Intelligent Travel: Cinematic Road Trip: Washington

Washington is stuck between a rock and a hard place in the realm of cinema. On the rock side, it is not very close to Los Angeles. The hard place is Vancouver, B.C., which in the past three decades has climbed up the ladder to become the third largest city for film and television production behind Hollywood and New York City. The growth of the industry just north of the Washington border began largely due to the strength of the U.S. dollar against the Canadian dollar. Vancouver was a perfect place to film on the cheap, with beautiful mountains and cityscapes that could double as American locations, and Washington was left out in the cold.

The dollar has softened but Vancouver’s filmmaking base of indoor studios and talented crew members has kept the business flowing. The state of Washington has over the past few years tried to increase its production with tax-based credits for filmmakers along with other incentives. But unfortunately for them, these incentives are similar to those offered in other states and cities including those in British Columbia. So what’s a poor state to do?

Play to your strengths, that’s what. Washington has some breath-taking scenery. From Puget Sound to the Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier (pictured, above), Mount St. Helens, the Snake River, the Columbia River, the San Juan Islands and Olympia National Park, Washington has the unobstructed exteriors needed for many movies. So it should be easy to pick out some movies with sweeping vistas right? Right?

Well, let’s see. There was Dancer in the Dark, by Lars von Trier, that was entirely set in Washington State circa 1964. But a movie “set” in a location does not always mean it was shot there. Dancer in the Dark was actually filmed in Sweden with the exception of the Washington State Penitentiary scenes. If you have an interest in seeing the penitentiary, it’s located in Walla Walla, not far from the northern border of Oregon.

There was WarGames with Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. This '80s hit built the most expensive set ever at the time, constructing the NORAD HQ in the Cascade Mountains. There is also a scene of Broderick and Sheedy taking a ferry to “Goose Island.” The real location they ferry to is Anderson Island – the southernmost island in the Puget Sound. Other locations for the film include Everett, Seattle, and Lake Chelan National Recreation area as well as locations in California.

But if you want the quintessential Washington State experience, you have to go to the quintessential Washington State city—Seattle. And there's a slew of all-time classics shot in Seattle including The Last Mimzy, Firewall, The Ring Two, Life or Something Like It. OK, you probably guessed that I’m just pulling your leg. Though these movies were shot in Seattle and they surely have redeeming qualities, we all know that when we think of Seattle, we think of one movie.

Unfortunately for some readers, I’m not about to expound on the greatness of a certain Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan blockbuster (which shall remain nameless). I am, however, going to recommend Singles, Cameron Crowe’s ode to love and grunge – the music the defines the early nineties for me and my peers. In an AV Club interview, Crowe confesses, “It was meant to be Manhattan, a movie I loved, set in Seattle.” And for many, the city’s soul is portrayed like New York’s is in Woody Allen's classic film. Not only did Crowe capture the sounds and emotions of the city and its people, but he did so around Gas Works Park, Capitol Hill and Pike Place Market – probably the most famous tourist spot in Seattle besides the Space Needle. It’s worth checking out if you plan to drive through the city, and any passage through Washington should include a stop here.

Also Recommended (if you’re in the horror/suspense mood): The Changeling; The Ring; or Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

Read more: Check out more of the city's movie cameos at The Seattle Film office. And since the Washington State website does not have a complete filmography of the state, here are some movies shot around Tacoma.

Previously on CRT: Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas

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