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  • 5/18/2025
Condé Nast Traveler joins Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, and ‘Another Simple Favor’ director Paul Feig to test their movie location knowledge. From the foggy forests of Twilight to the glamorous streets of Gossip Girl, can they remember where their most iconic movies and shows were filmed?
Transcript
00:00This is a movie I have a small part in, right?
00:03Please say yes. If this is the movie I'm the lead of, I feel like the biggest movie in the world.
00:07You are significant, but not the lead.
00:10I have a limited amount of screen time.
00:12Potent.
00:13I hate you.
00:14Not helpful.
00:15Hi, I'm Paul Feig.
00:16I'm Anna Kendrick.
00:17And I'm Blake Lively.
00:18We have filmed in some amazing locations.
00:20Let's see if we remember them.
00:22Oh, I mean, this is from the first Pitch Perfect.
00:31I hesitated because we do a lot of weird riff-offy things.
00:35This is from Pitch Perfect 1.
00:37We shot the first one in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
00:41And this, I believe, was on the LSU campus in an empty pool.
00:49Welcome to the Ripple!
00:53Filming on a real college campus was great because we were supposed to be at college.
00:56And LSU has a big football culture and a big tailgating culture.
01:03And I'd never been to a college football game.
01:05I'd never tailgated before.
01:06And they were so nice.
01:08The tailgating is like a party in and of itself.
01:10And so we were hanging out with some LSU fans.
01:13And some of them were like, have y'all never been to an LSU game before?
01:18And they gave us the tickets, me and Adam Devine.
01:21Wow.
01:22And we got to go.
01:23And it was, I mean, it was electrifying.
01:24Wow.
01:25It was like bigger than some NFL stadiums.
01:27Yeah.
01:28I had no idea it was like such a huge thing.
01:30So I was very, very grateful.
01:31Thank you, LSU.
01:32Nice.
01:33Thank you for your service.
01:34Well done.
01:35Unless there's been a scandal recently, in which case, scandal no.
01:37Say nothing, exactly.
01:39This is Mexico, Canada.
01:42Everywhere I shoot is not Mexico, Mexico.
01:45So this is Kamloops, Canada.
01:47This is Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1.
01:49We're in the mountains in Canada.
01:51I gotta tell you, it says something slightly different.
01:53It is Kamloops though.
01:54I would trust you more than the car, if I'm perfectly honest.
01:57I really appreciate that.
01:58Yeah.
01:59You're probably saying that it's Cabo, right?
02:00Did you guys say it's Cabo?
02:01Yeah.
02:02Yeah.
02:03You fell for it.
02:04You guys fell for it.
02:05We shot in Baja.
02:07We did do running on the beach there.
02:10MVP.
02:11I play Ford.
02:13So I've noticed.
02:15But all of the soccer is in the mountains in Canada.
02:18And then they just green screened the ocean in.
02:20I had to like pour water on my head.
02:23Because I'm like trying to attract the...
02:26It's sort of like problematic now that I think that it's an older coach.
02:29I was a minor.
02:30Sure.
02:31This is a while ago.
02:32We should update this.
02:33But he's 19 and I'm 16 and I'm like trying to like get his attention.
02:36I'm just like pour this water bottle on my head.
02:38But they were like, we can't get your hair wet or it's gonna...
02:41We don't have time to change over and dry your hair.
02:43No.
02:44So just pour it on your face.
02:45And I was like, okay.
02:46And it was my first job.
02:47I was like, yeah, I'm not gonna question the logic of that.
02:50So when you watch, I'm trying to be sexy.
02:53Just like, because you don't like, it's not sexy just to like pour water in your eyes.
02:57Yeah, I would have thought that the sexy bit would be the wet hair.
02:59Yeah, it's like pouring it on your hair and like whatever.
03:01No resets.
03:02No resets.
03:03But it's just like in my eyes.
03:04So I go like this and then I flip my hair and it looks so crazy.
03:06I love a woman with bone dry hair and a dripping white face.
03:08So crazy.
03:09Would have worked on me.
03:10It was horrifying.
03:12This is when Paul made Forrest Gump.
03:14There you go.
03:15Exactly.
03:16Tom Hanks ran down that period.
03:17Yeah.
03:18That's from Bridesmaids.
03:19That is the scene where she goes to the big bridal shower.
03:23And that was in Pasadena.
03:25And it's way over the top.
03:27I mean, there's giant gazebos and stuff like that.
03:29And some people thought it was too much.
03:31And I was like, no, it's never too much for one of my movies.
03:34It's so wonderful.
03:35It's so funny.
03:36Yeah, that was fun.
03:37Didn't she get some great drink when she was in?
03:38She got the lemonade.
03:39Shit, that's fresh.
