The historic Kemper Campbell Ranch has a long and storied connection with movies and the actors and writers that make them.

Notable movies filmed on the ranch include the 1936 version of “My American Wife,” 1951’s “Lightning Strikes Twice,” 1993’s “Kalifornia” starring Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny, and Michelle Forbes, and most recently David Fincher’s “Mank” staring Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, and Charles Dance filmed on the ranch in 2019. Mank earned 10 Academy Award nominations and won 2 for Best Production Design and Best Cinematography. Mank told the story of the writing of the screenplay for “Citizen Kane” which was written on the ranch in 1940.

In addition to its stunning natural scenery, the Kemper Campbell Ranch features its magnificent adobe Main House and guest rooms designed by famed California architects John Byers and Edla Muir. These southwest style structures were built from adobe bricks made on the ranch, topped with authentic Mexican tile roofs and accented with enormous timber beams. Mank used the outside elevations of the adobe buildings in many ranch scenes, while Kalifornia’s climactic escape scene was filmed in the great room of the Main House.

The ranch has other buildings that may be of interest to filmmakers, including its 1858 “Red House,” once a hotel on the Mormann Trail, 2 barns made of redwood and a creamery building made of cut stone constructed in the 1870s.

The ranch can accommodate large and small productions.

Contact our manager, Peggy Shaughnessy (760)220-4442, [email protected] or Scott Campbell (805)252-1211, [email protected].