Almost Famous- Actresses That Should've Done Better

How was Helen Slater not huge? "Supergirl" is the answer to that question. The infamous spin-off to Chris Reeve's "Superman" forced producers Ilya and Alexander Salkind to sell the franchise rights, killing the 20 year old newcomer's career before it ever really started. Sure, "The Legend of Billie Jean" was a relative rebound the following summer, and she had supporting roles in three comedy hits- "Ruthless People", "The Secret of My Success", and "City Slickers". The Bethpage beauty still found the industry unwilling to bank on her in bigger parts, and by the early '90s, Michelle Pfeiffer, Meg Ryan, and Julia Roberts ruled. Slater quickly faded from the film scene. She worked consistently in television in the 21st Century(DC projects were a respectful nod to the past), but it's hard to shake the feeling that Hollywood failed to make the most of Helen's wholesome appeal.

Mary Ellen Trainor appeared in countless popular movies, often in blink-and-you'll-miss-it roles. She's Kathleen Turner's sister in "Romancing the Stone". She's the Mom in "The Goonies". She's a news anchor in "Die Hard". She's a comic foil to Mel Gibson as a snippy psychiatrist in all four "Lethal Weapon" movies(her greatest part). She's a 2015 cop in "Back to the Future Part II" and Jenny's babysitting friend in "Forrest Gump"- she was married to Robert Zemeckis. This is an enviable list of credits, even if she only spent a day or two on the set. Trainor had the looks and talent to star in something, and could've lifted up any number of TV shows. Sadly, she died of cancer at age 62.

Kelly Preston IS famous, mostly as the wife of John Travolta. She didn't really have to work, but her biggest movies indicate an untapped potential that leads one to wonder what might have been. If you were a male with blood in your body, you were a not-so-secret admirer of her in the late '80s, it's as simple as that. Arnold Schwarzenegger has Preston to partially thank for the box office performance of Ivan Reitman's "Twins". Unfortunately, there was no real follow-up, and her next few movies("The Experts", "Run", "Only You") did nothing. It took eight years for Kelly to command the public's attention again, alongside fellow Scientologist Tom Cruise, in Cameron Crowe's "Jerry Maguire". She steals her scenes as his psycho soon-to-be ex Avory, and could've played comedic villains for the rest of her life(I don't mean "Battlefield Earth" and "Gotti"). Sadly, cancer cut that life short. Preston passed away in 2020 at age 57.

Bakke

Lauren Holly is a textbook example of momentary fame. Everyone knew her name in 1995. She probably has to show her ID to all but the biggest TV heads after 2010.

I think it was the accent. Hollywood didn't know what to to with the fetching French actress after 1995's Best Picture "Braveheart", even though every man in America had a few ideas. Settle down. Sophie

There's an alternate reality where Maria Pitillo is a major star. In a world where Sarah Jessica Parker doesn't exist, I could see her as Carrie Bradshaw. The NY/NJ native appeared in several short-lived TV projects, but nothing clicked. Legendary hitmaker James Burrows("Cheers", "Taxi") couldn't even make it happen. At least she got to be in one of the greatest movies of all time(for a minute), Tony Scott's "True Romance" with Bronson Pinchot and a sample-bag of uncut coke. The pretty, petite Pitillo was a standout in the large ensemble cast of 1995's "Bye Bye Love", an otherwise weak comedy about McDonald's and divorced dads. Does Matthew Modine actually think he can do better? Roland Emmerich's "Godzilla" was her close-up in 1998. The would-be blockbuster underperformed at the early summer box office, and Pitillo was an easy target for cruel critics and TriStar executives expecting another "Independence Day". Strangely, the then-thirtysomething year old Maria never got another high-profile role, and quietly retired from acting in 2008.

The sky seemed the limit for Alison Lohman

Elisha

The Best Movies From All 50 States

"We in the film industry are in the transportation business. We transport audiences from one place to another". Jerry Bruckheimer.

1. Alabama- The most famous fictional Alabama resident is Forrest Gump- but Bob Zemeckis filmed Tom Hanks primarily in South Carolina. "To Kill a Mockingbird" is still one of the greatest movies of all time. Let's pretend Gregory Peck went to Harper Lee's hometown instead of a Hollywood backlot. Atticus Finch and Forrest Gump. Attaboy, Alabama.

