NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Sure, we all know about Breaking Bad and its spin-off series Better Call Saul but Albuquerque, as well as the entire state of New Mexico, has been home to countless film projects. Some of which might not come immediately to mind. Not only has New Mexico been the backdrop for parts of the Muppet Movie and Natural Born Killers but also Clint Eastwood’s Every Which Way But Loose and the Seth Rogen dark comedy Observe and Report.
Cyndy McCrossen is the film liaison for the City of Albuquerque Film Department and was actually the location scout for Observe and Report. She says the film’s location, an empty Winrock Mall, was helpful for filmmakers to shoot in as opposed to an active mall when it came to production. “As you can imagine, for releases, all of the signage has to be changed [in an active mall],” said McCrossen. “So it was really wonderful for a movie like Observe and Report that was set in a mall. We had to have total control over every storefront.”
The drama television series In Plain Sight ran for five seasons on the USA Network and starred Mary McCormack as a U.S. Marshal who worked in the witness protection program and every episode was filmed in Albuquerque. McCrossen says that Albuquerque was not only the main setting for the show but that parts of Albuquerque would be used as stand-ins for any number of other cities or countries where the witness would be fleeing from.
McCrossen can attest to the chameleon-like qualities of the city. “Being a location scout manager, I have been asked to find places in Albuquerque and New Mexico that could be the steps of Mongolia, the mountains of Afghanistan, and even more bizarre – the streets of Milwaukee, Boston, Philadelphia, Hawaii,” McCrossen says.
Below is just a sample of films made, in whole or in part, in New Mexico that you might not immediately associate with the Land of Enchantment.
Superman (1978)
- Starring Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman
- Directed by Richard Donner
- Filmed partially in Gallup, NM
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
- Starring James Mason, Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl
- Directed by Henry Levin
- Filmed in Carlsbad Caverns, Carlsbad, NM
The Muppet Movie (1979)
- Starring Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson
- Directed by James Frawley
- Filmed partially in Albuquerque, NM
Red Dawn (1984)
- Starring Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson
- Directed by John Milius
- Filmed in Johnson Mesa, Las Vegas, and Abiquiu, NM
Twins (1988)
- Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Kelly Preston
- Directed by Ivan Reitman
- Filmed partially at Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, Taos, NM
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
- Starring Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody
- Directed by Steven Spielberg
- Filmed partially on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad in Chama, NM
Natural Born Killers (1994)
- Starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore
- Directed by Oliver Stone
- Filmed in Gallup, Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, Albuquerque, Farmington, Taos, Las Vegas, Shiprock, and San Jose, NM
Observe and Report (2009)
- Starring Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Ray Liotta
- Directed by Jody Hill
- Filmed in Bosque Farms, Albuquerque, NM
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
- Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong
- Directed by James Cameron
- Filmed partially in Santa Fe, NM
Every Which Way But Loose (1978)
- Starring Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis
- Directed by James Fargo
- Filmed partially at the Hotel La Fonda on the Plaza, Taos, NM; Rio Grande Zoo, Albuquerque, NM
