NoVa Pop Culture Pride: Movies That Were Filmed or Take Place In Northern Virginia.
Northern Virginia is not the first place that comes to mind when you think of movies. D.C definitely gets attention from the film industry, and in turn, the proximity to the capital gives Northern Virginia a bit of a spotlight too. The film scene here is mostly associated with political narratives and colonial-era historical dramas, which I’ve mostly excluded from the list as it’s all too common and predictable. Yet, besides these genres, there are so many types of movies that were made with NoVa in mind. Whether you want to check these locations out or just want another Northern VA fun fact to add to your collection, you’ve come to the right place.
Movies
The Silence of the Lambs
I really tried to exclude films that just capture government buildings in NoVa, but I couldn’t help myself with this classic. Though many of the locations are shot in Pittsburgh, PA, the one major Virginia location in the film is also one of the most surprising. Clarice Starling works out of the real FBI HQ in Virginia, 40 miles south of D.C. The opening scene and the training scene with Clarice are filmed at this location. If you ever want to check out the FBI HQ— though I wouldn’t breach the property line— it’s located at 57 Bureau Pkwy in Quantico.
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
The sequel to the first installment of the Indian Jones Rip-off film is shot in good ‘ole Alexandria. The lecture hall seen halfway through the movie is the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, south of D.C, across the Potomac River. If you want to check out the location— which I would recommend due to the historical significance, regardless of its presence in the film— stop by at 101 Callahan Drive. When Nicholas Cage’s character plans to kidnap the president, he crashes the man’s birthday celebration in Mount Vernon at George Washington’s former plantation home. Check it out at 3200 Mount Vernon Hwy in Mount Vernon, Virginia.
Transformers: Revenge Of the Fallen
The second installment of the series has a scene shot at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. In the scene, you can see the SR-71, Enola Gay, and a few other famed crafts. The Blackbird turns into a transformer in this flick. If you have little ones, this is a great way to get them engaged in the all-things-aeronautics museum.
Minority Report
The 2002 Steven Spielberg 2002 adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s book of the same name has some shots in Northern Virginia since the majority of the movie takes place in D.C. The protagonist’s estranged wife lives on Ware Point Road near Beulah in Gloucester. Anderton, the main character, escapes from Gloucester when he drives a red Lexus through Beaverdam Park, 8687 Roaring Springs Road. Those are, sadly, the only two moments NoVa is featured in the film.
Argo
Argo is, by far, the most famous movie filmed in Northern Virginia. This piece of cinema is directed by East Coast Ben Affleck, and accounts a true story of the CIA’s rescue of American hostages in the 1979 crisis. Though in all honesty, only a few scenes are filmed there, and most of them are filmed in— you guessed it— Los Angeles, California, and— surprisingly— Istanbul. Chain Bridge’s McLean Cleaners, Dulles Airport, and the CIA headquarters are a few of the local spots that pop up.
No Way Out
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An oldie but a goodie. Directed by Kevin Costner in 87, No Way Out is not unsurprisingly filmed in the D.C area, but a few scenes were filmed next door in Arlington. The Pentagon, first and foremost, is the most notable and honestly common B shot from N. Virginia, that ends up in a lot of flicks— No Way Out included. Susan’s apartment at 101 Quay Street is also in Arlington, along with the “Calvert Inn’ which is really River Farm. Actually, now that I think about it, that opening flyover scene is of South Arlington Ridge Rd and 20th St S. That opening shot is seriously impressive too— a flyover from the Washington Monument all the way to a suburban house on South Arlington Ridge Rd without a single cut.
Contact
Jodie Foster and Mathew McConaughey star in this sci-fi thriller. Jodie’s character, Ellie, has a childhood home in Herndon, the town east of Dulles International Airport. That pretty much sums up Virginia’s role in this movie. If you want to check it out, the house sits at 755 Grace Street— just don’t bother the current owners!
Patriots Game
Although I said— multiple times in fact- that I wouldn’t name movies that focus on the CIA, this is a major exception. This flick was the first to be filmed inside the real George Bush Center for Intelligence. Not just B shoot the outside and then use sound stages for the A shot interiors, but genuinely record inside the headquarters. For some shots, the Freddie Mac building in McLean was used as a stand-in, and a lot of other stand-in shots were around NoVa.
Fallout 3
No, it’s not a movie, but, hence the article name, it is a part of NoVa’s pop culture! Fallout 3 takes place in D.C, but in the open world’s map, the outskirts are a real-life copy of segments of Fairfax, VA. The most obvious indicator of this is the game landmark Fairfax Ruins, but another giveaway is the Arlington library, which can also be found. The Andale cannibal settlement is based on real-world Annandale in Fairfax County. Different NoVa metro stations are also featured in-game, and Megaton is really a fictionalized version of McLean. There are plenty of other Northern Virginia locations to check out that weren’t mentioned, and even if Fallout isn’t your thing, it’s neat that NoVa got that kind of recognition in the gaming world
Movies That Take Place In Northern Virginia But Aren’t Actually Filmed There
Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko is set in Middlesex, Virginia, and much of the movie is fictionalized from the area. Director Richard Kelly has stated that much of his inspiration is from his Virginian hometown rather than NoVa, but NoVa locations are referenced throughout the movie. Fairfax County Juvenile Detention Center is named, and the Bunny Man Legend is briefly referenced, too. The movie is not really filmed in VA, but rather in and around Los Angeles. It’s pretty noticeable that the real locations are California rather than Virginia, but hey, it’s the thought that counts.
Die Hard 2
Have you ever seen the Die Hard 2 poster? Even if you have, I doubt you know that the airport featured on it is our very own Dulles Airport! Or, at least it’s supposed to be. The movie uses Dulles as a setting, but it’s really filmed in multiple other airport locations in Michigan, Colorado, Washington, and on sound stages in L.A. I’ve always wondered why they used about six other airports instead of Dulles, but I digress.
The Americans
Also, not a movie, but worth a mention regardless. This is quite a beloved show, one that really does a great job of accurately taking place in Northern Virginia. Local spots are referenced all of the time, when characters drive, they discuss real Virginian roads and streets, and these little details make it feel like it really does unfold in NoVa.
It’s quite an experience walking down a local street and being able to say that someone like Spielberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, and other big names have stood where you’re standing. Though most movies filmed here are government tales, biopics, or colonial-era dramas, as you can tell from this list, there’s a whole host of other stories that the film industry felt NoVa was the perfect place to tell them. This list was pretty long, but there are also far more than what was named, like Breach, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Deep Impact, Wonder Woman 1984, Rules of Engagement, and plenty of television series, too. Northern Virginia isn’t like Los Angeles, but there are a few movies that shine a spotlight on the outer DMV area.
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Photo Credits:
Variety — https://variety.com/2018/tv/features/the-americans-final-season-fx-matthew-rhys-keri-russell-1202730301/
Alamo Drafthouse — https://drafthouse.com/northern-virginia/show/die-hard?showSeats=true
The Guardian — https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/dec/12/how-we-made-donnie-darko-jake-gyllenhaal
Fallout Wiki — https://fallout.wiki/wiki/Takoma_Park
The Hunt for Tom Clancy (Substack) — https://thehuntfortomclancy.substack.com/p/patriot-games
American Society of Cinematographers — https://theasc.com/articles/we-are-not-alone-nbsp-contact
Britannica — https://www.britannica.com/topic/Argo-film-by-Affleck
The Cinemaholic — https://thecinemaholic.com/where-was-minority-report-filmed/