I have yet to see this film, but this was my first experience walking on to a movie set. At that time, Independence Drive ended at Park Ave, so Forest Hills Drive was a commonly used path to get around town. While driving towards the Independence Mall, an electrical truck stopped in the middle of the road and began backing up to our surprise.

With my hand on the horn, the movie crew truck bashed the grill of our Ford Escort. The driver hadn’t looked behind him and it was entirely his fault. It was 1998, so cellphones were not common. My mom worked in insurance, so I wanted to contact her 800 miles away, and one of the crew who was handling this situation offered their cellphone.

I called, and the damage with minimal, so I asked for $300 for repairs and for a tour of the set. Both things were provided, and I walked on to the set to see John Ritter’s shoulder as he shot a scene in a tiny room.

It was a sight to be seen, the crew was fanned out from the doorway, with about 40 people all staggered outward and all pointing to the action.

Actual Location:
St John’s Episcopal Church – 1219 Forest Hills Dr, Wilmington, NC 28403

I’ve not seen this film, but there was a scene in which James Earl Jones was standing in front of this building. At the time, I had a friend that lived upstairs who watched the shooting of the scene.

Actual Location:
Corner of Bladen St and 4th St

Ben (Kevin Anderson) whisks Sara/Laura (Julia Roberts) off to the theatre he has access to as a drama professor. There, he enchants her with some swinger action before dumping his load of snow all over her hair and face. It was truly a magical scene, but destroyed with a montage of way too many hats being jammed on her head.

I hadn’t even realized it, it was framed so tightly that not much was given away, but a comment found on another filming location website stated that this was shot at Thalian Hall. Given that so much of this film was shot in Abbeville, South Carolina, I assumed this was shot there as well. But I noticed that the brief glimpse of Ben shows columns and doors which match with Thalian Hall.