MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Do you care where movies are made?

Do you care where movies are made?

posted 4 years ago by [deleted]
46 replies | jump to latest

Lots of movies are made in places they're not actually set in.

Personally, I do care, especially if I recognize the place.

I know downtown los Angeles and it's used as new York in some movies. The street signs give it away.

Australian movies pretending to be American also bug me. I just saw Mortal Kombat and there's an old guy in a gym and the first word that came out of his mouth identified him as Australian to me, I then endured his American accent. I was like "wait was this made in Australia?"

There's a teen girl in it who also can't hide her Australian accent.

Canada pretending to be America is also annoying. I hate when I found out an american set movie is actually just canadian.

[–] Ken12602 (503) 4 years ago

It all depends on whether the movie shows something iconic from the city they are shooting in but pretending it's a different city. For example, in Robocop, it's supposed to take place in Detroit but actually filmed around Dallas and you can see Reunion Tower in the movie which if you've ever been to Dallas you know that is where the movie was filmed.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

That would be annoying.

I remember Casino Royale had great locations but apparently didn't match the city they were pretending to be. I wonder if people travelled there and were like "this doesn't look like Montenegro".

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

i love picking out movies made in canada but set in the usa. it usually takes me about 5 minutes to determine it.

[–] db20db (17748) 4 years ago

Were you able to do that with The Lookout (2007) because it had me puzzled for awhile about what town in Kansas that was supposed to be?

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

i might have had this conversation with you before: the lookout was partially filmed in the apartment block i live in, and in the surrounding area. my apartment building is actually in the film's poster.

in one scene, where jgl is looking forlornly out a window, you can see the reflection of a cross superimposed over his face: that is not an effect - it's a neon cross from a large church across the street.

[–] db20db (17748) 4 years ago

That does ring a bell.

After some searching, I did discover that it was supposed to be set near Kansas City but actually filmed in Canada. Initially, I was under the impression it was somewhere in western Kansas, which is predominantly flat and agricultural. The accident scene with the combine at night, on a two-lane country road and the expansive starry sky really fed that illusion. Northeastern Kansas is actually quite hilly. The town looked authentically small town Kansas, which is why I was so curious. I don't recall if its fictional name was actually ever referenced somehow in the movie.

As a side note, I've since learned that parts of Canada are now known as Hollywood North.

[–] Stratego (31081) 4 years ago

It's especially annoying if you're familiar with the location.

Some studio backlot in Prague passing for every country in Europe in Eurotrip was just ridiculous.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

So many cheap horror movies made in Eastern Europe these days.

[–] Stratego (31081) 4 years ago

They all get made here these days:

https://castelfilm.ro/facilities/

[–] GlenEllyn (21659) 4 years ago

I sure understand this viewpoint. When you know the place, it's pretty jarring and disrupts appreciation for a film. Shortcuts to save money are a shame.

One of my favorite movies that was shot on location in Rome (some studio filming, but that was also there) is Roman Holiday.

[–] CreosoteXmp37 (294) 4 years ago

Yeah, I care. I like on-location settings as it adds realism and grittiness. Kudos to those filmmakers that do so.

Boo-hiss to those that use poorly disguised locations, and a pox on those that use phony looking backlot sets.

[–] GlenEllyn (21659) 4 years ago

I don't care, and most of the time I don't know where a particular moves was filmed.

[–] OratiaGlake (1259) 4 years ago

Yes it can....a very recent example is Love and Monsters (2020) which was supposed to be set on west coast area of USA (California) but it was SO OBVIOUSLY filmed in Australia (with lots of Australian cast trying to do US accents) it was ridiculous!

[–] moviechatterer (16326) 4 years ago

They're filming Star wars in my town right now!
about half a mile away!
cant wait to see how it looks on the screen.

Unlike the rest of the town , i have managed to avoid running down to the set and cramming the barriers like a bunch of teenage girls at a {insert latest boy band} concert.