Wilmington, NCMovie & Television
Filming Locations

Coleman and Gena’s Horse-drawn Carriage Montage

Dream a Little Dream (1989)

Coleman_and_Gena_on_Horse-drawn_carriage
© Vestron Pictures, Inc.Coleman (Jason Robards) excitedly points, while Gena (Piper Laurie) endures his senior moment.

This montage was one of many in this movie. It made me wonder if any literary works contain montages.
Coleman and Gena ride on a carriage. They playfully drink wine illegally in public. They walk arm in arm just a few feet away and get blinded by the sun.

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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.
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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.

I guess that could work.

Mind you, the balcony that they eat at in the beginning is literally just at the corner, half a block away. They sure maximized their locations on this production. This area is along the Wilmington Downtown Riverwalk, which extends down to the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.

The other shots are visible in the same map, just spin to the left and you’ll see Battleship North Carolina, and the building they are riding past is the Alton Lennon Federal Building, which is used in many other productions. I remember watching Shirley MacLaine directing the movie Bruno (2000), and there was a guy in a suit as background walking from his start over and over again with each take. I hadn’t experience being an extra yet, but was mesmerized with how it all worked, and thought that guy was funny for walking back and forth forever. I’d learn eventually the mastery of the cross, being sent on a path by an assistant director to add movement in the background.

Later in the movie, Coleman/Bobby (Corey Feldman) and his stolen date Lainie (Meredith Salenger) recreate these same moments.

Bobby_and_Lainie_at_battleship
© Vestron Pictures, Inc.Hmm, should a senior-citizen trapped in a young man’s body be courting a high schooler?

Lastly, this is also the same exact location of the morning Tai Chi, with the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge in the background.

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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.Ike (Harry Dean Stanton) and Gena do their best to ignore Coleman’s gratuitous display of public exercise

The Gang’s High School

Dream a Little Dream (1989)

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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.Dinger (Corey Haim) stands out while Bobby hides under his hair (Corey Feldman)

These guys probably didn’t know that Sandy (Laura Dern) and Jeffery (Kyle MacLachlan) attended this very same school a few years prior in the movie Blue Velvet. This school has been used multiple times for various productions. In this movie, they didn’t even try to hide the actual school name, New Hanover High School, as seen just above Maureen’s (Ria Pavia) funky sailor cap.

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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.Shelley (left, Lala Sloatman) and Lainie (right, Meredith Salenger) abstain from eating as fashionista Maureen pigs out


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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.

There were also shots taken from the rear of the school, along Princess Street, which is where they entered after crossing through Coleman’s yard. Coleman’s house is directly across the street from the school.

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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.This sloped passageway from the gymnasium is used several times by Joel (William MacNamara) and Lainie


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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.

And for Lainie and Joel’s make out spot, it’s once again at the school, which fits the story, as Joel just waited for Lainie’s dance class to end before getting her alone and her rushing off on her bike from the school. This area is now a set of what I assume are air conditioning units, so the small park is now gone.

I’m assuming that all interior scenes involving the school are from this same location. For the Valentine Dance, the fast exit by Bobby and Lainie spurs Joel to give chase, but Dumas (Matt Adler) sends Joel airborne instead. This fuels the raging fire within the troubled and troublesome Joel to get even.

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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.This is the same location as the gang hangout, the same parking lot.

Parking in Front of the Bellamy Mansion

Dream a Little Dream (1989)

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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.Fancy car to park in front of a fancy mansion

Just a quick scene in which Coleman (Jason Robards) and Ike (Harry Dean Stanton) park the car and get out. It’s directly across from the First Baptist Church used in Blue Velvet, and kitty-corner to the Carolina Apartments building, where Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini) lived in Blue Velvet. This is a very busy intersection for both traffic and productions, FOX’s Sleepy Hollow and We’re the Millers filmed at this corner as well. There is also a fountain in the center of this intersection which is hard to miss (if you are drunk) which is called Kenan Plaza.

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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.Surely sweatpants master Ike doesn’t live in a mansion, does he?

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