A Salt Lake City Guide for Movie Lovers

When I learned I’d be spending some time in Salt Lake City for the Women in Travel Summit with Wanderful, I, of course, began to research what movies were filmed in Utah and what a movie lover would enjoy in Salt Lake City…and I was blown away by my options. (I did also research what a book lover should do in Salt Lake City and that was fun, too.)

A brief timeline for movie lovers, fans of history, and visitors to Utah:

• ~1889: The Roundhay Garden Scene, filmed in England, is believed to be the first motion picture ever recorded
• 4 January 1896: Utah becomes a state
• 8 September 1924: The Covered Wagon (a silent Western Romance), the first movie known to be filmed in Utah, is officially released in the United States
• 2024: Utah and the Utah Film Commission celebrate 100 years of “Utah. America’s Film Set” with an exhibit at the Utah State Capitol, a FOCUS on the fUTure Film Festival, film screenings and other events all over the state and so much more (seriously, they’re doing so much–I wish I could be there all year to explore and celebrate)

While any film fan will find fun in Utah (that was fun to write), here’s what I would recommend:

Salt Lake City Airport

There’s a high probability that you’ll be arriving to Salt Lake City by flying into the Salt Lake City International Airport. It’s a beautiful airport that serves more than 26 million people a year. Don’t be in a rush to get to the hotel though. First take a look at some the stunning art installations throughout the airport, but then, as you exit, be sure to find Door 4. In the always classic movie Dumb and Dumber, this is the area where Lloyd (played by Jim Carrey) realizes he loves Mary Swanson and quite tearfully says “Goodbye my loooove!”

There are also a few other movies that were filmed at the airport including:

• Con Air (1997) – Although most of the filming did actually take place at the Wendover Airfield (almost directly West from Salt Lake City), a few scenes were also filmed at the Salt Lake City airport, including John Cusack’s office.
• Airport 1975 (1974) – A disaster film starring Charlton Heston about a plane making an emergency landing after a midair collision.

**There are also a few other scenes from Dumb and Dumber filmed in Salt Lake City including Lloyd and Harry’s apartment (Smith Apartments, located near 300 East and 200 South) and the Aspen Snow Owl Benefit (the interior is the Union Pacific Depot and the exterior is the Devereaux Mansion).

East City High School

If you’re a fan, you’ll know this location just by seeing a few photos, because three hit movies and a spin-off television series were filmed here and it has a huge fan base. And, thankfully, Salt Lake City’s East City High School is willing to embrace its role in cinematic history and all of those superfans.

High School Musical, filmed in 2006, is certainly the one that started it all. It was actually released somewhat quietly on television as a Disney Channel Original Movie, but it soon became a huge hit, launching the career of Zac Efron, catapulting Vanessa Hudgens into a household name, and making us all Wildcats at heart (even though the real East City High School mascot is a Leopard–what?!?)

The school is open for visitors from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on most weekdays. When you arrive, maps are available outside the school office to make finding the most popular High School Musical filming locations easy (tip: maps were not available on the day I visited, but thankfully Deandra and Mike posted photos of their map, so I was able to use theirs).

It was a little weird to be wandering around a high school taking pictures while kids were going about doing their kid thing (I went around 5 p.m., though, so there weren’t too many), but it was also kind of funny to see other adults wandering around clearly doing the same thing (a few were even in costume).

One other tip: bring a tripod or selfie stick, especially if visiting solo.

And, looking for more High School Musical fun while visiting Utah? Visit Utah has your trip all planned out for you: a 4-Day Itinerary throughout the state.

Utah State Capitol

Even if you’re not a movie lover visiting Salt Lake City, you should still visit the Utah State Capitol. It’s just a beautiful building (especially in the spring when I visited), has some interesting history on display with a great section for kids, and allows free access to see government in action.

For those that are film lovers, though, the Utah State Capitol will give you a fun film fact to share with friends: the scene in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde where Elle makes her way up the steps of the U.S. Capitol to take on her competitors in her fierce pink suit was actually filmed at the Utah State Capitol, not in Washington, D.C.

And, if you’re fortunate enough to visit in 2024, you’ll be able see the fantastic exhibit celebrating 100 years of film in Utah showcasing the hundreds of movies that have been filmed in the state, the actors and actresses that call Utah home, and even a section on Mormon Cinema (I didn’t know it was a thing either–it was interesting).

Sundance Film Festival Locations

Any movie lover knows the Sundance Film Festival is one of the premiere independent movie festivals aorund the world that brings attention to new films, new filmmakers, and the art of film-making. Started by a Robert Redford company in 1978 in Salt Lake City as the Utah/US Film Festival, it’s credited as starting the careers of filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh and bringing attention to award-winning films like CODA and cult classics like Napoleon Dynamite and The Blair Witch Project.

Of course, if you’re a movie lover visiting Salt Lake City and you’re able to, you might want to time your trip to visit during the Sundance Film Festival (usually happens in January/February), but if you can’t time it quite right, you can still go see a movie in one of the many Sundance Festival theatres.

(Let’s just ignore the talk about the Festival going to a different location…it just wouldn’t be the same.)

Brewvies Cinema Pub

Brewvies Cinema Pub is a unique spot in Salt Lake City for a film buff to visit. It’s a restaurant, bar, movie theatre, and pool hall rolled up into one. You can enjoy a drink and some food while sitting in a comfy seat and watching a new release.

It’s a 21-and-older only venue that will sometimes do special events like a free Sunday Brunch movies, Film Buff Night, recent series of Nicolas Cage movies (because who wouldn’t want to watch a bunch of Nic Cage movies?)

Full disclosure that due to timing and movie options, I didn’t actually watch a movie there, but it will be high on my list for next visit to Utah.

Outside of Salt Lake City

I am a traveling movie lover, so I am often doing research on filming locations–the Utah Film Commission makes visiting Utah the easiest destination for a film lover to visit.

While I unfortunately wasn’t able to make it out of Salt Lake City on this visit, here are some of the other film tourism opportunities around Utah:

• Thelma and Louise (1991) – How can you not want to recreate this movie about friendship, freedom, and a beautiful road trip? (Okay, we we don’t need to recreate the ending, of course…or the reason for the road trip…but you know what I mean.) Thanks to the Utah Film Commission, there’s a six-day road trip you can take to channel Geena Davis and Sarah Sarandon (Brad Pitt not included). If you are interested in that beautiful shot that comes at the end, you’d probably enjoy this special helicopter tour that will show it (and a lot of other amazing sights) to you!
• Follow Robert Redford – This four-day itinerary isn’t focused on one particular film, but it’s focused one particular person: Robert Redford, the actor, director, filmmaker, award-winner, and legend. Although Redford grew up in California and then spent time traveling and living in New York and California and other places, Utah has always been special to him (see the notes above about the Sundance Film Festival). This trip will take you to some of the spots that are special to Robert Redford, including some of the filming locations of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, one of his most well-known films.

• The Sandlot (1993) – I was pretty bummed that I wasn’t able to make it to some of these filming locations even though some of them are in Salt Lake City…I mean, there’s nothing like a little nostalgia to make one feel good and this coming-of-age story about a baseball team does just that. It will take just three days in Salt Lake City and Ogden to visit some of the filming locations, including a recommendation to stay in an R.V. Camp and make some s’mores…(because you have to!)

Whatever your reason to visit Salt Lake City and Utah, if you’re a film fan, you’ll find something to enjoy: a film location, a fun theatre, or a moment in cinema history.

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