They don’t have any speaking parts. But a hiking trail on the US West Coast, the frozen, otherworldly landscape of Iceland and the old forests of the British countryside play supporting roles in this year’s crop of Oscar-nominated films.
While today’s movie-goer may be acutely conscious of CGI scenes, sometimes the jaw-dropping, inspiring settings are, indeed, real.
Cheapflights.com has come up with a list of stunning filming locations featured in some of the biggest films of 2014, settings that captured the imagination and inspired a sense of wanderlust.
Here’s a selection:
Iceland in “Interstellar”
To relay the sense of otherworldliness in the sci-fi film, director Christopher Nolan took the cast to Iceland. The frozen landscapes and tundra helped evoke a sense of lonely, uninhabitable barrenness, while the snow-capped Svínafellsjökull glacier helped serve as the backdrop for Matthew McConaughey in many of the film’s posters.
Sussex, England in “Maleficent”
Many of the fairy tale scenes featuring sweeping, lush green hillsides in Angelina Jolie’s film “Maleficent” were filmed in Petworth Park in Sussex, a 600-acre park of grasslands, lake and ancient trees that were used to convey the mystical, fantasy world of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. Likewise, Ashbridge estate, a patch of English countryside less than an hour from central London, also doubled as the Enchanted Forest with its rare plants, butterflies, birds and ancient woodlands.
Pacific Crest Trail, United States, “Wild”
In the film ‘Wild,’ the Pacific Crest Trail plays a major supporting role to Reese Witherspoon, as both her character’s savior and foe. Based on the true story of a woman’s solo, soul-searching journey across 1,100 miles (1,770 km), the film follows Witherspoon, who plays Cheryl Strayed, as she hits the trails on a grueling and life-affirming journey through the West Coast wilderness. The trail itself begins in southern California at the Mexican border and covers a total distance of 2,650 miles (4,265 km) through California, Oregon and Washington.
Palace Bristol Hotel, Czech Republic in “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
While the scenes for the interior of The Grand Budapest Hotel were shot inside a shuttered, luxury department store in Gorlitz, Germany, the facade seen in movie posters was inspired by the real-life Palace Bristol Hotel in the Czech Republic, which is also characterized by its pink walls. The 19th century building has 48 single and double rooms, luxurious presidential suites and spa services that include hot springs and mud baths.
Source: Relaxnews