From state to slate: 50 iconic movies set in each state

Tim Burton’s "Big Fish" tells the story of a frustrated son and his dying father, a man who lived a life full of exciting and extraordinary tall tales. Staring Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney and Jessica Lange, "Big Fish" is set in the family’s hometown of Ashton, Alabama, which is really Wetumpka, Alabama. The movie is nearly entirely shot in Alabama, featuring Auburn University and Jackson Lake Island outside Millbrook, Alabama, where the fictional town of Specter is located.

Christopher Nolan’s 2002 thriller “Insomnia” takes place in Nightmute, Alaska, where a sleep-deprived Los Angeles detective played by Al Pacino must crack the case and find who killed a teenage girl from a remote Alaska town. The movie was mostly filmed in Valdez, Alaska; Portland Canal near Hyder, Alaska; and parts of British Columbia. Robin Williams and Hilary Swank also star in the film. 

Featuring one of the most iconic scenes in movie history (pictured above) “Psycho” broke ground for slasher films. Alfred Hitchcock changed the game for horror genres with his story about a secretary in Phoenix, Arizona, who skips town and goes on the run with stolen cash. She checks into a small-town motel in California run by a strange man and his frightening mother. “Psycho” is Hitchcock’s biggest success and has been in inspiration for horror-movie directors ever since. It was filmed in Arizona and California.

Arkansas is the centerpiece of “Mud,” a story starring Matthew McConaughey as a mysterious fugitive who receives help from two teenage boys to escape police and reconnect with his lover, played by Reese Witherspoon. Director Jeff Nichols, an Arkansas-native, features areas of his home state, including Dumas, DeWitt, Lake Village, Crockett’s Bluff and Stuttgart, Arkansas. Set in DeWitt, Arkansas, Nichols employed many locals to act as extras in his southern drama. 

An epic and thrilling sci-fi action film, James Cameron’s sequel takes a cyborg, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the mother and son he must protect, racing throughout the Golden State to prevent a nuclear apocalypse. Packed with action, the film is set in L.A. and also features scenes shot in Fremont, Santa Clarita, San Fernado Valley, Fontana, San Jose and Lancaster, California.

Though Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of “The Shining” was mostly shot in England and Oregon, Stephen King’s story places an ill-fated family at the haunted Overlook Hotel, a fictional hotel in the Colorado Rockies. Inspired by The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, where King spent a night, “The Shining” is a story about Jack Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson, who steadily becomes crazed as evil forces wreak havoc on his family’s life. 

Starring Alec Baldwin, Winona Ryder, Geena Davis and Michael Keaton, this 1980s ghost story takes place in Connecticut. The ghosts of a dead couple confined to their house must deal with the annoying family that just moved in, with the help of Beetlejuice, of course. Though Tim Burton’s comedy-horror is set in Connecticut, it was mainly filmed in East Corinth, Vermont. 

"Dead Poets Society" is the first major Hollywood movie to be shot entirely in Delaware. Robin Williams gives an electric performance that earned him an Academy Award nomination for his role as John Keating, an English teacher at a prep school who profoundly impacts his students by introducing them to poetry. “Welton Academy” is really St Andrew’s School in Middletown, Delaware, and other New Castle and Middleton landmarks, such as Everett Theatre, are featured throughout the film.

“Moonlight” is an Oscar-winning tale (after the 2017 Academy Award "La La Land" mix-up was sorted out) that follows a gay black man through his rough childhood and into adulthood with a Miami backdrop. Barry Jenkins’ masterpiece is shot with keen attention to color and detail, bringing Florida and Miami areas such as Liberty Square, Liberty City, Virginia Key and Miramar to life. 

Margaret Mitchell’s best-selling book and her character Scarlett O’Hara’s sprawling estate are set in Atlanta, Georgia. Director Victor Fleming’s adaptation of the story about a devious woman and her affair with a married man during and following the American Civil War is remembered for reaching a cinematic milestone (it was one of the first movies filmed in color rather than black and white). “Gone with the Wind” runs nearly four hours and when it premiered in 1939 over a million people traveled to the city of Atlanta, where there were three days of parades to commemorate the film. Hattie McDaniel was the first African American to win an Academy Award for her role of Mammy in the film, but she was not allowed to attend the Atlanta premiere in the segregated south.

