Portions of the 2017 Alexander Payne film “Downsizing,” like much of his work, filmed in the director’s home state of Nebraska, with additional filming in Canada and Norway. Early in the film, Paul and Audrey Safranek, played by Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig, live at this duplex, located in Omaha. In one scene, they are seen selling their belongings in a yard sale out front, as they prepare to downsize.
LOCATION: 4629 Douglas St, Omaha, NE 68132
The back of the property and garage also appear in the film. An alley runs behind Douglas Street to this area.
Paul sits with his buddies watching a news program debating the benefits of downsizing at this restaurant.
LOCATION: 4432 Leavenworth St, Omaha, NE 68105
The Safraneks look at this home in Elkhorn as they evaluate the local housing market. The interior was filmed at a different house in the same neighborhood.
LOCATION: 18676 Oregon Cir, Elkhorn, NE 68022
Paul and Audrey attend an alumni gathering at this school, where they run into an old friend Dave, played by Jason Sudeikis. Dave has been downsized and tells Paul all about the benefits of his life after the procedure. The entrance seen in the film is at the back and has been slightly remodeled since filming took place.
LOCATION: 7400 Western Ave, Omaha, NE 68114 (back entrance at 41°16’19.5″N, 96°01’39.8″W)
Paul and Audrey have a going away gathering at Jams Old Market (1101 Harney St, Omaha, NE 68102).
The 1974 cult thriller “Bad Ronald” tells the story of a boy whom, after an accident, is locked inside his home even as it changes ownership. The home in question is known as the Goode House, located in Glendale, California.
The 1975 documentary “Grey Gardens” tells the story of a reclusive mother and daughter, both named Edith Beale (and referred to as “Big Edie” and “Little Edie” respectively), who live in poverty amidst an upscale neighborhood of East Hampton, New York. The Beales are the aunt and the first cousin of former U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The filmmakers were originally planning a film about Kennedy’s sister, Lee Radziwill, but after meeting the Beales through that project, they were so taken by their personalities and lifestyle, they scrapped their original idea and instead decided to make a film about the Beales. Big Edie and Little Edie lived for over 50 years in their derelict home, known as Grey Gardens. After the passing of her mother, house was sold by Little Edie in 1979. The new owners subsequently restored the home, which still stands today.
LOCATION: 3 West End Rd, East Hampton, NY 11937
To see our “Grey Gardens” location page, click here.
The 1999 revenge film “The Limey,” directed by Stephen Soderbergh, is set in Los Angeles, where the production mostly took place as well. Wilson, played by Terence Stamp, plays an Englishman who travels to L.A. to track down those responsible for the death of his daughter. Wilson follows a lead to the offices of some associates of Terry Valentine. He first approaches from the corner of S Santa Fe Ave and Willow St in Downtown L.A., with the Fourth Street Viaduct visible in the background. Today, buildings mostly block the view of the viaduct, but a small portion of it can still be seen.
LOCATION: S Santa Fe Ave / Willow St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
The location of the offices was actually part of what is now known as Willow Studios. In one of the most famous sequences of the film, Wilson takes a beating from the men inside and gets thrown out onto the street. Wilson stands up, pulls out a gun and proceeds back inside to finish the job.
LOCATION: 1335 Willow St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Terry Valentine, played by Peter Fonda, lives in this home overlooking the Hollywood Hills. The house is featured prominently in the film, particularly the distinctive looking pool area. Wilson attends a party at Valentine’s house. Most of Astral Dr is public, but the last stretch of it leading up to the home is marked private.
LOCATION: 2210 Astral Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90046
Wilson meets up with Elaine, played by Lesley Ann Warren, at Dinah’s Family Restaurant near Culver City, which has also appeared in such films as “The Big Lebowski” and “Nightcrawler.”
LOCATION: 6521 S Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045
LOCATION: 1400 N Hayworth Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90046
The car chase begins at the intersection of Ledgewood Dr and Mulholland Hwy.
LOCATION: Ledgewood Dr / Mulholland Hwy, Los Angeles, CA 90068
Portions of the third act of the film were shot north around Big Sur. Wilson, Elaine and Ed (Luis Guzmán) stop at the Lucia Lodge, located at 62400 CA-1, Big Sur, CA 93920. The property was partially destroyed by a fire in 2021, but the lodge portion survived and remains open.
The 1967 film “In Cold Blood,” based on the classic “non-fiction novel” of the same name by Truman Capote, was filmed primarily around Kansas, with some additional scenes shot in Missouri, Nevada, California and Colorado. Published one year after the book, the filmmakers strove for authenticity by shooting at quite a few of the locations where the crimes actually happened.
