Twin Peaks Film Location – Thieves Visit Rancho Rosa Estates

The Rancho Rosa Estates film location tour wraps up with a scene from Twin Peaks Part 5. A group of five thieves (or punks if you’d prefer) attempt to steal Dougie Jones’ vehicle and get a rather enlightening surprise. Thanks to the Behind the Curtain footage from the Twin Peaks – From Z to A Collection, we have a good idea of how this scene was shot.

WHERE IS THE LOCATION WHEN THIEVES TRY TO STEAL DOUGIE JONES’ CAR?

The majority of the two scenes take place at 37890 Lopez Lane in Palmdale, California. The approximate coordinates are 34°34’13.3″N 118°00’30.6″W.

The footage was captured on January 15, 2016. The crew probably saved this shot for the final day at this location due to the practical effects of an exploding car.

THIEVES DRIVE BY RANCHO ROSA ESTATES

There are two parts to this film location article. The first takes place along Lopez Lane when the five thieves drive by Dougie’s house in a black 1972 Dodge Charger with a Nevada license plate – 974 6UH. They are blasting “Habit” by the band Uniform.

The car appears to come from Picture Car Warehouse located in Northridge, California.

The car makes an appearance in two videos prior to being in Twin Peaks. The top image is from Calvin Harris’ “Summer,” while the bottom image is from Skylar Grey’s “Cannonball” featuring X Ambassadors. It appears the headlights are hidden behind the front grill.

The thieves pause for a moment and the camera cuts to Dougie Jones’ 2000 Ford Taurus is still parked in the drive way. Notice the rock on the ground behind the back right tire? It will be used later in the scene.

The Charger is parked in front of the One One Nine House located across the street.

It was neat to see David Lynch giving direction to the punks from the short film by Jason S., “Tell It Martin.”

A close up shot of Dougie’s Nevada license plate – DUGE LV – fills the screen.

After another moment, the thieves drive away on Lopez Lane, following the same route Gene and Jake took moments ago.

CURIOUS BOY EXAMINES DOUGIE JONES’ CAR

Later in Part 5, we return to Dougie’s love shack. A shot of the bomb that Gene planted under Dougie’s car shows it periodically blinking red.

A wide shot of the house follows which is from the point-of-view of the little boy across the street. The blinking light of Gene’s bomb calls to him.

The little boy looks both ways before crossing Lopez Lane.

A reverse shot of the little boy just before he steps into the street.

The little boy crawls behind the car and reaches out toward the bomb.

THIEVES RETURN TO RANCHO ROSA ESTATES

Suddenly, the thieves car peels around the corner from Atmore Street onto Lopez Lane.

Atmore is the same street that doubles as Sycamore Street from Part 3.

Speeding down the street, the punks rush quickly toward Dougie’s car and the curious boy. As they approach, we hear “Tabloid” by Uniform.

STEALING DOUGIE JONES’ CAR

The little boy is startled as the thieves suddenly stop in front of Dougie’s car.

They spill out of the car. A punk played by Blake Zingale heads toward the little boy. Zingale is credited as he has spoken lines.

While he doesn’t appear to have any additional acting credits, as of 2019, he was in a souther California band named The Higrounds. They haven’t published anything on their Instagram channel since December 31, 2019 so perhaps they aren’t together anymore.

The boy backs away quickly as lead punk Zingale approaches. There is that rock I previously mentioned.

These photos bring me joy as I love seeing the behind-the-scenes stuff of how they shot Twin Peaks. Such an expert crew that put together this production!

Zingale picks up the rock and chucks it at the little boy while telling him to “get out of here.”

I loved seeing David Lynch interact with Sawyer Shipman in the behind-the-scenes footage.

CURIOUS BOY WATCHING THE THIEVES

The little boy stops retreating and watches the thieves attempting to steal Dougie’s car.

Zingale keeps watch as two other thieves opens Dougie’s car door. I wish I knew the names of the remaining punks. Haven’t found them yet.

Suddenly, BOOM! The car explodes as the punks attempt to start the vehicle. The little boy reacts at the explosion.

The best part of Jason S.’s short film is seeing Lynch explain the Sawyer how big his eyes should be during the explosion. How can he continue to be this awesome?

Behind him is Sabrina Sutherland who is sporting a black Ontario Reign knit cap. The Reign are an American Hockey League team who began playing in 2015-2016 and are affiliated with the National Hockey League team, Los Angeles Kings. First Assistant Director Scott Cameron is behind Lynch’s megaphone taking notes.

EXPLOSION IN RANCHO ROSA ESTATES!

The camera cuts back to the car that is now engulfed in flames.

The special effects team replaces Dougie’s 2000 Ford Taurus with an previously damaged 2004 Ford Taurus.

The special effects crew removes part of the truck from the Taurus.

Gary D’Amico, special effects coordinator for Twin Peaks Season 3 – busts the driver’s side window prior to the car being exploded.

The remaining two punks jump in the Dodge Charger. I’m guessing the background folks standing in front of the house across the street are the actual residents of that home.

I’m also guessing the crew boarded up the front windows to both protect the home from the explosion and adding to the abandoned ambiance of the neighborhood.

Frightened, the little boy darts across the street to his house. Notice that part of the car is already on the roof.

We’ll see better detail of that piece in Part 6. Interestingly, compare the sky and scene colors between the little boy running in Part 5 and the police at the crime scene in Part 6. Most likely they were shot about the same time, meaning the little boy didn’t immediately run to the home following the explosion.

I combined to images of the car on fire and bodies burning.

A neat behind-the-scenes shot of fire being added the dummies.

BOOM!

Two close up details of the fake bodies on fire. The top image is most likely supposed to be the body of the lead punk played by Blake Zingale. How cool would it be to have a body double made of yourself for Twin Peaks?

I close this article with a fantastic shot of Mr. Lynch sitting next to heaters during the morning shoot. It was a chilly day in the Palmdale desert. I’m so grateful that Mark Frost and him gave us this treasure.