Portland Movies & Music

Okstate · #1 Posted **Sep 20, 2007, 11:05 PM**

As the thread title may indicate, I'm interested in films or well-known musicans from/about Portland. For movies, i'm looking for the setting to be in Portland. Some examples I can think of are drugstore cowboy for movies (never seen it, renting it tonight) & Elliot Smith for music. I have some Decembrists songs also & love them.

nwroots · #2 Posted **Sep 20, 2007, 11:40 PM**

Off the top of my head...Body of Evidence starring Madonna, and The Hunted starring Tommy Lee Jones are a couple of movies. There are almost too many bands to name with a few being The Lifesavas, Cool Nutz, Leila D"mone...There are myriad hip hop groups and tons of Rock/alternative/punk bands which I will be happy to dig in my crates to find and tell you when I am at home. Anyone remember NU Shooz, or The U-krew? Check out musicfestnw.com or wweek.com for info on our local bands/shows.

WonderlandPark · #3 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 1:43 AM**

I finished on Untraceable, which plays Portland for Portland, comes out next year sometime.

My Own Private Idaho played Portland

I worked on Bigger Than the Sky, played for Portland, shot in '04, MGM released it as an independent

Bunch of TV movies were Portland in the 90's

jeez, too busy to think of them all at the moment

and by the way, like 1 bazillion car commercials are done in Portland or the nearby Gorge by Crown Point or Rowena.

Okstate · #4 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 2:18 AM**

Drugstore Cowboy was not at any of our three movie rental locations! so much for that.

PacificNW · #5 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 3:28 AM**

It is available on Netflix..... I have a DVD that is very difficult to rent/own. It took me 6 months and then I found someone selling it 2nd hand on Amazon. If anyone wants it I will send it free of charge.... It was a filmed in Oregon. "Zigzag" starring Dan Reed of the Dan Reed Network group fame....1st one that asks for it gets it....

rsbear · #6 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 4:53 AM**

I can think of two movies off the top of my head:

Last Innocent Man - late 1980's - staring Ed Harris. A "who-done-it" courtroom drama movie with a number of location shots within downtown. Fun to watch as Ed crosses a bridge to get from downtown to an area that has to be in the West Hills. Maybe he likes the views. And be amazed as he enters a building in Old Town and yet the view out of the building is Jackson Tower! And "Link" from the Mod Squad plays a pimp in what must be his only on-screen role since like 1970. Still had the same big afro, too.

The Hunted - 2004 (I think) - starring Tommy Lee Jones. See a Max train cross the Hawthorne Bridge! (a bus really, covered with a fake outside, but looks pretty real) See Tommy enter the underbelly of the then-under-construction second phase of the Convention Center and pop out of a manhole cover on... wait for it... SW Broadway at Stark St! Be amazed at the number of extras used to flood the sidewalks of parts of downtown that only have a small fraction of that much foot traffic. Then watch superman Tommy pop out of the Ira Keller/Forecourt Fountain - and follow his gaze as he watches a Max train cross the Steel Bridge! Special guest appearance by local TV anchorman Jeff Geonola (I know I didn't spell that right). The plot sucks, but the Portland scenes are great fun. Warning - parts of the movie are pretty violent.

Drmyeyes · #7 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 5:09 AM**

You ever see that old movie (1989), "Breaking In" ? Reynolds plays an old cat burglar.

zilfondel · #8 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 7:04 AM**

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) - Jack Nicholson - filmed in Salem.

Beat that Portland!

funny, IMDB states that it was filmed in Depoe Bay, but wiki correctly puts it in Salem.

Rhome · #9 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 3:55 PM**

Another movie that features Portland is "What the *Bleep* Do We Know". A weird movie, but good production value that shows many Portland landmarks--MAX, Vista Bridge, Baghdad Theater, etc...

MarkDaMan · #10 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 4:09 PM**

Luv me some Pink Martini...www.pinkmartini.com

pdxtraveler · #11 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 4:09 PM**

I believe the Zero Effect with Bill Pullman was filmed here. Obviously not a blockbuster since it is nearly unheard of!

Drmyeyes · #12 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 5:24 PM**

One flew over the cuckoo's nest: Of course, there was a fishing scene in the movie that may have been filmed in Depoe Bay. Since you're mentioning films based on Kesey's books, don't forget "Never Give An Inch" with Paul Newman, based on "Sometimes a Great Notion".

brandonpdx · #13 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 6:12 PM**

Thumbsucker filmed in Beaverton

PacificNW · #14 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 6:28 PM**

Those Gremlin movies filmed in Astoria. Gremlins? Whatever they were...as toys I remember they were the rage in the U.S. @ one time.. I think the Guvinator of Cal also starred in "Kindergarden Cop"...

Sioux612 · #15 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 6:31 PM**

Aarnold schwarzenegger's Kindergarden Cop was filmed in Astoria

Animal House, staring John Belushi and Tim Matheson, was filmed in Eugene.

Sioux612 · #16 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 6:39 PM**

Don't forget Everclear! This is one of their album covers:

CUclimber · #17 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 7:09 PM**

The Decemberists, The Shins, and Elliot Smith (now deceased) are all big names in Portland's music scene.

And don't forget that 'The Goonies' was filmed up in Astoria too.

PacificNW · #18 Posted **Sep 21, 2007, 7:12 PM**

Clint Eastwood starred in "Paint Your Wagon" which was filmed in my childhood area of the state: La Grande/Baker.. Jeff Chandler starred in a movie also filmed in the La Grande area in 1956 called "Pillars of the Sky".

WonderlandPark · #19 Posted **Sep 22, 2007, 3:35 AM**

Paint Your Wagon shot in the Wallowa Mountains, even hauled in tons of sets up there and all.

Astoria has tons:

The Ring II
Short Circuit
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Kindergarden Cop

Men of Honor built a set under the Longview Bridge, on the Oregon side so that counts. Other scenes turned the area around Hobos into Harlem, NY.

The coolest one I worked on, for me,(it was a pretty bad cable movie) was Homewrecker for the Sci-Fi Channel when it first started. We had the run of Trojan, including the backup control room, while it was a working plant. We had them making the control boards all blink and even made a fake meltdown (that was not used in the movie, they just said, "you want to see what a meltdown looks like?" Sure! Lots of stuff blinks and sirens sound. We also shot at the now abandoned and abused State Workers Rehab building behind Dammasch, all sorts of stuff to expore on that show.

A River Runs Through It was half done on the Rouge, the other half in Montana.

Will Vinton shot several animated series in Portland, though none were set in Oregon, and Laika is wrapping up their first feature

Some of the Jackass sequences are Portland

Bunch of music videos done in Portland.

Sioux612 · #20 Posted **Sep 22, 2007, 3:44 AM**

Gus Van Zant's "Elephant" was filmed at Wilson High. Van Zant called Portland "Hollywood North."