Steven Spielberg’s groundbreaking special effects and animatronics brought “Jurassic Park,” and its many hungry, terrifying dinosaurs to life. The 1993 film was largely shot in Kauai, Hawaii, to represent fictional Isla Nublar. Other parts of Hawaii such as Maui and Oahu were also filmed. "Jurassic Park" was so successful it earned over $100 million in its first nine days at the box office and the movie franchise has seen several modern remakes. 

Idaho native Jared Hess puts Preston, Idaho, on the map with his quirky indie comedy about a strange teenager who helps his friend Pedro run for class president of their high school. Filmed in Preston, Franklin and Lamont Reservoir, Idaho, “Napoleon Dynamite” is a cult classic with many quotable lines. The southern Idaho city used to hold a Napoleon Dynamite festival and tourists often stop by to see movie landmarks for themselves.

Matthew Broderick stars as Ferris Bueller, a cool and rebellious teen intent on playing hooky from high school in the fictional town of Shermer, Illinois. Bueller fakes an illness, borrows his friend’s dad’s Ferrari, runs through Chicago streets and even crashes a parade in the movie’s most famous scene. The 1980s hit film was shot in Highland Park, Winnetka, Lake Forest and several areas of downtown Chicago. 

Set in Indiana, Richard Dreyfuss plays Roy Neary, an electric lineman whose life is forever changed after he has a close encounter with an unidentified flying object. The captivating sci-fi is another one of Steven Spielberg’s creations and earned an Oscar for it's cinematography. Though the movie takes place in Indiana, it was filmed in Alabama, Wyoming, Mexico and California.

"Field of Dreams" is a story about an Iowa corn farmer who creates a magical baseball field among his crops that draws the ghosts of great Major League Baseball players. Starring Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones and Ray Liotta, “Field of Dreams” inspires tourists to visit the location of the baseball diamond in Dyersville, Iowa. The movie was mostly filmed around Dubuque, Iowa. 

Timeless classic “Wizard of Oz” was not filmed in Kansas, but it did elevate the state to prominence as the film is the most watched in history, according to the Library of Congress. The tale uses charming visuals and fascinating storylines to illustrate Dorothy Gale and her little dog’s journey to Emerald City and the enchanting friends she meets along the way. All filming took place at MGM's Culver City studio in Los Angeles.

“The Insider” stars Russell Crowe and Al Pacino in a suspenseful thriller set in Louisville, Kentucky. “The Insider” is based on the true story of Jeffrey Wigand, a whistleblower and research biochemist formerly employed at a tobacco firm who exposes major tobacco companies for being aware their product gives people cancer. Wigand and “60 Minutes” producer Lowell Bergman, played by Al Pacino, must work together to fight for the truth. Filming took place in Kentucky, California, New York and Mississippi, among other locations.

Based on the true story of Solomon Northup, “12 Years a Slave” tells the harrowing tale of a free black man who was tricked, kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841 Louisiana. The movie captures Felicity Planation in Vacherie, Louisiana, Magnolia Plantation in Schriever, Louisiana, and areas around New Orleans such as the French Quarter. The movie received numerous Academy Award nominations and won best picture of the year and best adapted screenplay. Lupita Nyong'o won an Oscar for best supporting actress.

Like almost all of Stephen King's stories, "The Shawshank Redemption" is set in Maine. Director Frank Darabont casts Tim Robins and Morgan Freeman to play two men who become friends while imprisoned for years in Shawshank. The prison is shot at Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio, and the nearby town is in Butler, Ohio. The abandoned prison is now a part of the tourist attraction “The Shawshank Trail.” Although the movie wasn’t a huge box office success at the time, it received seven Oscar nominations and has been called one of the greatest films to miss out on a best picture Oscar. 

Set in Maryland, this 2005 comedy centers on bachelors John Beckwith and Jeremy Grey, played by Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, who crash weddings to capitalize on the romantic atmosphere. A majority of the movie was shot in St. Michaels, Maryland, and Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland and around Washington, D.C. The main wedding reception scene takes places at the Inn at Perry Cabin, a Maryland hotel and restaurant.

Based on the true story of boxing brothers Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund and their life in Lowell, Massachusetts, “The Fighter” is an authentic drama that highlights life in the city north of Boston, where a majority of the movie was filmed. Micky Ward, played by Mark Wahlberg, weathers family stress and the woes of his troubled boxer-turned-trainer brother, played by the exceptional Christian Bale, while working toward capturing the world lightweight boxing championship. 

