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Lights, Camera, Action! Get ready for a reel-y good time in Waikiki, Hawaii!
Lights, camera, action! Get ready to experience a slice of Hollywood right in the heart of Waikiki, Hawaii. You may think of this vibrant city as the ultimate tropical paradise, but did you know that it has also played a starring role in some of your favorite movies?
Grab your popcorn, because we’re about to take you on a behind-the-scenes journey through the glitz and glamour of films shot in the stunning backdrop of Waikiki.
Key Takeaways:
- Waikiki, Hawaii might just be the Hollywood of the Pacific with its long list of movies shot in this picturesque location.
- Visiting movie filming locations can add an extra layer of excitement and adventure to your trip.
- Discovering the spots where your favorite movie scenes were shot allows you to see the city from a different perspective and experience it like a true film buff.
Imagine walking in the footsteps of your favorite movie stars as you explore the very same locations where iconic scenes were shot. From lounging on the beautiful beaches that served as backdrops for romantic encounters to roaming the lively streets where thrilling chase scenes played out, visiting film locations in Waikiki can make you feel like a celebrity yourself.
So, why not embark on a self-guided tour of these cinematic gems? It’s a fantastic way to indulge your inner movie buff and dive deeper into the magic of the movies.
Grab your camera and strike a pose at the exact spot where that heartwarming movie wedding took place or recreate your favorite movie scene with friends for an unforgettable photo op.
As you explore the filming locations of Waikiki, you’ll gain a newfound appreciation for the art of filmmaking. You’ll see how these locations were transformed into mesmerizing settings on the big screen and, who knows, you might even stumble upon props or remnants from past productions. That’s like finding buried treasure in a tropical paradise!
In addition to exploring movie locations, don’t forget to soak up the enchanting atmosphere of Waikiki. From trying out local Hawaiian cuisine to indulging in water sports along the captivating shoreline, this vibrant city has so much to offer beyond the glitz and glamour of the silver screen.
So, grab your sunblock, your sense of adventure, and your favorite movie trivia, because Waikiki is waiting to be your next blockbuster destination!
Lights. Camera. Adventure! Discover More Movies to Fuel Your Wanderlust:
Now that your curiosity has been piqued, it’s time to dive into the listicle of movies that were filmed in Waikiki, Hawaii. Explore the silver screen jewels that made this tropical paradise their home and get ready for a movie marathon like no other. Lights, camera, adventure awaits!
Punch-Drunk Love – US Box Office: USD$17,844,216
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Main Cast: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Andrews, Don McManus, Luis Guzmán, and David Schrempf
Release Date: November 1, 2002
Filming Locations: Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA; North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA; Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA; 14926 Moorpark St, Sherman Oaks, California, USA; Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, O’ahu, Hawaii, USA
Main Plot: Barry Egan despises both himself and his life. Barry, the only male of eight siblings, is mistreated by his domineering sisters. Despite running his own company, he has achieved little in life, largely due to his insecurities. Barry can conceal his violent outbursts when frustrated because he lives alone. However, he can think and devise a plan to travel the world on a meager budget—something he has never done. He simultaneously encounters two people who push him in opposing directions. First up is his sister Elizabeth’s close friend Lena Leonard. Lena makes all the first moves because Barry takes a while to realize that she is attracted to him. Barry eventually comes out of his shell thanks to Lena, who remains by his side despite his obvious issues. Georgia, whom he contacts to lessen his loneliness, threatens his budding relationship and, consequently, new life with Lena. No matter the cost to Barry, Georgia and her band of brothers will stop at nothing to get what they want from him.
Famous quotes:
Barry: “I’m looking at your advertisement for the airline promotion and giveaway.”
Phone Rep: “Ah, the 10 for 1 mile plan…”
Barry: “Yeah, it’s hard to understand, because it says “in addition to”. But I can’t exactly understand in addition to what? Because there’s actually nothing to add to.”
Phone Rep: “I think that’s a typo then.”
Barry: “Okay, so just to clarify – I’m sorry – 10 purchases of any of your healthy choice products equals 500 miles, and with the coupon, the same purchase would value 1000 miles?”
Sequel: Punch-Drunk Love: Deleted Scenes – Back; Punch-Drunk Love: 12 Scopitones
Fun Facts about Punch-Drunk Love:
- The word “love” is written in knuckle cuts on Barry’s hands after he strikes his office wall and places a bloody hand on his piano.
