# Targets in disaster movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2004, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925 "2004-05-13T07:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/21 "2004-05-13T19:26:23Z")
I think the WTC has been largely spared in fiction 'cause it was actually bombed (and that Other Obvious Event Which Makes It Ineligible For Future Attacks) in real life. On a happier (?) note, has the destructive forces ever gotten any of the Disney theme parks? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/22 "2004-05-13T19:31:28Z")
> [@belladonna](#): > > I wouldn’t mind seeing the Vegas strip get totalled either. It wasn’t the whole strip, but it was The Sands (I believe) that got nailed by a jumbo jet in _Con Air_. Add that to the infa-carnage wrecked by the baby in _Honey, I Blew Up the Kid_, and you’ve got a start. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/23 "2004-05-13T19:40:33Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Well, in Independence Day, when the big ships were brought down, one narrowly missed the Sydney Opera House. It was shown in the foreground. And in Mad Max:Beyond Thunderdome, you see the Opera House in ruins, as it is flown over near the end of the picture. IIRC you get a glimpse of what remains of the Sydney Harbour bridge as well. Don’t get to see it wrecked, though. DD ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/24 "2004-05-13T19:51:57Z")
Wasn’t the WTC and the rest of NYC knocked over by a Tidal Wave in Deep Impact? Or did they only show the Empire State Building or Chrysler Building? ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/25 "2004-05-13T19:52:26Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > It wasn’t the whole strip, but it was The Sands (I believe) that got nailed by a jumbo jet in _Con Air_. Add that to the infa-carnage wrecked by the baby in _Honey, I Blew Up the Kid_, and you’ve got a start. And wasn’t it footage of the Sands demolition that they used as a scene in _Mars Attacks_? ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/26 "2004-05-13T20:46:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And while we’re at it, how about destroying the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, anyone? Cleveland never gets enough attention. The Rock and Roll HOF is still relatively new. Give it a few years. Also, we set our own river on fire back in the 70’s. That’s all the attention we needed. Can’t get anymore diasterous than that. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/27 "2004-05-13T21:09:25Z")
Las Vegas _did_ get blown up once, but it was only a glow on the horizon. That was in the mini-series, _The Stand_. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/28 "2004-05-13T21:49:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And while we’re at it, how about destroying the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, anyone? Cleveland never gets enough attention. I remember seeing some old movie of the Cuyahoga River on fire. I can’t remember what movie it was, though 😃 I also recall a buliding in downtown Dallas getting destroyed in _The X-Files_, and seeing Reunion Tower getting demolished in some crappy made-for-TV disaster movie. Since I grew up in St. Louis originally, I second wanting to see the Arch get taken out. As a bonus it could split apart at the top, with one leg taking out the Admiral and the other falling onto the Old Courthouse. Maybe throw in the little egg train cars flying out of one of the legs as it was falling. Cut to a view of terrorized fans watching a Cards game, people pointing and screaming while eating at the MacDonald’s Riverboat, cut to some gambler on the Admiral saying something like “Blackjack again! This really is my lucky day…” This thing writes itself. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/29 "2004-05-14T00:33:47Z")
In Italy you have the Collosseum and the Tower of Pisa. I think it’d be hilarious to have some monster, maybe Godzilla, miss the Leaning Tower by inches and leave it unscathed. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/30 "2004-05-14T00:40:11Z")
I believe it was the Collesium that got trashed by heavy duty lightning bolts in _The Core._ ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/31 "2004-05-14T01:14:37Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > I remember seeing some old movie of the Cuyahoga River on fire. I can’t remember what movie it was, though 😃 That would be [Double Dragon](http://imdb.com/title/tt0106761/). Worst. Video game to movie project. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/32 "2004-05-14T01:39:23Z")
For me, I’m waiting for a movie that destroys [The Corn Palace](http://www.cornpalace.org/) in Mitchell SD. I don’t have anything against it, but if The Corn Palace gets blown up, then we have a _real_ problem on our hands. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/33 "2004-05-14T01:54:22Z")
Well, the Leaning Tower of Pisa did get straightened in one of the Superman movies (I think it was the second), along with the demolition of any number of other landmarks. But, at the end of the movie, Superman flies by and tilts it again, so everything’s okay. I’m pretty sure I’m not making any of that up. > [@Baker](#): > > And in Mad Max:Beyond Thunderdome, you see the Opera House in ruins, as it is flown over near the end of the picture. You know, I saw that movie three times, including that shot of Sydney at the end, before I realized that the entire series of movies was set in Australia? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/34 "2004-05-14T02:13:42Z")
> [@Eutychus](#): > > I believe it was the Collesium that got trashed by heavy duty lightning bolts in _The Core._ Yep. I had no idea lightning could make a building explode. The ancient Romans must’ve built the Coliseum out of plastique. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/35 "2004-05-14T02:27:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What about the Gateway Arch in St. Louis? I’m not sure if it’s ever been a Summer Blockbuster Target, but it seems like it ought to. And while we’re at it, how about destroying the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, anyone? Cleveland never gets enough attention. Naahh, the Arch is no good… it’s _already_ got a big hole in it! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/36 "2004-05-14T02:36:11Z")
> [@c\_goat](#): > > Wasn’t the WTC and the rest of NYC knocked over by a Tidal Wave in Deep Impact? Or did they only show the Empire State Building or Chrysler Building? The whole city was toast. I just watched the trailer again; the most recognizable landmark in it is the Brooklyn Bridge, but yes the entire city gets wiped out. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/37 "2004-05-14T02:37:17Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > Since I grew up in St. Louis originally, I second wanting to see the Arch get taken out. As a bonus it could split apart at the top, with one leg taking out the Admiral and the other falling onto the Old Courthouse. Maybe throw in the little egg train cars flying out of one of the legs as it was falling. Cut to a view of terrorized fans watching a Cards game, people pointing and screaming while eating at the MacDonald’s Riverboat, cut to some gambler on the Admiral saying something like “Blackjack again! This really is my lucky day…” This thing writes itself. 🙂 I almost hate to say it, but there is no more McDonald’s riverboat or Admiral casino. I know, I know, surprised me too. I just think the Arch doesn’t have the heft and mass needed to cause major destruction - I mean, there’s maybe 100 people in it at any one time and if it fell, it couldn’t really take all that much out. I don’t know what else there is in St. Louis worth destroying - Busch Stadium will be blown up soon anyway… Taking out Lambert would be doing the city a favor… Maybe Westport? ---
**Author:** ![Beauty\_Personified](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Beauty\_Personified](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beauty_Personified)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/38 "2004-05-14T02:55:53Z")
After the CN Tower in Toronto, what would Hollywood destroy in Canada? Our capitol in Ottawa isn’t particularly iconic. The Confederation Bridge linking New Brunswick with Prince Edward Island is still quite new. The Toronto SkyDome? “The National Igloo!” 😃 Actually, I think fishing boats and wharfs tend to be the typical Canadian targets in Hollywood disaster films. Cause that’s all we do up here. We fish. :rolleyes: Sad. So sad… ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/39 "2004-05-14T03:03:07Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I don’t think I’ve seen the Sears Tower or the World Trade Center get targetted in a movie. Neither were touched (on screen) in Independence Day, were they? _Meteor_. A rock from space goes right through one of them. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925/40 "2004-05-14T03:30:01Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > Busch Stadium will be blown up soon anyway… It can’t be imploded. There’s a transit line underneath. It has to be torn down the old fashioned way. Will probably take a couple years. Maybe they should try eBay, buyer picks up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/targets-in-disaster-movies/244925.md?page=3)