28 Facts About TV and Movie Sets and Locations That Deserve Their Own Documentary

Today, it’s ‘Lights, camera, setting, action!’
28 Facts About TV and Movie Sets and Locations That Deserve Their Own Documentary
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Whenever we’re watching a nice behind-the-scenes documentary, we’re waiting impatiently for the part about the locations themselves. We love to get sucked into a world while watching a movie or show, but those wide BTS shots of the set itself are just as magical. Our eyes widen, and we start asking ourselves, “How in the heck did they do that?”

The real-world locations are just breathtaking, and even if they’re not, the the art department’s designers, builders and dressers step in to help bring Earth’s basic features to imaginative new realms. 

We’ll stop blabbering now so your eyes can leave this black text and get treated to some truly wondrous worlds.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter 7 filmed in a German town Rothenburg ob der Tauber retains the look of a fairy tale because many of its buildings date back to medieval times. In 1945, the Nazis agreed to surrender it to ensure the town wouldn't be attacked, because they valued its beauty that much. CRACKED.COM

Revenge of the Sith

Revenge of the Sith featured mountains near Guilin in China. In 1996, more than 50 years after World War II, farmers found a wrecked plane on one of the 7,000-foot mountains while searching for herbs. It took another decade for the U.S. military to retrieve and identify the body. Then the dead airman's family finally got to bury him. CRACKED.COM

12 Monkeys

12 Monkeys filmed in Philly's Eastern State Penitentiary. The place was built in 1829 in an effort to treat prisoners more humanely. Of course, at the time, humane treatment meant not letting them talk, forcing them to wear hoods whenever they were outside their cells, and forbidding any type of human interaction. CRACKED.COM

Gladiator

Gladiator filmed at Fort Ricasoli in Malta. In 1807, soldiers there mutinied against the British. As food ran out, most fled, leaving just five inside. Before the British stormed the place to capture them, they managed to set fire to the powder room, which blew up, taking out half the fort. CRACKED COM

Skyfall

The evil Skyfall lair is Gunkanjima in Japan. It used to house some 5,250 miners on just 16 acres. In 1974, the coal there ran out, and new jobs were offered on the mainland on a first-come, first-served basis. The residents fled the island as fast as they could, leaving toys on the floor and cups of coffee on the tables. GRACKED.COM

The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride's cliffs of insanity are Ireland's Cliffs of Moher. In 1588, watchmen here spotted Spanish ships approaching, and they assumed Spain had conquered England and would conquer Ireland next. They brutally killed 300 men aboard the ships. Only then did they realize the Spanish were retreating from England and had come to Ireland to request aid. CRACKED.COM

Evil Dead

Lightning killed the original owner of the Evil Dead cabin. Years later, the cabin was occupied by a mother, daughter, and grandmother. The mother and grandmother died unrelated deaths during a single stormy night. Presumably, it became haunted, and yet Sam Raimi's crew had to sleep there because the film's budget was so low. CRACKED.COM

The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski filmed in Greystone Mansion. It was built in the 1920s by the son of tycoon Edward Doheny. Ned Doheny was found shot in a bedroom there five months after he and his wife moved in. Also dead was butler Theodore Plunkett, an apparent suicide. Was Plunkett crazy? Were he and Ned secret lovers? CRACKED.COM

The Ten Commandments

The set for 1923's The Ten Commandments was truly epic. Cecil В. DeMille didn't want painted backdrops, so 1,500 carpenters built an Egyptian city in the desert. After three weeks of filming, DeMille blew the entire set up with dynamite, unwilling to leave the expensive set for other filmmakers. But dunes covering the remains have done an excellent job of preserving them for almost 100 years. CRACKED.COM

Malcolm X

Malcolm X filmed in Месса, which was unprecedented. Non-Muslims in the crew were forbidden from entering. A special secondary crew was assembled, while Spike Lee and his own crew had to wait outside. Originally, Warner Bros. suggested these scenes be filmed in New Jersey. CRACKED.COM

The Pit

CRACKED.COM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES The Pit doesn't look so high now, does it?

Buried

CRACKED.COM This is how the Ryan Reynolds film BURIED was shot.

127 Hours

This beautiful pool scene in 127 Hours was filmed at the Homestead Crater, Utah. But if you tried to look for the rock formation above it, you'd be sorely disappointed. That's because the crevice above the crater was built by the production crew. CRACKED.COM

The Millennium Falcon

STAR WARS This is what the Millennium Falcon's cockpit looks like from behind, where the cameraman would be. CRACKED.COM

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

The rope bridge in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom must be in the middle of untouched wilderness, right? Nope, it's a few hundred yards south from Sri Lanka's tallest dam, the Victoria Dam (which was being built during filming). That wide shot from the movie? It was filmed from what is the center of the Dam today. CRACKED.COM

I Dream of Jeannie

GRACKED.COM DREAM of JeANNie This is what the inside of Jeannie's bottle looks Ju

Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood

CRACKED.COM Did you grow up thinking Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood was filmed in a small home? It's actually an open set, with a nice view of the neighborhood from the living room.

Obi-Wan Kenobi’s House

Obi-Wan's house, where he saw Leia's message and gave Luke his father's lightsaber, looks like it's deep in the desert. CRACKED.COM But it's by the Mediterranean Sea.

Inception

The Snow Fortress scene in the movie 7 5 F INCEPTION was shot from this scale model CRACKED.COM

The Shining

The front of the Overlook Hotel in THE SHiNiNG was built at Elstree Studios, and was based on Oregon's Timberline Lodge. The crew covered the exterior with about a foot of fake snow, made from polystyrene and salt. CRACKED.COM

Hogwarts

CRACKED.COM Do you want to visit Hogwarts, the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter saga? Well, it might not be what you expected... The castle, you get to see in exterior shoots across all movies of the saga, is actually a miniature model.

Mary Poppins

The lovely streetscape in Mary Poppins was actually just an indoor set. CRACKED.COM

The Simpsons

Season 7 episode the Bart On The Road has Bart and friends visiting the Knoxville SIMPSONS World's Fair site. WO D F IR In real life the World's Fair site is a beautiful public space and the Sunsphere is still standing. CRACKED.COM

The Grand Budapest Hotel

28 Facts About TV and Movie Sets and Locations That Deserve Their Own Documentary

Game of Thrones

The arena where the Viper and the Mountain fought looks very different in real life. nds TRUB HAPPY It's an amphitheater at the abandoned Hotel Belvedere, in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and if you went there today you'd just see this big, colorful mural. That's the crest of Hajduk, a very popular local football club. CRACKED.COM

The Addams Family

The Addams Family living room set was decorated in pastel colors. A location photo recently surfaced showing that the famously dark and gothic show was actually filmed on a rose, seafoam, and buttercup set. CRACKED.COM

The Life Aquatic

28 Facts About TV and Movie Sets and Locations That Deserve Their Own Documentary

The Haunting of Hill House

THE HAUNTING - OF HILL HOUSE- The Haunting of Hill House is terrifying. In the series, we see the exterior of a house that inspires goosebumps. But in real life, it's a beautiful mansion in LaGrange, Georgia which, until recently, was used for events and weddings. CRACKED.COM

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