In Twin Peaks – Part 3 on Showtime, hitman Jake (played by Bill Tangradi) tracks Jade’s yellow Jeep as she leaves the Rancho Rosa Estates neighborhood. This film location article is a nice companion piece to both articles detailing fellow hitman Gene’s stakeout outside Dougie Jones’ love nest in Parts 3 and 5 and Jade and Dougie’s ride in Part 3. All of the scenes were shot in a residential area near Palmdale, California.
WHERE IS THE LOCATION WHEN JADE IS SEEN THROUGH JAKE’S SCOPE?
This scene takes place on Ardmore Court located off Sunnyvale Lane in Palmdale. The approximate coordinates where Jake’s car is parked are 34°34’12.8″N 118°00’39.2″W.
The scene was shot on January 14, 2016 according to the amazing Behind the Curtain footage from Part 3 on the Twin Peaks – From Z to A set. It was a chilly day in the southern California desert so many of the crew were bundled in coats or staying warm with portable heaters.
JAKE RECEIVES A RADIO CALL FROM GENE
This particular part of the scene in Part 3 begins with Jake receiving a radio call from Gene who is parked outside the Rancho Rosa Estates house Dougie and Jade used. Jake says that he is parked near the entrance.
The entrance where the Rancho Rosa Estates sign is located at the corner of Woodbank Way and Campbell Street. The coordinates for that location are 34°34’18.1″N 118°00’41.8″W, which is about a one-minute drive from where Jake’s car is parked on Ardmore Court.
JAKE’S POV OF JADE
The camera cuts to Jake’s point-of-view looking down Ardmore Court toward Sunnyvale Lane and the houses beyond. The location looked different when I visited in September 2020 as houses now stood on the empty land seen in the episode.
JAKE’S CAR
We then get a long look at Jake’s 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS that’s parked on Ardmore Court. According to the Internet Movie Car Database, the car appears in other television shows.
The same car may be seen in Castle episode 21 of Season 4 (top image) and in Major Crimes episode 2 of Season 4 (bottom image).
THE BLUE TOY TRUCK
Taking a closer look a Jake’s car, I spotted what appears to be a toy truck in the background.
When referencing Google Street View to write this article, I found what appears to be THE SAME TOY TRUCK! The image is from June 2015 which is a about 7 months before they crew visited the location.
Even Director of Photography Peter Deming posted an image of the toy truck on his Instagram account on February 29, 2016. I wonder if it is still there today.
By September 2020, the toy blue tuck was long gone.
JAKE THE SNIPER
Jake spots Jade’s bright yellow Jeep entering the scene from the left near another set of cluster mailboxes on Sunnyvale Lane. This is around 34°34’14.1″N 118°00’37.3″W.
Jake grabs his SVD Dragunov sniper rifle – 7.62x54mm and takes aim at the jeep.
This gun was identified on the Internet Movie Firearm Database. Raise your hand if you knew there was an Internet Movie Firearm Database. Wow, this world wide web has everything.
There are some cool stills from the Behind the Curtain shorts of Jake taking aim while David Lynch provides direction.
I’ve said it many times before but the From Z to A set is worth it just to see this type of footage!
Jake tracks the Jeep through his scope but doesn’t spot Dougie.
Jade exits the scene passing another set of cluster mailboxes around 34°34’11.6″N 118°00’37.4″W.
When Jake doesn’t see Dougie, he puts down the sniper rifle.
RADIO CALL TO GENE
“Gene, he’s not in the car,” explains Jake via the walkie-talkie. He then tells Gene that he’ll see him at Mikey’s (whoever that is).
THE CREW IN ACTION
Speaking of awesome behind-the-scenes shots, I combined two images of the crew’s set up for this particular scene.
You can see some of those same houses in the distance on Ardmore Court.
