particularly popular during the early 1980s. Westfield acquired the property in 1998 and renamed it Westfield Shoppingtown Fox Hills, subsequently shortening the name to Westfield Fox Hills. A major $180 million renovation began in 2008, replacing the former Robinsons-May department store with a new retail wing containing Target and Best Buy. The redevelopment also introduced glass-fronted entrances, redesigned shopping galleries, additional restaurants and a modernised food court. The original red staircase was removed, although several of the angled bridges and parts of the earlier layout survived. The renovated shopping centre reopened as Westfield Culver City on 8 October 2009, with its total retail area exceeding one million square feet. Long before the renovation, Fox Hills Mall had become a regular filming location for Hollywood productions, with its extensive shopping galleries, escalators and multi-storey parking structures appearing in several films and television series.

Westfield Culver City has appeared in CHiPs (1977–1983), Nightmares (1983), Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983–1987), Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985), The Boys Next Door (1985), Thrashin’ (1986), Point Break (1991), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005–), Big Love (2006–2011) and Superbad (2007). In Nightmares, the shopping centre’s former SEGA Center arcade provides the setting for a horror story about a teenager obsessed with a video game. Girls Just Want to Have Fun and The Boys Next Door both feature its shopping galleries and escalators, although in very different circumstances. Thrashin’ and Point Break use the exterior parking structures for high-speed pursuits, while It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia features a confrontation involving two men pretending to be disabled. The mall also appears in the final scene of Superbad, where two longtime friends go their separate ways after meeting their respective romantic interests.

In CHiPs (1977–1983), the American police drama starring Larry Wilcox and Erik Estrada as California Highway Patrol officers Jon Baker and Frank Poncherello, Fox Hills Mall appears in at least two episodes. In «Vagabonds» (1981), the second episode of the fifth season, the shopping centre is used during a storyline involving a family of travelling con artists. The episode introduces Jamie, a young boy whose family is involved in a series of thefts and scams. One sequence filmed at Fox Hills Mall shows Jamie riding his bicycle through the shopping centre’s parking area before colliding with a car. The mall’s exterior and surrounding roads are visible during the incident. The shopping centre returns in «Journey to a Spacecraft» (1983), the fifteenth episode of the sixth season. This episode follows Poncherello and his new partner Bobby Nelson, played by Tom Reilly, as they attempt to help Kevin Coady, a seriously ill boy fascinated by space exploration. A separate investigation concerns a group stealing valuable dogs, with officer Kathy Linahan, played by Tina Gayle, becoming involved in the case. Fox Hills Mall appears early in the episode when a dog belonging to Mrs Birdwing, played by Natalie Schafer, is stolen from her car while she is shopping. The theft takes place in the parking area outside the shopping centre, providing one of the incidents that eventually leads the officers towards the criminals.

In Nightmares (1983), the horror anthology directed by Joseph Sargent, Fox Hills Mall appears in «The Bishop of Battle», the second of the film’s four stories. Emilio Estevez plays J.J. Cooney, a teenage video-game enthusiast who spends much of his free time playing arcade machines and challenging other players for money. Together with his younger friend Zock Maxwell, played by Billy Jayne, J.J. visits an arcade where he becomes obsessed with a game called The Bishop of Battle. The game consists of thirteen increasingly difficult levels, and J.J. is determined to become the first player to complete the final stage. Despite his considerable skill, he repeatedly fails to progress beyond the twelfth level. The arcade is represented by the SEGA Center, an actual amusement arcade located on the second level of Fox Hills Mall, close to JCPenney. The exterior of the arcade and sections of the surrounding shopping galleries appear in the film, including the characteristic sloping walkways and escalators. After repeated unsuccessful attempts to defeat the game, J.J. is forced to leave when the arcade closes. Unable to abandon his obsession, he later returns after hours and breaks into the arcade to continue playing. He finally reaches the thirteenth level, only for the game’s electronic enemies to emerge into the real world and begin attacking him. J.J. attempts to defend himself as the arcade becomes the scene of a violent supernatural confrontation. The scenes involving the shopping galleries were filmed at Fox Hills Mall, although the arcade’s elaborate interior sequences have not been conclusively identified as having been filmed entirely inside the original SEGA Center. The amusement arcade subsequently closed, and its former position near the parking access and JCPenney was substantially altered during later renovations.

In Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983–1987), the American adventure series starring Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner, Fox Hills Mall appears in «The A.C.M. Kid» (1983), the fifth episode of the first season. The story follows suburban mother Amanda King, played by Jackson, and intelligence agent Lee Stetson, played by Boxleitner, as they become involved in protecting Aleksei Kalnikov, played by Meeno Peluce, a young Soviet computer expert whose knowledge has attracted the attention of intelligence organisations. During the episode, Amanda takes Aleksei to a shopping centre, where the boy spends time playing video games. Footage of Fox Hills Mall is used to establish the location, with the shopping centre’s distinctive interior architecture visible. The arcade sequences involving Amanda and Aleksei appear to have been filmed separately, rather than inside the actual SEGA Center. The episode therefore includes the real shopping centre as an establishing location, while the principal action involving the characters takes place in a different arcade environment.

In Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985), the romantic dance comedy directed by Alan Metter, Fox Hills Mall represents a shopping centre in Chicago where Janey Glenn, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, spends an afternoon with her rebellious friend Lynne Stone, played by Helen Hunt. Janey is a talented dancer whose strict military father disapproves of her ambition to appear on the television programme Dance TV. With Lynne’s encouragement, she secretly enters an audition to become one of the show’s regular dancers. During their visit to the mall, the two friends discover that members of the Dance TV cast are making a public appearance and signing autographs. They join the crowds gathered around the performers before wandering through the shopping galleries. In one sequence, Janey and Lynne deliberately ride an escalator in the wrong direction, laughing as they struggle against the moving steps. The scene uses one of Fox Hills Mall’s original escalators near the JCPenney department store, with the shopping centre’s distinctive diagonal flooring visible around the base. The girls subsequently encounter Maggie Malene, played by Shannen Doherty, accompanied by Drew Boreman, played by Jonathan Silverman. Drew is being fitted for a tuxedo at the Gingiss Formalwear shop when Maggie mentions that he is attending a debutante ball organised by wealthy teenager Natalie Sands, played by Holly Gagnier. Since Natalie has repeatedly attempted to sabotage Janey’s chances of winning the dance competition, the girls decide to take revenge by disrupting the party. They obtain Drew’s invitation and use a printing shop in the mall to make numerous copies, which they distribute to people around Los Angeles. The resulting influx of unexpected guests causes chaos at Natalie’s exclusive celebration. The mall sequences were filmed inside the actual Fox Hills Mall, with the Gingiss Formalwear storefront, nearby escalators and surrounding shops clearly visible. Other businesses appearing in the background include Contempo Casuals, Thom McAn and Advance Cutlery. The Gingiss shop and its distinctive red-striped flooring can also be recognised in The Boys Next Door (1985), which was filmed at the same shopping centre around the same period.

