# Shows or film that were actually filmed in the place where they are set **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2021, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764 "2021-01-18T00:29:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/101 "2021-01-19T20:42:31Z")
I remember one movie (but not the title) that opened with a woman taking photographs as she walked past the Bridge of Sighs in Venice. Each time she snapped a frame, the screen showed what she was supposedly looking at. I’ve been to Venice, and I can tell you none of those shots were what she would have seen from that location. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/102 "2021-01-19T20:57:09Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen movies set in Los Angeles where the time it takes to travel from one place to another is impossible Ah, but do you want to watch a movie where they drive for twenty minutes, or even show scenes along the drive? I caught a few minutes of an old TV cop show (O’Hare, US Treasury, if you must know), and it was so tedious! O’Hare gets the emergency call, walks through the office, tells someone where he’s going, gets coat, puts coat on… finally out the door, exterior shot of building, O’Hare walks down the stairs… each… stair… wow… long… stair… case… O’Hare walks to car, around car, unlocks door, gets in, closes door, starts car, signals, pulls out, drives a few feet, waits for a passing car, still waiting, pulls a U-turn, THEN shot of car in traffic… finally. At that point, I switched channels. As I did I said “Okay, now I know why all those old shows took an hour to tell a half-hour of story.” … (I know this isn’t the same thing as turning a corner and poof! But it was stuck in my craw…) ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/103 "2021-01-20T01:42:13Z")
Has Nash Bridges been mentioned? It was set in San Francisco and entirely or almost entirely filmed there. Many of the interior shots were filmed at a sound stage on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/104 "2021-01-20T05:37:14Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Maybe a couple of the Route 66 episodes took place in cities or towns on Route 66, but the overwhelming majority were far from the mother road. Route 66 was just a title, the characters never mentioned it. It was just a symbol for the wandering around the USA that the characters did. The point being that when an episode was set in Cleveland, it was filmed on location in Cleveland. All of the Route 66 episodes were filmed on location in the cities they were set in. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/105 "2021-01-20T06:25:59Z")
The last season of **Grimm** they sent two characters to Germany for one or two episodes and sent the actors as well. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/106 "2021-01-20T06:37:40Z")
_ **On the Beach** _ is an armageddon end-of-the-world movie (radiation from nuclear war is slowly covering the world and killing everyone). It is set in Melbourne, as the last major city in the world to succumb. The first movie was filmed in 1959 (the movie was set in 1964) and to create the appropriate ‘deserted city’ scenes the producers asked the population of Melbourne to stay home on a couple of days so they could film the empty streets etc. This was generally agreed to, because _ **On the Beach** _ was the first time ‘Holywood came to Australia’ and was the biggest thing in the city since the Olympics. The crowds were so keen to see the stars (Fred Astaire, Cary Grant and Ava Gardner) that many takes were ruined because crowds just could not control themselves. They remade the movie for tv in 2000 and used a lot of green screen etc, but there were a few scenes filmed in empty back streets and alleyways. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/107 "2021-01-20T15:59:15Z")
> [@Wallaby](#): > > …The crowds were so keen to see the stars (Fred Astaire, Cary Grant and Ava Gardner)… Mr. Grant was not in _On the Beach_. I think you mean Gregory Peck. _Escape from Alcatraz_ (1979) is one of a number of films set and actually shot at the prison. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/108 "2021-01-20T19:36:14Z")
Since someone has already taken the one I came in to mention (1984), I’ll mention the TV series _War of the Worlds_ from 1988. The series was mostly filmed in Canada, but the scene featuring the anniversary of the Orson Welles Broadcast in the first episode was actually filmed in Grover’s Mill, New Jersey, which is where the Welles version of the story had the Martian cylinder land (it was close enough to Princeton University to make a trip by a Princeton professor seem plausible, and scriptwriter Howard Koch said that the name “Grover’s Mill” sounded bucolic and believable) I think they filmed it when they had the dedication of the monument there on the 50th anniversary of the broadcast > **[Martian Landing Site Monument, Grovers Mill, New Jersey](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2749)** > > Ground Zero for Orson Welles' radio drama "War of the Worlds" alien invasion of Oct. 30, 1938. > **['War of the Worlds' Monument](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/monument-to-the-war-of-the-worlds)** > > A bronze monument to the infamous radio broadcast in the real New Jersey town where the fictional Martians crash-landed. My wife, Pepper Mill, grew up in Grover’s Mill (which is actually a very small section of West Windsor Township), and her sister was instrumental in getting that monument put up. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/109 "2021-01-21T02:35:05Z")
