There have been hundreds of locations that are used for filming specific scenes in popular movies and TV shows, but there are some areas around the world that have been in more movie sequences than the others. These locations are frequently used mainly due to the lack of people or bystanders in the area or because of their amazing architecture or natural beauty. Here are some locations that are often used for movies and TV shows.
Alnwick Castle
Alnwick Castle is a country house located in Northumberland, a county in the northeastern region of England. After the Norman conquest of England in the 11 century, the Alnwick Castle was built to serve as the home of the Duke of Northumberland. The famous castle has appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows, including Ivanhoe (1982), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Start Trek: The Next Generation (1991), and Downton Abbey (2014 – 2015).
The castle is particularly famous for being the location where the broomstick flying lesson scene was filmed in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001). Alnwick Castle would be used as a shooting location once again for the sequel of the Philosopher’s Stone called Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). The location’s most recent film appearance is in Transformers: The Last Knight, which was released in 2017.
Point Dume State Beach
Point Dume State Beach is located in Malibu, California, and its most popular or distinct feature is the tall promontory or raised mass of land, which has appeared in different movies and TV shows in the United States. According to historical records, the beach was discovered by George Vancouver, who was the commander of an expedition that is focused on finding out their settlement’s extent in the northwestern region of North America. After discovering the beach, he then named the promontory “Point Dume,” which was inspired by the name of his priest friend, Francisco Dumetz.
Like Alnwick Castle, Point Dume has appeared in a variety of movies and TV shows, mainly because of its unique promontory that isn’t found on any beaches in the United States. Some of those movies and TV shows that featured the beach best scenes in Point Dume include The Big Lebowski (1998), How I Met Your Mother (2005 – 2014), Angel (1999 – 2004), and Chuck (2007 – 2012). The most popular appearances of Point Dume in movies are in Planet of the Apes (1968), where half of the Statue of Liberty was shown, and in the Iron Man films where Tony Stark’s (Iron Man) home is located on top of the promontory.
Torrance High School
If you were a teen in the 90s, you are probably familiar with the school patio with rows of arches in the background that has appeared in several teen movies and TV shows during that era. That patio is located inside Torrance High School, a building found in Torrance, California, and was founded in 1917. Torrance High School is considered one of the oldest high schools in California, and four of its buildings are registered as landmarks in the US National Register of Historic Places.
Torrance High School was featured in the popular TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, although it was named Sunnydale High. The school also appeared in Beverly Hills, 90210, and shot scenes in the same patio. The patio actually appeared in the parody film “Not Another Teen Movie” because of its frequent appearance in several teen TV shows and films.
Ait Benhaddou
AitBenhaddou, also known as the Ksar of AitBenhaddou, is an ancient ksar (fortified village) that is believed to have been built in the 11 century in Morocco. The location is known for its beautiful earthen clay architecture, where almost every house or structure in the ksar is made of clay. Because of how well it retained its beauty, the AitBenhaddou has appeared in various historical or fantasy films and TV shows that are set in ancient to medieval times. Some of the most popular movies where the ksar has appeared in are The Mummy (1999), Jesus of Nazareth (1977), Marco Polo (1982), and Prince of Persia (2010).
The most iconic movie scene shot at the AitBenhaddou is the 2000 movie Gladiator, where former Roman general Maximus (played by Russell Crowe) was sold to become a gladiator at the Colosseum. As for TV shows, the most popular scene where the ksar appeared is in Game of Thrones, where it serves as the slave city of Yunkai that was freed by Daenerys Targaryen.
BCIT Aerospace Campus
If there is a futuristic office building that is seen in movies and TV shows, there is a high chance that the location used for it is the BCIT Aerospace Campus. BCIT, which is an abbreviation for The British Columbia Institute of Technology, is a public polytechnic school that is dedicated to providing vocational and technical courses in engineering, digital arts, accountancy, and more. Its Aerospace Technology Campus is located near the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, Canada, and is the school’s building that appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows.
In the film called Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), the campus is depicted as the research facility where intelligent monkeys are being experimented on. The campus also appeared in The Cabin in the Woods (2011) as the underground headquarters of technicians that are controlling the horrific events that are happening to a group of teenagers who went on vacation in a lonely cabin in the woods.
Alabama Hills
The Alabama Hills is a gorgeous range of rock formations and tall hills that are located in California, although it also serves as a portion of Sierra Nevada, a mountain range that is found mainly in Nevada. Because of the stunning sights in the area, many directors and producers consider the Alabama Hills as a beautiful backdrop for scenes that require wider shots where the camera is further away from the actors. Some popular movies and shows that were filmed in Alabama Hills include The Lone Ranger (1949 – 1957), Gunga Din (1939), and How the West Was Won (1962).
The location has been popular in recent times because of its appearance in the first Iron Man film in 2008, but the Alabama Hills was depicted as a mountain range in Afghanistan. The hills were also seen several times in Django Unchained (2012) to further emphasize the “Western” theme of the movie.
Those are six of the most famous locations used frequently in movies and TV shows. If you want your movie-watching experience with friends or family members to be more exciting, you can play a game about guessing which location is appearing in certain scenes of a movie. By reading this article and doing more research on popular movie locations, you can have an advantage over your loved ones.