# Movies Filmed Elsewhere Than Where They're Supposed to Be and Gone Comically Wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 7, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278 "2008-04-07T04:03:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/141 "2008-07-07T21:16:55Z")
[QUOTE=Skara\_Brae] Sci-Fi filming crews must crash into each other in the woods in Vancouver all the time. I have seen the same grove of trees in Stargate, Battlestar Galatica and several SciFi specials. Those trees should get mentioned in the credits! [/QUOTE] If you mean the grove with a certain stump, I’ve also seen it in Dark Angel, Stargate Atlantis, and Eureka, and I bet if I watched enough episodes of The Sentinel it would show up there too. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/142 "2008-07-10T23:51:19Z")
I re-watched a movie last night that was comically wrong: [Rumble Fish](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086216/). I had seen this movie years ago, and always just assumed it was set in New York. I mean, look at the cast: Matt Dillon, Mickey Roarke, Vincent Spano, Tom Waits, Nicolas Cage, Chris Penn. But no, it is set in Oklahoma. **OKLAHOMA!!(?)** Dillon, Roarke and Spano make no discernible effort to alter their New York accents, and the film has very much a New York vibe, down to the characters living in what seems to be a tenement, and getting into a fight on a subway platform. (In _Tulsa??_) My jaw was slack (even more so than usual) through the whole picture. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/143 "2008-07-11T00:12:14Z")
I’ll bet _Grease_ with its Italian greasers wasn’t originally meant to be set in Southern California where they drag race down the concrete trough of the LA River. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/144 "2008-07-11T00:59:00Z")
Ok, I’m overwhelmed with evidence about “the five” for people from southern CA. None of my friends who lived there or were from there ever said that, nor I have ever heard anyone saying that when I’ve visited LA or San Diego, but I now stand corrected. Certainly, no one outside southern CA on the west coast says that. ---
**Author:** ![legalsnugs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@legalsnugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legalsnugs)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/145 "2008-07-11T09:40:55Z")
In the old “I Dream of Jeannie” series, every time it showed where Major Nelson lived, Cocoa Beach, Florida, there were mountains in the background!! There are no mountains in Florida. None. Like \*\*Zeldar \*\*says, the highest point in the entire state is 345 feet, and that hill (Britton Hill) is 2 miles southeast of Florala, Alabama - nowhere near Cocoa Beach. ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/146 "2008-07-11T14:49:03Z")
[QUOTE=tanstaafl] … in the old John Wayne film _The Green Berets_ the country of Viet Nam apparently is covered with a forest of pine trees with neatly cut grass. (It was filmed in Georgia.) [/QUOTE] Then they should of also filmed the final scene in Georgia but didn’t because it has John and the boy watching the sun set into the water. (Hint: in Viet-Nam the sun sets in the west.) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/147 "2008-07-12T05:10:24Z")
[QUOTE=Will Repair] Then they should of also filmed the final scene in Georgia but didn’t because it has John and the boy watching the sun set into the water. (Hint: in Viet-Nam the sun sets in the west.) [/QUOTE] I had a friend who had just returned from Vietnam at the time the movie came ot. From what he told me, he could have pulled a – what’s that sci-fi show? 3k Theater for short? – with it, they got so much wrong, right down to the type of weaponry used. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/148 "2008-07-12T11:24:53Z")
That ain’t Reno in _Reno 911!_ But we all knew that. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/149 "2008-07-12T11:46:29Z")
In _Back to the Future_ circa 1955, if you drive out of Hill Valley in one direction, where the Lyon Estates will one day be built, it’s the lush farmland of California; if you drive out the other end where they built the Drive In, it’s Monument Valley, Utah. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/150 "2008-07-12T23:57:15Z")
I love TV Tropes. [California Doubling](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CaliforniaDoubling), [Kirk’s Rock](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KirksRock), and the [BBC quarry](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BBCQuarry) is a good enough excuse to link to it here. > [@James "Kibo" Parry](#): > > “They really should change the name of Toronto to Fake New York For Use In Movies Only.” > [@MST3K: Escape 2000](#): > > Loudspeaker: Leave the Bronx! You are ordered to leave the Bronx! > Servo: Even though this is Italy, leave the Bronx! ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/151 "2008-07-13T00:24:53Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] In _Back to the Future_ circa 1955, if you drive out of Hill Valley in one direction, where the Lyon Estates will one day be built, it’s the lush farmland of California; if you drive out the other end where they built the Drive In, it’s Monument Valley, Utah. [/QUOTE] I don’t know if that scene should really count since it’s supposed to be both an in-joke for film buffs and a homage to the many classic westerns that were shot in the Monument Valley. Incidentally, it may be too obvious but in all of the discussion I’ve read about the **Back to the Future** movies, I’ve never seen anyone mention that the name of town where the action takes place is an oxymoron. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/152 "2008-07-13T01:30:25Z")
