LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Marion McMullen turns the spotlight on famous film backdrops as fans follow in Joker’s footsteps
1 A SET of steps in near Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York, has become a tourist attraction since the release of the new Joker movie. Actor Joaquin Phoenix, in full clown guise, dances down them in the film and fans have been turning up ever since to follow in his footsteps. But some locals are not happy. Bronx resident Cathyrine Spencer says: “Every day, when I come down the stairs, I have to go through a barrage of people.” 2 SYLVESTER STALLONE made the staircase of Philadelphia’s Museum Of Art famous when he ran up them as part of his training in the 1976 Rocky movie. Friends Peter Rowe, Jacob Kerstan and Andrew Wright recreated the scene in 2015 and found Stallone at the site. He posed for a selfie with the trio, inset.
3 WHO ya gonna call? The famous firehouse HQ from the 1984 Ghostbusters movie can be found on the corner of Varick Street in New York. A Ghostbusters logo can still be found on the pavement outside and another on the wall inside the working fire station. The location features on many movie and TV tours of the Big Apple. 4 KING’S CROSS Station in London has become a favourite with Harry Potter fans ever since the young wizard caught the Hogwarts Express there from platform 9¾. The platform now exists on the railway concourse and features a luggage trolley partly embedded in the wall. The famous train is shown on the information board on Back To Hogwarts Day every September 1. 5 YOU can actually order what Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal tucked into in the 1989 rom-com, When Harry Met Sally. The famous “I’ll have what she’s having scene” was filmed in Katz’s Deli in New York City’s Lower East Side and it’s easy to find the Harry and Sally table – it has a large sign above it. The walls are covered with photos of other celebrities who have eaten at the deli.
6 HUGH GRANT’S famous blue door from the 1999 movie Notting Hill is a popular London location. The original door was auctioned off for charity, but promptly replaced. It fronted the property that was home to Hugh’s bookshop owner William Thacker and his Welsh flatmate Spike, played by Rhys Ifans, pictured. 7 FOX PLAZA – 20th Century Fox HQ – in Century City, Los Angeles, is best known as Nakatomi Plaza from the 1988 Die Hard film. The movie saw Bruce Willis as John McClane battling to save his wife and coworkers held hostage by master criminal Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) in the 34-storey skyscraper which was still under construction at the time.
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FOLLOW in the footsteps of Katniss Everdeen, right, and book into the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. It was used as the Tributes’ Training Centre in the 2013 film The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The hotel’s 52-storey glass lifts and rooftop garden appeared in the film, while the city’s Atlanta Motorway Speedway was the setting for the chariot parade.
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HATLEY CASTLE in Canada, above, provided exterior settings for Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in the X-Men movies. The 40-room mansion in British Colombia dates back to 1908 and has also been the location for movies like Poltergeist: The Legacy and Deadpool, starring Ryan Reynolds.
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MANY London landmarks were among the stars in the 007 movie Skyfall. Director Sam Mendes filmed a lot of the 2012 action thriller in the capital which saw the destruction of the M16 Headquarters and a meeting with Q at the National Gallery. James Bond tours are popular with fans, but the spy’s childhood Scottish home, Skyfall, was built from scratch with plaster and plywood.