We’ve all got a favorite movie or two, and might even have daydreamed about starring in them from time to time. Unless we’re outrageously talented, lucky or driven (preferably all three and then some) we’ll never get to appear on the big screen, so the next best thing is to visit the scenes and sets. We’re lucky that many of the best movies of all time have been filmed in The States – including these five locations.
Hawaii – Elvis
The recent Disney hit Moana has brought Hawaii back onto the big screen, carrying on a long tradition of movies featuring these paradise islands. A quick snapshot would include Godzilla (which used 200 local people as extras on Waikiki Beach), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Hunger Games, 50 First Dates, Pearl Harbour, and the Jurassic Park Series. In Oahu, you can even pay for a 90-minute tour of many of the scenes from more than 50 movies.
Among those 50 are the works of The King himself – Elvis Presley. Perhaps the most well-known are Blue Hawaii from 1961, which was shot at the Coco Palms Resort in Kauai and featured the famous wedding scene. Although abandoned since Hurricane Iniki in 1992 and demolished last year, the hotel is currently being rebuilt as part of the Hyatt Unbound Collection – so disciples might choose to wait until then.
Girls! Girls! Girls! followed in 1962, while the final Elvis movie shot in Hawaii was the 1966 comedy Paradise, Hawaiian Style, and you’ll find a number of locations still remain including the Maui Sheraton Hotel and the LDS Polynesian Cultural Centre in Oahu.
Las Vegas – Ocean series
We probably think immediately of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Leaving Las Vegas when considering Sin City. But there’s a clearly whole lot more to be seen than these eponymous movies, and perhaps the movies that evoke certain scenes of Vegas locations are the Ocean’s series.
The original Rat Pack version sees Sinatra and co carry out an audacious heist on five casinos in a single night; sadly, only one out of those five is still there in its original form. The Sands was demolished in ’96 and replaced by the Venetian; The Sahara is now known as the SLS; The Desert Inn was closed at the start of the century and the Riviera was demolished in 2015-16. Only the Flamingo remains.
On to the sequels, and who wouldn’t want to recreate the glorious conclusion in front of the Bellagio Fountains in the remake? For that matter, catching a fight at the MGM Grand Garden is still a must for many fight fans, although you’re unlikely to see long-retired heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis in the ring again.
Fremont Street is the original location for high-stakes and heavy drinking, and has featured in Dodgeball to Honey I Blew Up the Kid to Diamonds Are Forever. On the Strip, Caesar’s Palace is one of the most used casinos. It features in Rainman and Iron Man, and devotees of the original Hangover might want to revisit the debauchery in flamboyant style in one of the grand suites.
Finally, if you just want to live like the movie star A-Listers, rooms at the Julius Tower start at just $1,949 a night, while some at MGM Grand cost up to $10,000. The Napoleon Suite at the Paris is so exclusive that there is no price tag.
New York – Taxi Driver
For the movie fan, a trip to New York is essential and unforgettable, although worth researching as it’s all too easy to simply walk past many of the more famous spots. As an example of the less obvious destinations, consider the 1976 vigilante movie Taxi Driver. The poster looks as if it could be taken anywhere in the city, but the actual location is the West Side of Eighth Avenue, just below West 47th Street. Looking for this is made that little bit more difficult by the fact that the adult movie signs in the background have long gone, to be replaced by pharmacies and information centers. The big shootout at the end takes place in a tenement block at 226 East 13th Street.
Other movies filmed in New York include The Seven Year Itch (with ‘that’ Marilyn Monroe scene); Big, with the famous duet between Tom Hanks and Robert Loggie on the giant keyboard (now in Philadelphia) and Where Harry Met Sally – at Katz’s Delicatessen in East Houston Street.
Fans of Ghostbusters will recall that two of the most famous scenes in 80s film history involved giant apparitions strolling through the Big Apple; the Stay Puft marshmallow man in the original, and an inhabited Statue of Liberty in the sequel. Surprisingly, the scene in the hotel where we’re first introduced to Slimer was actually filmed at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, so you won’t be able to stay there – but any one of New York’s many hotels will suffice for a tour of this great city!
New Orleans – Benjamin Button
The list of movies filmed in the Big Easy is as extensive, vibrant and diverse as the city itself. Bourbon Street witnessed a jazz/voodoo funeral in Live and Let Die in 1973; 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street filmed various scenes around Riverdale High School and Lafreniere Park, and various John Grisham book-to-film adaptations such as the Pelican Brief have been filmed on Riverwalk. Elvis filmed at the fabulous French Quarter in King Creole, which also hosted scenes from Interview with the Vampire on Royal Street.
Fans of the Brad Pitt movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button should head for Nolan House on Coliseum Street, the near 8,000ft mansion where much of the filming took place.
Apparently, director David Fincher was so set on using the house that he flew to Houston to have dinner with owner Mary Nell Porter Nolan, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Some scenes were also shot in (or designed to replicate) the numerous cemeteries in the city, while something more romantic might be found at the wonderful Newman Bandstand in Audobon Park, a popular venue for the wedding and private events.
Philadelphia – Rocky statue and steps
Quickly – what’s the name of the building with the 72 steps that Rocky runs up in ‘that’ scene? Even though it’s one of the most recognizable scenes in movie history, you might be unaware that the answer is the Philadelphia Museum of Art – which is well worth a look in its own right.
The Oscar-winning film series has given the sport of boxing and cinema history so much; from the iconic ring entrance music used by so many, to the unusual training techniques of chasing chickens and sprinting up snowy mountains. And it continues to flourish, with the latest iteration Creed 2015 sweeping more awards and picking up much critical acclaim.
While there, have your picture taken with the Sylvester Stallone statue, donated by Sly in 1980, although expect a small queue of other fight film fans eager to participate. The steps, filmed with a Steadicam to bring more realism, have been used in several of the movies and give an outstanding view of Eakins Oval, City Hall, and Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
So lace up the gloves and get up those steps – you never know, the great man himself may even be around….
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