Filmmakers of Twilight chose Oregon's Madison High School, Multnomah Falls, Oxbow Park, and town of Corbett to recreate the rainy, gloomy setting of Forks, Washington. Twilight, which is about a teenage romantic mismatch of vampire and mortal, raked in over $70 million in its opening weekend and represents the first #1 box office movie to be filmed in Oregon.
Twilight Scenes Filmed in Portland High School, Columbia Gorge Diner
Filmmakers spent several months in and around the Portland area earier in the year. The Viewpoint Inn on the historic Columbia River Gorge was used for several of the movie's diner scenes. Portland's Madison High School set the scene for several of Twilight's high school moments.
Those gorgeous, woodsy scenes of Twilight that saw the first intimate moments of the movie's two main characters, 17-year-old Bella Swan and 90-year-old vampire Edward Cullen, were partly recreated in one of Oregon's most popular tourist attactions-- Multnomah Falls. The lush, green forest surroundings of Oxbow Park and NW Portand also were used to match Twilight's rainy, overcast setting.
Nearly $20 million of Twilight's $37 million budget was used filming scenes in the Portland area. Filming also took place in several other Oregon towns, including Vernonia, St. Helens, and Carver. She diner scene with Bella and her father was filmed at Carver Cafe. Check Out Twilight Moms for a full list of locations (with pictures!)
Stars of Twilight Enjoy Portland, Author Enjoys Harry Potter-level Success
According to several reports, the cast of the blockbuster vampire movie enjoyed staying around Portland while filming. Twilight stars Kristen Stewart (Into the Wild, Panic Room) as main character Bella Swan, and Robert Pattinson, who played Cedric Diggory in several Harry Potter film adaptations, as Bella's undead boyfriend Edward Cullen. Most other cast members are relative newcomers.
The movie is based on the first book in Stephenie Meyer's four-book teen vampire series. Twilight, first published in 2005, earned Meyer a 6-figure book deal and has gone on to rival J.K. Rowling's beloved Harry Potter franchise in both profits and fan fervor. The 4 books, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, have sold over 37 million copies worldwide.
Twilight Sequel 'New Moon' Gets Greenlight
Portland Twilight fans might soon get to see more of their favorite series being filmed. Twilight's sequel, New Moon, has just been approved for pre-production following Twilight's epic success at the box office.
Though it is the first Oregon-filmed movie to open as #1 at the box office, Twilight joins a fairly long list of other cult faves shot in Oregon. Other movies filmed in Oregon:
- Goonies (1985)
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
- Kindergarten Cop (1990)
- Elephant (2003)
- The River Wild (1994)
- Stand By Me (1986)
- Hunted (2003)
- Thumbsucker (2005)
- The Ring (2002)
- Short Circuit (1986)
- The Postman (1997)
- The Shining (1980)
Stephanie Cox - Stephanie earned a B.S. in General Science with minors in physics and professional writing from Portland State University. As a teenager, ...
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