Asheville, NC:
🎥 The Hunger Games
Based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling young adult books, this 2012 dystopian global hit was filmed on location in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville and featured stunning scenery from DuPont State Forest in Transylvania County + near Black Mountain.
🎥 Dirty Dancing
Set in New York’s Catskills Mountains, much of this 1987 film was shot at Lake Lure in Rutherford County. No wonder the town has an annual Dirty Dancing Festival, complete with Lake Lift competitions.
Charleston, SC:
🎥 Dear John
This Nicholas Sparks romance novel turned Blockbuster hit was a very big deal from the time filming started until it hit theatres just before Valentine’s Day in 2010. Starring Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum, this romantic drama features Edisto Island, Sullivan’s Island, and several other Charleston spots.
🎥 The Notebook
This tearjerker romance based on the Nicholas Sparks book of the same name was mainly filmed in Charleston. Filming locations included the American Theater, Boone Hall Plantation, King Street, and College of Charleston.
Kansas City, KS-MO:
🎥 The Last Of Us
An altered version of Kansas City’s skyline was featured in this post-apocalyptic HBO show. Some of the buildings you can spot include Jackson County Courthouse (1), One Kansas City Place (2), KCMO City Hall (3), and Oak Tower
Lakeland, FL:
🎥 Edward Scissorhands
The beauty salon scene where Joyce (Kathy Baker) attempted to seduce Edward (Johnny Depp) was filmed at Southgate Shopping Center.
Portland, OR:
🎥 Twilight
The first instalment in a series of movies based on Stephenie Meyer’s vampire romance saga definitely didn’t suck at the box office, grossing well over $408 million worldwide. That means scores of people glimpsed the film’s various PNW locations, including The ViewPoint Inn in Corbett and Skylab Architecture’s M1 Residence in Forest Park. The former was where human-with-the-tasty-blood Bella and vamp heartthrob Edward went to prom, while the latter served as the Cullen family’s mysterious home base.
Richmond, VA:
🎥 Hannibal
This “Silence of the Lambs” sequel starring Anthony Hopkins featured many Richmond scenes, including a Park Avenue house where Julianne Moore’s character lived + a Capitol Square locale as the serial killer’s cell.
California: Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles:
🎥La La Land
The iconic Griffith Observatory was built back in 1935, though you will recognize it as the romantic location where Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone waltzed the night away in La La Land. With the LA cityscape in the background, the famous planetarium is located on the top of Mount Hollywood.
Hawaii: Kauai:
🎥 The Jurassic Series
The other-worldly, small Hawaiian island of Kauai was the perfect setting for the larger-than-life exploits of the Jurassic Park series. The first three of the films in the franchise, Jurassic Park, The Lost World and Jurassic Park III, were filmed on Kauai, despite Hurricane Iniki ravaging the film sets of the original dinosaur blockbuster in September 1992. Unsurprisingly, tourism has sprung up around the movies, with a range of jeep and helicopter tours giving an birds-eye view of sublimely scenic sights, such as Hoopii Falls, the Hanapepe Valley and Allerton Garden – the botanical garden where the hatched raptor eggs are unearthed in the first film.
New Hampshire: Keene:
🎥 Jumanji
Jumanji, the fun 1990s family film starring Robin Williams and a whole host of rampaging CGI beasts, was set in the made-up New Hampshire town of Brantford, where bullied schoolboy Alan Parrish discovers a board game that magically springs to life. The spot where the animals stampede down Main Street is located at Keene, Cheshire County, where most of the film was shot. The North Berwick Water Mill on the Great Works River became the Parrish Shoe Factory.
Massachusetts: Martha’s Vineyard:
🎥 Jaws
Steven Spielberg chose Martha’s Vineyard as the setting for the fictional Amity Island in his iconic 1975 shark movie Jaws. Understandably, the upscale vacation resort and conservation area doesn’t shout about the Jaws connection much, but many of the key locations remain. There’s the Chappaquiddick Island Ferry, which transports visitors to the Joseph A Sylvia State Beach where shark panic sets in.