- 2. Alaska- It's Al Pacino vs. Robin Williams in Nightmute. Population- 208. It doesn't get dark, but Will Dormer's murder investigation sure-as-hell does. Chris Nolan's big-studio breakthrough "Insomnia" is his most underrated film, and the main reason he was hired to resurrect Batman in 2003.

3. Arizona- It's right there in the title. The Coen brothers established their quirky comic rep in the cable classic "Raising Arizona". Joel and Ethan's careers might not have gone the distance without Nicolas Cage's baby-snatching ex-con(profitability became an issue on their next few films). Shout out to Holly Hunter, John Goodman, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Trey Wilson(R.I.P.), Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Barry Sonnenfeld's camerawork.

4. Arkansas- Some folks call it a sling blade, I call it a kaiser blade. Billy Bob Thornton writes, directs, and stars in the best '90s movie that never gets talked about. The formerly-struggling actor was born and raised in the Natural state and was uniquely suited to depict it's nuances. Both versions of "True Grit", 1969 with John Wayne and 2010 with Jeff Bridges, took place in Arkansas but neither filmed there.

5. California- Here we go. I could have devoted this entire blog to the Golden state. Most movies are at least partially filmed there. Here's an incomplete list of every great California movie- "Sunset Boulevard", "Singin' in the Rain", "Rebel Without a Cause", "Vertigo", "The Sandpiper", "The Graduate", "Butterflies Are Free", "Dirty Harry"(all five), "American Graffiti", "Chinatown", "The Conversation", "The Bad News Bears", "Coming Home", "Grease", "The Driver", "Seems Like Old Times", "48 Hrs."(1982,1990), "The Terminator"(1984,1991), "Beverly Hills Cop"(all four), "Into the Night", "Fletch", "The Karate Kid"(1984,1989), the "Back to the Future" trilogy, "Top Gun", "Ruthless People", "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", "Twins", "Tequila Sunrise", "Die Hard", "Lethal Weapon"(all four), "Colors", "Pretty Woman", "L.A. Story", "Boyz 'n' the Hood", "Point Break", "Basic Instinct", "The Player", "Reservoir Dogs", "Falling Down", "True Romance", "Mrs. Doubtfire", "Speed", "Pulp Fiction", "Clueless", "Dangerous Minds", "Heat", "Get Shorty", "Boogie Nights", "L.A. Confidential", "Jackie Brown", "Magnolia", "Training Day", "Collateral", "Sideways", "La La Land", "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood". Whew.

6. Colorado- Hands down, the best Rocky Mountain movie is "The Shining". But aside from the Going-to-the-Sun road opening, the interiors of the Overlook Hotel were staged at Elstree Studios in southern England(Stanley Kubrick was afraid to fly, look at his London/NY in "Eyes Wide Shut"). Renny Harlin's "Cliffhanger" feels like more of a Colorado movie. But my research reveals that Sylvester Stallone was mostly hanging off cliffs in northeastern Italy(the Dolomites). I guess it's a tie.

7. Connecticut- Tim Burton takes the New England region of the Northeast. Even though Michael Keaton's ghost-with-the-most never left Culver City, California, there's no better Connecticut movie than "Beetlejuice". Certainly not "A Haunting in Connecticut", which never set foot there('O Canada' is a recurring theme on this blog).

8. Delaware- From 1989 to 1999. "Dead Poets Society" is the best movie ever filmed in Delaware, but it takes place in 1959 Vermont. The precise location of David Fincher's "Fight Club" isn't immediately clear. A close inspection shows Wilmington as the birthplace of Project Mayhem(while Brad Pitt and Edward Norton were filmed in Los Angeles). Joe Biden's home state is livelier than I thought.

9. Florida- Every dog has his day, in Brian De Palma's Miami-set "Scarface". In the early '80s, it was worse than Chicago during Prohibition, the perfect playground for Al Pacino's coked-up Cuban antihero Tony Montana. The Dolphins employed Ace Ventura in 1994 to begin Jim Carrey's meteoric rise. Daytona Beach was the site of Charlize Theron's mesmerizing work in "Monster". More recently, writer-director Sean Baker made a name for himself with Willem Dafoe's rundown Orlando hotel(keep an eye on your kids over there) in 2017's "The Florida Project".

