Why so much Fictional names for real areas in TV or Film?

[Scott5114]

Oklahoma is flat.

Only for the Klingons.

[Stephane Dumas]

If you don't make your show set in a real location, you don't have to do the research to make it accurate.

Otherwise, you run the risk of getting it hilariously wrong:

That reminds me of "Rumble in the Bronx" set in New York but lots of scenes was filmed in Vancouver.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY4fajwS-Cg

[Rothman]

If you don't make your show set in a real location, you don't have to do the research to make it accurate.

Otherwise, you run the risk of getting it hilariously wrong:

Looks right to me.

[Max Rockatansky]

Oklahoma is flat.

Only for the Klingons.

Alberta was a far better stand in for Oklahoma than I was expecting in Ghostbusters Afterlife.

[thenetwork]

I think you tend to see more shows based in larger real cities when they want to focus on the lifestyle and the personalities of a specific town or region.  Shows based in fictitious towns are designed so viewers can subliminally associate the show with their Anytown, USA, despite the show actually referencing a specific state or region.

I briefly worked in a Podunk town that 100% had the Hooterville mentality, but it was nowhere near where Green Acres was inferring where THEIR Hooterville was located.

[Road Hog]

If you don't make your show set in a real location, you don't have to do the research to make it accurate.

Otherwise, you run the risk of getting it hilariously wrong:

If you wanted to go a little farther south to Idabel, the terrain is more plausible.

[ethanhopkin14]

If you don't make your show set in a real location, you don't have to do the research to make it accurate.

Otherwise, you run the risk of getting it hilariously wrong:

How about not being a lazy film maker and actually do the research on your location?  It's a pet peeve of mine.  They have $300 million budgets and can't pay someone a $500 round trip plane ticket to go to the location and see what it's actually like?

[Scott5114]

If you don't make your show set in a real location, you don't have to do the research to make it accurate.

Otherwise, you run the risk of getting it hilariously wrong:

How about not being a lazy film maker and actually do the research on your location?  It's a pet peeve of mine.  They have $300 million budgets and can't pay someone a $500 round trip plane ticket to go to the location and see what it's actually like?

Hell, at least call up the local Chamber of Commerce or the town library or someone like that and be like "Hey, can you look out the window and tell me what you see?"

[vdeane]

It's worth noting that most of Broken Bow doesn't look like the image on the left.  In fact, if the boundary on Google Maps is even remotely accurate, the image on the left wouldn't look like Broken Bow at all if they didn't annex a thin strip of land along US 259 and OK 259A specifically to get to the lake!  Of course, this doesn't make as nice of a meme.

[Scott5114]

Still, though, most of Broken Bow doesn't look like the image on the right either. If you asked me to describe the Broken Bow area off the top of my head, I would say "hilly and forested". If you told me the image on the right was actually from somewhere in Oklahoma and asked me to guess where it was, I would say "I dunno...Grant County maybe?" Definitely not anywhere east of US-75.

[roadman65]

You know what gets me is Dallas, using a fictional county to place the City of Dallas in.  Everything was Braddock County and the County had its own business district.

I'm guessing is that if they used Plano in the show, they would have to pay out royalties to Plano and watch what they create in storylines not to make them look bad.

Then Walker Texas Ranger is one that has in its universe was having City of Dallas in neighboring Tarrant  County instead of in Dallas County where ADA Alex Cahill was prosecuting Walkers collars that he collared in the Dallas City limits.  That, even, not big a deal makes one wonder why they included both Metroplex cities in the same county.

[Scott5114]

I'm guessing is that if they used Plano in the show, they would have to pay out royalties to Plano and watch what they create in storylines not to make them look bad.

Um...no, actually? You can't copyright the existence of a town, and the First Amendment exists, so there's no basis for royalties to be paid and no obligation to make Plano look good.

[hotdogPi]

I know both examples are literature, but:

HP Lovecraft made a fictional city of Arkham, but it's surrounded by real cities and towns (and a few other fictional ones). https://www.deviantart.com/fghtan/art/Arkham-County-late-1920-s-Road-Atlas-399560715

Jack Kerouac wrote a book where a fictional city was very clearly intended to be Lowell MA, just renamed.

[Henry]

I'm guessing is that if they used Plano in the show, they would have to pay out royalties to Plano and watch what they create in storylines not to make them look bad.

