‘Hacks,’ ‘Don’t Worry Darling,’ and ‘9-1-1’ Location Pros Get Their Props at COLA

From staging a postapocalyptic scene with real animals in the heart of Hollywood to creating a desert utopia in Palm Springs, the productions nominated for the California On Location Awards (COLA) all have one thing in common: They were filmed in the Golden State. (Several nominees are recipients of California’s Film and TV Tax Credit Program.) COLA chair Sabrina Jurisich says of this year’s show, which honors the best location pros in the industry and will take place Dec. 4 at the Hilton in Universal City: “As we are returning to an in-person show for the first time since 2019, we have had an incredible outpouring of support and are expecting a full house once again.” A few noteworthy nominees:

DON’T WORRY DARLING (Warner Bros.)

Olivia Wilde’s film looks straight out of a 1950s luxury home catalog, but its desert utopia exists in Palm Springs. Nominee Chris Baugh’s locations included the Kaufmann House, Canyon View Estates and City Hall.

9-1-1 (Fox)

The show shut down Hollywood Boulevard for its season six opener (episode six pictured). “We started at midnight, made it look like the apocalypse and had the street open by 10 a.m.,” says nominee Timothy Hillman of the scene that included both real animals and CG fakes.

HACKS (HBO)

The comedy takes place all over the world, but the location team led by Kyle Sucher hardly set foot outside SoCal for the second season. Hannah Einbinder said they filmed “every two hours in every direction from L.A.” to depict different cities on tour. Deborah Vance’s (Jean Smart) L.A. mansion can be found in the foothills of San Gabriel Valley.

This story first appeared in the Nov. 30 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.