03:40Yeah, exactly.
03:41Oh, shit.
03:42That is fresh.
03:43That was just so much fun to do.
03:46Yeah, that's the last movie I made in Los Angeles.
03:49The whole movie in LA?
03:50Yeah, the whole movie in LA.
03:51Wow.
03:52Yeah.
03:53And we never shot anything in LA again.
03:54It doesn't look like LA.
03:55Like when they're shitting in the street.
03:56It happened.
03:57What are you doing?
03:58It happened.
03:59Exactly.
04:00Isn't that funny?
04:01It feels like mostly you have to fake LA when you're in the middle of kind of Everytown
04:06USA somewhere, wherever the tax break is.
04:08Yeah.
04:09And you were kind of cheating more of like a suburban.
04:12Yeah, Midwest.
04:13Well, we got really good at it when we did Freaks and Geeks because that was all shot in LA.
04:17We shot mostly like Woodland Hills and that kind of thing.
04:19Because being a Midwesterner, I could go, oh, this looks like, you know, Michigan.
04:23For me?
04:24For me?
04:25Is this getting a harder one?
04:26This is a movie I have a small part in, right?
04:29Just say yes.
04:30If this is a movie I'm the lead of, I feel like the biggest in the world.
04:33You are significant, but not the lead.
04:36I have a limited amount of screen time.
04:39Yes?
04:40Potent.
04:41I hate you.
04:42Not helpful.
04:43This has to be Twilight.
04:45Yes.
04:46Okay.
04:47Thank God.
04:48I think this would have been Twilight One.
04:50I think we shot the first one in Portland, Oregon.
04:53And this was the, like, single most miserable day of, like, everybody's shooting life.
05:01Like, I saw, like, hardened crew members be like, I don't even know if I'm coming back to work in the morning.
05:07I just, I cannot do it.
05:09Oh, no.
05:10It was a very, very hard day because the elements do not discriminate.
05:13If it wants to be a freezing cold day and you are supposed to be in summer clothes, that is just too bad.
05:21And a wet wind chill when you're shooting nights.
05:24And, you know, I think they did, like, panic last minute.
05:28I think we were supposed to be having, like, a day at the beach.
05:31And then suddenly we were in wetsuits.
05:34Like, we were sort of pretending that we were, like, real, like, advanced surfers or something.
05:40I drove all the way out here.
05:41I'm a little paddling out.
05:43You guys are babies.
05:45This was the only way to, like, we would have simply perished.
05:49But even, like, the crew, particularly people who had to film further down the beach, it was, like, there was just water, like, freezing cold water absolutely everywhere.
05:59And there's only so much of that that people can take.
06:01Apparently that is the number one reason that people drop out of the Navy SEALs.
06:05It is not, like, the physical strength or the danger.
06:09It's, like, they were, like, I'm so tired of being cold.
06:11Can you surf?
06:12I cannot surf, no.
06:14Believe it or not, I'm not, like, a beach bunny.
06:17Missed you calling.
06:19Miss Thing, do you remember this?
06:22Oh, my gosh.
06:23This should be the roof of Silvercup Studios.
06:25You can tell by the fashion.
06:26This is, like, early 2000s.
06:28The shoes.
06:29And so I think this is the roof of Silvercup Studios, which was really beautiful for Gossip Girl.
06:34Season one, probably episode, like, three or so.
06:38Wow.
06:39Two and three.
06:40I was going to ask, like, do you remember the season, but wow.
06:42Yeah, no, no.
06:43This was, like, early on.
06:44I think we were doing, like, a fashion shoot.
06:46We were doing a fashion shoot, but, like, we didn't know what fashion shoots, like, were, like, supposed to look like.
06:51We thought they were, like, pose, pose, pose.
06:53Zulim, yeah.
06:54Yeah, yeah.
06:55No, no, yeah.
06:56That was my, like, basis of understanding a fashion shoot.
06:57Was the point of the photo shoot to be shooting against, like, the New York skyline?
07:00I think the point of the photo shoot was that we shot three episodes at once.
07:03Okay.
07:04And so, wherever we could shoot, it was just, like, wrong view.
07:06We were in the studio, exactly.
07:07Yeah, and luckily, the studio had a really pretty view.
07:11That is from another simple favor.
07:13I believe that's called Punta Targaro.
07:15That's the furthest point off of Anacapri, which is the upper part of Capri.
07:20The Italian is called Capri.
07:22I know, I just can't bring myself to do it.
07:23Well, also, you say Capri, and people go, what's that?
07:25And so, Capri.
07:26Yeah.
07:27So, we know Capri song.
07:28Can you just go in the middle?
07:29I kind of middle fudge it.
07:30Like, Capri.
07:31Capri.
07:32Yeah, we shot Capri.
