Top 10 movies in 2010 that are reeling in the vacationers! (Part 2)

Did you know that roughly 20% of travelers have been inspired to travel to a destination after seeing it in a film?  That’s right.  Film locations inspire vacation destinations for nearly 20% of travelers.

Viscape’s Top 10 movies list for 2010 unveils this year’s top “location vacation” destinations.  In a prior blog post Top 10 movies in 2010 (Part 1), we shared the most popular movies within the past decade that have screen-spired travelers to visit new places.

As we continue the countdown, I think you may be surprised by some of the top movie picks and their respective screen-spiring destinations.

Which is your favorite?  Is there a movie that screen-spired you to travel somewhere that was not on your travel radar?  Tell us about it in the comments below!

Drum roll, please!  Now here goes the rest of the list, starting with #8…..

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#8:  The Twilight Saga:  Eclipse

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, an upcoming romantic-fantasy film, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner.

Movie set locations: Belcarra Regional Park, Burrard Inlet, Capilano College, Gastown and Langley in Vancouver, and Port Moody, Robert Burnaby Park, East Burnaby, Steveston, Richmond and Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

Release date: June 2010

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is an upcoming romantic-fantasy film is scheduled for release in June 2010.  Based on Stephanie Meyer’s Eclipse, this is the third movie in the trilogy of the Twilight Saga film series following Twilight (2008)  and New Moon (2009).  Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson, and Kristen Stewart reprise their roles as Jacob Black, Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, respectively.  David Slade directs the film, while Melissa Rosenberg returns as screenwriter.  Bryce Dallas Howard will play Victoria.  Although the movie characters reference Seattle, this dark teenage thriller was filmed primarily in Vancouver, British Columbia.

After a string of killings in Seattle, Bella Swan finds herself in a bizarre love triangle, having to choose between her love (vampire) Edward Cullen and her friendship with Jacob Black (werewolf), knowing that her choice could ignite a standoff between vampire and werewolf.

Are you a Twi-hard?  Retrace the steps of Twilight Saga.  Or better yet, see the sites of the Vancouver Winter Olympics.  Consider staying in a Vancouver vacation rental.

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#7: The Last Song

"Last Song," a coming of age drama, starring Miley Cyrus, Greg Kinnear, Kelly Preston, and Liam Hemsworth.

Movie set locations: Savannah and Tybee Island, Georgia, USA

Release date:  March 2010

Although the Last Song was originally set in North Carolina, the State of Georgia courted the producers to have the movie set on Coastal Georgia.  The understand the importance of movies to bring tourism to an area.  As a result, the Last Song, starring teenage pop sensation Miley Cyrus, was filmed on location in Savannah and Tybee Island last summer of 2009.  Its the first movie to ever be filmed in Tybee Island.  Isn’t that awesome?  Go Tybee!

The Last Song is a coming of age drama, starring Miley Cyrus, Greg Kinnear, Kelly Preston, and Liam Hemsworth,  In her directorial debut, Julie Anne Robinson directs the film and Sparks and Jeff Van Wie co-wrote the film.  The story is about a troubled teenager played by Miley Cyrus who reconnects with her estranged father when she visits him in a quiet Southern beach town on Tybee Island.  While there, she meets a boy and falls in love.  Ahhh!

Want to see Tybee Island’s gorgeous beaches and its pier as featured on the movie?  Come fall in love on Tybee!  Stay at a Tybee Island beach house rental.

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#6:  From Paris with Love

"From Paris with Love," is an action film starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers and directed by Pierre Morel. The screenplay was co-written by Luc Besson.

Movie set location:  Paris, France

Release date:  February 2010

IMDB rating:  6.5 of 10

With a movie titled From Paris with Love, how can it not be set in Paris?   Directed by Pierre Morel and co-written by Luc Beson, From Paris with Love is an action film starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, which was released in the U.S. in February of 2010.

A personal aide to the U.S. Ambassador in France, James Reese (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) has an enviable life in Paris as a low level desk job in the CIA.  But what he really wants is to become a bona fide CIA operative and see some real action. So when he is offered his first senior-level assignment, he cannot believe his good luck until he meets his new partner, special agent Charlie Wax (John Travolta) – a trigger-happy, wisecracking, loose cannon who’s been sent to Paris to stop a terrorist attack.

Wax leads James on a white-knuckle shooting spree through the Parisian underworld that has James praying for his desk job. But when James discovers he’s a target of the same crime ring they’re trying to bust, he realizes there’s no turning back…and that Wax himself might be his only hope for making it through the next forty-eight hours alive.

While recreating the CIA operative experience in this movie may not be realistic, experiencing the real Paris is via a Paris vacation rental.  Oh la la!

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#5:  Prince of Persia:  The Sands of Time

"Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," an action-adventure fantasy film, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan, Gemma Arterton as Tamina, Ben Kingsley as Nizam, and Alfred Molina as Sheik Amar.

Movie set locations: Aït Benhaddou, Marrakech, Ouarzazate and Oukaimeden in Morocco

Release date:  May 2010

Based on the (2003) video game of the same name, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is an upcoming action-adventure fantasy film written by Jordan Mechner, Boaz Yachin, Doug Miro, and Carlo Bernard, directed by Mike Newell and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.  The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan, Ben Kingsley as Nizam, Alfred Molina as Sheik Amar and Gemma Arterton as Tamina.  In 2008, the movie was filmed on location in Morocco and Pinewood Studios in London.

