Even though "Forrest Gump" took Tom Hanks from Vietnam to the White House, home was always the fictional town of Greenbow, Alabama. Plus, Forrest was an All-American for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Source: "Forrest Gump"/Paramount Pictures
"Into The Wild" follows Chris McCandless, played by Emile Hirsch, as he heads to Alaska to find his place in the world. The journey would bring McCandless to many places, but his ultimate destination was the Land of the Midnight Sun.
Source: "Into The Wild"/Paramount Vantage
The Coen brothers' cult classic follows H.I. McDunnough and his wife as they attempt to have a baby, either naturally or through kidnapping. The Coens made the pair all the more real by incorporating a vernacular that Joel called "a mixture of local dialect and a vocabulary we imagined from the likely reading materials of the characters."
Source: "Raising Arizona"/20th Century Fox
"Sling Blade" tells the story of a man with a developmental disability, played by Billy Bob Thornton, who was put away for killing his mother as a child. The film, set and shot in Arkansas, explores what it means to be redeemed in rural America.
Source: "Sling Blade"/Miramax
The 1995 teen comedy may focus on the lifestyle of Beverly Hills' most rich and privileged, but it's as sunny as the Golden State itself. Led by Alicia Silverstone's Cher, "Clueless" showcases the ideal Californian lifestyle while never going below Sunset.
Source: "Clueless"/Paramount Pictures
Even though the movie is filmed in different states, "The Shining" takes place at the Overlook Hotel in the secluded Colorado mountains that could — once the long winter sets in — drive anyone as mad as Jack Nicholson's axe-wielding Jack Torrance.
Source: "The Shining"/Warner Bros.
The female residents of the small town of Stepford, Connecticut, seem too good to be true, and they are. The 1975 film, which was shot in Connecticut, shows that life in the suburbs may not be all it's cracked up to be.
Source: "Stepford Wives"/Columbia Pictures
It's hard to tell that David Fincher's "Fight Club" was set in Delaware, but there are small hints. Addresses, license plates, and the original Wilmington location in the novel by Chuck Palahniuk make it easy to see that the state where you "don't talk about fight club" is Delaware.
Source: "Fight Club"/20th Century Fox
Though shot in L.A. (Miami officials thought filming there would ruin tourism), "Scarface" is set during the wild 1980s in South Beach and explores the underbelly of the Sunshine State better than any other movie could.
Source: "Scarface"/Universal
From the Antebellum Era to Reconstruction, the events of Civil War-time Georgia are told through the love story of Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara in this 1939 epic romance.
Source: "Gone with the Wind"/MGM
The 2001 action drama depicts the attack on Pearl Harbor, a "day that will live in infamy," while employing a love story to explore the beauty of Hawaii.
Source: "Pearl Harbor"/Buena Vista Pictures
This 2004 cult classic, starring Jon Heder in the titular role, takes place in the town of Preston, Idaho, where Napoleon tries to get his buddy Pedro elected as class president. The film has generated $1 million for the city.
Source: "Napoleon Dynamite"/Fox Searchlight
Director John Hughes' "love letter" to Chicago has Ferris Bueller and his buddies playing hooky by exploring Wrigley Field and other Windy City locales. While many Hughes films take place in Illinois, none encompasses the state better than "Ferris Bueller."
Source: "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"/Paramount Pictures
Set in early 1940s Indiana, Ralphie's pursuit to get a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas makes this perennial holiday film a classic. The film also reminds viewers to never lick a metal pole outside in the middle of a cold Indiana winter.
Source: "A Christmas Story"/MGM
"Field of Dreams" captures the dreamy quality of the Hawkeye State when Kevin Costner's Ray builds a baseball field in the middle of his Iowa cornfield. The line, "Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa," has since become one of the state's slogans.
Source: "Field of Dreams"/Universal
"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," Dorothy tells her tiny dog Toto once transported to the magical technicolor world of Oz. Yet she longs to get back to her black and white home, where there's no place like it.
Source: "The Wizard of Oz"/MGM
"Coal Miner's Daughter" tells the story of country singer Loretta Lynn and how she went from the backwoods of Kentucky to the top of the charts. Sissy Spacek won an Academy Award for her portrayal of the singer.
Source: "Coal Miner's Daughter"/Universal Pictures
"The Green Mile" places Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan in a Louisiana prison. The film explores the soft sensibilities of the state through Hanks' kind prison officer and Duncan's Oscar-nominated performance as the magically healing John Coffey.
