Lisa Kudrow is not simply talking about the past; she is reminding Hollywood who she is. In an Architectural Digest video, Lisa Kudrow is seen visiting the Warner Bros. Pictures studios in Burbank, California. As she is shown around the studios, the conversation quickly moves from a walk down memory lane to a passionate speech. Netflix’s interest in the deal with the 102-year-old studio may have prompted Lisa Kudrow’s speech. She is reminding all who will soon own this iconic studio what it is and what it means.
Lisa Kudrow emphasizes preserving Warner Bros. Studios
Lisa Kudrow is reminding everyone who she is. “We were on Stage 5, which was a great small sound stage right next to where ‘ER’ was shooting, so we’d hang out with them a lot,” Kudrow said in an exclusive to Variety, mentioning her Friends cast. “We moved to a bigger soundstage so we could have a 400-person audience… that was Stage 24, and that’s where we were the full 10 years.”
“I don’t know if Warner Bros. is just special to me, or if it’s special to the whole city or industry. I think it is. Ownership changes all the time, and you don’t know what’s going to happen. I think most people really hope whatever happens next is that this studio lot is preserved as is. It works. I mean, we just shot here. Whoever buys it, you don’t need to change anything! Congrats … please don’t remove Jack Warner’s roses.” As far as Stage 24 goes, particularly as she prepares for the long-awaited third season of The Comeback on HBO, going back to the Warner Bros. Studios is obviously difficult. To her, the studio is not simply a place of work. It is a living repository of memories, creativity, and history.
While not necessarily opposed to change and new ownership per se, Kudrow’s point is not necessarily about this. It is about not altering something that has been made successful. The Warner Bros. Studios lot is still functional, still active, and still obviously connected to the history of Hollywood. Kudrow’s point is the most specific and also the most poetic. Don’t touch the roses planted by Jack Warner. Allow something beautiful and old to continue to exist in an industry that is obsessed with change and reinvention.
Kudrow’s point also speaks to the larger theme of the latest issue of Architectural Digest magazine, which also features other Los Angeles residents such as Kristen Stewart, Noah Wyle, and Mindy Kaling, as they discuss Los Angeles one year after the devastating wildfires. Change is not necessarily about erasure. Sometimes, the most progressive step forward is to preserve the places where the magic happened and can continue to happen.
