If you've ever wondered why a certain spot in a movie you're watching for the first time looks so familiar, it's probably because it has been used a few dozen times in other films you love. It should come as no surprise that Hollywood might recycle its finite resources and reuse iconic locations for a lot of different films. Here are 11 of the most famous recurring film settings.
Quality Cafe (Downtown Los Angeles, CA)
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A small cafe in Los Angeles, this location is the setting for countless diner scenes in both film and television. Heart-to-hearts and break-ups happened in films like "500 Days of Summer," "Million Dollar Baby" and "Training Day," as well as hilarious banter in "Old School" and "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," along with a great scene from "Se7en." Quality Cafe is also a popular spot for television shoots on shows like "Mad Men" and "CSI."
Biltmore Hotel (Downtown Los Angeles, CA)
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Now called the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, this popular location is one of the most famous hotels in the world, not just for its looks but its 100 plus film credits, including the classic scene from "Ghostbusters" when the boys in beige go on their first call, along with the long walk up the stairwell at the end of the film. It's also the setting of the striptease scene from "True Lies" with Jamie Lee Curtis, the part-time waiter scene with Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden in "Fight Club" and the classic Eddie Murphy scene from "Beverly Hills Cop." Other films include "Ocean's Eleven," "The Bodyguard," "Wedding Crashers," "Cruel Intentions," "Spider-Man" and "Independence Day."
Greystone Mansion (Beverly Hills, CA)
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Its checkered floors are hard to miss when they show up in big room scenes in more than 100 filming credits. It's a popular room in superhero films like "X-Men," "Batman & Robin" and the "Spider-Man" trilogy. The hallway of the mansion was popular in "The Big Lewbowski" and the ending of "There Will Be Blood." Bill Murray has seen some action in these halls as well, with popular scenes out of both "Ghostbusters II" where he meets the mayor and in Ivan Reitman's "Stripes." Other popular films include "The Bodyguard," "The Social Network" and "The Prestige."
Monument Valley (Utah State Line)
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A popular setting in westerns and other classics, Monument Valley is located near Four Corners where the four southwest states meet, the Utah and Arizona state line running right through it. The first film to come out of this location dates back to 1939 when John Ford shot westerns like "Stagecoach" and again in "The Searchers." Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda journeyed through it in "Easy Rider," along with Robert Zemeckis' "Forrest Gump" and Clint Eastwood's "Eiger Sanction" in 1975. Other big films include Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," Harold Ramis' "National Lampoon's Vacation," "Back to the Future III," "Thelma and Louise" and the opening scene of "Mission: Impossible II" in which Tom Cruise scales the mountain. Most recently it was used in "Lone Ranger," "A Million Ways to Die in the West" and "Transformers: Age of Extinction" -- all in the last two years.
Hatfield House (Hatfield, England)
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Built in 1611 and boasting more than 30 film credits, this house was the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth I and has been a popular room for the likes of fictional superheroes, wealthy businessmen and powerful women in film. Tim Burton used this location for both his Batman films and a scene from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." In addition, the Hatfield House was used for Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" and "Sherlock Holmes" with Robert Downey Jr. along with Angelina Jolie's "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" and Tilda Swinton's "Orlando."
Vasquez Rocks (Sierra Pelona Mountains, Los Angeles, CA)
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The slanted rock formation is a popular site for desert scenes and sci-fi films, including early "Star Trek" shoots to the present day J.J. Abrams reboot and even the animated Trekkie episode of "The Simpsons." Other TV credits include "Bones," "New Girl" and even "Friends." The location dates back to "Blazing Saddles" in 1974 and was also the location for James Franco's arm-cutting "127 Hours."
Bradbury Building (Downtown Los Angeles, CA)
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Built in 1893, this building has some famous stairs used in science fiction and action movies, the most noteworthy being "Blade Runner," "Lethal Weapon 4" and "Terminator," as well as popular scenes from "The Artist," "Pay It Forward" and "500 Days of Summer." It was also a popular TV setting for shows like "Quantum Leap," "Star Trek" and "CSI."
Griffith Observatory (Los Angeles, CA)
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In the movie business since 1935, the Los Angeles monument has been a popular sci-fi scene for decades beginning with "The Phantom Empire" all the way up to Michael Bay's "Transformers." It has quick scenes in Jim Carrey's "Yes Man," "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "500 Days of Summer" and big scenes in "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Back to the Future II" where Marty get chased by the car in the Mount Hollywood tunnel underneath the observatory.
Courthouse Square (Universal City, CA)
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Another popular setting is on Universal's backlot, which has been used since 1949. The famous clock tower scene from "Back to the Future" was shot here, along with other scenes from "Gremlin," "Bruce Almighty," "Batman & Robin" and "Escape from L.A." The courthouse serves as an often recurring location for television as well, including a long stint with "The Incredible Hulk" and the pilot episode of "The Twilight Zone," not to mention "Magnum P.I."
650 Spring Street (Downtown Los Angeles, CA)
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Formerly a Bank of America in downtown Los Angeles, 650 Spring Street is now the popular location for a majority of bank scenes in film and television. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman have been in a few movies in the bank, including "The Dark Knight Rises," "The Prestige" and "Se7en." It's the same bank setting Patrick Swayze goes into in "Ghost" and Jim Carrey works in for "The Mask." It's also the bank where Johnny Depp loses all his money in "Blow" and Doctor Octopus invades in "Spider-Man 2."
Old Royal Navy College (London, England)
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Opened in 1694, the naval academy has been a majestic setting for royalty and eloquence, making its way into movies like "The King's Speech," where it doubled as Buckingham Palace, and in "Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows." You may also recognize it in the opening scenes from "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides." Recently, it was the setting of the cafe at the end of "The Dark Knight Rises" and can be seen in the 2012 film "Thor: Dark World" and the "Les Miserables" adaptation.