Source: "The Green Mile"/Warner Bros.
Another Stephen King adaptation on the list, "The Shawshank Redemption" takes place in King's home state of Maine. Most of the film is set behind the bars of the fictional Shawshank Prison, but once Andy Dufresne escapes, he takes a moment to throw up his hands in the great Maine outdoors.
Source: "The Shawshank Redemption"/Columbia Pictures
"Hairspray" opens with Tracy Turnblad belting "Good Morning, Baltimore," and with that begins her dreamy journey to "The Corky Collins Show." The musical comedy shows Maryland to be a place of dreamers, doers, and dancers.
Source: "Hairspray"/New Line Cinema
"Good Will Hunting" explores the heart of Massachusetts through the eyes of Will Hunting, a genius janitor trying to deal with his issues. Greater Boston Area natives Matt Damon and Ben Affleck won an Academy Award for the screenplay.
Source: "Good Will Hunting"/Miramax
The raunchy teen comedy follows four Michigan teenagers trying to lose their virginity before going to college. Writer Adam Herz grew up in Grand Rapids and based the film's script on his adventures growing up there.
Source: "American Pie"/Universal
Minnesota is known for its wildlife, but there aren't more famous ducks from the Gopher State than the hockey team coached by Gordon Bombay. The 1992 film takes place in Minneapolis, and later franchise installments featured landmarks like the Mall of America.
Source: "The Mighty Ducks"/Buena Vista Pictures
With its heat, strife, and racial overtones, "In the Heat of the Night" showcases a Mississippi ready to explode. Made during the the Civil Rights Movement, the Sidney Poitier-led film won the 1967 Academy Award for Best Picture.
Source: "In the Heat of the Night"/United Artists
With a memorable performance by Judy Garland, "Meet Me in St. Louis" is set during the city's World Fair in 1904. The musical beautifully illustrates a time gone by, while revealing the gumption and love of the Show Me State.
Source: "Meet Me in St. Louis"/MGM
An epic Western saga starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Aidan Quinn, "Legends of the Fall" follows three brothers and their father living in a remote part of Montana during the events of World War I through Prohibition.
Source: "Legends of the Fall"/Sony Pictures Entertainment
While Bill Murray's cult comedy "Caddyshack" never explicitly names its geographic setting, there are a couple of allusions to Nebraska. When Ty Webb asks Danny if he wants to go college, a shocked Danny replies, "In Nebraska?" — poking fun at the in-state student population.
Source: "Caddyshack"/Warner Bros.
Set against the Vegas Strip and Nevada desert, "The Hangover" is an ode to one of man's greatest rites of passage: a bachelor party in Sin City. The movie follows, as Alan Garner puts it, "Four of us wolves, running around the desert together, in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine."
Source: "The Hangover"/Warner Bros.
Robin Williams' fantasy-adventure flick "Jumanji" was set in the fictional town of Brantford, New Hampshire, and shot in the very real town of Keene. After filming, the crew left an advertisement for Parrish Shoes painted on a brick wall in downtown, which can still be seen today.
Source: "Jumanji"/TriStar Pictures
Anyone from outside the state will tell you "Garden State" should be the winner here, but after consulting the many Jersey transplants in our office, it's clear that "Clerks" is the favorite among homegrown audiences. The low-budget cult classic was shot in a Leonardo, New Jersey, convenience and video store where director Kevin Smith worked in real life.
Source: "Clerks"/Miramax Films
Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach star in the title roles, respectively. The three gunslingers race to find a fortune in gold buried in the then-territory of New Mexico.
Source: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"/Produzioni Europee Associati
No state had competition for this list quite like that of New York, with Woody Allen's most memorable films and a slew of mafia flicks set in the state. But none captures the grit of New York City in the 1970s quite like Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver." Fans are still drawn to Robert De Niro's cabbie nearly 40 years later, despite the unfathomable depths of his psychosis.
Source: "Taxi Driver"/Columbia Pictures Corporation
A remake of a 1962 movie of the same title, this star-studded psychological thriller is set in the quiet town of Essex, North Carolina. It marks the seventh of eight collaborations between director Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro.
Source: "Cape Fear"/Tribeca Productions
While most of the Coen brothers' "Fargo" takes place in Minnesota, the town of Fargo, North Dakota, became famous after the movie's lead, played by William H. Macy, travels there to hire two men to kidnap his wife and hold her hostage.
