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Acton Lane Power Station, London
Appearances: Aliens, Batman
Why It’s So Popular: It's an industrious area (now decommissioned) that helped sell the idea of a space junkyard in Aliens and also doubled as the Axis Chemical Works in Batman .
Oh, that reminds us: whatever happened to the Batman vs Alien comic-book that WE'VE WANTED ALL OUR LIVES?
Senate House, London
Appearances: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Nanny McPhee And The Big Bang, The Hunger
Why It’s So Popular: With it’s imposing structure, Senate House was used as multiple locations throughout Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, including the courthouse in Batman Begins and the scene where Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle dance in The Dark Knight Rises .
Perhaps someone could have pointed out the rest of the street – and London – to Nolan so he could branch out a bit.
Monroeville Mall, Pennsylvania
Appearances: Dawn Of The Dead, Zack And Miri Make A Porno, Flashdance
Why It’s So Popular: George A. Romero put this place on the map as a shopping centre for the undead.
Later, when Kevin Smith went on to film Zack And Miri Make A Porno , he would pay tribute to the legendary zombie film.
Kualoa Ranch, Hawaii
Appearances: Jurassic Park, Godzilla, Windtalkers, 50 First Dates, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Tears Of The Sun
Why It’s So Popular: A leafy open green area perfect for isolated island scenes, and for showing off a dinosaur stampede.
Y’know, all of them dinosaur stampede scenes that you see all the time in movies these days.
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
Appearances: X-Men: The Last Stand, The Accused, Josie And The Pussycats, Night At The Museum, Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, The Core
Why It’s So Popular: A cultural hotspot in the middle of the cheap-to-film Vancouver? It’s a no-brainer.
The exterior shows off some stunning architecture too, as seen when X-Men ’s Angel soars over it.
Stoke Park House, Buckinghamshire
Appearances: Goldfinger, Tomorrow Never Dies, Layer Cake, Bridget Jones’s Diary, W.E.
Why It’s So Popular: It’s a very distinctive building that backs on to the Goldfinger golf course and can also be seen in the background as Bridget Jones rows past with Hugh Grant’s cad Daniel Cleaver. In an alternate dimension, Bridget Jones would be a Bond Girl and James Bond would teach Cleaver a thing or two about how to treat women properly. Oh actually, this is Sean Connery era Bond. Scrap that last part.
Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah
Appearances: Pirates Of The Caribbean: The World’s End, Independence Day, Con Air, The Tree Of Life, The World’s Fastest Indian, Gerry
Why It’s So Popular: It's a desert-like stretch of land that is completely flat. The kind where vehicles can reach too speeds and planes can crash without harm to other people. It's also makes for a good purgatory for Captain Jack Sparrow apparently. Either way, you can guarantee that every establishing shot in this location will begin with the classic 'shimmering mirage in the distance effect'. The temptation is too great.
Columbus Circle, New York
Appearances: Taxi Driver, I Am Legend, Die Hard With A Vengeance
Why It’s So Popular: Right by Central Park, Columbus Circle is a large area that has great views of the park behind it and is, apparently, a good place to hold a political rally.
Flatiron Building, New York
Appearances: Spider-Man, The Usual Suspects, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Armageddon
Why It’s So Popular: It’s such an iconic building (we’ve always wondered how they fit desks into the offices right at the centre of the point). Thanks to Sam Raimi, the building is also remembered as the Daily Bugle offices, as opposed to… whatever it is in real life. Let’s just all agree to call it the Daily Bugle offices from now on, right?
Agnes Scott College, Georgia
Appearances: The Blind Side, Scream 2, Driving Miss Daisy, Legend, Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe
Why It’s So Popular: It’s a standard, leafy college area, perfect for students to experience coming-of-age tales and knife-wielding psychopaths in equal measure.
