Landmarks Featured in Famous Movies

If you've seen the movie Men in Black, you'll remember this place in the photo where the finale takes place, when the big, bad bug tries to climb up to the two 'spaceships' at the top there.

The two 'spaceships' are part of what was the infrastructure for the 1964-65 New York Worlds Fair. The two Observatories aka spaceships are at the New York State Pavilion at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, in Queens, New York City. And the sphere through which the first 'spaceship' crashes back into the ground is the Unisphere, also in the same park.

Flushing Meadows is also where the U.S. Open Tennis tournament takes place. Photo by Sutibu via flickr - creative commons.

The first scene featuring Will Smith chasing down an alien starts near Grand Central Station, and then he follows the alien up into the white spiral of the Guggenheim Museum. Rosenberg's Jewelry Store is actually a shop in Greenwich Village, and the Jersey turnpike mentioned in the film, where Will Smith helps deliver a baby alien squid, is actually Liberty Park in Jersey City, opposite the Statue of Liberty.

The reason I put this movie up top here is because it creatively uses local tourist attractions in New York as part of the storyline. Most other movies simply use them as a backdrop, to make the visuals more appealing.

Forrest Gump is another such movie which makes good use of landmarks in the Carolinas, Washington DC and Los Angeles as part of the plot. The Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall are famous attractions in Washington DC which have been featured in many movies, including Mr Smith Goes to Washington, National Treasure and Wedding Crashers.

But the only scene I can remember is the scene where Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) in military uniform makes his speech on the steps of the Washington Monument and then wades into the National Mall's reflecting pool to meet Jenny, who's protesting along with the other Vietnam war protestors. It's an iconic scene. And that's the point. You remember these landmarks because it was part of the plot, and not just a pretty picture behind the actors.

Los Angeles landmarks in Forrest Gump include the Santa Monica Pier, Grauman's Chinese Theater and the historic Ambassador Hotel which was demolished in 2006.

 Another movie in which some iconic hotels in New York and Los Angeles were used as part of the plot was 'Almost Famous'. Cameron Crowe's ode to rock n'roll and Led Zeppelin took viewers on a ride to such classic rock band watering holes like Riot House (aka Continental Hyatt House, which is now the Andaz West Hollywood). The Roosevelt Hotel is also featured near the end of the band's tour.

The New York section of the movie features the Gramercy Park Hotel where Stillwater (the band) checks in, and also the historic Plaza Hotel, where Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) tries to commit suicide.

Other notables include the King of the Road Motor Lodge in Tempe, Arizona; the Hollywood Palladium (as the Cleveland Arena) and the Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.

Most of the above mentioned have been used as filming locations in many other films, but they also carry a significant piece of real-life rock n' roll history, which makes them much more relevant in a film like Almost Famous.

 There's plenty of CIty based based movies, which showcase many of the City's landmarks and interesting places, like Dark Knight (Chicago), Vertigo (San Francisco) and When Harry Met Sally (New York).

There's also individual landmarks which carry a lot of movie stardom on their shoulders, like the Empire State Building which, according to IMDB, has starred in 77 movies, 4 television shows, 3 video games and 8 short films. Movies where the Empire State Building played pivotal roles include both the 1933 and latest versions of King Kong, An Affair to remember, and Sleepless in Seattle.

Which are your favorite movies that showcased landmarks you recognize?