Set out in search of the locations where this year’s Oscar winners were set and you’ll experience, as Mary Moore Mason did, a few surprises. First of all, there’s the shock of discovering that the namesake town in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri doesn’t exist – the film was made in the mountains of North Carolina! Then there’s the Oscars’ top winner, The Shape of Water, where the action allegedly takes place in Baltimore, but the filming was actually done in Canada. And, although the real Tonya Harding spent much of her time in Portland, Oregon, I, Tonya, the biopic about her eventful figure skating career, was filmed primarily in Georgia.
Never mind, there are plenty of places to visit in the USA where the films were both set and made, and even the stand-in sites have much to offer.
Take the North Carolina towns of Black Mountain, Sylva, Dillsboro and Maggie Valley, for instance. Although the three billboards are no longer there, the scenic Black Mountain road circling Black Mountain is well worth the drive – and is also the site of the house where Oscar and Golden Globe-winner Frances McDormand (Mildred Hayes) finally comes to terms with her adversary, Oscar Best Supporting Actor Sam Rockwell (Police Officer Jason Dixon). Incidentally, the billboards were covered when not being filmed as their message upset the local people.
Quirkily-charming Sylva is home to such film sites as the Jackson County Historic Courthouse, now a public library, the Ebbing Police Department, Red Welby’s advertising company and Officer Dixon’s home. The Sylva Convenient Market & General Store is even adorned by a Welcome to Ebbing, Missouri sign!
In Dillsboro, the Country Traditions store served as the shop where Mildred worked, and in Maggie Valley, J Arthur’s Restaurant was where she had a memorable meal. That’s not to forget the action- and arts-and-craft-filled hub of the area, Asheville, where – when he was off set – Woody Harrelson (Ebbing Police Chief Willoughby) played chess with the locals at Pritchard Park.
A couple at Lake Lure re-enact a famous scene from Dirty Dancing
In fact, you might want to stay on at one of Asheville’s numerous inns or at Black Mountain’s Victorian-style Red Rocker Inn or the riverfront Dillsboro Inn. Then you can explore the sites of other films made in the area over the years, such as The Fugitive (Dillsboro and Cherokee), The Last of the Mohicans (Hickory Nut Falls and Chimney Rock Park) and Dirty Dancing (Lake Lure and also Mountain Lake, Virginia.)
Not only was Atlanta the filming site for I, Tonya, which won the Best Supporting Actress award for Allison Janney (who, incidentally, was destined to become a figure skater until she had an accident at 17) but it is also where Baby Driver, which won a Film Editing Oscar, was shot.
And although Baltimore lost out on being the film site for The Shape of Water, it has achieved TV fame as the location for The Wire, even as Harford County, Maryland, 17 miles from Baltimore, has been the setting for much of House of Cards. To the south, Richmond, capital of Virginia, became popular with film buffs after the 2013 launch of Lincoln, starring 2013 Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis.
A bridge filmed in Lady Bird leads to the California State Capitol
Ironically, Lady Bird, which didn’t win an Oscar, has probably garnered more attention for its real film locations – in Sacramento, California – than many Oscar-winning films. For although its heroine, Christine ‘Lady Bird’ McPherson (Golden Globe-winner Saoirse Ronan), spends much of her time trying to escape her home city – and her domineering mother – once away she realises how much she misses it. This doubtlessly reflects the feelings of its writer/director Greta Gerwig, a Sacramento native.
So, now you can take an Official Lady Bird Walking & Running Tour, including such film sites as Tower Bridge, leading to picturesque Old Sacramento and the State Capitol; The Tower Theatre, where Gerwig held a private film premiere; the elegant ‘blue house’, which Lady Bird pretends is her own; Thrift Town, where she shops; and the ‘Fabulous Forties’ neighbourhood.
If you want to see more, and stay longer, tap into www.visitsacramento.com.