Quality Cafe (Downtown Los Angeles, CA)
A small cafe in Los Angeles, this location is the setting for countless diner scenes in both film and television. Heart-to-hearts and break-ups happened in films like "500 Days of Summer," "Million Dollar Baby" and "Training Day," as well as hilarious banter in "Old School" and "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," along with a great scene from "Se7en." Quality Cafe is also a popular spot for television shoots on shows like "Mad Men" and "CSI."
Biltmore Hotel (Downtown Los Angeles, CA)
Now called the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, this popular location is one of the most famous hotels in the world, not just for its looks but its 100 plus film credits, including the classic scene from "Ghostbusters" when the boys in beige go on their first call, along with the long walk up the stairwell at the end of the film. It's also the setting of the striptease scene from "True Lies" with Jamie Lee Curtis, the part-time waiter scene with Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden in "Fight Club" and the classic Eddie Murphy scene from "Beverly Hills Cop." Other films include "Ocean's Eleven," "The Bodyguard," "Wedding Crashers," "Cruel Intentions," "Spider-Man" and "Independence Day."
Greystone Mansion (Beverly Hills, CA)
Its checkered floors are hard to miss when they show up in big room scenes in more than 100 filming credits. It's a popular room in superhero films like "X-Men," "Batman & Robin" and the "Spider-Man" trilogy. The hallway of the mansion was popular in "The Big Lewbowski" and the ending of "There Will Be Blood." Bill Murray has seen some action in these halls as well, with popular scenes out of both "Ghostbusters II" where he meets the mayor and in Ivan Reitman's "Stripes." Other popular films include "The Bodyguard," "The Social Network" and "The Prestige."
Monument Valley (Utah State Line)
A popular setting in westerns and other classics, Monument Valley is located near Four Corners where the four southwest states meet, the Utah and Arizona state line running right through it. The first film to come out of this location dates back to 1939 when John Ford shot westerns like "Stagecoach" and again in "The Searchers." Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda journeyed through it in "Easy Rider," along with Robert Zemeckis' "Forrest Gump" and Clint Eastwood's "Eiger Sanction" in 1975. Other big films include Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," Harold Ramis' "National Lampoon's Vacation," "Back to the Future III," "Thelma and Louise" and the opening scene of "Mission: Impossible II" in which Tom Cruise scales the mountain. Most recently it was used in "Lone Ranger," "A Million Ways to Die in the West" and "Transformers: Age of Extinction" -- all in the last two years.
Hatfield House (Hatfield, England)
Built in 1611 and boasting more than 30 film credits, this house was the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth I and has been a popular room for the likes of fictional superheroes, wealthy businessmen and powerful women in film. Tim Burton used this location for both his Batman films and a scene from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." In addition, the Hatfield House was used for Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" and "Sherlock Holmes" with Robert Downey Jr. along with Angelina Jolie's "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" and Tilda Swinton's "Orlando."
Vasquez Rocks (Sierra Pelona Mountains, Los Angeles, CA)
The slanted rock formation is a popular site for desert scenes and sci-fi films, including early "Star Trek" shoots to the present day J.J. Abrams reboot and even the animated Trekkie episode of "The Simpsons." Other TV credits include "Bones," "New Girl" and even "Friends." The location dates back to "Blazing Saddles" in 1974 and was also the location for James Franco's arm-cutting "127 Hours."
Bradbury Building (Downtown Los Angeles, CA)
Built in 1893, this building has some famous stairs used in science fiction and action movies, the most noteworthy being "Blade Runner," "Lethal Weapon 4" and "Terminator," as well as popular scenes from "The Artist," "Pay It Forward" and "500 Days of Summer." It was also a popular TV setting for shows like "Quantum Leap," "Star Trek" and "CSI."
Griffith Observatory (Los Angeles, CA)
In the movie business since 1935, the Los Angeles monument has been a popular sci-fi scene for decades beginning with "The Phantom Empire" all the way up to Michael Bay's "Transformers." It has quick scenes in Jim Carrey's "Yes Man," "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "500 Days of Summer" and big scenes in "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Back to the Future II" where Marty get chased by the car in the Mount Hollywood tunnel underneath the observatory.
Courthouse Square (Universal City, CA)
Another popular setting is on Universal's backlot, which has been used since 1949. The famous clock tower scene from "Back to the Future" was shot here, along with other scenes from "Gremlin," "Bruce Almighty," "Batman & Robin" and "Escape from L.A." The courthouse serves as an often recurring location for television as well, including a long stint with "The Incredible Hulk" and the pilot episode of "The Twilight Zone," not to mention "Magnum P.I."
650 Spring Street (Downtown Los Angeles, CA)
Formerly a Bank of America in downtown Los Angeles, 650 Spring Street is now the popular location for a majority of bank scenes in film and television. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman have been in a few movies in the bank, including "The Dark Knight Rises," "The Prestige" and "Se7en." It's the same bank setting Patrick Swayze goes into in "Ghost" and Jim Carrey works in for "The Mask." It's also the bank where Johnny Depp loses all his money in "Blow" and Doctor Octopus invades in "Spider-Man 2."
Old Royal Navy College (London, England)
Opened in 1694, the naval academy has been a majestic setting for royalty and eloquence, making its way into movies like "The King's Speech," where it doubled as Buckingham Palace, and in "Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows." You may also recognize it in the opening scenes from "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides." Recently, it was the setting of the cafe at the end of "The Dark Knight Rises" and can be seen in the 2012 film "Thor: Dark World" and the "Les Miserables" adaptation.