Source: "Fargo"/PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
While "Heathers" showed a high school unlike any we've ever been to, the killer-comedy certainly captured the stereotypical conservatism of Ohioans at the time. As Christian Slater's J.D. put it, "This is Ohio. I mean, if you don't have a brewski in your hand you might as well be wearing a dress."
Source: "Heathers"/New World Pictures
Hardcore fans of the iconic natural disaster movie can make the pilgrimage to the "Twister" museum in Wakita, Oklahoma. During filming, the brick-and-mortar building that houses the museum served as the production studio's on-location office, dressing room, and art department.
Source: "Twister"/Warner Bros.
The band of teenage misfits who comprise "the Goonies" lives in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon. The real-life town hosts the Walsh family's house (without the Rube Goldberg contraptions that operate the gate), the Clatsop County Jail, and the Flavel House Museum, where Mr. Walsh worked.
Source: "The Goonies"/Warner Bros.
Two of the most famous tourist attractions in Philadelphia, according to the city's tourism website, are the Rocky Statue and the "Rocky Steps," better known as the Art Museum Steps. The montage showing the Italian Stallion climbing all 72 stone steps is one of the most iconic movie scenes of all time.
Source: "Rocky"/United Artists
Based on the John Updike novel of the same name, "The Witches of Eastwick" takes place in the picturesque waterfront town of Eastwick. It's inspired by Wickford, where Updike visited once and fell in love with its charm.
Source: "The Witches of Eastwick"/Warner Bros.
"The Notebook" does Charleston justice like few movies have. Some of the most recognizable filming locations include the American Theater, where Allie and Noah have their double-date, and Cypress Gardens, the dreamlike swamp that Noah and Allie paddle through during the rainstorm.
Source: "The Notebook"/New Line Cinema
Located just 15 minutes from Mount Rushmore, the original buildings used in the Oscar Award-winning movie "Dances with Wolves" have been transformed into a museum. According to the website, you can stand where Kevin Costner's character, John D. Dunbar, was given his new posting orders for Fort Hays.
Source: "Dances with Wolves"/Tig Productions
The biographical musical drama "Walk the Line" takes places in the heart and soul of country music: Tennessee. After moving to Memphis and landing a record deal, Johnny Cash began touring as Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two — the ultimate tribute to his new home state.
Source: "Walk the Line"/Twentieth Century Fox
An over-the-top slasher movie that continues to influence the horror genre today, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was filmed mostly near Round Rock, Austin, with a budget of $60,000 — raised by an Austin politician.
Source: "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"/Vortex
Shot on location in Utah's red rock country, "127 Hours" depicts the remarkable journey of hiker Aron Ralston through Bluejohn Canyon. The Utah Office of Tourism released 127-hour itineraries, mapping excursions through filming locations and other parts of the states, to celebrate the movie's success.
Source: "127 Hours"/Fox Searchlight Pictures
Watching "White Christmas" is as much as holiday tradition as decorating a tree. The light-hearted romance features Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen, teaming up to save the failing Columbia Inn in Pine Tree, Vermont.
Source: "White Christmas"/Paramount Pictures
The pinnacle sports drama "Remember the Titans" is based on the real life T.C. Williams High School football team, which forever changed their racially divided town of Alexandria, Virginia.
Source: "Remember the Titans"/Walt Disney Pictures
After the death of his wife, Sam Baldwin, played by Tom Hanks, and his son relocate to Seattle, where he learns to love again. Their unusual home, a houseboat docked in Lake Union, can be viewed from a boat tour of the lake.
Source: "Sleepless in Seattle"/TriStar Pictures
This star-studded courtroom drama — with performances by Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, and Kiefer Sutherland — was filmed in D.C. locations recognizable to both tourists and locals, such as the U.S. Department of Commerce, Potomac Park baseball field, and Idle Time Books.
Source: "A Few Good Men"/Columbia Pictures Corporation
Going to work as a coal miner is just something you do in Coalwood, West Virginia. But Homer Hickam, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, defies his father by neglecting tradition and pursuing rocketry in the fall of 1957.
Source: "October Sky"/Universal Pictures
When the fictional town of Everett, Wisconsin, is overrun by zombies, a resilient group of human survivors bands together in the local mall to stay alive.
Source: "Dawn of the Dead"/Universal Pictures
In Steven Spielberg's Academy Award-nominated sci-fi flick, a UFO transmits a set of geographical coordinates for Devils Tower National Monument near Moorcroft, Wyoming, where a team of investigators set up a top-secret landing zone for their other-worldly friends.
Source: "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"/Columbia Pictures Corporation
Next Story