Set in medieval Persia, the Prince of Persia teams of with a rival princess to stop an angry ruler from destroying the world by unleashing a sandstorm.  The prince and the princess must return an hourglass to restore the dagger of time.  Do they do it?  Gotta watch the movie to find out.

Dying to experience one of those other worldly places that words can’t describe?  Find your hourglass.  Restore your dagger of time.  Experience Middle Eastern culture via a Morocco vacation rental.

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#4:  Clash of the Titans

"Clash of the Titans," a 2010 fantasy remake film, starring Sam Worthington, Alexa Davalos, Ralph Fiennes, and Liam Neeson

Movie set locations: Teide National Park, Tenerife, Dinorwig Quarry, Gwynedd and Newborough, Anglesey in Wales

Release date:  April 2010

A remake of the uber popular 1981 film, Clash of the Titans is a fantasy film loosely based on the Greek myth of Perseus. Directed by Louis Leterrier and starring Sam Worthington, the film being converted to 3-D, which slightly delayed its release from March to April of 2010.

Filming took place in London at Shepperton Studios, Wales and Tenerife, Canary Islands.  Aerial photography was to be conducted in Iceland and Ethiopia.  The volcano scenes were filmed at Teide National Park in Tenerife and Harriet hole in Dinorwic Slate Quarry in Wales.

Enter into a mythical world.  See volcanoes on the cusp of exploding against a backdrop of one of the world’s most beautiful islands.  What better way to see Tenerife than a Canary Island vacation rental.

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#3:  Crazy Heart

"Crazy Heart," an American musical drama, starring Academy award winner for best actor - Jeff Bridges; also starring Maggie Gyllenhal, Robert Duvall, and Colin Farrell.

Movie set locations: Albuquerque, Espanola, Galisteo and Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA,  Los Angeles, California, USA

Release date:  December 2009

IMDB rating:  7.6 out of 10

Described as “half Urban Cowboy, half The Wrestler“ Crazy Heart is a 2009 American musical-drama film, written and directed by Scott Cooper and based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb. The novel on which the film was based was inspired by country singer Hank Thompson.

Jeff Bridges plays Bad Blake, a down-and-out country music singer-songwriter who tries to turn his life around after beginning a relationship with a young journalist named Jean, portrayed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Supporting roles are played by Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Beth Grant and child actor Jack Nation. Bridges, Farrell, and Duvall also sing in the film.

Filming took place in late 2008 in Albuquerque, Galisteo, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well as in Los Angeles, California.  Critics mainly praised the performance of Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake, with many claiming he elevated the film above its seemingly conventional story and languid pace.  Jeff Bridges’s performance earned him his first Academy Award for Best Actor.

Be a crazy heart!  See the places that inspired Jeff Bridges to become Bad Blake in New Mexico.  Got a hunkering for going earthy?  Experience Sante Fe the way it should be experienced:  a Santa Fe vacation rental.

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#2:  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," a fantasy-adventure film adapted from the novel by J. K. Rowling, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson.

Movie set locations: Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire, Freshwater West,Pembrokeshire, Liverpool, Piccadilly Circus, London, Yorkshire Dales National Park, North Yorkshire

Release date:  November 2010

Written by J.K. rowling and adapted from the novel of the same name, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an upcoming two-part fantasy-adventure film, which is directed by David Yates and scheduled for release in November 2010 for Part I and July 2011 for Part II.

The two movies, Part I and II, will be the final installments in the popular Harry Potter film series.  Production shooting began in February 2009 at Leavesden Studios, where the previous six films had been shot, and Pinewood Studios. Eduardo Serra is the cinematographer. Yates said that the film will be shot “with loads of hand-held cameras. I want to shake things up every time I go into this world. I like experimenting as we go along.” The shoot will take a projected 250 days. In October 2009, Ralph Fiennes started filming his role as Lord Voldemort.

Want to bring to life Harry Potter?  Visit London to go to one of the most popular “location vacation” tours!  While there, live like a local via a London vacation rental

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#1:  Sex in the City – the movie, part 2

"Sex and the City 2" is a romantic comedy/blue comedy film based on the novel by Candace Bushnell), starring Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte York Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis), and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon).

Movie set locations:  New York, Morocco

Release date:  May 2010

Sex and the City 2 is an upcoming sequel to the 2008 film Sex and the City, which is based on the American romantic comedy/blue comedy film adaptation of the HBO comedy series of the same name.  Based on the novel of the same name by Candace Bushnell, Sex in the City is about four female friends: Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte York Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis), and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), dealing with their lives as 40-something year olds in New York City.   The film is scheduled for release in May 2010.

After she turned down a cameo for the first film in 2007, Victoria Beckham has been reported to appear in the sequel, though this has yet to be confirmed. Oscar-winner Penélope Cruz will appear briefly as Lydia, a banker.

American singer/actress Liza Minnelli confirmed to several media outlets that she will be appearing in a cameo role along with singer/actress Barbra Streisand.   Teen pop sensation Miley Cyrus will have one scene where she appears at the premiere of Smith Jerrod’s new film, wearing the same dress as Samantha.  John Corbett was seen on location in Morocco, confirming his speculated involvement in the film as Aiden.

Take the Sex in the City Tour!  Experience New York as a real New Yorker via a New York City vacation rental.

What do ya think?  Have you seen any of the movies above?  Which is your favorite thus far?  Which ones will inspire you to travel?  Please share your comments below…..