[QUOTE=Chefguy] Most movies about Alaska are way off base (wrong vegetation, wrong types of mountains, etc.), but in the series **Northern Exposure** , someone finds a snake in the well house. There are no snakes in Alaska. [/QUOTE] Not true, my friend Chris has a very nice pet albino boa named Adrian. She lives in Anchorage=) There is one snake in alaska 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/153 "2008-07-13T04:14:35Z")
[QUOTE=Will Repair] Then they should of also filmed the final scene in Georgia but didn’t because it has John and the boy watching the sun set into the water. (Hint: in Viet-Nam the sun sets in the west.) [/QUOTE] Da Nang was built on a peninsula; portions of its coastline do indeed face west. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2008, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/154 "2008-07-13T12:09:38Z")
[QUOTE=Will Repair] Then they should of also filmed the final scene in Georgia but didn’t because it has John and the boy watching the sun set into the water. (Hint: in Viet-Nam the sun sets in the west.) [/QUOTE] Hint: the sun sets in the west EVERYWHERE. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/155 "2008-08-03T20:42:26Z")
[QUOTE=Chefguy] Most movies about Alaska are way off base (wrong vegetation, wrong types of mountains, etc.), but in the series **Northern Exposure** , someone finds a snake in the well house. There are no snakes in Alaska. [/QUOTE] As of about two months ago there were **two** species of snake in Alaska’s wilds. (though that may be back down to one, by now…) I’ve seen several sources that claim that the common garter snake is native to the southeast part of the state. And, according to [this](http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/426612.html) article from 4 June, 2008, there’s at least one rubber boa [del]running[/del] slithering around loose. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/156 "2008-08-03T21:26:18Z")
(snip earlier comments dealing with referring to an interstate as “the Five”) [QUOTE=Sleel] I was born and raised in northern California, had several friends in southern California that I visited with some regularity, and lived in San Diego for five years, during which I had a girlfriend who lived in the LA area. This is one of the regional variations that both northern and southern Californians notice. Believe me, it is common. People outside of southern California do not, to my knowledge, say “the” before highway names. [/QUOTE] I caught this same error again just today - at Journey To The Center Of The Earth (good diversion, the three-D version was pretty cool) - the sister-in-law leaves a message saying “We’re just getting on the ninety-five”. ARGH. (The movie starts out in what I think is supposed to be Boston). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/157 "2008-08-03T21:52:40Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] As of about two months ago there were **two** species of snake in Alaska’s wilds. (though that may be back down to one, by now…) I’ve seen several sources that claim that the common garter snake is native to the southeast part of the state. And, according to [this](http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/426612.html) article from 4 June, 2008, there’s at least one rubber boa [del]running[/del] slithering around loose. [/QUOTE] I couldn’t find any cite that could confirm a garter snake sighting in Alaska, other than perhaps the escaped sort. Most sites flatly deny the existence of snakes up here, others speculate that there might be garters in SE Alaska, but no confirmed sightings. My brother and sister have lived here all of their 72 years and have never seen a snake outside of a zoo. My brother is an avid hunter and has been all over the state. If they’re out there, they’re hiding well. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/158 "2008-08-03T22:01:27Z")
I wish I could remember which movie this was in. I was watching a movie set in NYC and there was a basketball court. In the center of the court was a giant, red Canadian maple leaf. It was obviously filmed in Toronto. At least no shots of the CN tower slipped in. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/159 "2008-08-03T23:06:06Z")
I can find [cites](http://en.allexperts.com/q/Alaska-86/snakes-alaska.htm) [all](http://www.gartersnake.info/species/T_sirtalis.phtml) [over](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garter_snake) [the](http://www.albinogartersnake.com/articles.html) place that claim that the garter snake is native to the south eastern portion of the state. (Or even just the south eastern tip.) But none for a specific sighting. And I think it’s fair to quote the first cite I listed: “Even though extremely rare to see, the only snake that has been spotted in Alaska is Garter snakes. So, yes…I guess you can say there’s snakes in Alaska, but trying to FIND one up there to prove a point would be very difficult.” Not quite so common up there. Still more common than a rubber boa, I hope. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278/160 "2008-08-05T05:13:35Z")
As for comically wrong there is none better than _The Sound of Music_. The family flees on foot over the Alps to escape the Nazis. Look at a map. Salzburg is in the north of Austria. If you fled over the Alps you would escape into Germany. Not a smart move if you are trying to flee from the Nazis. Since the movie was filmed in Austria there is no excuse for it. Anything portraying Guantanamo Bay Cuba is very comical. Particularly _Bad Boys 2_. I loved the giant fortress walls surrounding the Navy base. I suppose the reality of a chainlink fence isn’t as dramatic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-elsewhere-than-where-theyre-supposed-to-be-and-gone-comically-wrong/444278.md?page=9)