The Mobile area has long been a favorite backdrop for filmmakers, thanks to its historic architecture, landmarks and coastal scenery. Stretch the map to include all of south Alabama and the possibilities only grow.
Some of the most recognizable titles in Hollywood history shot scenes right here. Steven Spielberg’s 1977 sci-fi classic “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” used the former Brookley Air Force Base for its landing-strip complex, while Bay Minette’s L & N Railroad station stood in for an evacuation scene. East of Fairhope, the house featured in the film’s alien abduction sequence still stands.
Jordan Peele chose Fairhope and Mobile for his Oscar-winning thriller “Get Out,” filming the opening abduction in Mobile’s Park Place district and much of the action at The Armitage House in Fairhope. Scenes were also shot at Barton Academy.
Netflix’s “Gerald’s Game,” based on the Stephen King novel, was filmed largely in downtown Mobile, with producer and Fairhope native Scott Lumpkin noting that about 90 percent of the movie was shot on the Gulf Coast. Director Mike Flanagan also filmed “Oculus” in Fairhope.
The USS Alabama at Battleship Memorial Park doubled as the USS Missouri in the Steven Seagal film “Under Siege,” with the USS Drum portraying a North Korean submarine. The Battleship Park area and the Causeway also appeared in the 2015 heist thriller “Heist,” which transformed the Battle House Hotel into a 1940s casino.
Other productions with local ties include “The Insider,” “The Final Destination,” “Rage,” “Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood” (filmed at Byrnes Lake in Baldwin County) and the 2023 Christian drama “Jesus Revolution,” which used Fairhope, Daphne and Mobile as stand-ins for Southern California.
The Alabama Film Office keeps a running tally of feature films shot fully or partially in the state, a reminder of just how often the spotlight finds the Gulf Coast.