10. Georgia- Big city businessmen beware. Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox should've stayed in Atlanta in John Boorman's backwoods opus "Deliverance". One of them squeals like a pig. On a lighter note, Morgan Freeman enters the A-list as Jessica Tandy's soft-hearted chauffer in 1989's Best Picture. I can hear Hans Zimmer's score in my head as I type this. Settle down, Spike Lee.

11. Hawaii- The 50th and most recent state to join the union doesn't have any professional sports teams, but it does have two great movies. Fred Zimmemann's "From Here to Eternity" won 1953's Best Picture Oscar, for it's depiction of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Frank Sinatra, and THAT iconic beach embrace between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr. Forty years later, Hawaii filled in for Costa Rican coast in "Jurassic Park". Writer-director Alexander Payne recognized the uniqueness of the island and it's storytelling potential in 2011's critical darling "The Descendants".

12. Idaho- You voted for Pedro and "Napolean Dynamite", one of the few movies notable movies to play with the Potato state. Another is "My Own Private Idaho" which...never goes there.

13. Illinois- The Prarie state has a rich film history. John Hughes is synonymous with his home state, as nearly all his films are either set or filmed there, most notably "The Breakfast Club", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", and "Home Alone". But Hughes had competition from Brian De Palma, Kevin Costner, and Sean Connery. "The Untouchables" is a great Chicago movie. Even better is "The Fugitive". Harrison Ford's flight from Tommy Lee Jones caused as much jubilation as the Jordan Bulls. Don't sleep on "Running Scared"(the Billy Crystal version) and "Adventures in Babysitting".

14. Indiana- Congratulations to director David Anspaugh for his entry into the sports movie HOF AND for receiving Indiana's highest civilian honor(Sagamore of the Wabash). He's retired and now lives there, hopefully secure in the knowledge that "Hoosiers" and "Rudy" are uflifting all-timers. Shout-out to Ralpie Parker, even though "A Christmas Story" was filmed in Canada and Ohio.

15. Iowa- Speaking of sports movies, there was only one choice for the "Food Capital of the World". Kevin Costner in a cornfield. He built it, they came. Call your father and watch "Field of Dreams". Another strong contender emerged in the mid-'90s, when Clint Eastwood met up with Meryl Streep in 1965. Surprise your wife this week with the "The Bridges of Madison County".

16. Kansas- "The Wizard of Oz" is obvious, even though it was filmed in California. Is any movie more strongly associated with a state? If you're a real movie buff, there's more. Eat your Coney Island, with Ryan and Tatum O'Neal in Peter Bogdanovich's 1930s-set con artist comedy "Paper Moon". For me, it's his best film.

17. Kentucky- The Bluegrass state has a clear winner and it's a career-best Sissy Spacek as country music star Loretta Lynn. "Coal Miner's Daughter" was one of my Mom's favorite movies, and she'd want you to check it out. James Bond never spent a lot of time in the States, but I have to mention the Fort Knox exteriors in 1964's "Goldfinger".

18. Louisiana- Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh acted up a storm in Elia Kazan's 1951 landmark "A Streetcar Named Desire". No film is more closely associated with New Orleans and it's sweaty summers. "Interview with the Vampire" did enough Louisiana location work to take second place. Tom Cruise's seductive vampire Lestat is a million miles from Ethan Hunt.

19. Maine- Todd Field's "In the Bedroom" takes place in the Pine Tree state and was totally filmed there. That was easy. Tim Burton's "Dark Shadows" didn't use Maine(England fills in for Collinsport), and neither did 2017's horror blockbuster "It".

20. Maryland- Seneca Creek State Park in Montgomery County was the site of one of the biggest indie success stories in movie history. Eight days and an estimated $30,000 initial budget turned into a $140 million domestic gross, thanks to extensive editing and early internet hype. The found-footage horror film(and a multi-media franchise) was officially born.

21. Massachusetts-Does the Bay state have the two best movies? Steven Spielberg made history in Martha's Vineyard with a mechanical shark and a spiraling schedule/budget. "Jaws" is 50 years old and remains the ultimate summer movie. Massachusetts created a 25% tax credit for filmmaking when Martin Scorsese moved "The Departed" to New York after six weeks to save money. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck remembered their roots in their star-making collaboration "Good Will Hunting". "The Town" is a Boston movie down to it's bone marrow, with Ben as writer, director, and star.

