We watch them in awe, staring intently at the screen anticipating what will happen next. These works of art that take crews of people to build and decorate, sometime small other times massive scale. Movie sets are awesome. Today we live in the golden age of movies. The movies that are produced today are better than ever. Sure some of the movies that made it out of the early 2000’s were weak but for the most part they are incredible. We have amazing set designs, costumes, CGi, and extremely talented actors. We all see the final product the movie, but what many people don’t see is what’s left behind when the cameras and big lights pack up and head to the next movie shoot.
Everyone knows Jurassic Park, it brought us all back to our childhood, or in my case I never grew out of dinosaurs, you saw the sheer size and beauty of the creatures and the surrounding jungle. The movie is said to be set on a remote island off the coast of the Dominican Republic, but is actually filmed in Kauai, Hawaii. This is all that remains on the Island of Jurassic Park, part of the entrance sign. Most of the set was taken out by hurricane Iniki that hit the island. Interesting side notes, also filmed on this island were Godzilla, Windtalkers, 50 first Dates, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
One that hits close to home for Tyler and me is from the legend James Cameron. The reason it being close for us is it was filmed literally an hour from us in Gaffney, South Carolina. The movie was shot in an uncompleted nuclear site that Cameron turned into the biggest underwater set ever built. It took over 7 million gallons to take the tank to 40 feet. Sadly the site was demolished in 2007, but I had to throw this one in there since it was a major blockbuster hit, and got an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, that was filmed in South Carolina.
Have you always wanted to discover middle earth and hang with Gandalf? Well you actually can! You can take a guided tour of the set where the Hobbit was filmed in New Zealand. The Green Dragon Inn, double arched bridge, and many of the other sites from the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movie sets are still up and would be a very cool place to visit for any Lord of the Rings fan.
I know these past two movies have been newer films and you’re probably wondering is there any older movie sets that are still around that I can visit? The answer is yes; let’s first start out with what many would call the perfect western movie. “You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.” That’s right I’m talking about the 1966 classic The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly starring Clint Eastwood. The entire movie was filmed in desert of Tabernas, Spain. Besides this iconic film many other westerns were shot here as well as another Indiana Jones film, Indian Jones and the Last Crusade. What remains are the Indian burial grounds where the final showdown takes place as well as several of the small set towns that were built. Now these sets are locations for western reenactments for visitors.
And last but certainly not least, one of the greatest movie series ever created, Star Wars. Yes you can visit an actual part of a Star Wars Galaxy and not have to travel in a galaxy far far away. The 1976 film shot Luke Skywalker’s home planet scenes in the Tunisian desert. Photos began coming onto the web after photographer Ra di Martino started exploring the desert looking for the site. He found it and the photos are really incredible, especially to a Star Wars loving Nerd like myself. It may take some navigating on your own into the desert but with the coordinates and a canteen what can really go wrong? Okay it will be a tad bit warm in my Stormtrooper uniform, but Lord Vader will be there as well and he can just give me a small carbonite bath to cool me down.
Whether you like that the sets were left, or hate that there is yet another thing destroying your mother earth. These are some cool sites that any movie buff will appreciate, especially if they happen to be one of your favorite films. What your favorite film, and can you visit any of the sets?
–Written by Jeremy C.
Links:
radimartino.com
http://desertedplaces.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-abandoned-movie-set-of-camerons.html
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