Shooting on the front lawn. Little Hercules with a.o. Hulk Hogan. November 2005.

The field and bleachers of Verdugo's Kersey Field were filled with cast, crew and extras during several nights of filming the movie Boys and Girls in November, 1999.

The following FEATURE FILMS were shot on location at Verdugo Hills High School. The dates in parentheses after the title indicate the film's release date.

Hercules in 3-D (2005, November)

The movie crew was here on Verdugo’s campus again. This time they were filming a movie named Hercules in 3-D. Filming started on Sunday, October 23, 2005 and ended on Tuesday, November 8, 2005. The movie stars Richard Sandrak (Little Hercules), Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club), Robin Gibbons (Head of the Class & Mike Tyson’s ex- wife), and Hulk Hogan (Former Pro Wrestler). There are a lot of special effects and movie magic. In one of the scenes in this mythical storyline, little Hercules with his special strengths, lifts Paul Wight from the WWF. This movie will hit theaters in less than a year.

Hulk Hogan as Zeus

 

Cursed (2003, April)

Horror. Wes Craven is planning to shoot a new movie in April 20030.

 

Not Another Teen Movie (2001, March)

Comedy. Feature film for teenagers from Columbia / Sony.

Clockstoppers (2001, February)

Feature film for young kids.

Boys and Girls (2000)

Actual Verdugo students and locations are featured in this film starring Freddie Prinze, Jr., Claire Forlani, and Heather Donahue.
     VHHS doubles as Warren G. Harding High School in this teen comedy that follows the lives of "Ryan" (Prinze) and "Jennifer" (Forlani) as they find, lose, and find love again.
     Scenes surrounding Homecoming at the school were shot on campus from November 17 though 19, 1999. Included in the location shots are the big cross-town rival football game between the Harding Knights and the Jackson Gophers as well as several scenes in other areas of the campus including shots in the main hallway that was beautifully redone in art-deco style by the set designers.
     Producers of the film also cast some of our "home-grown talent" in the film. Our VHHS Dons varsity cheerleaders appear as the Harding cheerleaders, both the Knights' and Gophers' football players are members of Verdugo's 1999 Football squad, and the flag girls in the homecoming procession are members of VHHS's drill and flag team.
     Also appearing in the movie are the 1999 Mustangs cheerleading team from Vasquez High School in Acton, Calif. (as the Gophers' cheerleaders), and the crowd in the stands is composed of students from a number of local schools including Verdugo Hills, Eagle Rock, and Glendale High Schools, among others.
     The film is scheduled for domestic theatrical release through Miramax in Summer, 2000. Be sure to look for it.

187 (1997)

The summer of 1996 saw VHHS become John Quincy Adams High School with its "Fighting Quails" mascot in this action film starring Samuel L. Jackson, John Heard, Kelly Rowan and Chris Gonzales.
     Look for a number of Verdugo students as extras in this movie about "Trevor Garfield" (Jackson), a dedicated Brooklyn science teacher, who is stabbed by a student who fails his class. Once he recovers, Garfield leaves New York for a new start teaching in L.A., only to confront violence in the schools once again.
     Quite a few campus locations are featured, though many are difficult to recognize after being made over by the set dressers. Can you spot the building that was constructed especially for the movie and then destroyed?

The Craft (1995)

Starring Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell and Rachel True. Ever wonder what Verdugo would look like as a parochial school? Well, just like magic, Verdugo got turned into Saint Benedict's Academy in this occult thriller. Lots of Verdugo locations in this film.

Heathers (1989)

Starring Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, and VHHS alumnus John Ingle as "Principal Gowan." Verdugo's gym doubled as the Westerberg High School gymnasium in the big dance scene.

River's Edge (1987)

Starring Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Ione Skye, and Daniel Roebuck in this twisted drama about a group of teenagers coming to terms with the murder of one of their coed friends committed by another one of their friends.
     Though the movie credits the Sacramento area for the location shots of the river, almost all of the film is shot on location in the Sunland-Tujunga area with multiple scenes of the Verdugo campus including the area adjacent to the Maurice Levin Memorial Drafting Room, the front of McGroarty Auditorium, and the lunch area with Kersey Field beyond (one of the lunch area shots is depicted on the video release box, also).
     Lots of recognizable, though now dated looking, interior and exterior shots of community locations including Sunland Discount Variety, Foothill Hardware, Tujunga's Jack-in-the-Box restaurant (later Rudy's Bean Pot and, currently, Arigato). Some Sun Valley locations, too.

Better Off Dead (1985)

Starring John Cusack, Curtis Armstrong, David Ogden Stiers, and Amanda Wyss, this oddball comedy revolves around Cusack's character and his life after he is dumped by a girlfriend.
     Most people who have seen the film will undoubtedly recall the recurring character of the paperboy as he hunts Cusack throughout the movie to collect for his newspaper deliveries.
     The school exteriors were shot at Verdugo with one particularly great shot of the senior lawn and campus tower early on.

Christine (1983)

Based on the book of the same title by Stephen King. This movie had some parts filmed in Verdugo's library.
The movie takes place in Libertyville. Evil inhabits a custom painted Red and White 1958 Plymouth Fury and the teenage boy, Arnold Cunningham, who buys it from the strange Roland LeBay.
Helped by Arnold's girlfriend Leigh Cabot, Dennis Guilder embarkes to find out the real truth behind Christine and finds more than he bargained for: from murder, to suicide, and a strange feeling that surrounds Christine - she gets even with anyone that crosses her! Can Dennis save Arnold from the evil that is Christine?

 

Almost Summer (1978)

Starring Tim Matheson, Didi Conn, John Friedrich, Sunny Johnson, Bruno Kirby, Lee Purcell and Donna Wilkes. This movie, shot at VHHS during 1977, follows the senior year antics of a group of students including their prom and a giant food fight in the cafeteria.
     We have it on good authority that for several weeks during the filming, confusion reigned with no one being able to tell the difference between the movie extras and the real students on campus!

Corvette Summer (1978)

Starring Mark Hamill (the Star Wars trilogy) and Annie Potts (Designing Women, Dangerous Minds). High School student "Ken Dantley" (Hamill) searches for his stolen auto shop project, a tricked-out Corvette. His search takes him to Las Vegas where he is joined in his efforts by "Vanessa," a teenage prostitute wannabe played by Potts.