As movie viewers, we are most accustomed to blockbuster movie settings like the sprawling landscapes of the Midwest or the bright city lights of New York and Los Angeles. In fact, the superhero genre has even gone a step further by giving birth to faux cities like Metropolis and Gotham City. But up in the Pacific Northwest lies beautiful but less-popular Seattle, a gem that has played host to many popular flicks.
Because of the lack of attention Seattle receives… for just about everything… Seattleites get incredibly giddy when Seattle shows up on the big screen, even if they know they’re actually seeing downtown Vancouver. The sci-fi action movie Chronicle, which debuts on DVD and Blu-ray tomorrow, wasn’t filmed in Seattle, but the filmmakers tried their hardest to make it look otherwise. I decided to take a look at just a few of the movies that take advantage of this great city:
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Sleepless in SeattleYou can hardly mention the city of Seattle without mentioning this beloved movie starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Inspired by the equally iconic An Affair to Remember, the film also starred Emmy® winner David Hyde Pierce who would end up calling Seattle his home for some time; Frasier also took place there. |
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FearFear is a 1996 thriller film starring then-newcomers Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon. Wahlberg portrays David, a troublemaker whose affection for Nicole eventually makes him violently dangerous. As their relationship unfolds, we get to take in some of the Emerald City’s best attractions like Mercer Island and Anchor Luna Park. |
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SinglesMany fans would tell you that no movie better portrays Seattle at its best than Cameron Crowe’s grunge-scene-centric romantic comedy, Singles, starring Bridget Fonda, Matt Dillon and Kyra Sedgwick among others. The film centers on the lives of a group of young people, living in an apartment block in Seattle, set against the backdrop of the early 1990s grunge movement that originated there. |
Tags: john cusack, meg ryan, tom hanks
