Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: 50 Movies for 50 states

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 07-03-2009, 05:17 PM:

Rotten Tomatoes has an Independence Day oriented feature called 50 Movies for 50 States.

Their editors picked one movie for each state. Some choices were very good or just painfully obvious. It would sort of be a crime if any movie besides Gone With the Wind was picked for the Georgia entry.

Their choice for Oklahoma's entry: Oklahoma! Wow. I'd have never thought of that. Duh. Oklahoma! isn't such a definitive movie for Oklahoma as one might think. Why? Absolutely none of the movie was filmed in Oklahoma. My choice for top Oklahoma movie: The Outsiders. It's a very good movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The entire movie was shot in Oklahoma. Tulsa, Owasso and Skiatook were the shooting locations. The Outsiders also boosted the acting careers of Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane and C. Thomas Howell. It's also one of the first movies where actor/singer Tom Waits had a credited role.

Some of the editors' choices were downright goofy.

For example, they picked Fight Club as the movie for Delaware. Huh? None of that movie was filmed in Delaware at all. It all took place in the Los Angeles area, even if L.A. wasn't named at all. Despite the often grungy look of it, Fight Club is still entirely a California movie. The Editors labeled it as the movie for Delaware only because credit card companies and many other corporations are technically based in Delaware over the state's very relaxed tax and bankruptcy laws.

Another thing to consider is this: has any movie of significance been filmed or even set in Delaware?

I was a little surprised a Farrelly Brothers movie wasn't picked as the entry for Rhode Island. Portions of There's Something About Mary were filmed there. Me, Myself & Irene was filmed at numerous locations in Rhode Island and Vermont.

Anyway, check out the article for its good and bad choices. I'm interested to see what others will offer as their choices for best movie to represent a state.

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 07-03-2009, 05:24 PM:

Ugh, Fried Green Tomatos for Alabama was filmed in GA.

The Phenix City Story, shot in and about AL a much more fun choice.

Though To Kill A Mockingbird is the classy one.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 07-03-2009, 06:27 PM:

Hawaii's movie is LILO & STEACH" Grrrrr [Mad]

As a animated feature, it does not show the true beauty of the islands like HAWAII, BIRD OF PARADISE (1951 w Jeff Chandler, Debra Paget, Louis Jourdan) or the recent FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL did. As far as the US Military is concerned, Hawaii was used for FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, PEARL HARBOR, TORA! TORA! TORA!, and THE REVOLT OF MAMIE STOVER and a few others. As far as horror or science fiction, who can forget JURASSIC PARK?

-Claude

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 07-03-2009, 06:33 PM:

Actually, I was sort of expecting an Elvis Presley movie like Blue Hawaii showing up as the choice for that state.

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 07-04-2009, 01:06 AM:

Can't go too wrong with Casino for a recent-history representation of Nevada. Of course, I'm a bit prejudiced towards that choice. [Big Grin]

And for Hawaii I'd mention a sentimental favorite, Picture Bride. Pretty much a re-telling of my great-grandparent's story of coming from Japan.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-04-2009, 01:49 AM:

I just knew they would pick "A River Runs Through It" for Montana. A good choice, I guess, and our tourism industry is still making money from that film. Too bad the eastern side of the state never gets any attention from the film folks...the last major movie made on the prairie side was probably the Tom Cruise/Steven Speilberg film "Always" which was a nice enough movie, but not exactly a blockbuster.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 07-04-2009, 02:20 AM:

I couldn't complain too much about A River Runs Through It being the entry for Montana. That is a great movie. The ending always gets me teary-eyed and emotional with the old man narrating about being "haunted by waters." On top of that, much of the movie really was filmed in Montana.

Posted by Greg Anderson (Member # 235) on 07-04-2009, 09:15 AM:

These guys at Rotten Tomatoes didn't spend too much time thinking about their list.

As for Utah, the film commission might prefer Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade instead of the little-remembered Broken Arrow. People around here are still, somehow, proud of Footloose or even Fletch, despite their silly portrayals of Utah's people. (I can't remember if, in Footloose, they ever really said where it took place.) But what about the old westerns like The Searchers or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?

Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 07-04-2009, 01:30 PM:

quote: Mike Blakesley
the Tom Cruise/Steven Speilberg film "Always"

Tom Cruise was in "Always?"

"Raising Arizona" is the only Cohen Bros. movie I can't stand, so it figures they picked it for Arizona. I don't know what I would have picked, but I would have found something else.