22. Michigan- Paul Verhoeven's blood-soaked breakthrough was actually Dallas, Texas, but "Robocop" is strongly identified with a dystopian Detroit. So is Eddie Murphy's detective hero Axl Foley. That brings us to Marshall Mathers. Curtis Hanson's "8 Mile" details the early hardscrabble life of rap phenom Eminem and feels like the most athentic Michigan movie. Best Original Song "Lose Yourself" was an inescapable #1 hit for twelve weeks.

23. Minnesota- Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau wintered in Wabasha(actually St. Paul, Faribault, and Center City in the 1993 sleeper hit "Grumpy Old Men" and it's sequel. Fargo is the most pupulous city in North Dakota(more on that later) and the title of the quintessential Minnesota movie. Frances McDormand won her first Best Actress Oscar for her pregnant police chief in frigid Minneapolis.

24. Mississippi- Two of the easiest entries on the list, and they're both cop movies. Sidney Poitier befriends Rod Steiger during a backwoods murder investigation in arguably his best role/film. "In the Heat of the Night" was 1967's Best Picture, but it Sparta was really Illinois. That gives Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe the title of truest Mississippi movie. Roger Ebert named the fact-based "Mississippi Burning" the best film of 1988.

25. Missouri- Martin McDonagh's "Three Billboards" was filmed in North Carolina(Ebbing is a fictional town), so that brings us to George Clooney, Ana Kendrick, and Jason Reitman. "Up in the Air" was primarily shot in St. Louis and is a timely, terrific film. David Fincher's "Gone Girl" gets an honorable mention for beginning it's five-week shoot in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

26. Montana- Brad Pitt tipped his cowboy hat and became a superstar heartthrob, but "Legends of the Fall" was filmed in Canada. If you want the actual "Big Sky Country" and it's wide open spaces, Robert Redford repped Montana twice, in his directorial efforts "A River Runs Through It"(which coincidentally also stars Pitt) and "The Horse Whisperer".

27. Nebraska- The Cornhusker state had a great 1999. Reese Witherspoon took a step closer to superstardom as Tracy Flick in Alexander Payne's high school comedy "Election"(the writer-director would return to his home state for 2013's "Nebraska"). You voted for her, AND Hilary Swank. Legend has it she only got paid $3,000 for her Best Actress-winning role in the tragic transgender tale "Boys Don't Cry".

28. Nevada- What happens in Vegas, will be enjoyed by movie lovers forever in Martin Scorsese's "Casino". Nevada in the 1970s was no Disneyland, as long as Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone are around. Steve Soderbergh's "Ocean's Eleven" joined in on the fun with an impossibly-cool George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon for a suave remake of 1960. Here's a partial list of other Vegas notables- "Viva Las Vegas", "Diamonds Are Forever", "Rain" Man", "Bugsy", "Indecent Proposal", "Leaving Las Vegas", "Showgirls", "Swingers", "Austin Powers", "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", and "The Hangover".

29. New Hampshire- New England never looked better than it did in the second-highest grossing film of 1981. "On Golden Pond" was a labor of love for the lovely Jane Fonda, and contains an Oscar-winning Henry Fonda's final performance. Gus Van Sant's "To Die For" put it's stamp on New Hampshire, even though Nicole Kidman's fame-obsessed villainess was actually plotting her husband's death in Toronto.

30. New Jersey- Marlon Brando coulda been a contender, instead of a mumbling dockworker in his 1954 masterpiece "On the Waterfront". If you've never seen it, please do so. Fifty years later, Zach Braff had some hype, and Natalie Portman's pixie dream girl, in his indie romcom "Garden State", which he also wrote and directed. Sylvester Stallone's fat sheriff Freddie gets an honorable mention for "Copland". He blew it.

31. New Mexico- Kirk Douglas is a cynical, opportunistic reporter in Billy Wilder's "Ace in the Hole". A man trapped in a cave in Albuquerque creates a media circus. More recently, Emilio Estevez blazed through Lincoln County and Santa Fe as William "Billy the Kid" Bonney. Will the Regulators ride again in Young Guns 3?