Um...no, actually? You can't copyright the existence of a town, and the First Amendment exists, so there's no basis for royalties to be paid and no obligation to make Plano look good.

In the original Cars, the town of Radiator Springs and Carburetor County are presumed to be in AZ, because they show a map of Route 66 winding across it the same way it does/did in that part of the state, then add in I-40 when that highway is introduced, causing its predecessor to eventually disappear from the map, but later come back as an Historic route. This is an example of freedom to do anything creative as an homage to the actual towns that were located on it; in this case, they put automotive themes in the movie to make it all come together.

[ethanhopkin14]

I'm guessing is that if they used Plano in the show, they would have to pay out royalties to Plano and watch what they create in storylines not to make them look bad.

Um...no, actually? You can't copyright the existence of a town, and the First Amendment exists, so there's no basis for royalties to be paid and no obligation to make Plano look good.

In the original Cars, the town of Radiator Springs and Carburetor County are presumed to be in AZ, because they show a map of Route 66 winding across it the same way it does/did in that part of the state, then add in I-40 when that highway is introduced, causing its predecessor to eventually disappear from the map, but later come back as an Historic route. This is an example of freedom to do anything creative as an homage to the actual towns that were located on it; in this case, they put automotive themes in the movie to make it all come together.

Well that was because it was a completely separate universe from the Earth we live on.  A universe where the cars are living beings yet still have rearview mirrors for some reason....

[abefroman329]

I'm guessing is that if they used Plano in the show, they would have to pay out royalties to Plano and watch what they create in storylines not to make them look bad.

Um...no, actually? You can't copyright the existence of a town, and the First Amendment exists, so there's no basis for royalties to be paid and no obligation to make Plano look good.

In the original Cars, the town of Radiator Springs and Carburetor County are presumed to be in AZ, because they show a map of Route 66 winding across it the same way it does/did in that part of the state, then add in I-40 when that highway is introduced, causing its predecessor to eventually disappear from the map, but later come back as an Historic route. This is an example of freedom to do anything creative as an homage to the actual towns that were located on it; in this case, they put automotive themes in the movie to make it all come together.

Well that was because it was a completely separate universe from the Earth we live on.  A universe where the cars are living beings yet still have rearview mirrors for some reason....

It's so they can drive backwards, duh.

[kphoger]

In the original Cars, the town of Radiator Springs and Carburetor County are presumed to be in AZ, because they show a map of Route 66 winding across it the same way it does/did in that part of the state, then add in I-40 when that highway is introduced, causing its predecessor to eventually disappear from the map, but later come back as an Historic route. This is an example of freedom to do anything creative as an homage to the actual towns that were located on it; in this case, they put automotive themes in the movie to make it all come together.

Well that was because it was a completely separate universe from the Earth we live on.  A universe where the cars are living beings yet still have rearview mirrors for some reason....

It's so they can drive backwards, duh.

So...  If Mater's rearview mirrors help him drive backwards, then why did he say...

Ain't no need to watch where I'm going. Just need to know where I've been.

... ?

[ethanhopkin14]

I'm guessing is that if they used Plano in the show, they would have to pay out royalties to Plano and watch what they create in storylines not to make them look bad.

Um...no, actually? You can't copyright the existence of a town, and the First Amendment exists, so there's no basis for royalties to be paid and no obligation to make Plano look good.

In the original Cars, the town of Radiator Springs and Carburetor County are presumed to be in AZ, because they show a map of Route 66 winding across it the same way it does/did in that part of the state, then add in I-40 when that highway is introduced, causing its predecessor to eventually disappear from the map, but later come back as an Historic route. This is an example of freedom to do anything creative as an homage to the actual towns that were located on it; in this case, they put automotive themes in the movie to make it all come together.

Well that was because it was a completely separate universe from the Earth we live on.  A universe where the cars are living beings yet still have rearview mirrors for some reason....

It's so they can drive backwards, duh.

Well, the rearview mirrors are behind their eyes.  It would do as much good as you having mirrors on your ears so you could see behind you.

Not to mention the cars have doors and seats.  What happened to the people.......?

[abefroman329]

The one that really keeps me up at night: Cars and Planes take place in the same universe, yet cars can't see their instrument panel and planes can.

[bing101]

Vallejo, CA has been used for San Francisco and Oakland scenes.

