Down On Location Trivia Quiz

Peter Jackson shot all three "The Lord of the Rings" films at the same time throughout the beautiful country of New Zealand. Remarkably most of the three films were completed in just over a year. Most filming days were done at multiple locations simultaneously with over 150 different locations used. Hobbiton was built from the ground up and can still be visited today.

The volcano Mount Ruapehu in Tongariro National Park was used to represent Mount Doom. By the way, the picture is of a kiwi bird endemic to New Zealand and a nickname often associated with the people of the land.

The "Wedding Crashers" follows John and Jeremy, two Washington DC divorce mediators, who show up at random weddings pretending to be guests with the sole purpose of seducing women. The two get more than they bargain for when they crash a wedding for the daughter of a US Cabinet member. The younger sisters of the bride, Gloria and Claire take an interest in the two charlatans and invite them to the family retreat house for a weekend. Did I mention Claire has a boyfriend who is not as enamored by the crashers?

Andrew Panay came up with the concept for "Wedding Crashers" based on his time as an intern in DC where he would crash lobbyist events. Much of the film was set in Washington DC including the Washington Monument. The Inn at Perry Cabin in St Michaels, Maryland was the setting for the main wedding. The sailing scene was done near Annapolis in the Chesapeake Bay.

The TV series "Stranger Things" is set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. However, filming was primarily done in and around Atlanta, Georgia. The series was inspired in part by a sci-fi horror epic entitled "Montauk" which focused on using psychic powers for warfare. In the story "Stranger Things," the town of Hawkins is located at a thin part of reality where it is possible to fall into another much darker world called the Upside-Down. In this other world, malevolent creatures live and hunger to eat humans and are also able to travel into the world of Hawkins.

Filming was done in Jackson, Georgia for the fictitious town of Hawkins. Also, a closed-down mental hospital at Emory University was used for the institution scenes. The former Patrick Henry High School in Stockbridge was the setting for the middle school and Gwinnett Place Mall was used for the Starcourt scenes. Hopper's cabin is actually at Sleepy Hollow Farm in Powder Springs, Georgia.

"The Bourne Identity" is an action film about a man who has total amnesia about who he is. Using a key for a safety deposit box, he discovers several identifications within the box and settles on an American passport with the name Jason Bourne. Unfortunately, by going to the box he triggers a call to his enemies, and they soon are on his trail.

The filming for "The Bourne Identity" was done primarily on location in Paris, France. This decision created many challenges for production including a language barrier between the French film crew and the English-speaking actors. The film also underwent several rewrites and reshoots causing it to go $8 million over budget.

The TV series "Sex and the City" was inspired by a mid-nineties newspaper column edited by Candace Bushnell for the "New York Observer." The show features four women, led by Carrie, played by Sarah Jessica Parker. The premise of the show is that single ladies in their mid-thirties and above decide to have romantic relationships like men do, enjoying physical pleasure without getting trapped by all the feelings.

Most of the filming of "Sex and the City" was done around Manhattan, New York City for both exterior and interior shoots. Filming in New York is expensive and most studios will have interior scenes done in Hollywood or Toronto. Carrie's apartment is located in Greenwich Village. Her friend's homes and places of employment are also located around the island. The interior scenes were shot in Queens at the Silvercup Studios East.

"M*A*S*H" was first introduced as a novel by Richard Hooker about doctors working for a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. The film "M*A*S*H" came next and due to its popularity was made into an even more popular TV show. Much of the show contained lighthearted humor mixed in with the sober aftermath of a military battle. The combination made it possible to poke fun at America's position in the Cold War. Many of the episodes revolved around a different character each week and their letter written for home. Nielsen estimated that over 60% of the TV audience watched the finale making it the most watched TV episode of the 20th century.

Despite the show being set in Uijeongbu, South Korea, the filming was all done in Southern California. The large Malibu Creek State Park served as the filming location for the TV show with the beautiful Santa Monica Mountains as the backdrop. Long after the filming was completed visitors to the park could still see some of the set on display.

"Mad Max: Fury Road" is a chapter in the post-apocalyptic Australian world. Towards the beginning of the film, warlord Immortan Joe discovers his five wives are running away. The bulk of the film is a chase between Imperator Furiosa and Immortan Joe. There are tons of cool-looking vehicles and tons of explosions. My favorite was the guitar player with the massive speaker!

"Fury Road" took almost twenty years from conception to release, suffering many setbacks. At one point, Broken Hill, Australia was considered for the filming location, but heavy rains resulted in flowers blooming everywhere. Since we can't have flowers in the apocalypse, filming was moved to the Namib Desert instead. During filming environmental groups raised alarms about the production endangering the local animals, however, a thorough inspection concluded no serious harm was being done.

"Lost" was an incredibly popular TV show between 2004 and 2010. The premise is that an airline flight crashes on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. Remarkably many of the passengers survive the crash and begin to work on surviving and a possible rescue. As the show goes on strange things begin to happen that make the survivors question if they are alone on the island.

Almost the entire series of "Lost" was filmed on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, with the opening beach scene on Mokule'ia beach. Many of the scenes that depicted life outside the island were done in Honolulu where they were able to simulate everything from Iowa to Iraq. They even used crushed ice to simulate snow at one point.

The TV series "Breaking Bad" follows the decisions the main character Walter White makes to go from his job as a high school chemistry teacher to becoming a master cook of the drug crystal meth. Walter received a diagnosis of stage 3 lung cancer and realizes his death will put his wife and son into financial straits. So he decides the best way to make a lot of money for them is by getting involved in drug crime. Much of the series shows Walter going from one predicament to another that is even worse.

The filming of "Breaking Bad" was done all around Albuquerque, New Mexico, home of the International Balloon Fiesta. Originally, filming was going to be done in California but due to the difficulty of avoiding the Sandia Mountains, it was decided to shoot at the actual location. Walter White's house, the car wash, and the chicken restaurant, "Los Pollos Hermanos" are all in Albuquerque.

"The Princess Bride" was based on the novel of the same name written by William Goldman. In the story, a farm girl, Buttercup, falls in love with the farm hand, Westley, who must leave to seek his fortune. Unfortunately, she believes her Westley has been killed by pirates, and the local prince wants to make her his bride. However, the evil prince plans to murder her so he can start a war with the neighboring country. Thankfully, the Man in Black does not want her killed and does everything he can to thwart the evil prince.

Filming took place in England and Ireland. The Cliffs of Moher were used to portray the Cliffs of Insanity. Haddon Hall in Derbyshire served as the castle for the country of Florin. Also in Derbyshire, Cave Dale was used for the famous sword duel scene above the Cliffs of Insanity.