32. New York- Everyone wants to shoot here if they can afford it. Here's an incomplete list of NY movies- "Marty", "The Seven Year Itch", "The Apartment", "Butterfield 8", "The Hustler", "West Side Story", "Rosemary's Baby", "Midnight Cowboy", "Cactus Flower", "The French Connection", "The Godfather", "Mean Streets", "Serpico", "Dog Day Afternoon", "The Sunshine Boys", "Taxi Driver", "Annie Hall", "Saturday Night Fever", "Manhattan", "Kramer vs. Kramer", "Raging Bull", "Tootsie", "The King of Comedy", "Ghostbusters I and II", "The Secret of My Success", "Fatal Attraction", "Wall Street", "Big", "Coming to America", "Married to the Mob", "Working Girl", "The Dream Team", "Do the Right Thing", "When Harry Met Sally", "Ghost", "Goodfellas", "Jungle Fever", "Home Alone 2", "A Bronx Tale", "Wolf", "Die Hard with a Vengeance", "Ransom", "Men in Black", "Conspiracy Theory", "Big Daddy", "Summer of Sam", "Requiem for a Dream", "Anything Else", "Elf", "Spider-Man 1 and 2", "Black Swan", "The Wolf of Wall Street", "The Irishman". Let's hear it for New York!

33. North Carolina- Ron Shelton and his Durham Bulls claim the Tarheel state. Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon made minor league baseball look more fun than the big show in the summer of '88. Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple" and "The Hunger Games"(2012) didn't take place in North Carolina but were mostly filmed there. And Martin Scorsese's "Cape Fear"? That was Florida.

34. North Dakota- Margie Gunderson is represented twice because the Coen brothers split production between Minnesota and Pembina County. Otherwise, North Dakota's film profile reflects it's population(fourth smallest). Kevin Costner and Diane Lane searched for their grandson in Gladstone, but 2020's "Let Him Go" was shot in Canada.

35. Ohio- Winona Ryder and Christian Slater killed their classmates in the Buckeye state. But the production of cult classic "Heathers" never left Los Angeles. "Judas and the Black Messiah" told the tragic tale of freedom-fighter Fred Hampton. Shaka King's 2020 drama chose Cleveland as a substitute for Chicago. See it if you haven't done so.

36. Oklahoma- Jan de Bont's "Twister" was a must-see movie in May 1996 and my sixteen-year old self was there. The Dutch director insisted on shooting in the Sooner state. More recently, Martin Scorsese explored the Osage Indian murders of the 1920s in 2023's Oscar-contender "Killers of the Flower Moon". It stars Leonardo DiCaprio AND Robert De Niro, and is well worth 200 minutes of your time.

37. Oregon- Milos Forman's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" was actually filmed in a Salem psychiatric hospital in 1975 and is one of the greatest movies of all time. A decade later, Rob Reiner put his stamp on the state in his coming-of-age classic "Stand by Me". The fictional town of Castle Rock became a Stephen King staple, and the name of Reiner's production company. River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Will Wheaton, and Jerry O'Connell did most of their bonding in Brownsville.

38. Pennsylvania- The Keystone State hosted more great films than people realize. First and foremost, there's Sylvester Stallone, punching his way toward immortality in the "Rocky" franchise. Philadelphia is a character in most of the films(including "Creed"), and fans still run up those famous steps. M. Night Shyamalan set his two masterpieces in Philly- "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable", and Tom Hanks won Best Actor there. Lancaster and it's Amish community was indelibly captured in Peter Weir's "Witness" with an Oscar-nominated Harrison Ford. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Pittsburgh, which we saw in "Slap Shot", "Jack Reacher", and "Fences".

39. Rhode Island-Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer resorted to witchcraft to defeat a devilish Jack Nicholson. George Miller's "The Witches of Eastwick" was one of the top-ten grossing films of 1987. If we're talking horror comedies, I'll take it over "Hocus Pocus". The Farrelly brothers were partial to Providence, as seen in "Dumb and Dumber" and "There's Something About Mary".

40. South Carolina- Edward Zwick's "Glory" is a better film, but loses points for it's location work in Massachusetts and Georgia. That brings us to Mel Gibson and Roland Emmerich. "The Patriot" was shot entirely in Charleston, Rock Hill, Lowrys, and Fort Lawn, and is one of your pop's favorite movies. The lady in your life probably loves "The Notebook" which I couldn't deny.

