From backlot to runaway production: exploring location and authenticity in film-induced tourisms

Films may represent a place, but be made at another. In the early years of film-making, quite elaborate sets were constructed on studio backlots. In recent years, runaway productions have represented the USA while being shot in other countries. The dissonance between film setting and film location raises the question of which is more likely to attract tourists. It also suggests that tourists may have difficulties with authenticity. This paper seeks to examine these issues by taking an historical approach to the changing ways in which location has been used by film-makers over time.