In The Boys Next Door (1985), the crime thriller directed by Penelope Spheeris, Fox Hills Mall provides the setting for the film’s final confrontation between two teenage murderers and the Los Angeles Police Department. The film follows Roy Alston, played by Maxwell Caulfield, and Bo Richards, played by Charlie Sheen, two high-school graduates from a small town who travel to Los Angeles for a weekend before beginning jobs at a local factory. Their trip develops into a series of increasingly violent encounters, with Roy becoming responsible for several murders while Bo gradually loses control of the situation. After the police identify the two men, a pursuit leads them into Fox Hills Mall, where they attempt to escape through the crowded shopping galleries. The sequence makes extensive use of the shopping centre’s original interior, including its escalators, open atrium and the distinctive red-striped flooring. As Roy and Bo run through the mall, they pass several real businesses, including Gingiss Formalwear, which also appears in Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985). The shop’s display windows and neighbouring corridor are particularly prominent during the pursuit. With police officers closing in, the two men attempt to obtain weapons from a store but fail to find a way out of the building. Their situation becomes increasingly desperate when they realise that the police have surrounded them. Roy refuses to surrender and insists that they should continue fighting, even if it means being killed. Bo, who has become horrified by his friend’s behaviour, attempts to persuade him to give up. When Roy demands Bo’s gun so that he can continue resisting the police, Bo shoots him instead. Roy collapses, and Bo is left alone to face the officers surrounding him. The film ends with Bo being arrested and escorted away as reporters photograph the scene. The shopping centre’s actual stores and corridors were used for the climax, preserving a detailed record of Fox Hills Mall’s original 1980s interior before the later renovation.

In Thrashin’ (1986), the skateboarding drama directed by David Winters, Fox Hills Mall appears during a chase involving Corey Webster, played by Josh Brolin, and a rival skateboarding gang known as the Daggers. Corey is a talented young skateboarder who has travelled to Los Angeles to compete in downhill racing, but his growing relationship with Chrissy, played by Pamela Gidley, brings him into conflict with her brother Hook, played by Robert Rusler, the leader of the Daggers. During the chase, Corey attempts to escape the pursuing gang by skating through city streets and eventually entering a multi-storey parking structure. These sequences were filmed at the Fox Hills Mall parking garage, using its concrete ramps and curved access roads. Corey races through the structure with members of the Daggers following close behind, repeatedly looking over his shoulder as they gain on him. The pursuit continues onto a distinctive circular ramp, where the skaters descend around the curved concrete roadway. Several of the Daggers struggle to negotiate the turns at speed, and one skater loses control and falls over the side of a parking ramp. The circular ramp remains one of the most readily identifiable parts of the location, situated near the southeastern section of the shopping centre property, close to Fox Hills Drive and Hannum Avenue. Unlike the films that use the indoor shopping galleries, Thrashin’ concentrates entirely on the surrounding parking structure, turning its access ramps into part of an extended downhill skateboarding sequence.

In Point Break (1991), the action thriller directed by Kathryn Bigelow, Fox Hills Mall appears during a car chase involving undercover FBI agent Johnny Utah, played by Keanu Reeves, and a gang of bank robbers known as the Ex-Presidents. Utah and his experienced partner Angelo Pappas, played by Gary Busey, are investigating a series of robberies committed by criminals wearing masks depicting former American presidents. Their investigation brings them to a bank in Culver City, where the robbers unexpectedly strike while Utah is nearby buying sandwiches. When he realises that the bank is being robbed, Utah attempts to intervene, and a pursuit begins as the criminals escape in their vehicle. The chase passes through several Culver City streets before entering the parking area of Fox Hills Mall. The robbers drive onto the shopping centre property from Slauson Avenue, just east of the intersection with Sepulveda Boulevard, with Utah and Pappas following in pursuit. The camera follows the vehicles through the parking lanes and surrounding access roads as the robbers attempt to shake off the agents. The shopping centre’s original parking structures and exterior roads are visible during the sequence. The pursuit subsequently continues away from the mall towards a petrol station, where the confrontation becomes more dangerous. The Fox Hills Mall footage forms part of the extended chase following the bank robbery, with the filmmakers using the existing shopping centre road network rather than the indoor retail areas. The surrounding streets have undergone some alterations since filming, but the relationship between Slauson Avenue, Sepulveda Boulevard and the mall’s parking area remains recognisable.

