Films Based on Novels Which Were Shot in NC, but not set in NC
by WilliamHartPhD | created - 04 Aug 2011 | updated - 04 Aug 2011 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Billy Bathgate (1991)
R | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
In the year 1935, a teen named Billy Bathgate finds first love while becoming the protégé of fledgling gangster Dutch Schultz.
Director: Robert Benton | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Kidman, Loren Dean, Bruce Willis
Votes: 12,738 | Gross: $15.97M
Not relevant. Set in NYC and NJ. Some scenes shot in NC.
2. Rambling Rose (1991)
R | 112 min | Drama
A young woman who exudes sexuality battles temptation.
Director: Martha Coolidge | Stars: Laura Dern, Robert Duvall, Diane Ladd, Lukas Haas
Votes: 5,455 | Gross: $6.27M
Not relevant. Set in Georgia, but filmed in NC.
3. Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)
R | 99 min | Drama, Thriller
A young woman fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her nightmarish marriage, but discovers it is impossible to elude her controlling husband.
Director: Joseph Ruben | Stars: Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin, Kevin Anderson, Elizabeth Lawrence
Votes: 65,095 | Gross: $101.60M
Not relevant. Novel set in Cape Cod and Iowa. Filmed in NC and SC.
4. Alan & Naomi (1992)
PG | 96 min | Drama, Family
Set in the forties. A young Jewish boy is called on by his parents to help a young girl come out of her shell, imposed after she watched her father die at the hands of the Nazis.
Director: Sterling Van Wagenen | Stars: Lukas Haas, Vanessa Zaoui, Michael Gross, Amy Aquino
Votes: 481 | Gross: $0.26M
Not relevant. A children's/teen novel set in NYC. Some filming in NC.
5. The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
R | 112 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Three trappers protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means, Eric Schweig
Votes: 187,568 | Gross: $75.51M
Not relevant. Novel set in upstate New York, but filmed in many NC locations.
6. Forrest Gump (1994)
PG-13 | 142 min | Drama, Romance
The history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field
Votes: 2,255,797 | Gross: $330.25M
Novel not set in NC, but some filming there, including Biltmore Estates.
7. The Road to Wellville (1994)
R | 118 min | Comedy, Drama
A story about the ins and outs of one unusual health facility in the early twentieth century, run by the eccentric Dr. John Harvey Kellogg.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Bridget Fonda, Matthew Broderick, John Cusack
Votes: 13,210 | Gross: $6.51M
Not relevant. Novel set in Michigan. Scenes shot in NC (including Orton Plantation).
8. Lolita (1997)
R | 137 min | Drama, Romance
An English professor falls for a minor, and has to face the consequences of his actions.
Director: Adrian Lyne | Stars: Jeremy Irons, Dominique Swain, Melanie Griffith, Frank Langella
Votes: 66,503 | Gross: $1.40M
Not relevant. Set mainly in New England towns. Some scenes filmed in NC (Orton Plantation).
9. Patch Adams (1998)
PG-13 | 115 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The true story of a heroic man, Hunter "Patch" Adams, determined to become a medical doctor because he enjoys helping people. He ventured where no doctor had ventured before, using humour and pathos.
Director: Tom Shadyac | Stars: Robin Williams, Daniel London, Monica Potter, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Votes: 122,272 | Gross: $135.03M
Not set in NC. Biltmore Estates and UNC Chapel Hill campus used.
10. A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998)
R | 127 min | Drama
This fictionalized story, based on the family life of writer James Jones, is an emotionless slice-of-life story. Jones here is portrayed as Bill Willis, a former war hero and now successful... See full summary »
Director: James Ivory | Stars: Leelee Sobieski, Kris Kristofferson, Barbara Hershey, Jane Birkin
Votes: 2,488 | Gross: $1.76M
No relevant. Not set in NC (novel or film).
11. The Green Mile (1999)
R | 189 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
A tale set on death row, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the lead guard, Paul Edgecombe, recognizes John's gift, he tries to help stave off the condemned man's execution.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt
Votes: 1,406,643 | Gross: $136.80M
Most of King's novels are set in Maine, but this one was set in Louisiana. Some scenes filmed in NC (Blowing Rock). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120689/trivia
12. Hannibal (2001)
R | 131 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Living in exile, Dr. Hannibal Lecter tries to reconnect with now disgraced F.B.I. Agent Clarice Starling, and finds himself a target for revenge from a powerful victim.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Ray Liotta
Votes: 293,107 | Gross: $165.09M
Not relevant. Used the Biltmore Estate in Ashland, NC for some scenes.
13. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of Catholic school friends, after being caught drawing an obscene comic book, plan a heist that will outdo their previous prank and make them local legends.
Director: Peter Care | Stars: Kieran Culkin, Jena Malone, Emile Hirsch, Vincent D'Onofrio
Votes: 14,177 | Gross: $1.78M
Set in Savannah, Georgia (IMDB). Filmed in NC and SC, though.
14. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)
PG-13 | 116 min | Drama
After years of mother-daughter tension, Siddalee receives a scrapbook detailing the wild adventures of the "Ya-Yas", her mother's girlhood friends.
Director: Callie Khouri | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, Fionnula Flanagan, James Garner
Votes: 20,947 | Gross: $69.60M
Apparently set in Louisiana. Was filmed in North Carolina, though.
15. The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004)
TV-MA | 122 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The feature adaptation of Roger Lewis' book about the actor best remembered as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies.
