TRUE STORY? Much of the movie-making industry is based in California. Also true? Many of those films don't actually take place in California. They happen on spaceships at the far end of the Solar System, and in castles from centuries gone by, and in weirdly different dimensions, the kind of films with twisty plots and double-back storylines. Sometimes though? A movie made in California will actually be set in California, or a California-like location. Those are truly our "homegrown" works of art, the cinematic treats we watch to remind us of a favorite wine country town, a beloved beach, that one mountain we've meant to visit forever. There are many rad flicks in this group, and more than a few classics, and Visit California, the come-visit tourism arm of our state, has kindly rounded up several notable entries for our #StayatHome days.
'THE BIRDS"... made the list, that Bodega Bay-based, fog-frightful eeker, as did "Vertigo," another super-tense Hitchcockian rhapsody. "Sideways" is representing the Santa Ynez Valley, and all of its soft-sunshine'd, vino-riffic pleasures, while "Lady Bird" puts the wry spotlight on our capital city. And "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" is a Tinseltown flashback, obviously. There are some television treats, too, like "Santa Clarita Diet" and "Big Little Lies," an ensemble drama that brings a distinctive Monterey mood. For more picks for your California movie/TV fest, goodies that include "Gleaming the Cube," "The Lost Boys," and more, click.
