These events bring in much needed revenue for the areas and should be capitalized on. Being a proponent of location shoots instead of green screens, I think it would be wise for the film industry to focus on filming (whenever possible) in actual locales. Not only will the locations benefit from the exposure, but merchandising opportunities and sales would thrive. Fans want to immerse themselves into their favorite films and TV shows and they are willing to spend some green for the experience.
The Twilight Saga is a perfect example of how successful this can be, whether it was the studio's intent or not. Even thought the no filming too place in Forks, WA, among other real life settings in the books, is overrun with Twilight fans spending money on mushroom ravioli and in souvenir shops. Can you imagine how much more authentic the experience if they had actually filmed in Forks?
The True Blood HBO series, based on the novels of Charlene Harris, has missed the mark since most of their principle filming is on sets in California instead of in real Louisiana towns like Shreveport. Spending the extra on location shoots would pay off, especially with a show as popular as True Blood. Helping the struggling Louisiana economy after Katrina and the recent oil spill would be a good investment for future filming.
Most recently, the 25th anniversary of "The Goonies" was held in Astoria, Oregon June 4th- 6th. Tours of the movie locations around town were given and even some of the actors participated in the festivities. All hotel rooms were booked and all of the tour bus excursions were as well. Not bad for a 25 year old movie about misfit kids on a treasure hunt, huh? This article features a run-down of the movie locations and the Washington Post has an article and a slide show of the weekend's excitement. Being a Goonie myself, I have visited Haystack Rock on the coast, which is featured in the beginning sequence of the movie. Unfortunately I have not yet visited Astoria and wished I could have made it to the anniversary celebration last weekend.
In 2007, the 20th Anniversary of "The Lost Boys" was commemorated with a showing of the movie on the beach in Santa Cruz. With members of the cast the scene was set at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Amusement Park where a large portion of the movie was filmed. Having visited the boardwalk, it is still mostly the same as it was in the movie and true fans will love visiting for the authenticity of the atmosphere. This summer, the boardwalk will show the film again on June 30th with special guest Corey Feldman.
Want to find your movie Meccas? IMDB has filming locations listed on the left menu on each movie main page and I recently stumbled upon a great site for anyone who wants to incorporate visiting filming locations from their favorite movies called Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations
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