# 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:** 7
**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, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/121 "2021-01-21T19:35:43Z")
Ignorance fought! Thank you. I’d been told (probably by my aunt who lived in Portland) a garbled version of the story, that it was a footrace between two Maine men, one from Portland and the other from Augusta, and the winner got to name the inchoate city after his hometown. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/122 "2021-01-21T19:38:49Z")
> [@YamatoTwinkie](#): > > **Us** (2019 Film) - was set in Santa Cruz, CA, and many/most of the outdoor shots (Beach Boardwalk, etc.) were filmed there. Speaking of that… [The Lost Boys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Boys) was filmed in Santa Cruz, too. Where the film took place. I went there with a friend who was a big fan of the movie and she was so excited to see all of the locations from the movie. According to the Wikipedia article, it was modeled after _The Goonies_, and like _The Goonies_ parts of _The Lost Boys_ was filmed “down south” in LA County. ---
**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, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/123 "2021-01-21T19:40:25Z")
You might also recognize a lot of last names from The Simpsons were you to peruse a list of the “Alphabet streets” north of Burnside (well, technically north of Ankeny which is one street south of that–Burnside is the north/south divider for addresses in Portland) and yes, Reverend Lovejoy is named for the other founder! ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/124 "2021-01-21T22:32:17Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Speaking of that… [The Lost Boys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Boys) was filmed in Santa Cruz, too. Where the film took place. I went there with a friend who was a big fan of the movie and she was so excited to see all of the locations from the movie. Santa Cruz was used as the fictional town of “Santa Carla” in **The Lost Boys**. Similarly Dirty Harry goes off to “San Paulo” in **Sudden Impact** which was again Santa Cruz. So technically these don’t quite fit the OP. ---
**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 22, 2021, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/125 "2021-01-22T04:54:52Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Nope, Francis Pettygrove won the toss For some reason, I had always had the impression that it was Lovejoy who won. This was probably because Pettygrove Park is a broad sidewalk dodging through some mundane hillocks while Lovejoy Fountain Park looks sort of like a labor of love. Turns out, they used the original coin to choose the naming of the parks. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/126 "2021-01-22T13:43:22Z")
> [@cormac262](#): > > Santa Cruz was used as the fictional town of “Santa Carla” in **The Lost Boys**. > > Similarly Dirty Harry goes off to “San Paulo” in **Sudden Impact** which was again Santa Cruz. > > So technically these don’t quite fit the OP. Thanks for the clarification! I’d not seen _The Lost Boys_, actually. My friend was just really excited about going to the pier. Scratch us off the list! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/127 "2021-01-22T13:47:05Z")
I’ve always assumed that the last scenes of Blazing Saddles where they’re fighting in the Warner Brothers studio were actually shot at the WB studio. ---
**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 22, 2021, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/128 "2021-01-22T13:57:31Z")
_Hardware Wars_ was filmed on location in space. At least, that’s what the credits said. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/129 "2021-01-22T15:47:56Z")
The hit 1953 romantic comedy “Roman Holiday” was filmed entirely on location in Rome. Some scenes were filmed at the Cinecittà studios in Rome, but much of it was filmed at famous Roman landmarks. There was a tradeoff, however; reportedly, this raised costs to the extent that they had to abandon the original plan of filming the movie in color. I grew up in Toronto and know of quite a few shows that were filmed there that are actually set there. One example is “Rookie Blue”. Another is the “Degrassi” franchise (DeGrassi Street is an actual Toronto street, and the first iteration of the franchise was a series of short films called “The Kids of Degrassi Street”). I need to introduce one caveat, though; I read that for broadcast on PBS, the second iteration of the show, Degrassi Junior High (way back in the 80s), had alternate versions of certain scenes which showed characters handling Canadian money filmed, where they use American money, i.e. to present a version to American viewers that makes it look like the show takes place somewhere in the US. I don’t know if anything similar was done with the third iteration (Degrassi High), though when I watched it in Canada, it looked unmistakably to be set in Toronto. I have heard that the more recent iterations of “Degrassi” have gone between using Canadian and American terminology for some things, but am not aware to what extent they have acutally blurred the lines in the show’s setting. As