The book tells the true story of the Clutter family, Herb, Bonnie, Nancy and Kenyon, who were murdered in the night by a pair of men they had never met before, Richard “Dick” Hickock and Perry Smith. While incarcerated in prison, Dick Hickock caught word from a fellow prisoner of the Clutter farm, where the owner, Herb Clutter, supposedly kept a safe filled with large amounts of cash in the home. Unbeknownst to Hickock and his co-conspirator, Perry Smith, this information was false. The pair proceeded with their home invasion plans and tragically murdered the entire family in the morning hours of November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas. Author Truman Capote became interested in the story, traveled to Holcomb and began writing, which continued for years until the completion of the book.
For the film adaptation, director Richard Brooks was able to film scenes at the actual former Clutter house in Holcomb. The home sits tucked away along an isolated, unpaved road, where no neighbors heard the gun shots inside on the night of the crimes. The home still looks mostly the same as it did back in 1959. The path up to the home is private and when the surrounding land is harvested and barren, the house looks particularly isolated.
LOCATION: 611 Oak Ave, Holcomb, KS 67851
Here is the long, tree-lined path up to the home, where Dick and Perry, played in the film by Scott Wilson and Robert Blake, drove up in the dead of night to perpetrate their crimes. Oak Road remains paved and open to the public until about this point, before it becomes private.
Upon arrival, if you weren’t paying attention and didn’t know beforehand, you might not even realize the path is private. There is only this small, hand painted sign, noting it as such. This is located at the same spot as the above shot, on the left hand side.
You can in fact see the home from several of the surrounding roads, such as S West St, but the views are all from afar.
There are several other locations that are open to the public, which remain surprisingly unchanged decades later. Dick and Perry are seen driving throughout quite a bit of the film, with Perry stopping at this gas station in Garden City. The building still looks very similar to how it appeared in the film, with the same brick work. Perry walks along the side of the building, to the restroom on the right.
LOCATION: 407 E Kansas Ave, Garden City, KS 67846
Hartman’s Cafe appears a couple times in the film, which is located just down the road from the Clutter house.
LOCATION: 305 N Main St, Holcomb, KS 67851
While a different restaurant now occupies the space, it still operates as a dining establishment.
The courthouse where Dick and Perry stand trial is the Finney County Courthouse, where the real trial took place after their capture.
LOCATION: 425 N 8th St Garden City, KS 67846
After the murders are depicted in the film, the bodies are discovered and the coroner is seen driving to the crime scene from this intersection, which remains mostly unchanged.
LOCATION: Near 102 N Main St, Garden City, KS 67846
Much like reading the book or watching the film, it is a sobering experience to visit what are, in many instances, the real locations from one of the most famous true crime stories in American history. Holcomb is not your typical travel destination city, it is a small town that requires going out of your way to visit, but in many ways, you’ve likely visited towns just like it many times before.
To see our “In Cold Blood” location page, click here.
The 1978 crime drama “Straight Time,” starring Dustin Hoffman, much like the novel its based upon, “No Beast So Fierce,” by Edward Bunker, is set in the Los Angeles criminal underworld. In the film, Hoffman plays Max Dembo, an ex-con out on probation and adapting to a straight life. Max reconnects with his friend Willy, played by Gary Busey, who lives at this home located near Angelino Heights.
LOCATION: 327 N Bixel St, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Max meets up with Manny, played by Sandy Baron, at The Bat Rack cocktail bar, which could be found in Santa Monica. Max asks Manny to give him a gun.
LOCATION: 2454 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403
Max uses the gun to rob Ahn’s Market.
LOCATION: 2609 W Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Max robs a pawn shop, where he obtains more weapons to take on bigger scores. This is located just a few doors down from the former “Quality Cafe,” which has been seen in dozens of films, such as “Seven” and “Training Day.”
LOCATION: 1226 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90017
Max teams up with Jerry Schue, played by Harry Dean Stanton, to start doing robberies together. The pair rob a bank at the Wilshire Colonnade. It has been featured in many films, such as “Zodiac,” “Wrath Of Man,” “Stealing Harvard” and “Earthquake,” as well as such TV series as “Californication,” “American Crime Story: Impeachment” and more.
LOCATION: 3701 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010
After the robbery, the pair swap vehicles at the intersection of W 4th St and S Kenmore Ave.
LOCATION: W 4th St / S Kenmore Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020
The climactic jewelry store robbery was filmed at this building in Beverly Hills, while the back alley scenes were filmed at a different location (138 S Beverly Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90212).
