Discover New England - On the Silver Screen - The official tourism web guide to Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont - CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT tourism and travel

The makers of What Lies Beneath (2000) filmed at Waterbury railroad station, as did the crew of Me, Myself and Irene (1999) with Jim Carrey. You also see him at the Addison 4 Corners Store, called ‘Four Corners One Stop Shop’ in the movie.

Remember the college staff party in What Lies Beneath (2000), starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford? That was shot at the University of Vermont. Their house was in D A R State Park, on the shore of Lake Champlain, further south in Addison.

In The Cider House Rules (1999), the apple orchard scenes were shot at Scott Farm. Another location was the atmospheric train station at Bellows Falls, where you, too, can buy a ticket to ride the Green Mountain Flyer.

Tom Cruise battled alien invaders to save his family – and the world – in an old chemical plant that you can see from Route 8, between Bridgeport and Waterbury. Spielberg directed this 2005 version of the H G Wells novel, The War of the Worlds, written over a century ago.

Filmed in this attractive town, The Family Stone (2005) stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Dermot Mulroney, and is produced by Michael Snowden (Sideways).

With its mid-19thC setting, this provided the perfect backdrop for Amistad (1997) as it has for other movies looking for authentic atmosphere. In town, Julia Roberts got her big break serving ‘A Slice of Heaven’ at the Mystic Pizza parlor in the movie of the same name (1988). Much of the movie was actually filmed at nearby North Stonington.

As well as the setting for the television series of the same name, Providence featured in the 1998 hit There’s Something About Mary. At the Hot Bar, you can order up a beer and sit at the table where Matt Dillon and Ben Stiller talk about Cameron Diaz. Italian-American Federal Hill was a movie (1994) and is a district known for its Italian restaurants. In nearby Warwick, weddings and conferences are held at the posh Aldrich Mansion, home to Anthony Hopkins in Meet Joe Black (1998).

Rhode Island movie makers Peter and Bobby Farrelly often work in the state. In Me, Myself and Irene, split personality cop Jim Carrey roars round on his massive motor bike with Renee Zellwegger. Filming took place in the seaside town of Narragansett and also in Jamestown, where Carrey drives through the windows of a restaurant and barbershop. That was on Main Street, about half way up the hill.

High Society, the Grace Kelly/Frank Sinatra/Bing Crosby classic, is all about Newport, especially the title song, sung by ‘Satchmo’. Kelly stayed at the Inn at Castle Hill during filming. At Rosecliff, one of the city’s opulent mansions, you can see the ballroom where Arnold Schwarzenegger danced the tango in True Lies (1994) and where the state dinner was held in Amistad (1997). Stephen Spielberg also used the Old Colony House on Washington Square for the Amistad courtroom scenes. Other movies set in this swish town that hosts an international film festival each summer include The Great Gatsby (1974).

They called it Amity Island, but the terrified holidaymakers in Jaws (1975) were actually on the Vineyard. Although Quint’s workshop was just a temporary set, Spielberg used the American Legion Memorial Bridge (between Edgartown and Oak Bluffs) and Sengekontacket Pond, actually a fun place to canoe.

The cameras love this city, from Love Story (set at Harvard University) and the African American regiment in Glory (1989) to Ally McBeal. Pubs are popular, from the Boston Common’s Bull & Finch (Cheers!) to South Boston’s Woody’s L Street Tavern (Good Will Hunting, 1997). The Matt Damon/Ben Affleck hit also includes scenes in Cambridge, as did Legally Blonde (2001). In 2003, two movies showed different sides of Greater Boston: the Oscar-winning MysticRiver, with Sean Penn and Tim Robbins, and Mona Lisa Smile, filmed at Wellesley College and starring Julia Roberts. An extended sequence in The Witches of Eastwick was shot at the Wang Center, where the grand lobby doubled as one of the interiors of the Devil’s (Jack Nicholson's) house.

Orchard House, home of author Louisa May Alcott, served as the inspiration for filmmakers shooting Little Women, the 1994 film starring Winona Ryder.

On the North Shore, this delightful village plays the backdrop to David Mamet’s State and Main (2000), starring Alec Baldwin. Life imitates art, as the movie shows how the arrival of a film company affects a small community!

The hit book/film The Perfect Storm is the true tale of fishermen working out of this port. Although the Crow’s Nest Bar was used by the film crew after hours, the bar was rebuilt for the movie, down on the Harbor Loop. The Love Letter, the 1999 comedy produced by Kate Capshaw, also features Gloucester, as well as Rockport and Cape Ann.

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