Wilmington, NCMovie & Television
Filming Locations

Piper Laurie

Coleman Ettinger’s House

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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.Ike (Harry Dean Stanton) smoking as he walks passed Coleman’s backyard

The house of the Coleman Ettinger (Jason Robards) and his wife Gena (Piper Laurie), as seen from the front and also from the behind with New Hanover High School behind it. The alley that the gang wanders down throughout the movie is just behind the backyard.

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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.The gang doing their morning ritual of trespassing

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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.Swinging away in Coleman’s dreams on his front porch
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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.Bobby (Corey Feldman and Lainie (Meredith Salenger trying to recreate that dreamy magic in the backyard

At 13th and Princess, the other end of the block from Coleman’s house is where Leanie bikes back home from dance class at school, before then turning into Coleman’s front yard into the backyard. She is seen biking past these same three houses repeatedly (5 times, I counted), but from different angles to give the impression she is biking past several different houses.

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

Crane Shot to Restaurant Balcony

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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.A popular spot to film

Early on, Coleman (Jason Robards), Gena (Piper Laurie), and Ike (Harry Dean Stanton) have some pleasant small talk on the character establishment train with a full stop at this balcony table.

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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.The shot starts with a view looking up Market Street from Water Street

When I watched this film, I almost thought I saw it before because there was another movie which used that same exact balcony table at the same restaurant, and most likely was also a crane shot. I just can’t figure out what film it was, I thought maybe with Richard Dreyfuss, but that isn’t matching with anything he was in.

Later in the movie, Bobby/Coleman (Corey Feldman) and Lainie (Meredith Salenger) revisit this location during a montage.

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© Vestron Pictures, Inc.Wining and dining? Aren’t they a bit young for alcohol?

This location itself has been many different restaurants over the years. A past bandmate used to work in the kitchen there when it was Roy’s Riverboat Landing.

Coleman and Gena’s Horse-drawn Carriage Montage

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© 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
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