up next on a second look. woody allen comes to san francisco. we remember the movies he shot here and talk with the writer, director and actor about his life in film. plus it's one of the world's most famous locations, but you might not recognize san francisco when the movie makers get done with it.

that's straight ahead on a second look. good evening i'm julie haener and this is a second look. recently woody allen was in the bay area shooting scenes for his latest movie. it doesn't have a title yet but alan was casting extras for a party scene. allen has a long history in the bay area. he appeared as a stand up comic at a hungry eye. then he starred in take the money and run. >> i want to thank you very much for making this donation of $5,000 toward the city's social causes. you made it out to the hunters point foundation each. >> thank you, you won't lose that now. >> no i won't lose that. i'll be very careful. there's people who think i'm not very responsible in fiscal matters or the handling of matters. some of the people around --

>> put that in your inside pocket. among those who have appeared in or directed films in the city are such big names as alfred hitchcock, francis ford copla, george lucas and robin williams. in 1996, ktvu's bob shaw presented a multi cog movie. if the only thing you knew of san francisco you might think it's a dark place. >> dynamic, eighth largest cosmopolitan city in the united states. like every big city it has its share of crime and violence. actually on fill film san francisco seems to have its

fair share of crime and violence. >> we're holding up the back. >> we're holding up the back. >> sorry we're holding up the back. >> what are you going to do boys? >> i'm going to set fire to san francisco. >> reporter: everyone seems to have something to hide. >> where are we? >> in the tunnel leading to the golden gate bridge. >> reporter: and there's always something sinister happening under the golden gate bridge. >> this road leads under the bridge. >> reporter: even alcatraz can't rest in peace. >> harry, look out. >> reporter: according to movies half our citizens are villains or nut jobs and the

other half are cops or detectives and one is always chasing the other. in lady from shanghai, maybe it's the music or the lighting but it doesn't seem to take much effort to make san francisco look scary. even play land at the beach can give you the creeps. it's no wonder the city was alfred hitchcock's favorite. >> san francisco is the perfect setting for any great catastrophe.

>> reporter: yet despite all the real and cinematic, san francisco survives. in race street, bookie draft drives from the stanford court hotel. the view of the bay bridge at the end of california is now almost obliterated by buildings. i f this apartment building seems familiar, picture bogart running down the fire escape and waterspouts where the tennis court is located. it isn't a great movie but it does feature great shots of the city from a half century ago. long before the drugstore

turned into the gap. and tourists showed up wearing jeans and backpacks. apparently, actors and film makers don't believe the real san francisco is as dark or dangerous as they often portray on screen. they sometimes realize they themselves are the evil intruders. especially when they inconvenience local citizens and leave less than happy memories in their wake. >> they're shooting a lot of movies. i know some people in traffic are going, that's really great. and they're blowing up cable cars. tourists are going, we must leave quickly, a cable car has blown up. >> reporter: actors don't think they are appreciated enough. >> they are much more cheer leaders for their film makers. they really are behind them. san francisco was always, if you're from san francisco that's usually where you get your worse review. not from me but for george, rob and everybody. it's just a little thing that they like to do.

>> can you really blame us for being weary of the way our city is portrayed. after all you can do it all the play it again sign, vertigos but all it takes is a take to forever hunt the imagine of the city. >> my favorite moment in a movie. my favorite san francisco anything is rice-aroni. rice-aroni the san francisco treat. still to come. on a second look bob shock continues his theory san francisco in the movies. showing us famous landmarks used as movie backdrops and how they've changed through the

years. but first, we talk to woody allen about his comedy writing and how it differs from his earlier years as a stand up comedian. must be nice, cheering on team usa from the shallow end. back in '08, we didn't have these u-verse wireless receivers that let you move the tv around wherever. no siree, bob. who's bob? and if you didn't have a tv outlet, well then you couldn't watch diddly-squat.

you talk a lot. you have no idea how good you have it. that's not working. [ grunts ] [ male announcer ] the wireless receiver, only from at&t. get a free wireless receiver with a qualifying u-verse plan. rethink possible.

woody allen has been in san francisco filming his most recent film. we sat down and talked about his career. >> i can't direct a picture i'm blind. >> have you seen some of the pictures out there. >> do you ever see your films with an audience? >> i never see them. i work with them and edit them and get them finished. after i'm finishes finishes -- finished with them, that's it for me. i never watch them again. because it would be too brutal

an experience for me. >> how do you get the median satisfaction of hearing the laugh then? >> i don't get it. i don't get that satisfaction. i was saying to someone before in the silent film daying, you know charlie chaplain, keeton would make their films and since there would be no sound they would be doing routines and the crew would be laughing hysterically and they could time their routines and they were getting the satisfaction that you're talking about, i can't do that. >> reporter: you certainly got the satisfaction at the oscars this year. you were performable -- performing for the first time. >> good audience. >> they were a good crowd. >> they were a good crowd but they were out for the night, its was a festive occasion. logic tells you they would be a good audience. >> thank you so much, that

makes up for the strip search. >> were you nervous not having done stand up for a long time. >> i did thousands of nightclubs and television so this was not a new thing to me. >> reporter: hollywood ending like all of your films are sprinkles with one liners. do you picture yourself doing that? >> i get a big kick out of it and i sometimes can't wait to do the joke publicly because i know everyone else will enjoy it. and usually i'm right because i have a good ear for guessing that. but sometimes i'm not. sometimes i will do the joke and you know i'm shocked that nothing comes back. >> i want to show you what we have in mind for the poster. >> the poster? >> yeah, come here. >> come here. me? yes, well, no, i'm coming.

