Paul Thomas Anderson’s compelling film, “One Battle After Another,” takes viewers on an expansive journey across California, from its northernmost reaches to the southern border. Over nearly three hours, the narrative follows Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Bob, as he transforms from a revolutionary figure to a hunted fugitive, ultimately becoming a heroic father fighting to protect his teenage daughter, Willa, from the relentless pursuit of his nemesis, Col. Lockjaw. Along their dramatic escape, the film showcases an array of the state’s hidden corners, places even many California natives rarely get to experience.
In an exclusive interview, Michael Glaser, the film’s supervising location manager, shared fascinating details about these unique settings, including the unforgettable site of the movie’s epic car chase. His team meticulously crafted distinct ‘character worlds’ for the film’s various stages. Our photographer embarked on a road trip to capture these real-life locations, offering a glimpse into the imagined California of Anderson’s vision.
The journey begins with an overview of the key locations featured throughout the film, marking significant points from Eureka in the north to San Diego in the south, alongside Sacramento, Stockton, Lompoc, and Borrego Springs.
Camouflaged Up North: Eureka
Welcome to Eureka, California, which beautifully portrays much of the fictional town of Baktan Cross in the film. This remote coastal city, nestled among towering redwoods about five hours north of San Francisco, serves as the secluded haven where Bob, the former revolutionary, and his daughter, Willa, have been living away from prying eyes. Their actual home for filming was in the nearby community of Kneeland, roughly 10 miles east of Eureka’s city center.
A pivotal moment occurs when Bob, discovering that the obsessive Col. Lockjaw is closing in, makes a desperate escape through a hidden tunnel, emerging through a rustic forest outhouse. This intriguing spot is actually ‘Teacher Fay’s,’ a fascinating ‘graveyard of cars’ where a local couple once crafted parts for British automobiles, according to location manager Glaser.
Our search for the iconic payphone Bob uses to arrange a crucial meet-up proved fruitless; a nearby butcher confirmed it had been removed some time ago. We also visited Eureka High School, the actual location where Willa and her friends attend school. The school’s sports teams are famously known as the Loggers, a detail subtly referenced in “One Battle After Another.” Glaser recalled the production’s heartbreak when an old high school gym they adored was demolished just before filming, despite efforts to delay it. “We just missed filming in there,” he lamented. “It broke everybody’s heart.”
Normal Settings, Nefarious Doings: Sacramento & Stockton
Further south, the film shifts to more populated areas, showcasing how seemingly normal settings can harbor nefarious activities. Worried about Lockjaw’s growing influence, the far-right Christmas Adventurers Club convenes a meeting with a hitman. The assassin arrives at a majestic suburban home, which was, remarkably, the long-term residence of Ronald and Nancy Reagan during his tenure as California’s governor. He’s led into a hidden man-cave within this historic Sacramento property.
Glaser revealed that the intense boardroom scenes were among a select few shot over two days on a soundstage. Following this, an important bank robbery sequence was filmed approximately 50 miles south in Stockton, California. However, the subsequent, thrilling police chase that erupts after the robbery dramatically unfolds through the bustling streets of downtown Sacramento, creating a dynamic visual contrast.
A Holy Hideout: Lompoc
Our journey continues to Lompoc, a serene city on California’s Central Coast, just north of Santa Barbara. In a desperate attempt to evade Lockjaw, Willa seeks refuge at a nuns’ compound, which is actually the beautifully restored La Purisima Mission in Lompoc. She finds temporary sanctuary here, but Lockjaw’s relentless troops soon track her down.
La Purisima stands out as the most completely restored of California’s 21 historic missions. Glaser explained that his team of scouts dedicated over a year to finding the perfect mission, eventually choosing La Purisima. Its current status as a state historic park simplified the filming process, and notably, it’s the only mission in California not owned by the Catholic Church.
The Roads That Changed Everything: Borrego Springs
The film’s most iconic sequence—the epic car chase—takes place on what the location managers fondly dubbed the “River of Hills.” These dramatically sloping, undulating roads are located deep in the desert, a four-hour drive east of Los Angeles along Highway 78. Glaser described it as “a very dangerous highway,” which is precisely why the filmmakers were drawn to it. The treacherous hills often obscure drivers’ views of what lies ahead and behind, making it the ideal backdrop for a high-stakes pursuit. Adding to the tension, semi-trucks constantly thunder along this single-lane highway at speeds exceeding 80 miles per hour.
Another crucial stretch of road, known as the “Texas Dip,” is also off Highway 78, leading into Borrego Springs, California. This area falls within a different county than the River of Hills. The location team actually discovered the ‘River of Hills’ by pure chance while scouting a nearby campground for an entirely different scene. Glaser noted that the final pacing and narrative flow of the film’s third act only truly clicked for the director after they shot raw footage of these roads from a moving van. “You could see everything starting to fall into line because of that road,” he recounted.
The Border Puzzle: San Diego
The movie dramatically opens along the Mexican border, a scene that presented significant challenges for the production. Initially, scouts favored and had even filmed at sites in El Paso, Texas. However, California’s film incentives program mandated a specific amount of in-state work, compelling the team to return to California for reshoots. Glaser humorously referred to solving this particular filming puzzle as “the biggest Hail Mary of the whole picture.”
The complexity arose because the scene depicts Bob and his fellow revolutionaries liberating immigrants from a detention center (where they first encounter Lockjaw). This required an underpass where the crew could safely use fireworks. Miraculously, they secured permission from numerous agencies, including the city, county, the Department of Homeland Security, Caltrans, and the California Highway Patrol, to film at the Otay Mesa Detention Center after dark. Glaser expressed his astonishment, stating, “I felt like I was in a fever dream,” as the seemingly impossible logistics fell into place, even remarking that the Border Patrol was “super cool.”
Film stills are provided courtesy of Warner Bros. The production team included Sean Catangui, Tala Safie, and Amanda Webster. Matt Stevens, a reporter for The New York Times, contributed the Los Angeles-based reporting for this piece.