Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Paul Preston. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Paul, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Years ago, I realized that I’ve been under-appreciating the mecca for movie locations that is Los Angeles, and that had to change! I’ve always known that L.A. is a big movie set. It got to where directions started being given in movie sets. ‘You wanna get to the mall? Sure, you go down Santa Monica Blvd. ’til you get to that building Riggs jumped off in Lethal Weapon, then turn left just past the burger joint from Real Genius. Go all the way down to Nakatomi Plaza and the mall’s just past that.’”

My friend Mike and I would say things to each other like, “Y’know, Daniel LaRusso’s apartment building is right over here” and “Elliott’s house from E.T. is right over there”, so eventually I gathered up all the places I could find and put a map together for Mike’s birthday and we ran through about twenty-five legendary filming locations from some of the biggest movies of all time. And then I did a tour for another friend’s birthday and that really was enough to get me hooked and I knew there’d be an audience for getting up close to movie locations from movies that they love. And that’s one big reason I knew this would work – you pick the locations, so we go see film spots from only movies YOU love in a private tour! The last thing I want to do is show you where a movie you haven’t seen was filmed. Even worse – a movie you hate! Since that first tour for a friend, I’ve trimmed the number of places to visit down from twenty-five (that took a whole day!) and researched hundreds more potential locations to visit so no two tours have to yet to be (or will be) the same!

I started themovieguys.net in 2009 because I loved and wrote about movies so much that friends told me I should have a website. The Movie Guys’ L.A. Film Locations Tour was started in a similar fashion – friends urged me to do it and supported me along the way.

Paul, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve been an L.A. resident and comedian for over twenty years with an unreasonable amount of movie knowledge. I attribute my passion for this, and all things I’m doing in life really, to a quote from Glenn Close when asked why she was an actor: “I change people’s molecules.” I hope to do that exact thing. This is true for any art, and it’s become my response to ‘What do you do for a living?

I am the founder/exec. producer/writer & host of TheMovieGuys.net (est. 2009), which has been home to all manner of movie-related content – reviews, articles, podcasts, live shows, comedy events, red carpets, movie premieres, Comic-Con hosting and more with over a million views on various platforms, including Apple Podcasts, YouTube and more. Plus, I’m a co-producer and editor of D23: Inside Disney, the Official Disney Podcast, have six or seven dozen IMDB credits, competed in an online movie trivia league watched by tens of thousands of people, and have directed numerous award-winning short films. It’s safe to say movies are…kind of my thing.

For The Movie Guys’ L.A. Film Locations Tour, I’ve divided Los Angeles into five sections for five different possible tours. This way, you can see as much as possible in your time on tour. If we visited more than one section, we’d spend most of your time driving, not vacationing. And the good news is you’ll see all the iconic L.A. landmarks you’d see on any other tour, PLUS the movie locations that make my tour unique

Half the reason The Movie Guys’ L.A. Film Locations Tour will be so unique is that you get to pick what you see and you get to stop and take photos (as opposed to a bus that points at places while spilling a script on you). The other half is me! And I mentioned that no two tours are the same so I never get bored either. Each tour is a brand new experience for all of us. Whether you bond more with the people you brought with you, or you learn more about movies and become more appreciative of them or just have the best damn vacation of your life that will be a highlight of your year, I hope to keep this from being a passive experience. Plus, movies are awesome, right?

Have you ever had to pivot?

I believe as an actor you have to ALWAYS be open to pivoting! There are a couple of times I did it and it felt like a risk at the time but set so many other things in motion I’ve never looked back in regret for a second:

– I moved to Chicago to study at The Second City in hopes of working there and then maybe end up following the path many Second City actors did to SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE or other fame and fortune. It was clear that door was never going to open despite the fact that I thought I was good and got called back at auditions. Struggling to open the door that was not going to budge was wasting my time, so when an improv comedy gig on a cruise ship called, I took it and next thing you know I had the money to move to L.A. where I’ve lived for twenty-three years!

– A few years into L.A., I felt stuck with my career, not feeling any upward mobility. I saw an ad for Universal Studios Hollywood and the Blues Brother R&B Revue live show. I really didn’t think performing at a theme park was anything I was interested in, but if I was going to do it…the Blues Brothers would be the way! The attitude I took at the time was, “try new things, get new results”, and the results of that pivot are still coming in – I met a whole new team of actors at Universal that got me involved in films, web series, plays and more. I worked my way into hosting at CityWalk and have been a host in multiple formats and for numerous clients since. I got to know the production staff at CityWalk and started shooting and editing special events, and launched my own production company and LLC which I’ve operated for over fifteen years. And, as I said, the rewards of that mindset shift are still showing themselves!

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I’ve put together a website (lafilmlocationstour.com), but I think aligning myself with travel websites has been the best way to find potential clients. You can put yourself out there with no monetary investment (you just need to invest time to build your presence on their sites) – ToursByLocals, TripAdvisor/Viator, GetYourGuide, Musement, etc., all post my tours and I just pay them a percentage on the back end. I know I may never have found these people otherwise so I don’t sweat the commission and the reviews they leave are: 1. Proof that the tours are going well and everyone’s having a blast!
2. and helping me expand my presence on these sites for future clients!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lafilmlocationstour.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/LAFilmLocationsTour/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LAFilmLocationsTour
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/LALocationsTour
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-movie-guys-l-a-film-locations-tour-san-fernando-valley-8?osq=movie+locations+tour

Image Credits
Paul Preston