41. South Dakota- Director/star Kevin Costner camped out near Pierre and Rapid City instead of Tennessee and Colorado for his career-defining classic "Dances with Wolves". For those under age 35, it's a lot better than "Horizon". In similar Oscar-winning fashion, fur trapper Hugh Glass went through hell in the 1823 South Dakota. But Alejandro G. Inarritu and Leonardo DiCaprio spent most of the nine month-shoot of the "Revenant" in Alberta and British Columbia.

42. Tennessee- The two best movies to come out of The Volunteer state are country music classics separated by thirty years. Director Robert Altman's "Nashville" is among his defining works, with 24 main characters, and a record eleven Golden Globe nominations. Joaquin Phoenix is Johnny Cash in James Mangold's romantic biopic. He's brilliant, and so is Reese Witherspoon in her Oscar-winning role as June Carter Cash.

43. Texas- The second-largest U.S. state claims the two best films of 2007. What an amazing coincidence. The Coen brothers first shot Texas in "Blood Simple", a warm-up for their Best Picture-winning Western crime thriller "No Country For Old Men". Javier Bardem and his haircut are burned into our brains in that unforgiving desert. Not to be outdone, Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Thomas Anderson dug for oil in their early 20th Century epic "There Will Be Blood". I HAVE to include Richard Linklater in this paragraph- his affinity for Austin and Houston is at the heart of "Slacker", "Boyhood", and "Dazed and Confused".

44. Utah-It's impossible to talk about Utah without taking about Robert Redford. The "Jeremiah Johnson" star had a deep connection to his adopted home state, where he established the Sundance Institute and Film Festival. "Footloose" was filmed there, and Dead Horse Point filled in for the Grand Canyon for the iconic ending of "Thelma & Louise". James Franco's arm was trapped under a boulder in Danny Boyle's true story "127 Hours" to earn his first(and most likely last) Oscar nomination.

45. Vermont- Director George Roy Hill's 14th and final film is Chevy Chase's personal favorite of his many '80s comedies. That's saying something. Andy and Elizabeth Farmer's struggles to adjust to the fictional town of Redbud(actually Townshend) still makes for ideal family viewing. Siskel and Ebert gave "Funny Farm" a VERY enthusiastic thumbs up, which is funny considering they usually vetoed Chase. "What Lies Beneath" got some exteriors in Vermont, and is a classy, first-rate thriller.

46. Virginia- Daniel Day-Lewis is cloaked in immense power as the 16th President in Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln". It should be mandatory viewing for middle-schoolers. "The Last Detail", "Dirty Dancing", "Argo", and "Foxcatcher" are all top-tier movies with scenes filmed in Virginia, without necessarily taking place there.

47. Washington- This is a no-brainer. Nora Ephron's masterpiece made Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan one of the most iconic romcom couples. "Sleepless" made Seattle cool in the '90s, with obvious help from Nirvana, TV's "Frasier", and Cameron Crowe's "Singles" the previous year. With a high life expectancy and employment rates, why aren't you checking out the prices on a Washington houseboat right now?

48. West Virginia- Matthew McConaughey coached Marshall University's college football program after a 1970 plane crash killed 75 members of the team. Even a director like McG can't screw up a good true story. Speaking of, "Patch Adams" and Dark Waters" both told fact-based tales in West Virginia, but neither filmed scenes there.

49. Wisconsin- Johnny Depp may have disliked Michael Mann's meticulous, exacting directing style, but "Public Enemies" is the best movie shot there. Mann was drawn to the number of high-quality historic buildings in America's Dairyland, and Depression-era gangster John Dillinger had a hideout in Manitowish Waters. David Lynch's "The Straight Story" may be his most accessible film, with an ailing Richard Farsworth in Wisconsin on a riding mower.

50. Wyoming- While "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Unforgiven", and "Brokeback Mountain" are the best movies set in the least-populous state(but 10th largest by area), Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, and Ang Lee didn't really film there, so the last spot goes to Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen taking a break from Marvel to investigate a murder on a snowy Indian reservation. Writer-director Taylor Sheridan wanted to raise awareness of the high number of victimized Indigenous women, and made one of 2017's most underrated films. His TV hit "Yellowstone" would make the state more famous the following year.