_The Goonies_ is set in Astoria, Oregon, and was largely filmed there. Everything in the first act was, including interiors. The scenes at the abandoned restaurant were also shot in location at Ecola State Park just north of Cannon Beach. (I understand traveling at the speed of montage, but it’s really about a three hour bike ride. Not something I’d have done at 13.) Inside the caves was all on Hollywood sound stages. The finale on the beach was not shot in Oregon; instead they used\* Goat Rock Beach outside Bodega Bay, California. Why? It was a reshoot. They filmed an ending in the original Goonies House while in Astoria, but it had to be scrapped for multiple reasons. The sea stack rock formations look similar enough to the Oregon coast. \*: They reportedly shot exactly 36 years ago today, on Super Bowl Sunday XIX (1/20/1985), the same day I became a 49ers fan. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/110 "2021-01-21T08:46:21Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Since someone has already taken the one I came in to mention (1984), I’ll mention the TV series _War of the Worlds_ from 1988. The series was mostly filmed in Canada, but the scene featuring the anniversary of the Orson Welles Broadcast in the first episode was actually filmed in Grover’s Mill, New Jersey, which is where the Welles version of the story had the Martian cylinder land (it was close enough to Princeton University to make a trip by a Princeton professor seem plausible, and scriptwriter Howard Koch said that the name “Grover’s Mill” sounded bucolic and believable) But isn’t the Welles version an example of something NOT being shot where it should be? Given that the book centres the invasion on Southern England? ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/111 "2021-01-21T10:59:00Z")
The Netflix show Sense 8 might be the champ for this. Season 1 was set in and filmed in Berlin, Chicago, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Nairobi, Reykjavík, San Francisco, and Seoul. The 2nd season dropped Reykjavik, but added in Amsterdam, Argyll, Chippenham, Los Angeles, Malta, Positano, Redwoods, and São Paulo. The series finale took place in Berlin, Brussels, Naples, and Paris. I think the expense of filming all over the world like that was why Netflix canceled it after the 2nd season. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2021, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/112 "2021-01-21T11:57:02Z")
The period film _Ammonite_, with Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, was filmed in the rugged coastal town of Lyme Regis, which is where the real historical figure Mary Anning lived. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/113 "2021-01-21T12:01:58Z")
A new film starring Naomi Watts, [_Penguin Bloom_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6317656/), based on a book of the experiences of a woman who has an accident and becomes paraplegic, is not only filmed in the same Sydney suburb, but was shot in the actual home of the author. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/114 "2021-01-21T12:53:50Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > But isn’t the Welles version an example of something NOT being shot where it should be? Given that the book centres the invasion on Southern England? Yes, but the TV show is an example of shooting something described in the Welles radio script where it was actually set (and where, ironically, nothing actually happened on that date, except some panic. Reportedly, some people shot at the water tower that’s still there, thinking it was a Martian tripod. But that may be apocryphal.) The Welles script was neither the first nor the last to shift the location of the Martian invasion from England elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/115 "2021-01-21T13:35:44Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > But isn’t the Welles version an example of something NOT being shot where it should be? Given that the Welles version was on the radio, it was really not “shot” anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/116 "2021-01-21T16:38:01Z")
_Medium Cool_ was set in Chicago during the demonstrations at the Democratic Convention of 1968. Not only was it shot in Chicago, but some scenes were actually shot during the protests, with the actors interacting with the demonstrators. ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/117 "2021-01-21T17:04:39Z")
**Us** (2019 Film) - was set in Santa Cruz, CA, and many/most of the outdoor shots (Beach Boardwalk, etc.) were filmed there. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/118 "2021-01-21T19:17:20Z")
Well, that does have a certain symmetry, as Portland was named via a coin flip and had it gone the other way it would have been named Boston. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/119 "2021-01-21T19:20:40Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Well, that does have a certain symmetry, as Portland was named via a coin flip and had it gone the other way it would have been named Boston 😉 Really? I was told the other choice was “Augusta”. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/120 "2021-01-21T19:29:56Z")
Nope, Francis Pettygrove won the toss, thank goodness! > **[Portland Penny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Penny)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The Portland Penny is the name subsequently given to a specific copper matron head one-cent coin, used to decide the name of Portland, Oregon, United States. > The City of Portland's two founders, Francis Pettygrove from Portland, Maine and Asa Lovejoy from Boston, Massachusetts, both wanted to name the fledgling site—then known as The Clearing—after their respective home towns. The coin toss was decided in 1845 with two out of three tosses which P... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764.md?page=7)