LOCATION: 9634 Wilshire Blvd Beverly Hills, CA 90212
The gas station and diner from the end of the film can be found in Lancaster. It is located almost directly across the street from the church from “Kill Bill.”
The 2014 Marvel sequel “Captain America: The Winter Solder” was largely filmed in Cleveland, Ohio, with some additional footage shot in Washington D.C. and California. The lobby of the Triskelion S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, where Captain America (Chris Evans) meets with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), is actually the interior of the Cleveland Museum of Art (11150 East Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44106).
Captain America goes on the run with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), posing as an engaged couple as they examine the contents of a drive at a computer store inside the Tower City Center. The same shopping mall was seen in the 1994 film “Double Dragon.”
LOCATION: 230 W Huron Rd, Cleveland, OH 44113
The Winter Soldier, played by Sebastian Stan, attacks Captain America, Black Widow and The Falcon (Anthony Mackie) as they drive along the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway (State Route 2). The vehicles stop near the overpass near W 3rd St / Summit, where most of the action takes place. Black Widow escapes from gunfire, leaping from this overpass down to the street below.
LOCATION: W 3rd St / Summit, Cleveland, OH 44114
The Winter Soldier jumps down onto the roof of a car in pursuit.
Captain America shields himself from gunfire in this area near Summit.
The Winter Soldier walks one block up W 3rd St to W Lakeside Ave, where he and Black Window battle in front of the Justice Center Complex.
The S.T.R.I.K.E. team arrives in front of the same building, as The Winter Soldier escapes the scene.
This is located across the street from the Probate Court of Cuyahoga County, seen on the left below, which was featured in “The Avengers.” Only the interiors of the building appear in “The Avengers,” but the exterior is seen several times in the background of this film, as Captain America and The Winter Soldier fight.
LOCATION: 1 W Lakeside Ave, Cleveland, OH 44113
Maria Hill manages to extract Captain America, Black Widow and The Falcon to a safe house, which was filmed at the Lake View Dam, located inside Lake View Cemetery. There are roads running by both this area and further down at the base of the dam, making it easy to get a view from the right spots. We’ve provided GPS coordinates below. This area is not far from the John Rockefeller grave.
Later, Captain America stands at the top of the dam thinking.
The Falcon joins him and the two discuss how to handle The Winter Soldier. The same cemetery appears again later in the film during a scene at a grave site.
The Winter Soldier is examined inside of this building, where Alexander Pierce, played by Robert Reford, comes to visit him. The same building was seen in “Spider-Man 3.”
The 1992 sci-fi horror film “The Lawnmower Man” was shot in Southern California. The home of Dr. Lawrence Angelo, played by Pierce Brosnan, where Jobe (Jeff Fahey) mows his lawn, can be found in South Pasadena.
LOCATION: 1000 Buena Vista St, South Pasadena, CA 91030
The 1992 hockey comedy “The Mighty Ducks,” starring Emilio Estevez, was filmed around Minnesota. In the film, Charlie’s mother Casey works at Mickey’s Dining Car. Gordon Bombay, played by Estevez, visits the diner to speak to Charlie, where he tells him he’s stepping down as coach of The Mighty Ducks. The same diner appeared in the sequels “D2: The Mighty Ducks” and “D3: The Mighty Ducks,” as well as such films as “Jingle All The Way” and “A Prairie Home Companion.” At this time, the diner is closed indefinitely, but it is rumored to potentially reopen sometime in 2022.
The 2014 horror film “Annabelle,” a prequel to “The Conjuring,” was filmed around Los Angeles, California. Early in the film, Mia, played by Annabelle Wallis, lives with her husband John, played by Ward Horton, at this home on the left, located in Central L.A., near Hancock Park. The run into their neighbors out front, who live at the home on the right.
LOCATION: 228 N Gramercy Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90004
At night, Mia awakens to the sounds of a home invasion at their neighbors’ house and John goes over to investigate.
LOCATION: 224 N Gramercy Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90004
After the birth of their child, John and Mia move into Palmeri Apartments, supposedly located in Pasadena. The real building, The Langham, can be found in Koreatown.
LOCATION: 715 Normandie Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005
The scene where Father Perez takes a photo of Mia and her baby was filmed at St. Brendan Catholic Church, which has appeared in numerous productions, including “Fight Club,” “Spider-Man 3,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors,” “Armageddon” and the Guns N’ Roses music video for “November Rain.” The same church also appears in another film in “The Conjuring Universe,” “The Curse Of La Llorona.”
LOCATION: 310 S Van Ness Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020
The church where Father Perez tries to take Annabelle, which is seen again near the end of the film, six months later, is the Wilshire United Methodist Church.
LOCATION: 4350 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90005
Film Oblivion 