TV & Film Locations

 Newport Beach has been a location for many movie and television shoots. Back in Hollywood's early days, Newport Beach was one of the more popular locations for films. Lighting and special effects for film were still basic, so Newport Beach sunny skies and quiet beaches were what filmmakers desired when filming called for tropical and exotic locations.

TV Shows

In the hit TV series, Giligan’s Island, cave scenes were shot in Newport Beach across from the southern tip of the Balboa Peninsula, in a park just off Ocean Boulevard. The rock jetties at the entrance of Newport Bay can be seen during the opening theme during the line "A 3-Hour Tour" as the Minnow heads out to sea.

Popular TV show The O.C. was based on the fictional lives of people living in Newport Beach. Cast members and producers of the Fox network hit series “The OC” visited Newport Beach and were given keys to the city in 2004.

Spin off teen reality hit, Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County based on the lives of high school students living in Newport Beach.

Arrested Development was set in Orange County operating a frozen banana stand on Balboa Island.

Fans of Lost might have notices that in the final episode of Season 2, the boat Elizabeth had a Newport Beach hailing port, painted right there on her transom.

The West Wing used Newport Beach area a number of times basing Sam Seaborne’s bid for congress in the district and filming on location in five different Season 4 episodes.

The sitcom, Joey, starring Math LeBlanc filmed in Newport for the day.

The Real Housewives of Orange County features several families living in Newport Beach as well as locations within the city.

Films

Barge scene for silent movie spectacle, Cleopatra, starring Theda Bara, was filmed in Newport Harbor. (1917)

Buster Keaton filmed scenes in Newport Beach, in Orange County south of Los Angeles, for The Scarecrow (1920), The Boat (1921), Sherlock Jr. (1924), College (1927), The Cameraman (1928), and the Columbia Studios talking short Pest from the West (1939).

Academy Award winner All Quiet On The Western Front is filmed above Corona del Mar. (1930)

In 1924 two old sailing ships were converted to pirates ships west of the balboa pavilion for the filming of Captain Blood (1935). During the filming both these ships were sunk off the coast of Catalina Island.

A Star is Born (1937)

Lassie Come Home (1943)

Joan of Arc (1948) several location scenes wereshot in Newport Beach.

The reshoot of a sequence using a full-scale ship and live actors in Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) was filmed offshore of Newport Beach.

Lord Love A Duck (1966)

The Film, Boatniks  was filmed extensively on location at Newport Beach and its marina. (1970)

The house from the Bette Midler movie Beaches is located in Crystal Cove. (1988)

A Few Good Men (1992)

Not only is a Newport Beach resident often credited with being the real life inspiration for the film, Jerry Maguire (1996), but the movie was also filmed at several Newport Beach locations. 

The exterior of the Newport Beach Central Library appeared as the reunion venue in the film Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion. 

Shadows (2005)

Black Star Canyon (2006)