Can't get enough of Western North Carolina in the movies?

From late May's "Dirty Dancing" premiere to last summer's "Masterminds" to the upcoming indie flick "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," there's no shortage of Asheville scenes on the big screen in 2017.

But this phenomenon is nothing new for the mountains of North Carolina.

Asheville and the surrounding forests, hills and lakes have a long history of being a prime filming spot for movies in need of natural scenery, from the early silent era — with films like the recently unearthed 1921 reel "Conquest of Canaan" — through the 20th century and into the new millennium.

And it would be hard to find two people more in-the-know about locally shot films than location scout Lance Holland and film historian Frank Thompson.

Holland, who worked on-set as a location manager for most of the region's movies in the 1990s and 2000s, from "The Last of the Mohicans" in 1992 to "The Clearing" in 2004, recently shared his reflective essay with the Citizen-Times, providing a detailed look back on his career in the movies.

"Two months of dreaming, planning, construction and finger-crossing led up to the night of no return," the Graham County resident wrote. "Finally, at 4:30 in the morning on a frigid February night, it all started: The roar was deafening, the concussion knocked me to the ground, fire lit up the sky, and it was the coolest thing I had ever done in my entire life. It was the train wreck (scene) in the feature film 'The Fugitive,' starring Harrison Ford," released in 1993.

Though Holland had worked on many films over the course of his career — participating in "many noteworthy activities," from "running cars off cliffs, building the White House and blowing up helicopters — the train wreck was the high point," he explained.

A look back at mountain movies

In the early days of motion pictures, Asheville and "life in the isolated and backwards mountains" was likely a compelling subject for movie-goers in bigger cities, Holland suggested. City citizens bustled in crowds through dirty, noisy streets, and they were fascinated by the mountaineer lifestyle, making WNC a popular site for filmmaking in the early 20th century.

In fact, so many movies were made during this time period, from 1900 to 1929 (Holland suggests that it was upwards of 500), that Thompson, local author and film historian, wrote and published a book in May on that exact topic: "Asheville Movies Volume I: The Silent Era."

Thompson's estimate of movies filmed in the region during this time is a bit more modest, though, at around 50. But the author acknowledges that, of all of these movies — produced by major companies like Edison, Selznick, Vitagraph, Metro and Paramount — only one remains: "The Conquest of Canaan," which, until recently, was thought to be lost to time as well.

Moving into the golden era of Hollywood, in 1956, The Biltmore House made its film debut in "The Swan" alongside Grace Kelly. Two years later, the moonshine-madness crime drama classic "Thunder Road" hit the silver screens with visions of Asheville and Lake Lure.

Decades later, while filming TV movie "Follow the River" in the Cashiers/Highlands area, Holland discovered a familiar scene from "Thunder Road" at Toxaway Falls, which had been used for one of the film's car crashes.

"This started a catalog of locations for the old moonshine movie, including Hoyle's office supply store on Market Street in downtown Asheville, where Robert Mitchum's character jumped from a second story window to escape the cops," Holland explained. The movie also features scenes of "the underpass on Biltmore Avenue, and the roadside bar was set in an old storefront, which is still on the side of Mundy Cove Road in the Reems Creek Community."

In 1979 and 1980, the Biltmore got more screen time in "Being There" and "The Private Eyes," and, in 1987, Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey famously danced on the shores of Lake Lure in "Dirty Dancing." Kevin Costner famously filmed at McCormick Field in "Bull Durham" in 1988, and 1989 brought Kelly McGillis and Kurt Russell to Barnardsville for "Winter People."

In 1990, Michael Caine and Jim Belushi filmed "Mr. Destiny" at Biltmore, and, in 1992, Daniel Day-Lewis starred in the historical drama "The Last of the Mohicans," set in Chimney Rock State Park — which was the film that launched Holland's career as a location manager for movies.

Prior to "Mohicans," Holland spent much of his time arranging photo shoots for photographers in the backcountry of the Great Smoky Mountains, but didn't consider these guided excursions his full-time gig.

Director Michael Mann had sent his location manager out to Fontana Lake, hoping to find a local who was familiar with the area — and found Holland.