- Four real brothers play Barry’s four muscled-up blond brothers.
- The first film starring Adam Sandler to receive a favorable review from Roger Ebert.
- Robert Elswit, the director of photography, used a unique film stock that allowed him to shoot in underexposed light, deepening the shadows primarily.
- It was decided to cut a fake commercial for Dean Trumbell’s mattress shop and release it as a DVD bonus.
Big Eye – US Box Office: USD$14,482,031
Director: Tim Burton
Main Cast: Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Danny Huston, Krysten Ritter, Jason Schwartzman, Terence Stamp, and Jon Polito
Release Date: December 25, 2014
Filming Locations: North Beach, San Francisco, California, USA; Waikiki, O’ahu, Hawaii, USA; San Francisco, California, USA; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, O’ahu, Hawaii, USA
Main Plot: After divorcing her husband and being left with nothing but her daughter and her paintings, Margaret tried to make it herself in San Francisco in the 1950s. She encounters gregarious ladies’ men and fellow painter Walter Keane in a park as she struggles to gain recognition for her drawings of children with large eyes. The two quickly form a partnership, with outgoing Walter marketing their paintings and introverted Margaret painting more children with big eyes while holed up at home. However, Walter is actually selling Margaret’s paintings as his own. When her financial success and artistic failure collide, Margaret’s life of lies quickly comes to a screeching halt. Margaret will have to try making it on her own again to reclaim her name and her paintings while Walter continues to live the high life.
Famous quotes:
Walter Keane: “Get out of my house! My big house!”
Jehovah’s Witness #1: “We have something to share with you about the wonderful things that God’s kingdom will do for mankind.”
Margaret Keane: “Well, from where I’m standing, I don’t see much good anywhere. Just a lot of pride and thievery and people treating each other poorly.”
Jehovah’s Witness #1: “Do you know what it says in Timothy 3:1-5? “In the last few days, critical times have been hard to deal with. For men will be lovers of themselves.”
Margaret Keane: “Sounds like my ex-husband.”
Fun Fact about Big Eye:
- Tim Burton and director Bruno Delbonnel desired to use 35mm film for their productions. Due to financial constraints and the Vancouver Deluxe laboratory closing in 2012, they were forced to shoot digitally.
- At first, lead roles were slated for Kate Hudson and Thomas Haden Church.
- The producers disclosed the $60 million production budget at the Los Angeles screening.
From Here to Eternity – US Box Office: USD$36,416
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Main Cast: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra,
Philip Ober, Mickey Shaughnessy
Release Date: August 28, 1953
Filming Locations: Halona Beach Cove, O’ahu, Hawaii, USA; Royal Hawaiian Hotel – 2259 Kalakava Avenue, Honolulu, O’ahu, Hawaii, USA; Diamond Head, O’ahu, Hawaii, USA; Waialae Golf Course – 4997 Kahala Avenue, Honolulu, O’ahu, Hawaii, USA; Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, O’ahu, Hawaii, USA
Main Plot: Robert E. Lee Prewitt is currently assigned to Schofield in Hawaii after asking for a transfer to the Army. Dana Holmes is a new captain eager to have him represent the business because she knows his boxing skill. However, Prew is adamant that he no longer boxes. Hence, Captain Holmes instructs his men to make his life as difficult as possible. Sergeant Warden begins dating the captain’s wife, who has a history of looking outside her marriage for solace. Maggio, a friend of Prew’s, gets into a few fights with the cruel stockade Sergeant Fatso Judson, and Prew starts having feelings for Lor, a staff member at the social club. Nobody is aware that the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor is lurking nearby.
Famous quotes:
Sergeant Milton Warden: “You won’t see it much longer. I’m getting sick and tired of it myself. I’m through, Pete. Any day now. And I mean it.”
Sergeant Milton Warden: “Listen, if Holmes let me, I’d transfer out of here tomorrow. Half a dozen companies in this regiment would grab me, and in grade, too.”
Sgt. Pete Karelsen: “Oh, sure. I could be Chief of Staff, too. I just can’t think of leaving my old buddies.”
Sergeant Milton Warden: “Where’re you going, Little Sir Echo?”
