The exploration of film locations used for Rancho Rosa Estates continues with a look at hitmen Gene and Jake’s stakeout outside Dougie Jones’ love nest. I’ve previously discussed the exact location of the house in Palmdale, California, but I wanted to take a deeper look at two specific scenes in Parts 3 and 5 on Showtime.
WHEN WAS THE STAKEOUT AT RANCHO ROSA ESTATES SCENE SHOT?
According to the Behind the Curtain footage from the incredible Twin Peaks – From Z to A set, we learned that Gene’s first scene in Part 3 was shot on January 12, 2016. This is the same day that the exterior footage between Jade and Dougie was shot outside the home.
WHERE IS THE STAKEOUT AT RANCHO ROSA ESTATES SCENE LOCATED?
The house and street used as this film location is found at 37890 Lopez Lane in Palmdale, California. The approximate coordinates are 34°34’13.3″N 118°00’30.6″W.
BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE STAKEOUT
In the Jason S. short film “Tell It Martin,” we get a behind-the-scenes look at David Lynch and team planning the shooting for this scene. It’s fascinating to hear Lynch and First Assistant Director Scott Cameron discuss the blocking and set up for this scene.
DAVID LYNCH
“This is the middle of the road. So, here’s the house, the hero house. About the time Jade is here, this car is here. It passes. They continue on. Right? We stay with the red car. It comes up right opposite the house, a little bit more right about here. So he’s in the middle of the street. Stopped in the middle of the street. There’s no one in this neighborhood, and he talks to Jake. And, you know, he’s saying, ‘I see Dougie’s car over here on this side.’ Right? ‘And I think I saw two people but I’m not sure.’ And then he gets out of the car. He stops and opens up the door right here. He walks over, puts it underneath there, goes back to the car and takes off. He crosses the whole street.”
“Tuesday we’re shooting the red car coming around and stopping, and then we’re going to cut in and shoot his thing.”
SCOTT CAMERON
“And shoot his dialogue.”
LYNCH
“While we’re shooting that. While we are shooting that, it would be very easy to just stay right there from that point-of-view and have Jake come out and put the thing under the car. And get back in the car. “
CAMERON
“Okay. I won’t oppose that but it’s a distraction.”
LYNCH
“It’s not a distraction. Okay, I’ll tell you what a distraction is, is set the whole f*cking thing up a second time. That’s a distraction. This doesn’t cost anything. This doesn’t cost anything. We’re right there. Play the whole thing till he drives off.”
CAMERON
“Yes, sir.”
LYNCH
“Okay” [laughs]
I love hearing how they planned the entire shoot as it just shows how much it takes to make such a large production work. I would have loved to see this kind of footage for Seasons 1 and 2 or even Twin Peaks – Fire Walk With Me.
PART 3 – GENE’S ARRIVAL
Jade and Dougie pull out from the love nest and head north on Lopez Lane. They pass Gene (played by Greg Vrotsos) who is driving a 1971 Chevelle SS Sport Coupe with a Nevada license plate – 4583NP. I combined several shots of his arrival into the image above.
Unfortunately, Bing Maps doesn’t have the exact angle of Gene’s arrival as they shot it from the front yard of the house at 37890 Lopez Lane. But you get the idea.
The Behind the Curtain footage had a different look at Gene’s arrival.
PART 3 – GENE STOPS
As Gene’s car comes to a stop in front of the “119 House” across the street, he calls his fellow hitman Jake on a radio.
The car comes to a stop around 34°34’13.4″N 118°00’30.8″W.
Scott Cameron stands next to Greg in this behind-the-curtain shot from Part 3.
Here’s another shot of Gene’s car from the Behind the Curtain footage.
GENE’S CALL
JAKE
“She just drove by in a Wrangler. It looked like maybe two people but his car is still here.”
The fellow hitman Jake doesn’t spot Dougie in the Jeep as Jade drives by.
You can see the door to the 119 House through the passenger side window of Gene’s car.
I combined two shots from the Behind the Curtain footage to get the image above. This would be the shot of the dialogue that Lynch mentions earlier.
I’m unsure who is on camera (could be Peter Deming). Still photographer Suzanne Tenner appears to be reviewing images on her camera. There may have also been a stand-in for Greg standing next to Suzanne.
While Lynch typically uses a two-camera set up for most shots throughout Season 3, this appears to only be one camera on a track to get the shot seen in the monitor above.
PLANTING THE BOMB
After Jake doesn’t see Dougie in Jade’s Jeep, Gene surmises that he must still be in the house.
He gets out of the car and walks toward Dougie’s parked vehicle. The view is from a boy looking out the front window of the 119 House (that’s a different story for another time).
Gene crosses the street (as Lynch described) and heads toward the back of Dougie’s car.
Gene then attaches a puck-like bomb to the underside of the vehicle.
Once the bomb is activated, Gene saunters back to his Chevelle.
Then Gene gets back in the driver’s seat. The Jason S. short film offers an alternate view of this shot.
We see the reflection of Gene’s car pull away in the window of the 119 House but we don’t actually see the car leave like the shot from Behind the Curtain. I wonder if there was a reverse angle shot captured.
PART 5 – GENE AND JAKE RETURN
The scene in Part 5 opens with a brief establishing shot of the Rancho Rosa Estates sign.
The camera cuts to a similar shot of Lopez Lane seen in Part 3. Gene’s 1971 Chevelle slowly approaches the house where Dougie’s car is still parked.
Joined by fellow hitman Jake, Gene pauses the car in front of the 119 House again.
Another look at Dougie’s house seen from Gene and Jake’s point-of-view.
The dynamic duo then drives south on Lopez Lane.
You can see the speed bump in the distance that Jade crosses over in Part 3. There is also a vehicle covered in a blue tarp at the end of the street.
Bing Maps didn’t have the same view but it looks like the speed bump may have been added for the show.
You can see the same vehicle in Part 3.
I close this article with an outtake from the Behind the Curtain footage from Part 3. I love seeing Lynch interacting with the crew and cast. Makes me appreciate Season 3 even more.
