Florida for Film Fans

Author: Lauren Flanagan
Date: June 29, 2009
Rights: Florida.co.uk Ltd

Famous Locations Featured in Hollywood Films

From The Creature From the Black Lagoon to Edward Scissorhands and The Truman Show, the state of Florida has long been a favorite location for moviemakers. Thanks to its year-round sunshine and moderate climate, Florida is a prime destination for filmmakers looking for a wide variety of landscapes and locations.

Pictured above is an Art Deco building in Miami Beach by night.

One of the most popular destinations for filmmakers is South Florida. Miami's candy-colored backdrop has served as an especially popular location for dozens, if not hundreds, of Hollywood films. Fans of The Birdcage may want to drop by The Carlyle Hotel, in Miami's Art Deco District, which stood in for the 'Birdcage Club' in the 1996 comedy. While on Ocean Drive visitors can check out the Cardozo Hotel, before meandering over to the Big Pink Restaurant on Collins Ave, both of which were featured in 1998's There's Something About Mary (along with the Miami Dade Cultural Center and the Brickell Park waterfront area).

Keeping in line with its popularity in comedies, the Jim Carrey movie, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) was filmed in several locations in and around Miami. The location used for Ace's apartment was the Campton apartment complex on Washington Ave in South Beach, and the football stadium featured was Miami's Pro Player Stadium (now known as LandShark Stadium).

Not to be outdone by the comedies, Miami has also been used in crime films such as The Godfather Part 2 (1974) and Scarface (1983). The Sunray Motel, which was later revamped to become Johnny Rockets, on Ocean Drive in Miami was the set of the infamous chainsaw murder in Scarface. The Fontainebleau Hilton Resort and Spa was also a locale for Scarface, as it was for films such as Goldfinger (1964) and The Bodyguard (1992).

The Florida Keys and Key West have been featured in movies like 1989's License to Kill. Also in the realm of spy films, in True Lies (1994), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis, filmmakers gave movie lovers one of the best all time chase scenes ever on the famous Old Seven Mile Bridge across the channel from the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Strait.

Pictured above is the famous Seven Mile Bridge to Key West (as filmed in True Lies).

Folks interested in space travel should check out the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island east of Orlando, where scenes from Apollo 13 (1995), Contact (1997), and Armageddon (1998), were filmed. Sports fans may also have noticed that several sports-themed movies have been filmed in the Sunshine State. Days of Thunder (1990), starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, centered on a racecar driver, making the Daytona Speedway in Daytona Beach an ideal filming location. The famous CaddyShack movies (1980, 1988) with Chevy Chase were filmed at the Rolling Hills Golf Club in Davie.

Small towns throughout the state have also served as the backdrop for many films. Standing in for Pennsylvania, Sanford, Florida, just north of Orlando was the location for the 1991 film My Girl. Filming took place in and around the area. Also largely filmed in Sanford was the 2003 film, Monster, starring Charlize Theron. The Michael J. Fox film Doc Hollywood (1991) was shot in Micanopy, and both Parenthood (1989) and Just Cause (1995) used the University of Florida in Gainesville as a location.

Wakulla Springs, near Tallahassee, is another of Florida's treasures, with sparkling natural springs and lush vegetation. The underwater scenes in The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) as well as two Tarzan movies were made there.

Florida's gorgeous beaches, tropical weather and captivating scenery make it one of the most popular vacation spots in the world. With hundreds of movies filmed in Florida, there is no shortage of landmarks that film fans can check out when visiting the state.

About the Author

Lauren Flanagan - Freelance writer and prop stylist in Toronto, Canada. She is the former assistant design editor for Style at Home, a home decor magazine read by over a million people every month, and her work has appeared in numerous print publications and websites. She has also written extensively in the areas of travel, fashion, and entertainment. Check out Lauren's website www.laurenflanagan.com (link opens in a new window).

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