All Politics is Local: When Hollywood Comes to the Port City

By Kelly MacConomy

At Z Movies, with all the movies from Alexandria, eagerly awaits the release of Wonder Woman 1984. Shot in part in Alexandria using Landmark Mall, the film has been postponed several times, now scheduled to premiere on Christmas Day.
The port city has proven to be ideal for many other movies and TV shoots. Short-lived but critically acclaimed PBS Mercy street was not only filmed in Alexandria and Richmond, but the story, based on actual historical events in the city surrounding a makeshift Civil War hospital, was filmed here.

The month of November brings election day. At Z Movies highlights politically themed movies and shows that have scenes filmed in Alexandria. Twenty years ago, the opening episode of season 2 of West wing showed the iconic Dixie Pig on Powhatan Street, now Vasos Kitchen, in the Old Town to the north. Try it – you will like it! Last month on HBO Max, the distribution directors gathered to profit from When We All Vote, a nonprofit voter advocacy group. All of the original cast reprized their roles except John Spencer who died in the final season and was replaced by Sterling Brown.

The reunion gathered at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles to perform a production from the West Wing Season 3 episode titled Hartsfield’s Landing. The veteran actors never missed a beat, reprising their roles as if they did the original table reading yesterday. The intelligence of Sorkin’s teleplay, the cadence of the breakdown, the impeccable timing of the top-notch acting chops always proved to be fascinating – from the opening line to the fade-to-black.

President Bill Clinton, Grammy winner, Tony, Emmy and Pulitzer Lin-Manuel Miranda, Michelle Obama, Oscar-winning actress Marlee Marlin, Samuel L. Jackson, Emmy, SAG and Golden were invited to participate in the vote. Actress Elizabeth Moss and Dul Hill. It was the old week at home in the West Wing – an effortless step back in time to 1999.

Several films from the 80s had filming locations in Alexandria: Stomach pains (1986), News broadcast (1987) and No Exit (1987). Heartburn was a loosely based autobiographical account by Nora Ephron of her disastrous marriage to journalist Carl Bernstein, the Watergate ace. The Old Town was used in place of the 19th century Capitol and Georgetown townhouses.

The character of Nora Ephrons was portrayed by the incomparable and manifold Oscar winner Meryl Streep with the inimitable Jack Nicholson acting as her brave husband. It’s a tough movie to watch if your marriage or family life was tough. But it nailed Washington’s political / intellectual / media elite glitterati power couple. The performances are eminently enjoyable, if not a bit too over the top mainly due to the Ephrons’ soured revenge script. The impression is that these two great actors should avoid these kinds of roles – proving that dying is easy, that comedy is difficult.

News broadcast was nominated for Best Picture, earning Holly Hunter a nomination for Best Actress, William Hurt a nomination for Best Actor, Albert Brooks a nomination for Best Supporting Actor and James Brooks a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. The film was a YUGE box office success but failed to win a single Oscar. Cinematography was also nominated, a credit to Port City Scenery, but News broadcast could not compete with the cinemascopic tastes of The last emperor and The mission. The film is really worth the detour. The first block of the King Streets restaurant row can be seen in the movie: Il Porto, Landini Brothers, The Fish Market. And a local park is used at the end of the movie.

The film centers around a DC Network affiliate newsroom with an ambitious and impatient producer, played by Hunter intimidating everyone with his talent while falling in love with the on-air talent himbo, a pretty boy with ethical challenges played by Hurt. Albert Brooks is plaintive as the nebbishy man is still relegated to the sidelines, taking behind the scenes of Hurt in love and work.

The movie that made Kevin Costner a real major movie star was shot in the Old Town. No Exit stars Costner as the young hero of Pentagon-assigned Naval Officer Tom Farrell, working as a Special Liaison Officer for the Secretary of Defense, played by Gene Hackman. He meets and falls in love with Sean Young, who is a woman kept by Hackman in a townhouse on the Potomac. The house is on the corner of North Union Street at 101 Quay Street across from the park. The house has not changed in the 34 years since filming in Alexandria. And the distinctive multi-tiered townhouse design was used in the interior scenes with Costner, Young, and Hackman.

This columnist, who lived a block from where they filmed Tom Farrells’ apartment in Georgetown, met Kevin Costner and his wife Cindy in Old Town in 1990 when Costner was in town for Premier of Dance with the wolves at the Uptown Theater in DC. Costner was showing his wife the filming locations No question OUtah. The couple were studying a map of the Old Town antique store when I walked around to ask if they needed directions. Naturally, I recommended them to visit the Todd Healys Lafayette Gallery.

Sydney pollocks Random hearts was filmed at various locations around Alexandria. The film stars Harrison Ford as a DC detective with Kristin Scott Thomas as a congressman from New Hampshire married to a lawyer / lobbyist played by Peter Coyote. Ford’s wife and Scott Thomass’ husband find themselves sitting together in a plane they weren’t supposed to be on board that crashes, killing everyone on board. The mystery of their betrayal unfolds as the two survivors bond in their grief.

King Street was closed for what seemed like an eternity for a brief moment on the film. Cunningham’s Funeral Home was used as the funeral site for Harrison Fords’ wife. Grace Episcopal Church on Russell Road was the setting for the funeral of the husbands of the wives of Congress. Grace Churchs rector Father Robert Malm even played a cameo!

The last major Hollywood blockbuster to shoot in Alexandria before Wonder Woman 1984 was the 2007 National treasure: book of secrets. Director Jon Turteltaub (Phenomenon, National Treasure, The Meg) filmed at River Park on the Potomac at the opening of Little Hunting Creek, where Jon Voigt in a fishing boat was chased away by the Secret Service. Meanwhile, Nicholas Cage was on the East Lawn of the Mount Vernon Mansion kidnapping the President at his birthday party through a secret compartment in the mansion’s basement wine cellar.

Mount Vernon continues to offer tours of the National Treasure 13 years after the film premiered. Tours take you to the mansion cellar and the door to the secret tunnel of the former icehouse where Ben Gates (Cage) escaped with the President, played by Bruce Greenwood, escaping the Secret Service in pursuit. Randy Travis has a cameo appearance as evening entertainment for the Presidents’ Starry Birthday Party.

News broadcast, heartburn, and Random hearts are available on screen on Amazon. No Exit is on Hulu. National treasure: book of secrets is on Disney. And the seven seasons of West wing can be streamed on Netflix. Take the time to revisit these great performances. And make a plan to vote!