Which movies were filmed in Virginia?

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 Virginia 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.

Cold Mountain (2003)

– Director: Anthony Minghella
– IMDb user rating: 7.2 (153K reviews)
– Runtime: 154 minutes
– Genres: Adventure, Drama, and Romance
– Cast: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renée Zellweger

Contact (1997)

– Director: Robert Zemeckis
– IMDb user rating: 7.5 (286K reviews)
– Runtime: 150 minutes
– Genres: Drama, Mystery, and Sci-Fi
– Cast: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, and Tom Skerritt

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

Foxcatcher (2014)

– Director: Bennett Miller
– IMDb user rating: 7.0 (147K reviews)
– Runtime: 134 minutes
– Genres: Biography, Drama, and History
– Cast: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo

Jason Bourne (2016)

– Director: Paul Greengrass
– IMDb user rating: 6.6 (237K reviews)
– Runtime: 123 minutes
– Genres: Action and Thriller
– Cast: Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, and Alicia Vikander

A Kiss Before Dying (1991)

– Director: James Dearden
– IMDb user rating: 5.7 (5.8K reviews)
– Runtime: 94 minutes
– Genres: Crime, Drama, and Mystery
– Cast: Matt Dillon, Sean Young, and James Bonfanti

The Last Detail (1973)

– Director: Hal Ashby
– IMDb user rating: 7.5 (27K reviews)
– Runtime: 104 minutes
– Genres: Comedy and Drama
– Cast: Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid, and Otis Young

Lincoln (2012)

– Director: Steven Spielberg
– IMDb user rating: 7.3 (268K reviews)
– Runtime: 150 minutes
– Genres: Biography, Drama, and History
– Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, and David Strathairn

Marnie (1964)

– Director: Alfred Hitchcock
– IMDb user rating: 7.1 (53K reviews)
– Runtime: 130 minutes
– Genres: Crime, Drama, and Mystery
– Cast: Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery, and Martin Gabel

Minority Report (2002)

– Director: Steven Spielberg
– IMDb user rating: 7.6 (572K reviews)
– Runtime: 145 minutes
– Genres: Action, Crime, and Mystery
– Cast: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, and Samantha Morton

Mission: Impossible (1996)

– Director: Brian De Palma
– IMDb user rating: 7.1 (458K reviews)
– Runtime: 110 minutes
– Genres: Action, Adventure, and Thriller
– Cast: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, and Emmanuelle Béart

My Dinner with Andre (1981)

– Director: Louis Malle
– IMDb user rating: 7.7 (24K reviews)
– Runtime: 110 minutes
– Genres: Comedy and Drama
– Cast: Andre Gregory, Wallace Shawn, and Jean Lenauer

National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

– Director: Jon Turteltaub
– IMDb user rating: 6.5 (248K reviews)
– Runtime: 124 minutes
– Genres: Action, Adventure, and Mystery
– Cast: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, and Justin Bartha

No Way Out (1987)

– Director: Roger Donaldson
– IMDb user rating: 7.1 (44K reviews)
– Runtime: 114 minutes
– Genres: Action, Crime, and Drama
– Cast: Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, and Sean Young

Patriot Games (1992)

– Director: Phillip Noyce
– IMDb user rating: 6.8 (118K reviews)
– Runtime: 117 minutes
– Genres: Action and Thriller
– Cast: Harrison Ford, Sean Bean, and Anne Archer

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

– Director: Jonathan Demme
– IMDb user rating: 8.6 (1.5M reviews)
– Runtime: 118 minutes
– Genres: Crime, Drama, and Thriller
– Cast: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, and Lawrence A. Bonney

Sommersby (1993)

– Director: Jon Amiel
– IMDb user rating: 6.2 (23K reviews)
– Runtime: 114 minutes
– Genres: Drama, Mystery, and Romance
– Cast: Richard Gere, Jodie Foster, and Lanny Flaherty

Spy Game (2001)

– Director: Tony Scott
– IMDb user rating: 7.0 (163K reviews)
– Runtime: 126 minutes
– Genres: Action, Crime, and Thriller
– Cast: Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, and Catherine McCormack

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

– Director: Michael Bay
– IMDb user rating: 5.9 (422K reviews)
– Runtime: 149 minutes
– Genres: Action, Adventure, and Sci-Fi
– Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, and Josh Duhamel

War of the Worlds (2005)

– Director: Steven Spielberg
– IMDb user rating: 6.5 (465K reviews)
– Runtime: 116 minutes
– Genres: Action, Adventure, and Sci-Fi
– Cast: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, and Tim Robbins

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