Groundhog Day - A Romero-like Obsession

[Philly_SWAT]

I, like many members of this board, have felt the strange desire to visit many of the shooting locations from GAR's dead movies. Many more wish to visit these locations in the future. This desire and/or completion of this act is seen as cool to some, weird or unusual by many. Dawn of the Dead is my favorite movie, and seeing those locations was the coolest of all for me. Another of my personal favorite movies in the Bill Murray classic "Groundhog Day". While set in Punxsutawney, PA, the movie was filmed almost entirely in Woodstock, Illinois. Last week, I visited Woodstock, and was amazed and surprised at how little this small town has changed since the movie was shot. The "bed and breakfast" that Phil stays in is actual just a large, private residence. It is for sale. I wanted to buy it, but checking online and seeing the $600,000 price tag, I thought better of it. The town has plaques all over the place, denoting important scenes from the movie. As with my GAR obsession, I have pics of myself in most of these locations. Remember the scene in the bar, where Phil offers to buy Rita a drink? Well, I was there. Along with quite a few beers, what else do you think I ordered? A sweet vermouth, rocks, with a twist, of course! The bowling alley/bar where Phil ties one on with the two local drunks, well, I got pretty hammered there myself. The owner had a big screen TV that he could pull down from the ceiling in the center of the lanes, and he played the scenes from Groundhog Day that were shot in his place. To me, this was so cool! What do you guys think, was this a really cool thing I got to do, or incredibly dumb? I am still trying to figure that out myself!

[MissJacksonCA]

Eh I visit places where movies are filmed all the time. Never Groundhog Day because that movie drives me crazy but other films... I also track down 'some of the greats' from horror flicks I enjoy and find out where they are now... still looking for Amy Steele btw... Oh but I think its necessary to point out that when I visit a place where a movie is filmed its not because I love the movie so much as it is I love the area where its filmed...

[MikePizzoff]

Living just outside of Philly, I've seen plenty of spots that I recognize from movies/TV shows but I've never gone out of my way to visit a spot. Although, I'd like to one day make a road trip to the Monroeville Mall. Also, visiting some of the Back To The Future trilogy locations would be cool if I were ever in Cali.

[bassman]

You should post the pics, Philly. I love "Groundhog Day" and I would like to see what these places look like now. Actually....I pretty much love everything that has these two names attached: Ramis and Murray. My "goal" is to one day see where certain scenes were filmed for Dawn, and see ALL the shooting locations for "Ghostbusters".

[darth los]

I think it's cool. If i had the finacial means i'd do it all the time. I'm a law major so i got to visit the courthouse where thay film law and order and i was all giddy. They were even going to shoot a scene there but i was working and didn't have time to stick around.

[MissJacksonCA]

The mall where they filmed back to the future has changed dramatically its nearly unrecogniseable =(

[darth los]

That's always heart breaking. I've read many accounts of people going to monroeville mall and finding it starkly different from the film. Everybody's like "where's the ice skating rink?" it has since been turned to a food court by the way. You go there and expect to see things from the film. There are usually tours where people connected with the film guide you and direct you toward famous areas from the film.