15 Famous Movies You Probably Didn’t Know Were Filmed in North Carolina

North Carolina is home to over 800 feature films being shot right here in our state. With over 800 this list could go on, well forever, but here are fifteen famous movies that notably used the Tar Heel State to set the scene. We don’t have the name ‘Hollywood of the East Coast’ for no reason.

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1. The Hunger Games Wikia One of the most notable films recently made here, The Hunger Games was filmed in Black Mountain and Charlotte. You can thank the Blue Ridge for giving District 12, and the first arena, its dreamy, and sometimes terrifying, backdrop. 2. Last of the Mohicans IGN This award winner was filmed in several parts of Western, NC. Most notably Chimney Rock and DuPont State Forest Waterfalls. 3. Nights in Rodanthe In need of a coastal backdrop, the creators chose to give viewers the real thing by filming this love story on Hatteras Island. 4. Dirty Dancing Wikipedia Lake Lure provides the beautiful, camp background for this classic love story. 5. The Color Purple Collider Using several locations in North Carolina, this revolutionary and outspoken movie is one of its kind. 6. Forrest Gump Romantic Asheville As one of the many national filming locations, North Carolina makes its own appearance as a running location for Forrest in this beloved movie. 7. Shallow Hal Charlotte is the priority filming location for this, "looks aren't everything" classic comedy. 8. A Walk to Remember Wilmington was the perfect quaint setting for this heartbreaking movie. 9. The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Filmed at the same time as A Walk to Remember in Wilmington, this girl-power chick flick is still a cult classic to this day! 10. Nell Nell epitomizes the untouched beauty of the Appalachian Mountains 11. Cold Mountain The Blue Ridge Mountains set the eerie but beautiful scene for this Civil War Drama 12. Talladega Nights the Ballad of Ricky Bobby Everyone knows the saying Shake n Bake. This hit comedy used Lake Norman and various parts of North Carolina to give Ricky Bobby his home. 13. The Green Mile This famous movie of wrong, right, and those wrongly tried used several NC filming locations including the Blue Ridge Mountains. 14. The Fugitive The infamous train vs. bus wreck from this movie where Harrison Ford narrowly escapes is still left in its original place in Western, NC. 15. Patch Adams In memory of a comedy legend....Robin Williams and crew filmed Patch Adams at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a few other scenes shot in Asheville and Hollywood.

What are some of your other favorite movies filmed here?