07:33Capri.
07:34Oh, that sounds good.
07:35Oh, it's like, what?
07:36Oh.
07:37Everybody's happy.
07:38So, nobody likes it.
07:39Exactly.
07:40Everyone's offended.
07:41Maybe my maid of Anna?
07:43Did I mention it was in Capri?
07:45Capri?
07:46Yes, she is in.
07:47We're all in.
07:48This whole thing was based on this woman, Giovanna Battaglia, who is the fashion editor for Vogue,
07:55French Vogue, got married to this ultra-rich hedge fund guy and they took over all of the
08:01Capri.
08:02She had her wedding out there.
08:03And so, I'd seen these pictures and was desperate to recreate this.
08:06But, in my brain, even though I'd been here a ton of times, I thought that was all grass that
08:10went out because they looked like they were on a grass gismet.
08:13We got there to scout and everybody looked at me like I was crazy.
08:15They were like, how are we going to do this?
08:16It's all rocks.
08:17And so, I said, well, she did it.
08:19So, we looked into it and then we basically hired the company.
08:21Oh, yeah.
08:22The same company built that.
08:23I think the lesson is that if you see your dream wedding and you can't afford it, just
08:27write it into a movie.
08:28Write a script about it, exactly.
08:29You get to do it.
08:30That's pretty much it, yes.
08:31I really like seeing the way that you guys would take spaces that were already so spectacular
08:36and make them even more extraordinary.
08:38I remember there were, I think, two days where I just went to set early to sneak away from
08:46production, which they don't like you to do because actors are very irresponsible and if
08:50you lose one, you might never find a piano.
08:52And I was just giving myself the free tour and I took so many photos.
08:57It was so beautiful.
08:58It was when we were shooting the wedding, so we were waiting for the nightfall.
09:01And so, I got to watch the sunset in these stunning ruins and I was like, I cannot believe
09:06that I am in Italy in this beautiful place doing this thing that I love and I'm not getting
09:10laid.
09:11It's a real heartbreak.
09:13She's like, okay, shut the fuck up.
09:17Okay, great.
09:18Fun enough.
09:19Whatever.
09:20Whatever.
09:21You should have let us know.
09:22Somebody arrange that for me, please.
09:25Ms. Kendrick needs some help.
09:28Oh, I know this one.
09:29Pick me.
09:31This is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
09:33I wish that I could tell you that this was on like a really groovy location.
09:37Maybe they shot some exteriors or something.
09:40I know that the day that I was there, whatever piece of it I was in was on a sound stage in
09:45Toronto.
09:46This was?
09:47This scene?
09:48Yeah, this scene.
09:50Scott?
09:52Was she really the one?
09:54Because I think that he's on that swing set with Mary at one point.
09:59It was a long shoot.
10:00So by the time that I showed up, like it was fully kind of summer.
10:03So yeah, this was all sound stage.
10:06I just kind of came in and out on that movie and mostly didn't really know what was going
10:11on or what the movie was going to end up being, which is also how I felt from the minute I read
10:15the script.
10:16And this was one of those cool moments where Edgar had decided to do that like flash from
10:22daytime to nighttime with Michael in the same position.
10:25And I'd actually heard him describe that effect to Michael.
10:28And I was still like, I don't understand what we're doing here.
10:32It was kind of a weird test of faith.
10:34It's funny because I was at that time, I was going between the Twilight sets.
10:40And then I was in Scott Pilgrim and Twilight was a lot of those people had not really done
10:47very much.
10:48And then overnight, they were the most famous people in the world.
10:51Scott Pilgrim was like people that I had seen in amazing like indie films had been like
10:57hustling forever.
10:58Jason Schwartzman.
10:59I mean, obviously Michael, Alison Pill, Brie Larson, Mark Webber, like people that I was just
11:05excited to be around and who I'd seen in so many great things.
11:09And they were just like really living the life of like a jobbing actor.
11:14So I was kind of hanging out being like, how do I just do the thing that you do?
11:19I felt more like I was just, you know, kind of taking notes on what everybody was, how
11:24everybody was handling themselves.
11:25It's funny for me that Michael is so famous now, Michael Cera, because I worked with him
11:29on Arrested Development when he was just a kid.
11:32Yeah.
11:33To watch him blow up.
11:34I mean, did you know he was?
11:35You did.
11:36He was the guy who would always at the end of a scene would tag out with something so funny
11:40that wasn't in the script.
11:41Yeah.
11:42Different every time.
11:43I was like, this guy is really smart.
11:44Yeah.
11:45What comes before anything?
11:46What have we always said is the most important thing?
11:48Breakfast.
11:49Family.
11:50Family, right.
11:51Yeah.
11:53My lady.
