Movie Tours
Movies filmed around Astoria include: Kindergarten Cop, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, Short Circuit, Come See The Paradise and Free Willy. But the movie that has the largest following among our visitors is The Goonies.
Get a guide to movie locations at the Astoria Chamber or Warrenton Visitor Center for $2.
LIGHTS! CAMERA! ASTORIA!
Astoria, Oregon has been discovered by Hollywood for its architecture, history and scenery. Some of the movies filmed in Astoria are: The Goonies, Kindergarten Cop, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, Short Circuit, Come See the Paradise, and Free Willy I and II. A driving tour of Astoria gives visitors a chance to see many of the locations.
Astor School was the main location for Kindergarten Cop. Other scenes were shot at the West Mooring Basin where one of the riverfront restaurants was used for a romantic dining scene with Arnold Schwarzenegger and his co-star. Arrangements were made with all the boat owners who had moorage outside the restaurant to leave their boats tied up with the lights on, to give the view a more romantic appearance.
Here is one Arnold fan’s blog with photos about his trip to Astoria to see the sites of Kindergarten Cop: http://thearnoldfans.com/news/1505.htm
The most dramatic scenes in Free Willy were shot in Astoria and the exciting climax was filmed at the Hammond Mooring Basin. A hot tub was installed at the Mooring Basin’s office to allow the actors to warm up between takes to prevent hypothermia.
Stephen Spielberg’s The Goonies has achieved cult status and draws many visitors to Astoria just to see its locations, especially the Goonies’ house. You won’t find One Eyed Willy’s cave though…or the Fratelli’s restaurant. Those were movie sets, not the real thing. Click over to this page of our site, devoted to The Goonies.
Hollywood visited Astoria once again in late spring 2004 to film The Ring II. It is the sequel to the popular scary movie The Ring. Naomi Watts and David Dorfman will reprise their roles as Rachael and Aidan Keller. Hideo Nakata, who directed the original Japanese versions of The Ring (Ringu), is directing the movie. The story continues 6 months later after Rachael and Aidan have moved to Astoria, Oregon for a fresh start. The trauma of the past is beginning to fade and the future is looking brighter until soon after they arrive, however, Rachel hears about a college student who died nearby in circumstances similar to Samara’s past victims. Now it appears that Aiden’s life is in danger from Samara once more, and Rachel must investigate the little girl’s past if she wants to save her son..
In 2005, Arkham Productions from Seattle, Washington filmed around Astoria their tribute to H.P. Lovecraft, entitled Cthulhu, which was released in 2007. Starring Jason Cottle and Tori Spelling.
Also released in 2007, Sean Penn’s adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s novel, Into the Wild, had some scenes filmed in the forested areas near Olney – southeast of Astoria. This award winning film stars Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone, and Vince Vaughn.
Award winning writer and director, Kelly Reichardt, from Portland, Oregon, partially filmed 2008’s Wendy and Lucy in Astoria. Starring Michelle Williams who portrays a woman whose life is derailed en route to a potentially lucrative summer job. When her car breaks down, and her dog is taken to the pound, the thin fabric of her financial situation comes apart, and she is led through a series of increasingly dire economic decisions.
The Road was partially filmed in the Astoria area utilizing our beaches. This film based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy will be released in late 2009, starring Viggo Mortenson, Charlize Theron, and Robert Duvall.
The teen-hit Twilight had a few scenes in our area at Ecola State Park. Most of this film’s locations are in the Columbia River Gorge and Portland area. Check out Portland Movie Tours for more info: http://www.portlandmovietours.com/twilight.php
Television
Astoria’s landmarks are often seen on TV Commercials and our roads are popular for auto commercials.
Discovery Channel’s Smash Lab series filmed an episode here testing equipment to prevent log truck rollovers on curvy roads. (Season 2, Ep 7 first aired in Sept 08)
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/smash-lab/smash-lab.html
Astoria has been featured on 3 episodes on PDXposed, a Portland based cable show about travel and tips in the Portland area.
http://www.pdxposed.com/