Director: Stephen Hopkins | Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Charlize Theron, Emily Watson, John Lithgow
Votes: 15,286
Not relevant. Filmed one scene at Biltmore in NC. See "Being There" film.
16. Bloodworth (2010)
R | 105 min | Drama, Romance
A man who left home 40 years earlier to become a country singer returns home to the tattered remains of his broken family and a grandson who is desperately trying to escape the family curse.
Director: Shane Dax Taylor | Stars: Val Kilmer, Kris Kristofferson, Hilary Duff, Reece Thompson
Votes: 2,018 | Gross: $0.01M
No. The novel is set in Tennessee. Was filmed in North Carolina, though.
17. The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama
In 1964, a teenage girl in search of the truth about her mother runs away to a small town in South Carolina and finds a family of independent women who can connect her to her past.
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood | Stars: Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys
Votes: 27,934 | Gross: $37.77M
set in South Carolina (novel and film) Note: Connection to The Help
18. Being There (1979)
PG | 130 min | Comedy, Drama
After the death of his employer forces him out of the only home he's ever known, a simpleminded, sheltered gardener becomes an unlikely trusted advisor to a powerful tycoon and an insider in Washington politics.
Director: Hal Ashby | Stars: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden
Votes: 77,628 | Gross: $30.18M
no connection to nc, other than some filming at Biltmore Estate
19. The Color Purple (1985)
PG-13 | 154 min | Drama
A tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Avery
Votes: 97,286 | Gross: $98.47M
Not relevant. Novel set in Georgia and Tennessee. Some scenes shot in NC.
20. Marie (1985)
PG-13 | 112 min | Biography, Drama
A political appointee risks her job and her life to expose corruption.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Sissy Spacek, Jeff Daniels, Keith Szarabajka, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 1,025 | Gross: $2.51M
Not relevant. Book set in Tennessee. Not filmed in NC.
21. Year of the Dragon (1985)
R | 134 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A police detective cracks down on organized crime in Chinatown after the murders of Triad and Mafia leaders.
Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Mickey Rourke, John Lone, Ariane, Leonard Termo
Votes: 17,638 | Gross: $18.70M
Not relevant. Set in NYC - Chinatown. NYC Chinatown sets were shot in NC, though.
22. The Bedroom Window (1987)
R | 112 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A young executive starts an affair with his boss's wife which then escalates into a nightmare after he lies to the police in order to protect her.
Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Steve Guttenberg, Elizabeth McGovern, Isabelle Huppert, Paul Shenar
Votes: 6,806 | Gross: $12.64M
Not set in NC.
23. The Handmaid's Tale (1990)
R | 108 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Under a dystopian religious tyranny, most women cannot conceive children. Those young women who can live in a form of sexual slavery to provide children for influential families.
Director: Volker Schlöndorff | Stars: Natasha Richardson, Faye Dunaway, Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth McGovern
Votes: 10,733 | Gross: $4.96M
Not set in NC, but filmed in NC.
24. The Hunt for Red October (1990)
PG | 135 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
In November 1984, the Soviet Union's best submarine captain violates orders and heads for the U.S. in a new undetectable sub. The American CIA and military must quickly determine: Is he trying to defect or to start a war?
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill
Votes: 214,673 | Gross: $122.01M
Not relevant. Only final scene shot in NC (Lake James).
25. Thank You for Smoking (2005)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Drama
Satirical comedy follows the machinations of Big Tobacco's chief spokesman, Nick Naylor, who spins on behalf of cigarettes while trying to remain a role model for his 12-year old son.
Director: Jason Reitman | Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Cameron Bright, Maria Bello, Joan Lunden
Votes: 228,902 | Gross: $24.79M
Not strongly tied to NC in terms of setting. Some shots in NC (Winston-Salem).
26. Maximum Overdrive (1986)
R | 98 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
A group of people try to survive when machines start to come alive and become homicidal.
Director: Stephen King | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington, Yeardley Smith
Votes: 35,801 | Gross: $7.43M
Based on Stephen King short story "Truck" King's novels usually set in fictional Maine towns. Films often seem ambiguous in terms of setting - anywhere, U.S. Filmed in NC.
27. Firestarter (1984)
R | 114 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
A couple who participated in a potent medical experiment gain telepathic ability and then have a child who is pyrokinetic.
Director: Mark L. Lester | Stars: Drew Barrymore, David Keith, Freddie Jones, Heather Locklear
Votes: 36,892 | Gross: $15.10M
King's novels usually set in fictional Maine towns. Films often seem ambiguous in terms of setting - anywhere, U.S. Filmed in NC.
28. Cat's Eye (1985)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
A stray cat is the linking element of three tales of suspense and horror.
Director: Lewis Teague | Stars: Drew Barrymore, James Woods, Alan King, Kenneth McMillan
Votes: 28,157 | Gross: $13.09M
King's novels usually set in fictional Maine towns. Films often seem ambiguous in terms of setting - anywhere, U.S. Filmed in NC.
29. Silver Bullet (1985)
R | 95 min | Horror
In a small town, brutal killings start to plague the close knit community. Marty Coslaw, a paraplegic boy, is convinced the murders are the doings of a werewolf.
Director: Daniel Attias | Stars: Gary Busey, Everett McGill, Corey Haim, Megan Follows
Votes: 31,490 | Gross: $5.40M
King's novels usually set in fictional Maine towns. Films often seem ambiguous in terms of setting - anywhere, U.S. Filmed in NC.
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