Inception (2010)

July 7, 2020May 25, 2023 / filmoblivion / Leave a comment

The 2010 Christopher Nolan film “Inception” shot in a variety of locations around the world, including France, England, Japan, Morocco, Canada and the United States. Ariadne, played by Ellen Page, explains the dream world to Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, by changing the landscapes. These scenes were filmed at Pont de Bir-Hakeim in Paris. Ariadne appears to make these steps elevate. In reality, the way she alters it is how it actually appears.

LOCATION: Pont de Bir-Hakeim, 75015 Paris, France

Cobb watches from this direction.

They cross this area over the street as people representing Cobb’s subconscious start bumping into Ariadne.

Ariadne then starts moving mirrors in this area.

Here is the spot where Ariadne shatters the mirror and changes the landscape. Once again, the way it looks after she changes it is how it actually appears. Pont de Bir-Hakeim, a bridge that crosses the Seine, has been featured in many films, such as “Last Tango In Paris,” “Elevator to the Gallows,” “Ronin,” “Forget Paris,” “National Treasure: Book of Secrets,” “The Conformist” and more.

It is seen one more time from this angle as Cobb starts to remember being there with his wife Mal, played by Marion Cotillard.

Quite a few scenes were filmed around Southern California. At this intersection in Downtown Los Angeles, Cobb goes over plans with his team to execute a mission within a dream.

LOCATION: Wilshire Blvd / Hope St, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Directly across the street are the corner steps where Cobb picks up a man in a taxi and kidnaps him. The same steps were used in “The Social Network,” when Jesse Eisenberg shows up to a business meeting wearing a robe.

LOCATION: 707 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Yusuf’s van falls from the Schuyler F. Heim Bridge, a vertical lift bridge in Long Beach. This area has since changed some. The exact stretch of the liftspan seen in the film has since been removed and a fixed stretch of bridge now exists in it’s place. Construction on the remodeled bridge began in 2011 and was completed in 2020.

LOCATION: Schuyler F. Heim Bridge, Terminal Island Fwy, Long Beach, CA 90802

Cobb walks with Mal through a deep dream state called “limbo,” where the dreamers risk being unable to awaken. This area is part of The Music Center building in Downtown Los Angeles, facing toward The John Ferraro Building. Cobb also walks with Ariadne through the same area.

LOCATION: 135 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Cobb and Ariadne continue walking through the surreal landscape, where old houses are seen partially submerged in water. This was filmed at The John Ferraro Building, which has been featured in countless films and television shows, such as “The Nice Guys,” “Hancock,” “The Omega Man” and more. The buildings submerged in water were CGI, replacing the L.A. skyline on the left, but the section of the Ferraro Building on the right side is the real location seen in the film.

LOCATION: 111 N Hope St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Mal, believing she’s trapped in a dream and will only awaken by leaping to her death, sits on the ledge of this building.

LOCATION: 215 W 5th St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Some props from the film could be found on display on the Warner Brothers Studio Tour.

LOCATION: 4000 Warner Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505

Memento (2000)

March 17, 2018May 25, 2023 / filmoblivion / Leave a comment

The Christopher Nolan film “Memento” mostly shot around the San Fernando Valley in Southern California. The opening and closing scenes of the film, as well as the scenes of Leonard burning his wife’s mementos, were all shot at the Fletcher Oil Refinery in Carson, California (24721 S Main St, Carson, CA 90745), which has since been demolished.

Teddy, played by Joe Pantoliano, takes Leonard, played by Guy Pearce, out to lunch at this diner in Sylmar. The same coffee shop has appeared in the films “Over The Top” and “Every Which Way But Loose,” as well as such TV series as “Too Old To Die Young,” “Bosch” and “NCIS: Los Angeles.” Across the street is also another notable filming location, the motel from “The Addams Family.”

LOCATION: 12192 San Fernando Rd, Sylmar, CA 91342

Throughout most of the film, Leonard stays at the Discount Inn motel. It’s actually the Travel Inn in Tujunga, California. Both the motel and the surrounding area have seen better days, so use caution if visiting.

LOCATION: 7254 Foothill Blvd, Tujunga, CA 91042

The motel manager takes advantage of Leonard’s condition and secretly charges him for two rooms.

Later in the film, Leonard visits Natalie’s house, played by Carrie-Anne Moss, where she deceives him into believing that Dodd has beat her. The house, which as since been renovated a bit, can be found in Burbank.

LOCATION: 919 E Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, CA 91501

Leonard finds himself at another motel, the Mountcrest Inn, where he ambushes Dodd and ties him up. This motel is the Hill Crest Inn in North Hills.

LOCATION: 9111 Sepulveda Blvd, North Hills, CA 91343

Leonard visits Natalie at “Ferdy’s Bar,” where she spits in his beer to test his memory. This was filmed at The Blue Room in Burbank. The interior of the bar is shown in the film.