>> in his 1996 series san francisco in the movies ktvu's bob shaw took a look at san francisco landmarks in movies from past decades and showed you how you might recognize some and not recognize others. >> what's the fastest way to san francisco? >> the freeway, ma'am. >> how do i find it? >> look at this. >> san francisco is no place for a woman. >> why not? i'm not afraid. >> everyone has their own personal concept of what san francisco represents. >> i had this idea about san francisco. >> reporter: but if your only exposure to the city is what you've seen in the movies, you can be excused. the streets themselves are spotless, spit shined on an hourly basis. no cigarette butts, no leaves,

the city makes disneyland look like a toxic waste dump. you never have to wait for a street car and everybody is dressed for the opera. you can stop your car on lumbard street or pull into a curb side parking space whenever you get an itch for a crab cake. and everybody lives in a mansion the size of candle stick with a view of the golden gate. >> it's the romantic life is what you can live in san francisco. >> reporter: especially if you're assisted by hollywood magic. in the 1936 film after the tin

man, the couple has such a spectacular home, even their driveway has a spectacular view. the owners wouldn't mind it at all and it still has the best view in the city. but if you're thinking about buying this place, forget it. there's no house here, because it ends up those actors were living at coit tower. why else would so many talented people want to live and work here? >> i want to shoot here because i live here and i don't want to have to go very far. >> i love being able to go home at nigh -- at night and look out and see san francisco. >> robin williams is shooting three back to back films. >> what's the sense of going some where else if we can do it from our house. no per diem. it was some what selfish

because we live there. and also economical because we live there. >> i'm in a position i can say, let's just shoot it up here and they say, okay. okay. >> the streets of san francisco. >> reporter: in 1972 the streets of san francisco was the first television series filmed entirely on location in the bay area. thanks to previous film makers fascination with san francisco we're able to take a time machine tour of famous tourists stops in the city. everybody knows this location but if you don't think it has changed much through the years watch. it isn't just the ads and billboards, union square has lost at least two major builds since 1963 since alfred hitchcock filmed, birds. jimmy stewart lives in an apartment near one of san francisco's most famous tourists attraction. one day he comes home to see kim novak waiting at the door.

if he came home today he probably won't see it due to the expanding vegetation up front. the current owners are probably happy this cinematic landmark is almost unrecognizable to visitors coming down the road. enricos another landmark covered by trees. and the red call box on the left is still there. but in the background, there's now a unique landmark piercing the sky. >> when we come back, on a second look bob shaw says the san francisco you sometimes see in the movies bares little resemblance to the city we know and love.

san francisco has long been

a favorite shooting location for film makers. sometimes when you see the finished product you can't believe it's the same city we all know and love. ktvu's bob shaw first brought us this report in 1996. it's a miracle these people ever got out of the 20th century. from the silent era when they shot greed in the mud flats to the recent hit the rocks, current tv series nash ridges, and upcoming films locations in and around san francisco have proved irresistible to film makers and

anyone with a camera. >> we're no hermits you know why we're there. technicians, actors everything. >> i chose san francisco because i felt san francisco was sophisticated enough and glamorous enough and beautiful enough to enbody the concepts i wanted to have in the show. >> when i became interested in san francisco it immediately appeared to me because it was close to los angeles by plane. you can get there in an hour. once you had done that you were far from san francisco. watch this scene from the 1949 film doa. are you looking at edmond

o'brien. are you around about his character, of course not, you're looking at the cars and are thinking, market has sure changed. you can see how the street itself has been altered. market no longer connects with embarcadero. today, he would have to skip through the -- >> you know california street. >> yeah. >> coming down the hill on a cable you can just see many my office. >> reporter: not anymore and bob hope's character would have a tough time paying the rent today because the entire block is now occupied by the ritz carlton hotel. a lot of the sky above

california street has disappeared. >> in 1958's vertigo. the location is actually the broco bay apartment come lek. the same spot visiting 10 years olderrer by rita hayward on. much like children fighting over a new toy, producers have tried to become hip and powerful. paul and lloyd our perennial sightseeing sleuths took a drive to oakland. you could stop dead in your lane and not annoy anyone, traffic was so light.

when the pyramid, the laughing policeman did its best to squeeze the newly marked landmark into every shot. after the futuristic hyatt regency it became the premier lodging place. in 1970 during the construction of the b.a.r.t.'s transbay tunnel, george lucas gained access to film the climate of 8:00. not everyone is what it seems in san francisco movies. and it seems no two film makers can agree on what kind of city it is. >> this is my town. san francisco. >> what a mess is that? >> bob shaw for channel 2 stphuz when we come back on a

second look, woody alan tells bob shaw how his ambitions have changed.

woody allen is shooting parts of his next movie right here in the bay area. bob shaw talks with allen about film making and how his own aspirationses have changed. >> out of all your movies did any of them hit dead on what you were supposed to do when you set out to do them. >> close, there were a few that were close. husbands and wife was very close to what i wanted to do. purposed rose of cairo was very close and seluck was very close. the others were not as close. i mean some of them you know came out okay, but they weren't as close to what i had in mind. maybe if i had achieved exactly what i had in mind they might have been better or worse, not

as enjoyable to people. >> what aspect of film do you like the most? >> i like writing it. it's not bad editing. shooting it is not great. that's not much fun -lt fun. but one you have all the materials in one place that's fulfilling. >> what are your teens as a teen -- teenager and what are your goals now. >> when i was a child i wanted to be a screen writer writing very heavy novels that

gradually veered into being a play right now any goal is to live as long as my parents. >> are they still alive? >> yes, they're still alive. >> how old are they? >> my dad is 99 and my mother is 98. for the most part they are in good help. to me right now that achievement is more to me than my right. >> ike julie haener, thank you for watching. that's it for this week's second look.