"The Goonies" for Oregon makes me happy.

Posted by Louis Belloisy (Member # 3836) on 07-04-2009, 01:47 PM:

Tom Cruise was not in 1989 film - "Always"..
Cast was: Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Brad Johnson,
John Goodman and the wonderful Audrey Hepburn.

Louis

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 07-04-2009, 02:01 PM:

quote: Anslem Rayburn
"Raising Arizona" is the only Cohen Bros. movie I can't stand

Thank God. I thought I was the only one.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 07-04-2009, 03:20 PM:

Bobby,

How could I have forgotten about BLUE HAWAII. [Embarrassed]

I just arrived in Santa Barbara to begin my photographic studies at Brooks Institute of Photography late the preceding year and I was still a homesick young man in 1961 when the movie began it's theatrical run. The movie played at the little State Theatre across State street from the larger Granada and I think I must have seen the movie at lease five times there. Watching the movie today on DVD makes me very sad to see almost all of the beautiful images shown in the movie are all gone including the quant old Honolulu International Airport, Pineapple fields that became Mililani, a huge Honolulu surburb and Coco Palms on Kauai that was ravaged by Hurricane Iniki and never reopened. Yes, I concur, BLUE HAWAII should have been the movie to represent my state.

-Claude

Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 07-04-2009, 04:23 PM:

"Standing in the Shadows of Motown" for Michigan? Never heard of it. Gran Torino would've been better, or WALL•E for that matter. I'm pretty sure it was shot here too.

Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 07-05-2009, 10:31 PM:

quote: Bobby Henderson
has any movie of significance been filmed or even set in Delaware?

They could have at least gone with Wayne's World as they get "magically whisked away to... Delaware."

I've officially lived in three states (Illinois, Florida & California) and I have to say I'm OK with each of those choices ( Blues Brothers, Key Largo & Point Break), though the latter did surprise me.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 07-06-2009, 12:25 PM:

If you must tie actual shooting locations in for Oklahoma, I would have gone with "Twister".

Okay, so they made the North Dakota movie "Fargo", even though there's like two scenes set in North Dakota, and the rest is in Minnesota. But what other movie is set in North Dakota past westerns these guys would have no idea about, I suppose...

Therefore, Minnesota gets "A Prairie Home Companion".

Oregon should have gotten "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".

My favorite pick of all is "Children of the Corn" for Nebraska. That's perfect.

Posted by John Lasher (Member # 968) on 07-06-2009, 10:40 PM:

quote: "Bobby Henderson"
Another thing to consider is this: has any movie of significance been filmed or even set in Delaware?

"Dead Poets Society" I believe was filmed entirely in the first state, I know two pivotal scenes were filmed at the historic Everett Theatre in Middletown. I believe they still have some call sheets and production stills on display in the lobby.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 07-07-2009, 08:26 AM:

That's kind of embarrassing for Rotten Tomatoes not to pick up Dead Poets Society. It's a good movie, but I didn't even remember it being set in Delaware. I thought it was set somewhere in Connecticut or Massachusetts.

Internet Movie Database says the entire movie was filmed in Delaware. These are the shooting locations:

Everett Theatre - 47 West Main Street, Middletown, Delaware, USA
(A Midsummer Night's Dream performance)

Middletown, Delaware, USA

New Castle, Delaware, USA

Rockland, Delaware, USA

St. Andrew's School - 350 Noxontown Road, Middletown, Delaware, USA
(school)

Westover Hills, New Castle, Delaware, USA
(House of Leonard's father)

Wolf Cave, Delaware, USA
(exteriors - society meetings)

quote: Sam Graham
If you must tie actual shooting locations in for Oklahoma, I would have gone with "Twister".

While much of Twister was filmed in Oklahoma, some parts of it were filmed in Iowa. A few scenes were even shot in Canada. I also spotted one strange piece of footage, probably stock footage, that was obviously filmed in Texas. Some Texas "Farm to Market" highway route signs were visible in the shot despite the movie being set in Oklahoma.

I think The Outsiders is a better movie. Twister just seems more and more goofy every time I see it airing on cable.

quote: Sam Graham
My favorite pick of all is "Children of the Corn" for Nebraska. That's perfect.

It's too bad that none of the movie was filmed in Nebraska, even though the story was set there. According to IMDB, nearly all of the footage was shot in Iowa.