LOCATION: 916 S San Fernando Blvd, Burbank, CA 91502

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

June 15, 2017May 25, 2023 / filmoblivion / Leave a comment

Unlike the first two installments of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” trilogy, which used Chicago to double as Gotham City, the third and final installment, “The Dark Knight Rises” used an amalgam of cities, which included Pittsburgh, New York City and Los Angeles. Here we take a look at some of these locations.

Bane robs the Gotham City Stock Exchange, which was filmed in the heart of New York’s financial district on Wall Street. However, the production used the JP Morgan building, located directly across the street from the New York Stock Exchange.

LOCATION: 23 Wall St, New York, NY 10005

As Bane unleashes an explosion at the Gotham football stadium, as well as all across Gotham, Blake, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is rocked by one of the explosives and his car flips over as he drives down this alley. While many of these shots were filmed in Pittsburgh, this particular alley can be found in downtown Los Angeles. It’s located on Terminal Street, which intersects with 7th Street, just past Alameda Street.

LOCATION: Terminal St, Los Angeles, CA 90021 (a nearby address to arrive around the alley would be 1371 E 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90021)

The police get trapped in a tunnel under the 6th Street Bridge, also in Downtown L.A. The bridge has been seen in countless films over the years, including “Grease,” “Terminator 2: Judgement Day,” “Gone in Sixty Seconds,” “Drive” and many more. The original bridge was demolished in 2016, with a new bridge built in its place in 2022. The area where the scene took place has changed quite a bit.

LOCATION: Under the 6th St Bridge, at the intersection of lower E 6th St / Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90013 (heavily remodeled)

The scenes of Scarecrow sentencing people to punishment was filmed at Union Station, a train station in downtown Los Angeles. It has been featured in many films, such as “Blade Runner,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Species,” “Bugsy,” “Pearl Harbor” and more.

LOCATION: 800 N Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Over at the 3rd Street Tunnel in downtown Los Angeles is where Catwoman, played by Anne Hathaway, uses the Batpod to blow up some cars, which have been piled up to obstruct the entrance. The view seen in the film is on the side of the tunnel that faces Flower Street. The same tunnel was also seen in “Darkman.”

LOCATION: W 3rd St., at the entrance facing S Flower St, Los Angeles, CA 90810

The Batpod Catwoman rides can be seen on display at the Peterson Automotive Museum, also in Los Angeles.

LOCATION: Peterson Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Moving over to Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Mellon University was used for a couple key sequences, near the film’s climax. Bane released the prisoners from Blackgate Prison, which was shot at Carnegie Mellon’s Software Engineering Institute. The building’s address is on Fifth Ave., but you’ll actually have to turn the corner to the side of the building facing Dirthridge St. to see the spot used in the film.

LOCATION: Software Engineering Institute, 4500 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (facing Dirthridge St)

The Mellon Institute, which is located right beside the Software Engineering Institute, served as Gotham City Hall, where Bane and Batman do battle on the steps of the building.

LOCATION: Mellon Institute, 4400 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Lastly, we leave you with a shot of the Batmobile Tumbler from the film, which is on display at Warner Bros. Studios, as part of their tour.

LOCATION: 4000 Warner Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505

The Dark Knight (2008)

May 20, 2017May 25, 2023 / filmoblivion / Leave a comment

“The Dark Knight” famously used the streets of Chicago to double as Gotham City. Here we’ll take a closer look at the locations of Christopher Nolan’s classic crime drama, as well as a few iconic props from the film.

This is the street corner where The Joker stands at the opening of the film, holding his mask in his hand.

LOCATION: Southwest corner of S Franklin St. and W Van Buren St., Chicago, IL 60607

The bank from the opening bank robbery was shot at the Old Chicago Post Office.

LOCATION: 433 W Van Buren St., Chicago, IL 60607 (NOTE: the film shot from the northern corner of W Van Buren St. and Canal St.)

The spot where The Joker’s crew ascend onto the bank’s rooftop.

LOCATION: 420 W Van Buren St., Chicago, IL 60606

The station where Batman rides his Batpod in pursuit of The Joker is part of Chicago’s Metra rail.

LOCATION: Mellennium Station, 151 E Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601 (Note: This cannot be seen from the street, you must head below into the station.)

Here is a look at the Batpod used in the film. You can see it on display as part of the Warner Bros. Studio tour.

One of the film’s most famous locations is where the Batman / Joker confrontation takes place on the streets, with the semi truck flip. (Note: This same location was also used in Brian De Palma’s film, “The Untouchables.”)

LOCATION: S La Salle St., facing the Chicago Board of Trade Building, 141 W Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604

Here’s a look at the Batmobile Tumbler, used in both “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight.” It is also on display at Warner Bros. Studios, as part of their tour.

You can also see Christian Bale’s Batman costume from “The Dark Knight” on display on the studio tour.

Last but not least, the Bat Signal, also on display on the Warner Bros. Studio tour.

Film Oblivion

Movie and TV locations, points of interest.

Christopher Nolan

Inception (2010)

Memento (2000)

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The Dark Knight (2008)