Griffith Park Ranked as Top L.A. Film Location in 2012

Griffith Park tops the list once again as Los Angeles’ top filming location in 2012.

The iconic Los Angeles hilltop and canyon area between Los Feliz and Burbank, known as the Bird Sanctuary due to the many species of birds that make their home there, had 409 production days in 2012 (63 more than in 2011), according to an annual survey conducted for The Los Angeles Times by FilmL.A. Inc.

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TNT’s Southland and FX’s Sons of Anarchy are a few of the television shows that shot in the city-owned park.

Coming in second on the list is Point Dume State Beach located on Malibu’s coast. Its 163 production days included shoots for ABC’s Modern Family and commercials for Dodge, Subaru and Fiat, among others. This is the first time the beach location has made the top 10 since the survey began three years ago.

Another beach locale, Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey, came in third with 159 production days, which included commercials for Radio Shack and Wal-Mart.

Linda Vista Community Hospital and Downtown L.A.’s 6th Street Bridge rounded out the top five with 156 and 157 production days, respectively. The hospital served as the backdrop for for HBO’s True Blood and CBS’s Criminal Minds while the bridge was featured in the recent film Seven Psychopaths and a Green Day music video.

According the the survey, eight of the top 10 filming locations were on publicly owned city and county streets.

“We continue to see a considerable amount of filming that happens on government-owned properties or facilities, from beaches and parks, to public schools and libraries,” Phil Sokoloski, spokesman for FilmL.A., told The L.A. Times. “The list underscores the importance of having a good working relationship between the film industry and local government authorities.”

For the complete list, visit L.A. Times.