Most publications agree that the Upstate is a great place to live, offering residents a better quality of life with the beautiful backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains to boot.
But did you know that it is also a great location to shoot a film?
There are several noteworthy films that have been shot in the area, and you might be familiar with a few of them. Here’s what they are and fun facts you should know about them.
∎ Director: John Boorman
∎ Location: S.C.-Georgia border
∎ Fun film fact: In this film, four city dwelling friends travel to rural Georgia to wind down, but instead find themselves fighting for survival. The movie was based on a book written by James Dickey, a professor at the University of South Carolina.
∎ Director: James Cameron
∎ Location: Gaffney
∎ Fun film fact: The sci-fi adventure was shot at the Cherokee Nuclear Station near Gaffney. Its underwater scenes (which accounted for 40% of the film’s $70 million budget) were filmed in the not-yet-opened power station’s water tanks.
∎ Director: George Clooney
∎ Location: Anderson, Boiling Springs, Greer, Travelers Rest
∎ Fun film fact: Each locale shot for the 1920s era, professional football origins film was turned into a pre-Depression-era destination.
∎ Director: Michael Collin
∎ Location: Anderson
∎ Fun film fact: Although the true story of James Robert “Radio” Kennedy’s friendship with T.L. Hanna High School’s football coach Harold Jones was mainly filmed in Walterboro, some scenes were also shot in Anderson ― the hometown of real life Radio.
∎ Director: Joseph Ruben
∎ Location: All over S.C., including Presbyterian College’s Clinton campus
∎ Fun film fact: A 1991 Greenville News report said Abbeville was used for the psychological thriller’s scenes in Cedar Falls, the midwestern town where Julia Roberts’ character’s blind mother resides.
∎ Director: Roland Emmerich
∎ Location: Multiple areas across S.C., including Chester, Rock Hill, and York
∎ Fun film fact: The historical drama features Mel Gibson and George Clooney, who star as a father-son duo who fight during the American Revolutionary War. The film would go on to be nominated for three Oscars.
∎ Director: Hugh Johnson
∎ Location: Liberty
∎ Fun film fact: The production team transformed eight blocks of Liberty into Jerome, Wyoming, for the thriller’s small-town scenes.
Nina Tran covers trending topics for The Greenville News. Reach her via email at ntran@gannett.com.
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