As collegiettes™ going to school in D.C., we get the privilege of calling the District our home for four years. We are constantly told by AU to explore D.C. and embrace the neighborhoods and culture beyond the tourist attractions. Back in July, Mayor Vincent Gray had this same message for Hollywood executives in L.A. He held a meeting with studio executives to promote shooting movies in D.C., and not just on the Mall or at the monuments.
There have been hundreds of movies filmed here, but unfortunately D.C. has been type casted into political and intelligence roles. Movies, like the American President, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, and All the President’s Men that were filmed in D.C. have only shown the political side of the city. Shots of the White House, Capitol building and Washington Monument are seen in almost every spy, political or law enforcement movie, but what about the rest of D.C.?
The amount of movies that feature D.C. without a political agenda is very small, but here are a few of the movies that focus on D.C. as a unique city that people call home, and not just the political capital of the United States:
The Exorcist (1973)- The Exorcist is said to be one of the scariest movies of all time. It is the story of a little girl who is possessed by a demon and the priest who tries to exorcise her. The priest in the film works at Georgetown University, and most of the movie was filmed at Georgetown’s campus. The infamous “Exorcist Steps” are located off of M Street and our one of D.C.’s only movie-related landmarks. Because there are so many staircases on Georgetown’s campus, people often confuse other staircases for the “Exorcist Steps”. To make sure you are seeing the real deal, ask a cute Georgetown boy for directions and hopefully you will get his digits in addition to a picture on the stairs!
How Do You Know (2010)- How Do You Know is a love story about a girl being persuaded by two men in a classic good guy/ bad boy love triangle. Starring in the movie is an all-star cast of Reese Withersoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson. The movie is based partly in D.C. with Owen Wilson playing a Washington Nationals player. Nationals Park and Dupont Circle are featured in the film along with clips of WMATA buses. The Mall is also featured frequently in this movie, but we can give the filmmakers a break as most people associate those locations with D.C.
Wedding Crashers (2005)- Wedding Crashers really needs no introduction as it is one of the iconic movies of our young adult lives. Many of the locations of the movie are quite ambiguous as it was mostly filmed on sound stages in LA. But the “crashers” live in D.C. & go somewhere in Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay, to Secretary Cleary’s estate. Parts of Georgetown are featured during the lawyer scenes at the beginning of the movie. Besides the Georgetown scenes, the rest of the D.C. filming was of the monuments, but at least they were highlighted in a very non-political way. One of the most iconic of these scenes is the morning after the wedding montages, when Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn are drinking on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It is easy to forget that this cult comedy classic was based here in the District!
There are so many cool parts of D.C. that the entertainment industry has never taped into, like Adams Morgan and U Street. Hopefully, Mayor Gray’s proposal will inspire filmmakers to use these parts of D.C. as the setting for their films. We certainly don’t want our beloved city to become the Michael Cera of film locations!