Myth busters was filmed on Mare Island.

Vancouver, BC and Vallejo, CA have been some of the places where "San Francisco" and "Oakland" has been used in movies to get around the filming permits and expenses issues.

This is like Atlanta, Las Vegas, Dallas, Phoenix have been used  to take the spot of "Los Angeles" to lower the costs of doing films in some places.
Toronto has been used too to take the place of New York and Chicago in Movies.

[formulanone]

The one that really keeps me up at night: Cars and Planes take place in the same universe, yet cars can't see their instrument panel and planes can.

https://youtu.be/hJ7cxAUeZZw

[golden eagle]

The series version of In the Heat Of the Night was set in fictional Sparta, MS, but did made references to places like Jackson and Hattiesburg. There was an episode in which Chief Gillespie went to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The beach itself looked like it was filmed in California. There was even a mileage sign that was placed on the wrong side of the beach. If going from Gulfport to Pascagoula, the beach would be to the right. On the episode, the beach was on the left side of the screen.

[ethanhopkin14]

This is like Atlanta, Las Vegas, Dallas, Phoenix have been used  to take the spot of "Los Angeles" to lower the costs of doing films in some places.
Toronto has been used too to take the place of New York and Chicago in Movies.

That one cracks me up sometimes....There are so many low budget films that film mostly in southern California for whatever the real location is (they need a city, LA stands in, they need a dessert, they drive out past Coachella) yet some movies that are supposed to actually take place in Los Angeles, they use Atlanta as a stand in.  I guess its because the low budget outfits "steal" shots around Los Angeles so they can use the location, but the bigger budget films have to do things the right way, so they try to not film in Los Angeles to keep down costs. 

It's funny to me to see "Los Angeles" clearly having seasons....

[thenetwork]

This is like Atlanta, Las Vegas, Dallas, Phoenix have been used  to take the spot of "Los Angeles" to lower the costs of doing films in some places.
Toronto has been used too to take the place of New York and Chicago in Movies.

That one cracks me up sometimes....There are so many low budget films that film mostly in southern California for whatever the real location is (they need a city, LA stands in, they need a dessert, they drive out past Coachella) yet some movies that are supposed to actually take place in Los Angeles, they use Atlanta as a stand in.  I guess its because the low budget outfits "steal" shots around Los Angeles so they can use the location, but the bigger budget films have to do things the right way, so they try to not film in Los Angeles to keep down costs. 

It's funny to me to see "Los Angeles" clearly having seasons....

I see it funny when a series like CSI:Miami would shoot scenes on both coasts (not counting scene transition shots of the beach, skylines, etc...) with most, if not all of, the cast members. Locations around the Long Beach, CA area were stand-ins for many urban "Miami" scenes and the alleged Miami-Dade CSI HQ.

[ethanhopkin14]

This is like Atlanta, Las Vegas, Dallas, Phoenix have been used  to take the spot of "Los Angeles" to lower the costs of doing films in some places.
Toronto has been used too to take the place of New York and Chicago in Movies.

That one cracks me up sometimes....There are so many low budget films that film mostly in southern California for whatever the real location is (they need a city, LA stands in, they need a dessert, they drive out past Coachella) yet some movies that are supposed to actually take place in Los Angeles, they use Atlanta as a stand in.  I guess its because the low budget outfits "steal" shots around Los Angeles so they can use the location, but the bigger budget films have to do things the right way, so they try to not film in Los Angeles to keep down costs. 

It's funny to me to see "Los Angeles" clearly having seasons....

I see it funny when a series like CSI:Miami would shoot scenes on both coasts (not counting scene transition shots of the beach, skylines, etc...) with most, if not all of, the cast members. Locations around the Long Beach, CA area were stand-ins for many urban "Miami" scenes and the alleged Miami-Dade CSI HQ.

To go one step further, what I was talking about is, but not limited to, the series Cobra Kai.  It takes place in Los Angeles, but filmed in Atlanta.  It's funny to see shots in the woods with trees that are changing colors and totally not trees that would ever grow in Los Angeles.  Yet, if they visit a location from The Karate Kid, since that film was shot in Los Angeles, they have to film that location in Los Angeles.  Wouldn't it have been cheaper just to film all of it in Los Angeles rather than shuttling half the cast and crew back and forth?  I don't know