In It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005–), the American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney, Fox Hills Mall appears in «Charlie Gets Crippled» (2006), the opening episode of the second season. After Charlie Kelly, played by Charlie Day, is accidentally struck by a car driven by Dennis Reynolds, played by Glenn Howerton, he temporarily requires a wheelchair. Charlie and his friend Mac, played by Rob McElhenney, quickly discover that using a wheelchair can attract sympathy and attention, particularly from women. Mac subsequently obtains a wheelchair of his own and persuades Dennis to join him in pretending to be disabled. The two visit a shopping mall, represented by Fox Hills Mall, where they roll through the shopping galleries looking for women they can approach. Their attempts to attract sympathy become increasingly ridiculous when they encounter a man named Wayne, played by Josh Fadem, who is genuinely disabled and also uses a wheelchair. Unable to explain their supposed injuries convincingly, Mac suddenly announces that he has polio, forcing Dennis to claim that he suffers from the same condition. The two then hastily wheel themselves away from the conversation. Their scheme deteriorates further when they encounter Dee Reynolds, played by Kaitlin Olson, who has independently adopted a similar strategy by using crutches and a back brace to attract attention. Mac and Dennis begin arguing over which of them should claim to have polio, eventually turning their disagreement into a wheelchair race. The competition quickly descends into a physical fight, with both men abandoning their wheelchairs and attacking each other on the shopping centre floor. Wayne witnesses the confrontation and explains to Dee that the two men are pretending to be disabled, apparently unaware that she is doing much the same thing. The sequence was filmed inside the actual Fox Hills Mall, with the original escalators, shopfronts and diagonal-patterned flooring visible. The location is particularly recognisable because several of these features also appear in Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985), filmed more than twenty years earlier.

In Big Love (2006–2011), the HBO drama series created by Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer, Fox Hills Mall was used for shopping centre scenes during the first season. The series stars Bill Paxton as Bill Henrickson, a successful businessman living in suburban Utah with three wives: Barb, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, Nicki, played by Chloë Sevigny, and Margene, played by Ginnifer Goodwin. Although the story takes place around Salt Lake City, the production was largely filmed in Southern California, with Fox Hills Mall representing a Utah shopping centre. The existing retail galleries provided a location for the family’s activities away from their three adjoining homes, contrasting their unconventional domestic arrangements with the ordinary public surroundings of a suburban shopping centre. The scenes were filmed before Westfield’s major renovation, when much of the mall’s original 1970s architecture remained intact.

In Superbad (2007), the coming-of-age comedy directed by Greg Mottola, Fox Hills Mall appears in the film’s final scene, bringing the story of two lifelong friends to a quiet conclusion. Seth, played by Jonah Hill, and Evan, played by Michael Cera, have spent their final days of high school attempting to obtain alcohol for a party and improve their chances of starting romantic relationships before leaving for different colleges. Their plans have resulted in a disastrous evening involving stolen alcohol, police officers, a fake identification card and a series of humiliating encounters. The following day, Seth accompanies Evan to a shopping mall to buy a comforter for his college dormitory. The two walk through the shopping galleries together, discussing the previous night’s events and their impending separation. Their conversation is interrupted when they unexpectedly encounter Jules, played by Emma Stone, and Becca, played by Martha MacIsaac, the two girls they had hoped to impress at the party. The meeting is awkward at first, particularly because Seth and Evan are still embarrassed by their drunken behaviour. However, both girls appear pleased to see them, and the conversation gradually becomes more relaxed. As the four stand together on the mall’s upper level, Seth begins talking with Jules while Evan reconnects with Becca. The two pairs eventually decide to go shopping separately, leaving Seth and Evan facing an unexpectedly emotional moment. Having spent much of their lives together, the friends hesitate before accepting that they are now heading in different directions. They exchange a brief goodbye before Seth accompanies Jules and Evan leaves with Becca. The camera follows their separation around the shopping centre’s escalators, with the two friends looking back towards each other as they descend to different levels. The scene was filmed inside Fox Hills Mall near the escalators on the second level, close to the former Foreign Exchange and AT&T Spring Mobile stores. The mall’s original shopping galleries and escalators were still intact when the film was shot in 2006, shortly before the extensive renovation. The ending reflects the central theme of Superbad, with the two friends finally beginning to accept that growing older means becoming less dependent on each other.

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