Set in Highland Park, a neighborhood north of Detroit, “Gran Torino” is a story about a crotchety old man and his unexpected friendship with his Hmong neighbors, one of whom tried to steal his prized 1972 Gran Torino. Clint Eastwood directs and stars in “Gran Torino,” choosing the Motor City as the perfect setting for his character Walt Kowalski, a Korean War veteran and former auto worker. Locations such as Royal Oak, Center Line, Grosse Pointe Park and Highland Park, Michigan, are also seen in the film.

Despite its title, the Coen brothers critically-acclaimed dark comedy film “Fargo” takes place in Minnesota. Jerry Lundegaard, staring William H. Macy, hires two henchmen to kidnap his wife so he can reap the ransom money, but his plans go awry when a pregnant Minnesota sheriff starts investigating. The film classic was originally titled "Brainerd" after the Minnesota city, but was later switched to "Fargo." It was a box office smash for the Coen brothers, earning seven Oscar nominations and featuring shots of both Minnesota and North Dakota as well as a range of accents. 

Shot entirely in Mississippi, “The Help” is set in Jackson in the 1960s where an aspiring white writer details the challenges and struggles African American maids must endure while working for affluent white families in the south. With impeccable performances from Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis and Emma Stone, Tate Taylor’s adaptation of the best-selling book, “The Help,” received several Oscar and Gold Globe nominations. Spencer won both awards in the supporting actress category. 

Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck star in this drama about a Missouri gang of outlaws in 1881. Young gang member Robert Ford, played by Affleck, is obsessed with and becomes hostile toward gang leader Jesse James, played by Pitt. The sprawling Western frontier depicted in the film represents a Missouri landscape, but much of it is actually Canada. 

Directed by Robert Redford, “A River Runs Through It” is a drama about two brothers, one serious, one reckless, who grow up in Missoula, Montana, and share a common love for fly fishing. Filmed with a focus on Montana’s expansive terrain, “A River Runs Through It” is a timeless classic that has been credited for elevating Brad Pitt’s celebrity status. It was mostly shot in Livingston and Bozeman, Montana, along with Granite Falls, Wyoming, and Yellowstone, Gallatin and Boulder rivers. 

“Terms of Endearment,” a drama that plays on viewers’ emotions to illustrate the relationship between a woman, Emma Greenway, and her mother Aurora through three decades, swept the 1984 Academy Awards, taking home Oscars for best picture, best leading actress, best support actor, best director and best screenplay. Nebraska is the backdrop of the love story once Emma’s family relocates there. Lincoln, University of Nebraska, Kearny, Bryan LGH Medical Center and Lincoln International Airport are featured in the film. Starring Jack Nicholson, Shirley MacLaine, and Debra Winger, the film is credited for excelling Jeff Daniel’s acting career. 

All Nicolas Cage jokes aside, “Leaving Las Vegas” proves the man can act, a fact solidified by his 1996 Academy Award win for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Cage plays Ben Sanderson, a Hollywood screenwriter who gives up on life and moves from L.A. to Las Vegas to drink himself into oblivion, where he meets and falls in love with a prostitute named Sera, played by Elisabeth Shue. The underdog story is shot at several casinos including Bally’s Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, River Palms Resort Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, and Paradise, Nevada. 

A childhood classic about a magical board game that unfurls the dangers and adventure held within, “Jumanji” is set in New Hampshire and filmed around the city of Keene. Starring Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt and a young Kirsten Dunst, this 1995 movie was based off a 1980s children’s book with a same name. North Berwick Woolen Mill, a historical landmark in North Berwick, Maine, is also featured in the film as the Parrish Shoe Factory. The city of Keene repainted the sign and honored Robin Williams after he passed in 2014 by making a small memorial beneath it.

Staring Russel Crowe as brainiac mathematician John Nash, a man who makes an amazing discovery at the peak of his career but then suffers from intense mental illness. The compelling true story drama is set in Princeton, New Jersey, and captures other areas such as Newark, Belleville, Bayonne, East Orange and Jersey City, New Jersey. The movie swept the 2002 Oscars, taking home awards for best picture, best supporting actress, best director and best screenplay. 

This iconic movie is known as one of the best spaghetti westerns — a movie set in the west but filmed in Europe to save money, in this case in Spain by Italian director Sergio Leone. Clint Eastwood stars a gun-slinging Blondie, who is in a race against bounty hunter Bad and bandit Ugly to find and secure Confederate gold buried in a cemetery. Set in the American Civil War during the New Mexico Campaign of 1862, this western encapsulates the rough and tumble west with all its shootouts and tough attitudes, while accelerating a young Eastwood to stardom.  