Sgt. Pete Karelsen: “To take my shower, if the stinking First Sergeant has no objections. Where do you think it is? To the movies in this towel?”
Sequel: From Here to Eternity 1979
Fun Facts about From Here to Eternity:
- Frank Sinatra struggled with his own personal issues. He told Montgomery Clift one night that he would commit suicide because of the breakdown of his marriage to Ava Gardner.
- Deborah Kerr’s swimsuit was required to have a skirt to comply with the censors’ demands that it was not overly suggestive.
- Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr had a romantic relationship while the movie was being made.
The High and the Mighty – US Box Office: USD$4,334
Director: William A. Wellman
Main Cast: John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Laraine Day, Robert Stack, Jan Sterling, Phil Harris, and Phil Harris
Release Date: July 3, 1954
Filming Locations: Oakland Municipal Airport, California, USA; Glendale Grand Central Air Terminal – Grandview Avenue, Glendale, California, USA; Royal Hawaiian Hotel – 2259 Kalakava Avenue, Honolulu, O’ahu, Hawaii, USA; Samuel Goldwyn Studios – 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA; Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, O’ahu, Hawaii, USA
Main Plot: The plane that Dan is flying experiences engine failure while traveling from Hawaii to California. The passengers reevaluate their lives as he gets ready to crash land. The model for disaster films, complete with an Oscar-winning score and an all-star cast of 1950s actors. On this trans-Pacific flight, mishaps keep occurring one after another. The retired co-pilot is the least ambitious flight engineer. The second officer was a hotshot young man. Additionally, many passengers had unique issues and personalities in the cabin. Here, the Duke plays a part he didn’t want to, and the film’s title song becomes the Duke’s anthem. What more could a John Wayne devotee ask for?
Famous quotes:
Gonzales: “Heavy northwest swells. We’re rolling about thirty degrees. Very rough. Keep that ship in the air if you can, boy, it’s wet down here!”
Hobie Wheeler: “Roger, Cristobal Trader. We’ll try.”
Gonzales: “Attaboy, papa!”
Dan Roman: “I need a big man. Grab me around the waist.”
Dan Roman: “We’re takin’ this bird all the way to ‘Frisco”
Fun Facts aboutThe High and the Mighty:
- It contains the sole Oscar-nominated performance by Jan Sterling.
- Carl Alfalfa Switzer makes an appearance in this movie, the second of two, in which he plays the copilot of a rescue plane looking for John Wayne’s aircraft.
- Players Phil Harris and Ann Doran were 50 and 43 years old, despite Ed and Clara Joseph’s saying that they were 38 and 33.
Sailor Beware
Director: Hal Walker
Main Cast: Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Corinne Calvet, Marion Marshall, Robert Strauss, Leif Erickson, and Don Wilson
Release Date: February 9, 1952
Filming Locations: Naval Training Center, San Diego, California, USA; Paramount Studios – 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA; Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, O’ahu, Hawaii, USA
Main Plot: After making an unintentional TV appearance, Seaman Melvin Jones, who has a kissing allergy, receives the incorrect nickname Mr. Temptation and is pursued by seductive young girls. Due to a miscommunication, Melvin Jones is allowed to join the Navy despite having some allergies. His shipmates bet their pay on him, and he was able to woo Corinne Calvet, a seductive French chanteuse, into kissing him. Although it might jeopardize his relationship with his girlfriend, Hilda, Fluke tries not to let them down despite his allergy to kissing girls. Owing to the circumstances that cause viewers of a TV program sponsored by a lipstick company to believe that he is an irresistibly great kisser. He is unfairly hyped in the media as Mr. Temptation.
Famous quotes:
Hilda Jones: “Everybody should donate to the blood bank. What type are you?”
Melvin Jones: “Oh, the quiet type. I go to bed at nine o’clock, see a movie now and then, read some books, play checkers…”
Hilda Jones: “No! I mean what kind of blood do you have?”
Melvin Jones: “Why d’ya put the bandage on my hand before ya put the gloves on?”
Al Crowthers: “So when you hit me, you won’t break your knuckles.”
Fun Facts about Sailor Beware:
- Jerry Lewis wrote the boxing scene and demanded an additional $50,000, which he later gave to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
- “At Sea With The Navy” was the film’s initial working title.
- The movie is an adaptation of the same-named play by Kenyon Nicholson, written in 1933.