a kid growing up in the 80s, I regularly watched “Today’s Special”, a series with some educational content that was shown on the public broadcaster TV Ontario and which was also shown on in the US on Nickelodeon. This show was set in Toronto and in fact had as its main location a real department store, the Simpsons store on Queen Street across from the Toronto Eaton’s Centre mall (Simpson’s no longer exists. Now this is a Saks Fifth Avenue / Hudson’s Bay store). Some scenes (including, I’m certain, the opening credits) were filmed in the store itself, though most of the main scenes were filmed at some soundstage. However, there are vignettes where some of the characters visit locations around Toronto which are clearly recognizeable (I recall seeing the Rosedale subway station in one, in another the Sheraton in downtown Toronto). In one episode, the vignette was explicitly set at 52 Division station of the Toronto Police. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/130 "2021-01-22T22:58:27Z")
Atlanta is used to film a lot of movies and shows (most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for one), but a few are actually set here. Baby Driver was filmed and set in Atlanta, as were the Netflix shows Chasing Dion and Teenage Bounty Hunters. Season 1 of The Walking Dead is famously set in (and was filmed in) Atlanta. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/131 "2021-01-22T23:05:33Z")
That should be RAISING Dion… whoops ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/132 "2021-01-23T23:28:23Z")
Thought of another one – the movie _Car Wash_ was shot at an actual car wash in Los Angeles. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/133 "2021-01-23T23:40:48Z")
_Torchwood_, a spin-off of _Doctor Who_, was mostly set in Cardiff, Wales for the first two series, and was (I think) entirely filmed in and around Cardiff for those series. Outdoor scenes were mostly filmed at the actual locations, with a _lot_ of scenes in Roald Dahl Plass outside the Wales Millennium Center, and the indoor scenes were filmed at BBC Wales studios. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/134 "2021-01-23T23:43:15Z")
Bull Durham was filmed in Durham with a few scenes filmed in Raleigh and Asheville. The old stadium is still there but the Bulls moved to a new stadium in 1995. It was supposed to open in 1994 but it was not ready so they had 2 farewell seasons in the old park. High schools use the old park for some games. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/135 "2021-01-24T00:09:50Z")
Lord Of The Rings was set in New Zealand and was also filmed there. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/136 "2021-01-24T00:10:46Z")
🤔 If, by “New Zealand,” you mean the fictional realm of Middle-Earth (which is more of an analog to Europe in the real world, anyway). ---
**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 24, 2021, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/137 "2021-01-24T00:31:55Z")
_ **The Prisoner** _ was filmed in “The Village” (later revealed to be Portmeirion, Wales). ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/138 "2021-01-24T00:50:54Z")
But that isn’t where The Village was “set.” The show was careful never to reveal the location until the last episode, when it (apparently) was in England, not far from London. What you said is true…but it isn’t relevant to the thread. It’s like noting that Somewhere In Time was filmed at the Hotel Del Coronado. Yes, but that isn’t where the fictional story was _set_. ---
**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:** [January 24, 2021, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/139 "2021-01-24T05:25:52Z")
_Lara Croft: Tomb Raider_ was filmed at Angkor Wat. There was some sort of international outcry at how they “destroyed” a World Heritage site, but the Cambodians themselves were awfully proud of it. For years afterward, the tour guides at the Angor complexes would point out this or that scene that was filmed there. Many of the crew stayed at a nice guesthouse called the Red Piano in the nearby town of Siem Reap, and the downstairs restaurant still features a gin-and-tonic-type drink that was invented in their honor. To this day (or at least as of 2016, the last time I was there), they keep count, and every 10th drink that comes in ordered is not only given free, with staff coming out to sing to you, but whoever orders the 500th drink in the cycle gets $100 cash in American money. I was lucky enough to get one of the free drinks but not the $100. (The Red Piano is now just a restaurant and bar, no more guesthouse operation. A nice place to while away an hour or two.) _The Beach_ was filmed on a Thai island in the South, although the waterfall scene where several characters jump off a cliff was filmed in a national park in the Northeast. ---
**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 24, 2021, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/140 "2021-01-24T07:00:51Z")
Speaking of Thai things, most of The Impossible was filmed in the actual locations of the events depicted in the movie – the resort hit by the wave and the hospital handling the casualties. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764.md?page=8)