Which movies were filmed in North Carolina?

The magic of Hollywood is that oftentimes movies aren't filmed anywhere near where they purport to be taking place. California may be home to Hollywood, but so many of your favorite films were set against backdrops far removed from the glitterati of the West Coast.

With huge studios like Warner Bros., MGM, and RKO Pictures churning out film after film during the heyday of the silver screen, California made a name for itself as the cornerstone for all things movies. As the industry has continued to shift, however, that has begun to change.

From the need for more rural settings to a director's desire to get everything as historically accurate as possible, not to mention the attractive tax incentives offered by states outside of California, crews are increasingly enticed to look elsewhere when filming. More and more, shoots take place in the most unexpected places in a quest to entertain, and sometimes, to make film history. Have you ever wondered where the Cullen house in the "Twilight" movies actually is? (The answer is Oregon.) How about the location of where the wasteland astronauts trekked in "Planet of the Apes" from 1968? (Answer: Arizona.)

With that in mind, Stacker compiled a list of movies filmed in North Carolina using data from Movie Locations. Additional information about each film was collected from IMDb. Some films may have been omitted due to data dissimilarities and lack of corresponding information found on IMDb.

1 / 21

The Bedroom Window (1987)

- Director: Curtis Hanson
- IMDb user rating: 6.4 (6.5K reviews)
- Runtime: 112 minutes
- Genres: Crime, Mystery, and Thriller
- Cast: Steve Guttenberg, Elizabeth McGovern, and Isabelle Huppert

2 / 21

Being There (1979)

- Director: Hal Ashby
- IMDb user rating: 7.9 (76K reviews)
- Runtime: 130 minutes
- Genres: Comedy and Drama
- Cast: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, and Melvyn Douglas

3 / 21

Bull Durham (1988)

- Director: Ron Shelton
- IMDb user rating: 7.1 (58K reviews)
- Runtime: 108 minutes
- Genres: Comedy, Romance, and Sport
- Cast: Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, and Tim Robbins

4 / 21

Crimes of the Heart (1986)

- Director: Bruce Beresford
- IMDb user rating: 6.3 (4.3K reviews)
- Runtime: 105 minutes
- Genres: Comedy and Drama
- Cast: Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, and Sissy Spacek

5 / 21

The Crow (1994)

- Director: Alex Proyas
- IMDb user rating: 7.5 (193K reviews)
- Runtime: 102 minutes
- Genres: Action, Crime, and Drama
- Cast: Brandon Lee, Michael Wincott, and Rochelle Davis

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6 / 21

Dirty Dancing (1987)

- Director: Emile Ardolino
- IMDb user rating: 7.0 (247K reviews)
- Runtime: 100 minutes
- Genres: Drama, Music, and Romance
- Cast: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, and Jerry Orbach

7 / 21

Evil Dead II (1987)

- Director: Sam Raimi
- IMDb user rating: 7.7 (177K reviews)
- Runtime: 84 minutes
- Genres: Comedy and Horror
- Cast: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, and Dan Hicks

8 / 21

The Exorcist III (1990)

- Director: William Peter Blatty
- IMDb user rating: 6.5 (36K reviews)
- Runtime: 110 minutes
- Genres: Drama, Horror, and Mystery
- Cast: George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, and Brad Dourif

9 / 21

Forrest Gump (1994)

- Director: Robert Zemeckis
- IMDb user rating: 8.8 (2.2M reviews)
- Runtime: 142 minutes
- Genres: Drama and Romance
- Cast: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, and Gary Sinise

10 / 21

The Fugitive (1993)

- Director: Andrew Davis
- IMDb user rating: 7.8 (309K reviews)
- Runtime: 130 minutes
- Genres: Action, Crime, and Drama
- Cast: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, and Sela Ward

11 / 21

The Green Mile (1999)

- Director: Frank Darabont
- IMDb user rating: 8.6 (1.4M reviews)
- Runtime: 189 minutes
- Genres: Crime, Drama, and Fantasy
- Cast: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, and David Morse

12 / 21

The Hunger Games (2012)

- Director: Gary Ross
- IMDb user rating: 7.2 (962K reviews)
- Runtime: 142 minutes
- Genres: Action, Adventure, and Sci-Fi
- Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth

13 / 21

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

- Director: John McTiernan
- IMDb user rating: 7.5 (209K reviews)
- Runtime: 135 minutes
- Genres: Action, Adventure, and Thriller
- Cast: Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, and Scott Glenn

14 / 21

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

- Director: Jim Gillespie
- IMDb user rating: 5.8 (154K reviews)
- Runtime: 101 minutes
- Genres: Horror and Mystery
- Cast: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Anne Heche

15 / 21

Iron Man 3 (2013)

- Director: Shane Black
- IMDb user rating: 7.1 (881K reviews)
- Runtime: 130 minutes
- Genres: Action, Adventure, and Sci-Fi
- Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Guy Pearce, and Gwyneth Paltrow

16 / 21

The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

- Director: Michael Mann
- IMDb user rating: 7.7 (181K reviews)
- Runtime: 112 minutes
- Genres: Action, Adventure, and Drama
- Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, and Russell Means

17 / 21

Lolita (1997)

- Director: Adrian Lyne
- IMDb user rating: 6.8 (64K reviews)
- Runtime: 137 minutes
- Genres: Drama and Romance
- Cast: Jeremy Irons, Dominique Swain, and Melanie Griffith

18 / 21

Starman (1984)

- Director: John Carpenter
- IMDb user rating: 7.0 (50K reviews)
- Runtime: 115 minutes
- Genres: Romance and Sci-Fi
- Cast: Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, and Charles Martin Smith

19 / 21

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

- Director: Martin McDonagh
- IMDb user rating: 8.1 (536K reviews)
- Runtime: 115 minutes
- Genres: Comedy, Crime, and Drama
- Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, and Sam Rockwell

20 / 21

Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)

- Director: Monte Hellman
- IMDb user rating: 7.2 (13K reviews)
- Runtime: 102 minutes
- Genres: Drama
- Cast: James Taylor, Warren Oates, and Laurie Bird

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21 / 21

Year of the Dragon (1985)

- Director: Michael Cimino
- IMDb user rating: 6.8 (17K reviews)
- Runtime: 134 minutes
- Genres: Action, Crime, and Drama
- Cast: Mickey Rourke, John Lone, and Ariane

This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Olivia Monahan, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 48 states.