Tour the Carolina and Georgia locations clocking some serious screen time
Iconic movies and television series have been filmed all over Georgia and the Carolinas, and standing in the exact spot where the magic happened is both fun and surreal. Touring film locations makes for a great date, a group getaway, or a weekend destination. No matter if your preference is for the big screen or the small one, there’s a famous location to geek out about within driving distance this spring.
What draws filmmakers to the South is its own interesting plot twist. Yes, tax credits (called movie production incentives) have been known to lure a project, but the Carolinas and Georgia offer something even more appealing: open terrain dotted with 100-year-old towns. Conceivably, any moment in modern history can be recreated here. Consider the likes of The Last of the Mohicans, The Patriot, and The Prince of Tides. Even the highest-grossing film of its time, Forrest Gump, crisscrossed South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia for its frozen-in-time locales.
If you want to stick close to home or plan a road trip, there’s a destination for every fanatic, from classic films to new releases. Love reality TV? Yep, those are included, too.
South Carolina Film Locations
Greenville
Locals still talk about their George Clooney and Renée Zellweger sightings in downtown Greenville, but much of 2008’s Leatherheads was filmed in downtown Greer along Trade Street. Hundreds of locals were casts as extras and outfitted in period garb. If Harrison Ford is more your thing, then visit the Stumphouse Tunnel in Walhalla, where The Fugitive (1993) shot one of its most iconic scenes.
Charleston
The Notebook, release in 2004 and based on Nicholas Sparks’ chart-busting first novel, spent nearly a month filming at Boone Hall Plantation. Daily tours of the home and grounds are available, but one of movie’s most endearing scenes was shot downtown, near the intersection of King and Mary Streets. Darling Oyster Bar has bar seating that looks right onto the iconic spot where Allie and Noah danced in the crosswalk.
If reality TV is what you watch, then Charleston also plays host to Southern Charm. The series follows its cast of millennials all over The Holy City, often to places they own or co-own, like Leva Conaparte’s Bourbon and Bubbles and Shep Rose’s Palace Hotel.
Beaufort
1983’s The Big Chill set up shop in the coastal town of Beaufort. It was one of the first movies filmed entirely on location and was a critical and financial success, catapulting the careers of its ensemble cast. Although much of the script centers around Tidalholm Mansion, you’ll also see plenty of Bay Street and Sand Hill Baptist Church.
Other South Carolina productions include Deliverance (‘72), Prince of Tides (‘91), Gullah Gullah Island (’94), The Patriot (‘98), Cold Mountain (‘03), Dear John (’10), Magic Mike XXL (’15), Vice Principals (’16), The Sinner (’17), Halloween (’18), Righteous Gemstones (‘19), Outer Banks (‘20), Stars Fell on Alabama (’21), Rock the Block (’22), and Suncoast (’22).
For more information about South Carolina film locations, go to scprt.com/film-commission/locations.
North Carolina Film Locations
Lake Lure
Dirty Dancing, released in 1987, cemented Lake Lure as one of the most popular movie locations to visit. The little lake town just outside of Asheville does not put baby in the corner but continues to celebrate the movie’s legacy as “the number one movie watched by women.” The Dirty Dancing Festival takes place on the second Saturday of September.
Wilmington
This is the town that Dawson’s Creek built. The foundation for production was already in place, but when Dawson’s Creek came—and stayed for six seasons and 128 episodes—Wilmington became a real player. Airlie Garden is the site of “The Ruins,” which pops up in multiple seasons. It can also be spotted in movies such as King Kong Lives, Black Knight, and Sleepy Hollow.
If you have a teen, you may have watched The Summer I Turned Pretty. Filmed in the Wilmington area, it utilized spots at Carolina Beach and Kure Beach to create the fictitious “Cousins Beach.”
Charlotte
The reimagined Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret? recently wrapped in Charlotte. Some of its scenes were also filmed at the McCelvey Center in York, South Carolina. Based on the beloved 50-plus-year-old young adult novel by Judy Blume, the movie (out April 28) stars Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates.
Other North Carolina productions include The Color Purple (‘85), Bull Durham (‘88), Days of Thunder (’90), The Fugitive (‘93), Dawson’s Creek (‘98), The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood (’02), Cold Mountain (’03), One Tree Hill (’03), Talladega Nights (‘06), Secret Life of Bees (‘08), A Walk in the Woods (’15), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (’17), Scream 5 (‘22), George and Tammy (’22), and Electric Love (’23).
For more information about North Carolina film locations, go to filmnc.com.
Georgia Locations
Buckhead
The Swan House in Buckhead was a historic destination even before The Hunger Games trilogy scouted it for President Snow’s mansion in 2012. The 1928 home, built by the Inman family, is a striking example of Century Revival architecture and is open to the public. The Hunger Games also filmed in WNC, including at DuPont State Forest.
Fort McPherson
The historic army base dating to 1887 has become the production juggernaut of Tyler Perry. It is the largest production studio in the US, and Perry’s expanded digs offers 40 buildings with twelve sound stages on 330 acres. It is best known for the Madea franchise of films, The Haves and the Have Nots series, as well as hundreds of episodes of Divorce Court.
Senoi
Forty minutes south of Atlanta is the bedroom community of Senoi, aka ground zero for The Walking Dead. “Walker Stalkers” will enjoy a stop at The Woodbury Shop and lunch at Nic & Norman’s. Tours are available to visit specific Walking Dead locations; they also include spots where Fried Green Tomatoes, Drop Dead Diva, and Pet Sematary were filmed.
Other Georgia productions include Sweet Home Alabama (‘02), Diary of a Mad Black Woman (‘05), Vampire Diaries (‘09), The Blind Side (‘09), Selma (‘14), Ant-Man (’15), Captain America: Civil War (’16), Stranger Things (‘16), Sharp Objects (’17), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (’17), Black Panther (‘18), Ozark (’18), Avengers: End Game (’19), Sweet Magnolias (’20), and The Wonder Years (’21).
For more information about Georgia film locations, go to exploregeorgia.org/list/guide-to-georgia-film-locations.
