Cinematic Road Trip: Oregon

John Ur is back with another stop on the Cinematic Road Trip. This time, he sets his sights on Oregon.

During my cross-country drive, I remember looking south across the Oregon coastline and shuddering. Cannon Beach's fog was rolling in over, and the rhythmic waves from the Pacific Ocean had me thinking, 'This place is creepy. It’d be a great place for a Stephen King movie.' The beach was soggy from rain and the rocky coast exposed a land that had been beaten for ages and was tired of being picked on. Trees arched permanently away from the wind. I half-expected zombies to dig their way out of their sandy graves and creep inward from the shore, infecting the entire population in an apocalyptic battle for the future of mankind.

Fortunately, no zombies were to be found. But driving through the fog along the coastline was like seeing things in black and white. The fog and gray skies desaturated the landscape. Trees became dark gray. Lighthouses were a dingy white. Nothing remained a clean, pure color. Everything was (dis)colored by the mist.

This stood in contrast to the previous day, when I was hiking around the Columbia River Gorge enjoying the gorgeous waterfalls and lush greenery along the river. Fed by the underground springs of Larch Mountain, Multnomah Falls is the second-highest year-round waterfall in the U.S.

And just think, within a few miles of the Columbia River stands 11,239-foot Mount Hood, one of the most famous of Oregon’s volcanoes in the Cascade Range. To further illustrate the diversity of the Oregon landscape, you could ride four-wheel all-terrain vehicles around the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area stretching 40 miles from Florence to Coos Bay further south along the coast. And all of this doesn’t even take into consideration the less populated land in the eastern two-thirds of the state.

When looking for a movie shot in Oregon, you could check out two Jack Nicholson films: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the 1976 Academy Award Winner for Best Picture (shot in Salem and Depoes Bay) or Five Easy Pieces (1970, shot in Eugene, Florence, and Portland). But I would likely be committing some sort of sacrilege to my peers if I didn’t recommend the 1980s cult classic, The Goonies. This film, depicting a group of misfits looking for treasure, holds exterior shots from Astoria and Ecola State Park, including Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock, one of the most photographed landmarks on the Oregon Coast. Oregon has a lot to offer visually, so hopefully you’ll have time to explore. I also think they should look into a new state motto: “Down here, it's our time. It's our time down here.”

Also recommended: Maverick, Drugstore Cowboy

Read more: Check out thegoonies.org for modern day comparisons to the film's locations. Visit the Oregon Film website for the history of other movies filmed in the state.

Previous stops along the Cinematic Road Trip: California, Arizona, New Mexico.

Photos: above, Cannon Beach; below left, Columbia River Gorge; below right, Haystack Rock. By John Ur.

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Comments

[Phil Forker]

John: You really didnt see Oregon at her best. The coast on a bright blue day is the most beautiful place in the world. The good news is many people see the gray and keep moving. That is why we have so much unspoiled coast line!!
Saw your Drugstore Cowboy tout. Point of trivia. Our dog Cody had a bit part in the movie. He was not one of the two goldens you met when you were here but from the generation before.
DSC was one of Gus Van Zant's early works. They actually made a commercial which was about dog food and it was on a tv during one of the living room scenes in the movie. We had no idea what the movie was about or where our dog was in the film. You can imagine our shock to see our poor pooch in a raunchy movie about druggies steeling to maintain their habit!! And to think we took money for this!!

[Erica Johansson]

A bit funny you mentioned Stephen King, I just thought about him when I saw your picture.

[Kate Kidd]

Dear John, Thanks for featuring Oregon on the blog. As an Oregonian, I could visualize many foggy days on the Oregon Coast - the discoloration comment rang very true. Next time you are back in Oregon I recommend one of my favorite spots on the coast - Short Sands State Park. Another part of the state to see is the northeast corner with the Wallowas, the home area of Chief Joseph and some of the deepest canyons in the US. All great for the environmental theme. On the film front which you know is not my forte - Sometimes a Great Notion (Paul Newman 1971) is another Oregon film set on the Coast. Kate Kidd

[Moviepie]

You forgot to mention one of the most visual landmarks that people get very excited about, that The Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood was used for the outdoor shots of the lodge in The Shining. Oh, and a little less cool, much of Kindergarten Cop was also filmed in the Cannon Beach/Astoria area.

[Alicia]

I was recently watching my "Goonies" Dvd & got kind of curious so I got on the computer & went to Google Earth & checked out Astoria & actually found the house that they filmed as Brand & Mikey's house. I also found the blue liquor store that they filmed in. They didnt use it in the movie but they did use it in the outakes from the movie. They did pass the blue liquor store at the begining of the movie when the cops were chasing the Fertelli's. The liquor store is on the corner of 37th St & Columbia River Hwy/Lief Erikson Dr. It's near the boat dock's that are shaped like A capital "T". The house is up the hill on a long driveway on the corner of Duane St. & 38th st. I wonder if the people that live in that house today ever have people that know about it's past, bothering them or wanting to take a tour of the house.

[Javi]

Hi
Could you tell me what is the nearest goonies house lodging in Astoria?
Greetings from Spain !