11:54This is Mexico, Australia.
11:56It's the shallows.
11:57And it was meant to be Mexico, but it is Australia.
12:00This is Lord Howe Island.
12:01I was about to say, Mexico, Australia.
12:02It's not a location.
12:03It sounds like a great drink though.
12:06No, this is Lord Howe Island.
12:08We only did two weeks in the actual ocean.
12:10The rest was in a swimming pool at their version of Six Flags.
12:13I forget what it was called.
12:14There was a low budget, so we couldn't like pay to quiet the park, obviously.
12:19But the pool was like, the studios were at the park, so I'd be screaming for my life
12:23and the rollercoaster would come and we'd have to freeze for a second.
12:27And then like go back to fighting for my life in a swimming pool.
12:29I think you had to pause screaming for screaming.
12:31For screaming.
12:32I was like, can't we just background the screaming?
12:33But we couldn't because there were no other actors.
12:35It was just like me.
12:37Help!
12:39Help me!
12:40Help me!
12:41They gave me an inflatable shark in one take.
12:43It like jumped out and I was like, this is so much harder than my imagination.
12:47Like the pool float, like, you know, it looked like a unicorn, but it was a shark.
12:51But they were like, we need it because the way the water pills off of the shark.
12:54But anyway, that was the pool.
12:55But this was actual Lord Howe Island.
12:57And they built a tiny island that I was supposed to be on like a reef.
13:02And they put it in the ocean and they anchored it by like buoys and sandbags, I guess.
13:08And then they did a helicopter shot.
13:10But then they all left me and there's scuba divers under.
13:14And the island is moving because you can't really anchor something in the ocean.
13:19And they're like, it's fine.
13:20You're gonna be fine.
13:21There's no shark attacks.
13:22Even though I know that Australia is known for like shark attacks.
13:24Two weeks after we left, someone went missing.
13:26And they think of death by shark.
13:28Oh God.
13:29So I lived.
13:30Lord, you lived there.
13:31I survived.
13:32Oh my gosh.
13:33That is from Spy.
13:35That is in Budapest on Lake Balaton.
13:39Beautiful place.
13:41I really fell in love with Budapest.
13:44It's a great city and the people are really nice.
13:47And this great food scene there too, by the way.
13:49Yeah.
13:50And that was a helicopter scene we had.
13:52And I had an amazing stunt people on that movie.
13:55We did a lot of cool stunts.
13:57That was Melissa running out to the helicopter, but not Melissa hanging off the helicopter
14:02however many thousands of feet in the air we were.
14:05Budapest is high on my list.
14:06I haven't, I haven't been.
14:07Have you not shot there yet?
14:08No, no, no.
14:09Oh, you're kidding.
14:10Oh, it's great.
14:11It's a great movie for us to do in Budapest.
14:13Done.
14:14You got it.
14:15Anytime.
14:16As a filmmaker, I have to say, I'm very proud that you guys remember your experiences
14:20from different films because as directors and filmmakers, we never know if people
14:24are having a good time or not.
14:25Yeah.
14:26But you always ensure that we have a good time and you run a set that's very responsible.
14:31So we actually get to enjoy the locations because often when you're shooting in a location,
14:35it's almost worse because you look out your window at these beautiful locations and you
14:39never get to see them or experience them because it's asleep.
14:42The set is 16 hour days.
14:43Yeah.
14:44And you're like, oh, okay.
14:45Oh, no, totally.
14:46Everything's closed the whole time.
14:47I won't have any anecdotes to talk about.
14:48Exactly.
14:49Just sleep and go to work.
14:50No, we work hard, play hard.
14:51We like to do 10, like a 10 hour continuous hours.
14:53And then everybody gets to have, yeah, dinner and sleep and all that stuff.
14:57And it was interesting though, because that's my favorite place to vacation.
15:00I couldn't wait to shoot a movie there.
15:01But the minute we started working there, I was like, oh, did I just ruin my favorite
15:05vacation place for myself?
15:06He is already like the king of Capri.
15:08Yeah.
15:09You go anywhere and people are running out of shops to go Paulino and like give him like
15:13food and drink and whatever, you know, kiss my baby.
15:17And I was thinking like, oh, when he comes back, it's like they're actually going to crown
15:22him the king of Capri for real.
15:24Well, they haven't seen the movie yet.
15:25So we're going to go in July.
15:27So we'll see.
15:28If they approve.
15:29If they approve.
15:30You need us there, don't you?
15:31You need us.
15:32I do.
15:33I do.
15:34Yes, I do.
15:35I feel like Amazon can afford that.
15:37Yeah.
15:38Yeah.
15:39Right.
15:40Come on.
15:41Hey, Jeff, get on this.
15:42Come on, Jeff.

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