Three month trip

[jennstall]

While there is a lot of soundstage work done in US films, there is actually a lot of location work done as well, and tons of B-roll footage. The thing is, a lot of US films and tv show are actually shot on location in Canada :)

That said, your best bet is to think up a list of some of your favorite movies and then do some research on their locations. If you are going to be on the Coast, LA is worth a visit. A ton of stuff is shot in Los Angeles every single day. When I worked there I was bumping into location filming crew all the time.

Some of the most popular buildings in LA are City Hall and Union Station. They do not always play themselves in films (City Hall often plays court houses and libraries), but you will instantly recognize them. There is also the Bradbury Building downtown, which if you have ever seen Blade Runner you will know it.

If you are visiting Utah, according to my dad, most of John Wayne's westerns were filmed in Monument Valley. In fact, it is the setting for many movies,and also the setting for the opening episodes of this season's Doctor Who :) You can find a complete list here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...y_in_the_media

[SteveH103]

Thanks for that info Jennstall, The link to wikipedia is incredibly detailed, i cant believe the number of references to Monument Valley in films, music, books etc.,

[CalOldBlue]

So let me state the obvious:

Starting that late in the year you want to hit the northern parks (Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Teton) first, then head for Seattle to travel down the coast.

The desert parks should be fine in November/December, but it can still be very cold in the high desert, especially at night.

SF has some of it's best weather in September/October.

[Utahtea]

Then head South on the Coast road, probably to San Francisco before heading inland via Death Valley to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon. Monument Valley and back to Denver. I think that should be ok in 90 days, but as we are both film fans we`d love to be able to visit some places that have appeared in films. Does anyone have any suggestions for the route we are taking?

Breakdown with Kirk Russell, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were filmed in Arches. Lots of other movies were filmed in and around Moab, Utah. After Monument Valley and before Denver this would make for a great stop for a couple of days to a week to see Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. If you rent a 4 x 4 in Moab, you can drive the Shafer Trail up to Canyonlands and you drive right by where Thelma and Louise went over the cliff in their car at the end of the movie. There are a lot of areas in Utah where Thelma and Louise were filmed.

National Lampoon's Vacation with Chevy Chase had scenes filmed at Death Valley, Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. Back to the Future Part III was also had scenes in Monument Valley.

Monument Valley List

The Eiger Sanction was filmed in California and Utah

Vegas Vacation was filmed in Vegas and others

The Rock and Bullitt were filmed in San Francisco to name just a few!

If you have a specific location in mind, you can go to the "movie location" drop down and search - Link You can also search by movies and then click on "filming locations" Link

We love to watch movies and try and figure out where they were filmed. Kanab, Utah, Glen Canyon Recreational Area, Zion National Park are also great movie locations.

Utahtea

[SteveH103]

Thanks for that. Monument Valley is a definite stop.