7 films you didn’t know were made in or about WV
Dozens of movies have been filmed in or about West Virginia, including “We Are Marshall,” the story of the 1970 Marshall University plane crash, and “The Mothman Prophecies,” based on the Mothman legend of Point Pleasant.
But have you heard about these movies with Mountain State ties?
1. “Super 8”
This 2011 summer blockbuster starring Elle Fanning and Kyle Chandler filmed scenes at the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport and in the Northern Panhandle towns of Weirton, New Cumberland, New Manchester and Follansbee. Most of the filming sites are open to the public, including DeStefano’s Spaghetti House & Restaurant and the Marland Heights Deli, which doubled as a 7-Eleven convenience store in the sci-fi thriller.
2. “October Sky”
Based on the novel “Rocket Boys” by West Virginia native Homer Hickam, 1999’s “October Sky” recounts Homer’s teenage years in a coal mining community in the early 1960s. The first Sputnik launch inspires Homer, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and his friends to take up rocketry. The movie was filmed out of state, but you can visit Coalwood, where the boys actually built and launched their rockets. Or, check out the annual Rocket Boys Festival in Beckley.
3. “Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!”
This 2003 romantic comedy starring Josh Duhamel and Kate Bosworth filmed in Fayetteville, Grandview and at the London Locks on the Kanawha River. The movie is about a small-town girl who wins a date with a celebrity, which leads to a love triangle between the 2 of them and the girl’s best friend. The town in the movie, Fraziers Bottom, was inspired by the real-life West Virginia community of the same name.
4. “The Night of the Hunter”
Filmed in Moundsville, Sistersville and New Martinsville, this 1955 film noir boasts yet another West Virginia connection: the story, drawn from a novel written by Moundsville native Davis Grubb, revolves around Harry Powell, a corrupt minister-turned-serial killer who sets out to rob a widow of $10,000 that her executed husband hid away. Robert Mitchum’s chilling portrayal of the diabolical Powell has earned a lot of critical praise over the years.
5. “The Deer Hunter”
This 1978 Academy Award-winning film starring Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep was filmed partly in the Northern Panhandle cities of Weirton and Follansbee. It’s about a group of men who work in a steel mill. They hang out at the local bar and spend their weekends hunting deer— until the Vietnam War changes them forever.
6. “A Beautiful Mind”
In this 2001 movie, Russell Crowe plays Bluefield native John Nash Jr., the brilliant mathematician who struggled with mental illness but went on to win the 1994 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on game theory.
7. “Patch Adams”
This 1998 Robin Williams movie tells the real-life story of Dr. Hunter “Patch” Adams, a physician, comedian and social activist who founded the Gesundheit! Institute‚ a holistic health care facility, in Pocahontas County in 1971. Dr. Adams organizes a group of volunteers who travel the world dressed as clowns to bring humor to orphans, patients and others in need.
How many have you seen?
This post was last updated on March 16, 2022