Directed by Martin Scorsese, “Goodfellas” follows the true story of Henry Hill, a mobster in the Italian-American mafia. Ray Liotta plays Hill while Robert De Niro plays gang member James Conway and Joe Pesci plays made man Tommy DeVito. The movie is shot entirely in New York City, including areas of Astoria, Brooklyn, New Rochelle, Fort Lee, Staten Island, Coney Island and Manhattan. The real Henry Hill reportedly said Joe Pesci’s performance as violent wild card Tommy DeSimone, which won him an Oscar, was extremely accurate. “Goodfellas” is known for using iconic film techniques and exemplary acting performances. 

Heartthrob Patrick Swayze stars as Johnny Castle, a Catskills resort dance teacher in love with Frances “Baby” Houseman, played by Jennifer Grey. Set in New York state, the movie was filmed at Lake Lure in North Carolina. The Chimney Rock Camp for Boys at Lake Lure hosted the staff cabins home to Johnny Castle. The coming-of-age summer romance is a cult classic, known for its famous dance numbers and legendary soundtrack. The hit song "I’ve Had The Time of My Life" won an Oscar for best original song for the film

The tenth installment of the X-Men film series, "Logan", staring Hugh Jackman, places familiar superhero Wolverine in a dystopian distant future where mutants are almost extinct. In Wolverine’s last, act he must help a young refuge in North Dakota, an 11-year-old name Laura, reach safety before scientists get to her first. “Logan” received raving reviews from critics, selected by the National Board of Review as one of the top 10 movies of 2017 and nominated for an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay, the first superhero movie to receive such a nomination. Although North Dakota plays a key role in the film, the landscape featured isn't very consistent with North Dakota's reality. No part of the state was actually shot for the movie, rather New Mexico, California, Oklahoma and Louisiana were filmed.

Set in Cincinnati, Ohio, self-centered Charlie Babbitt, played by Tom Cruise, must return to Ohio from California to figure out to whom his estranged father’s inheritance has gone. While in Cincinnati, Babbitt learns the beneficiary of his father’s $3 million trust is Raymond Babbitt, played by Dustin Hoffman, Charlie’s autistic-savant older brother he didn’t know existed. Charlie and Raymond embark on a road trip to Las Vegas, where Charlie banks on Raymond’s mathematical skills to rein in the big bucks at the casino. Filming locations include: Ohio, California, Nevada, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Indiana.

Using sophisticated special effects to create terrifying and violent cyclones, box office hit “Twister,” starring Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton and Cary Elwes centers on storm chasers with a patchy marriage who risk their lives getting up close to the massive tornados. Set in Oklahoma, areas such as Fairfax, Ralston, Ponca City, Wakita, Guthrie and Norman appear on the big screen. The city of Wakita has a museum dedicated to the movie. 

A raunchy cult classic comedy about a fraternity in the 1960s, “Animal House” is set at the fictional Faber College in Pennsylvania but is really filmed at University of Oregon in Eugene. Campus landmarks like Johnson Hall, Main Street and Central Campus are pictured onscreen, while real Greek life fraternity houses are used. The story is about two freshman who are rejected from a top-tier fraternity and instead join Delta House, a frat full of trouble makers, namely pledge master John Blutarsky, played by John Belushi. But Delta is in trouble, as the college dean is hell-bent on kicking the frat off campus.

In its most iconic scene, struggling boxer Rocky Balboa, starring Sylvester Stallone, runs past Philadelphia City Hall, through the Italian Market on ninth street eventually up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The climb is so frequently mimicked by tourists the steps are known as “Rocky Steps” and a bronze statue of Rocky, donated by Stallone after "Rocky III" was finished, is located at the bottom. Rocky, who fights heavyweight champion Apollo Creed in an exhibition match, lives in Kensington, North Philadelphia. The rags-to-riches story won an Oscar for best picture and became a franchise. 

Wes Anderson’s quirky and colorful adventure story “Moonrise Kingdom” places two young lovers on an island off the coast of New England in 1965. The 12-year-olds run away together, causing a search team to turn the town upside down. The charming town is actually a combination of scenes shot in Jamestown, Newport, Narragansett Bay, Rockville and South Kingstown, Rhode Island. Anderson was highly praised for the film, which stars Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton. 

