New England is a ready-made location for filming. As well as stunning scenery, there are atmospheric buildings, authentic historic sites and American icons galore to draw movie makers – and their audiences – to the region.
Behind a cobweb and bat-studded fence, best-selling author Stephen King dreams up nightmare scenarios in his spooky Victorian house on West Broadway. Parts of his stories filmed in Maine include Thinner (1996) and Graveyard Shift (1990) in the tunnels beneath the Bangor Waterworks Building, plus Pet Semetary (1989) in Acadia National Park.
See the docks in Bernard and Bass Harbor, then picnic on the pretty crescent of Sand Beach, just as Oscar-winner Sir Michael Caine and Tobey McGuire did in The Cider House Rules (1999).
The strength of Maine’s women is celebrated in Finding Home (2005). Filmed in the spectacular scenery of Deer Isle, as well as other locations in Maine, it stars Louise Fletcher and Geneviève Bujold.
In the Bedroom (2001) is a term used by Maine lobster fishermen and this gritty movie was shot in numerous coastal locations. In the 1995 movie Casper, Camden stood in for Friendship, Maine as the home of the Friendly Ghost.
It’s supposed to be North Carolina, but in Message in a Bottle (1999), Kevin Costner is actually working on a boat at the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. Other scenes show Popham Beach, near Phippsburg and New Harbor, a charming fishing village south of Damariscotta.
Way back in 1956, Shirley Jones and Gordon MacCrae fell in love on the Maine coast in the evergreen musical, Carousel..
In October, Portland hosts a festival celebrating the life of John Martin Feeney, better known as the legendary filmmaker John Ford. Born in Cape Elizabeth, he was raised in Portland. If you miss the festival, pay your respects at the statue of the director, at Gorham’s Corner in Portland.
Snow Falling on Cedars (1999) is all about the Pacific Northwest, but the producers had to go to Maine for the perfect lighthouse. The script calls for a snowstorm, and the crew got one, shooting the Portland Head Light during the infamous ice storm of 1998!
The inspiration for John Irving’s The Cider House Rules (1999) was Applecrest Farm Orchards (Route 88). The Wagner family gave Irving his first job and they still run the farm, where you can buy berries, pumpkins, corn and, of course, apples.
It’s hard to believe that this quiet community was the inspiration for the steamy Peyton Place. Grace Metalious spilled the beans on her home town in the best-selling novel, made into a film (1957) starring Lana Turner.
This lake near Holderness doubled for Maine in the award-winning Hepburn/Fonda movie On Golden Pond (1981). Regular guided boat tours point out the locations.
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.
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