"I thought I had been hired as a guide, but when I got my first paycheck, under 'occupation' it said, 'Location Scout,'" Holland wrote. "I said, 'Hmm... OK. I guess I can be one of those.'"

Then came "The Fugitive" in 1993, with its memorable train crash scene, filmed on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad east of Dillsboro. Then "Richie Rich" at Biltmore, scenes of "Forrest Gump" on his famous crosscountry run, "Nell," starring Jodie Foster at Fontana Lake, and the kid-comedy "Heavyweights" in 1995. Closing out the last century, "Patch Adams" starred Robin Williams and was filmed at UNC Chapel Hill, at the Biltmore Estate and along the Blue Ridge Parkway and Elk Mountain Highway in Asheville.

Released in 2000 and filmed in 1999, "28 Days" had Sandra Bullock at the Black Mountain Conference Center, dressed up for the movie as a mental institution. The 2001 sequel to "Silence of the Lambs," "Hannibal" was filmed at Biltmore, among other locations around the globe — and Robert Redford's "The Clearing" in 2004 was set in the mountains around WNC as well.

Bringing us up to date, "The Hunger Games" was famously set in DuPont State Forest in the 2012 dystopian battle of the teens — along with the previously mentioned "Masterminds," "Dirty Dancing" remake and the yet-to-be-released "Three Billboards."

Locals behind the camera

But major motion pictures aren't the only things being filmed in the mountains.

Asheville is widely known as a haven for artists and creatives, and that demographic includes more than just painters, sculptors and musicians. Asheville is home to many talented filmmakers, producers, editors and actors as well.

Local director, historian and award-winning filmmaker Erin Derham has crafted films on local culture, from the Julian Price Documentary about one of Asheville's most influential characters to "Buskin' Blues" about the city's rich street musician culture.

In 2015, writer Lea McLellan and videographer Andrew Vasco teamed up to create the Asheville-centric web comedy "Transplanting," which lasted two successful seasons and screened at film festivals around the globe.

In 2016, mother-and-son writing team Robin and Stefan Liner created and premiered the romantic comedy web series "When Fact Met Fiction," which just successfully funded its second season and begins shooting episodes in late June.

And, in April, at the 10th annual Music Video Asheville awards, a long list of locally produced visuals and songs blew the audience away, premiering some of the most professional quality videos to date — from filmmakers like Andrew Anderson Films, All Around Artsy, Parker J. Pfister and Fiasco Pictures.

Over the course of Memorial Day Weekend, local husband-and-wife filmmaking team Mason and Tabitha McDonald, under the name Art Before Comfort, filmed a thriller out in the mountains near Bryson City.

After raising $5,000 on Indiegogo to cover wardrobe, makeup, props, set design and equipment, the duo began work on "Strangers by a Fire," set in the years following the Civil War, which focuses on two men's coincidental encounter in the Appalachian mountains — and the evolution of the suspenseful evening.

The cast and crew wrapped at 4:30 a.m. Monday, and the duo is now buried deep in edits and post-production, hoping to premiere the film in 2018.

And this summer, on July 7, the feature horror film "Happy Endings Are a Rarity," created by former resident and filmmaker Blair Hoyle, will debut digitally, on Blu-ray and DVD.

"Happy Endings," which was filmed entirely in Tuckasegee in Jackson County, was produced with the help of many local actors and crew members. Dealing with a traumatic event that leaves him housebound, main character Landon becomes estranged from his close friends — but old secrets (and possible hauntings) are brought to light when his friends visit to rekindle the friendship.

"Three Billboards" sets release date

Speaking of Jackson County, Fox Searchlight's dark comedy "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" recently announced a release date for the Sylva-based film, which was shot last spring and summer.

The fourth original production from director Martin McDonagh — behind "Six Shooter," the well-received "In Bruges" and "Seven Psychopaths" — will hit theaters on Oct. 13.

Starring Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell and, in one scene, some local deer at the WNC Nature Center, "Three Billboards" will be the final big-budget local movie on the horizon thus far.

But have no fear: We'll keep our eyes out for more mountain movies, keeping you up to date on any future filmmaking endeavors.