A romance tugs at the heartstrings while sending the message that love can create miracles, “The Notebook” is an adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ bestselling novel about the relationship between a poor young man and an affluent young woman who are separated in the era of World War II. Though the film was set in North Carolina, it was shot in around Charleston, South Carolina. Scenes also include areas of Cypress Gardens in Moncks Corner and Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.  

Alfred Hitchcock’s gripping action thriller “North by Northwest” is a film classic about an advertising executive from New York City who is mistaken for an agent by foreign spies and must evade capture from authorities by going on the run. The apex of the movie occurs at the top of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, where establishing shots were taken. The espionage film combines comedy with action while actors Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint give captivating performances. 

Mitch McDeer, played by Tom Cruise, is an ambitious young lawyer who lands a job at a top-notch law firm in Memphis, only to later have his life upended after discovering the firm’s dark ulterior motives. This southern drama features locations such as downtown Memphis, Mud Island, the Cotton Exchange Building and Elmwood Cemetery. “The Firm” was a big box office success in 1993. 

“Dazed and Confused” is a cult classic coming-of-age story about teenagers from a small town in Texas on a mission to get stoned, drunk or laid on the last day of school in 1976. It is the film where a young Matthew McConaughey coins the now heavily referenced phrase “alright, alright, alright.” A tale of high school comedic adventures that kick-start summer, “Dazed and Confused” was filmed around Austin, Texas, and includes Bedichek Middle School, Top Notch Restaurant, West Enfield Park and Toney Burger Center in Sunset Valley. 

A staple of childhood and an all-around great baseball film, “The Sandlot” was set in Southern California in the summer of 1962, but filming entirely took place in Salt Lake City, Midvale and Ogden, Utah, with the addition of the Dodger's stadium in California. The new kid in town joins a pack of boys who work as a squad to win baseball games on their makeshift field of sand and embark on a variety of adventures. The sandlot, located in the Utah neighborhood of Glendale, was rebuilt in 2013 to celebrate the movie’s 20th anniversary.

An eccentric comedy about five Vermont state troopers, “Super Troopers” is about pranksters who attempt to shape up in order to solve a crime in their small town near the Canadian border. Certain antics of the movie, such as the “Meow gag,” became lovable bits, propelling the movie to popularity and comedy cult classic standing. Although the movie takes place in Vermont, it was filmed in New York.

Based on a true story, “Remember the Titans” is set in Alexandria, Virginia, where all-white T.C. Williams High School is mandated to integrate with a nearby all-black high school in 1971. The movie depicts the racial barriers and struggles surrounding integration through the lens of the school’s notorious football team, led by Coach Herman Boone, played by Denzel Washington. The story highlights the racial tensions of the era and is considered an inspirational tale as the team and community come together to advance to the state football championship. 

A bone-chilling horror flick, “The Ring” takes pace in Seattle, Washington, where a journalist investigates the connection between a terrifying videotape and the people who wind up dead a week after watching it. The movie features shots of Monroe, Bellingham, Stanwood, Port Townsend and Whidbey Island in Washington. The dreary and rainy weather and lack of sunlight added to the movie’s haunting tone, according to the film’s producers. 

One-time director and famous actor Charles Laughton’s “The Night of the Hunter” is revered as a masterpiece of American cinema that employs themes of good and evil. Set in Moundsville, West Virginia, during the Great Depression, the story is about an evil preacher who marries a gullible widow in order to find the hidden fortune her former husband stole from a bank. The preacher, played by the great Robert Mitchum, faces obstacles to his plan in the form of the widow’s skeptical young children. Filming locations include: West Virginia, Ohio and California.

Starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Rose Byrne, “Bridesmaids” is a hilarious story about a down-on-her-luck maid of honor and her competition with a fellow bridesmaid to win the bride’s affection. Set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, filming includes shots of South Kinnickinnic Avenue, Mitchell Street and West Cameron Avenue in Milwaukee. Melissa McCarthy received an Oscar nomination for supporting actress and Kristen Wiig received an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay. 

“Brokeback Mountain” is a story about the life of two cowboys in a forbidden romance set in Wyoming, where the couple occasionally reunites at the fictional Brokeback Mountain for week-long “fishing trips.” Heath Ledgers performance has been heralded along with Jake Gyllenhaal's. Director Ang Lee won an Oscar for the powerful film, becoming the first Asian to win an Academy Award for directing. The vast and breathtaking landscapes were shot in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, and all over Alberta, Canada.