Maine is a tourism economy. My Massachusetts family remembers that every summer he drives up to Maine for two weeks and sees the proud motto “Vacationland” on every local license plate, so no one needs to tell me that fact. There was not. (Here, yes, I’m “far away”, but I’ve lived and paid taxes in Maine for about 35 years now. Am I still a Maine citizen? Go ahead…)
Anyway, sunshine and beaches, lighthouses and lobsters, forests and ski fields aside, Maine’s remote lures have always included movies. (However, with the wiser heads of government willing, that may soon change). But Maine’s Siren Song is a slow-paced, lake-sitting, rough-hewn destination movie where city folk choose to spend their relaxing (or rather, Stephen King’s terrifying) vacations. , the names of various locations in Maine have been confirmed. Large screen.
But is that always a good thing for a strong tourist dollar?
Well, I’m a proud and loyal mainner (damn), how do the various Maine Chambers of Commerce see their municipal tourist brilliance considering how they appear in the movies? Is your town a quaint seaside retreat full of friendly locals looking to offer sage romantic advice to a stressed-out, heartbroken executive? Or is it a shadowy haven waiting to pounce on all sorts of otherworldly monsters, scaring the summer crowds out of the sunscreen??
Alstock County – “Lake Placid”
See, sometimes Hollywood picks a chunk of Maine and calls it good, so this 1999 giant killer crocodile movie can only be narrowed down to The County. The Eater is a hot seller for tourists who want to take a dip in Maine’s lakes.
Possible PR campaigns: “No killer crocs here! Our bloodthirsty monsters will slowly consume you with over a million itches.”
Bangor – So Massive Stephen King (and little Hedy Lamarr)
King’s haunted and bloody town of Derry was only patterned to Bangor, so it’s a bit of a cheat. From “It” (a demonic murderous clown) to “Dreamcatcher” (a highly invasive alien worm-monster), Derry/Bangor is no picnic in any of the movies King has adapted. At least you won’t survive. Thrown into fictional King locations adjacent to Bangor, including Little Tall Island in ‘Dolores Claiborne’ and UFO-haunted Haven in ‘Tommy Knockers’, and even ‘The Langoliers’ uttering it to Bangor International. Even the time spent unleashing reality-devouring beasts at the airport, and the prospect of finding an amiable real-life writer doing sock shopping, isn’t enough to attract tourists.
Recommended PR campaign: “Bangor: Home to Hedy Lamarr’s 1946 crybaby Strange Woman and nothing else. ”
Boothbay Harbor – ‘Carousel’
Well, this is a nice and easy one for the town’s Chamber of Commerce to market. Sing with all your heart to Shirley Jones, Rogers & Hammerstein! Even carnival! Oh wait, about an abusive husband who was killed in a robbery and returned from the dead to make amends to the widow and her emotionally scarred daughter?
Possible new town motto: “At least there are no killer clowns.”
Bridgeton – ‘Mist’
Steve, another monster? We’re just trying to make a few bucks here. While shopping in local Hannaford, try not to think about the time when Thomas Jane and Andre Brauer were trapped in a horde of slimy Lovecraftian tentacle monsters in a Bridgeton supermarket. . try.
Recommended PR stint: Lean into townwide Squid Tuesday.
Camden “In the Bedroom”
Nothing like a little intense family drama (complete with a side salad of murder, judicial misbehavior, and domestic violence) to put your town on the map.
Possible marketing strategies: This award-winning indie film was actually shot in and around Camden, so it just put up a big Sissy Spacek sign to smile at everyone. Sissy Spacek could never hurt you.
Clifton – “Poison Ivy”
No, it’s not a sultry Drew Barrymore thing. Michael J. Fox Summer Camp. Pre-‘Back to the Future’ Fox, Penobscot County Camp He’s the coolest guy in Pinewood.
Easy to sell (with footnotes in barely legible fine print): “Clifton – We loved Michael J. Fox before anyone else! (Disclaimer: The 1986 TV movie Poison Ivy was actually filmed in Georgia, but we As far as we know, Mr. Fox never set foot in Clifton.”
Friendship – “Casper”
After all, it’s a “friendly ghost”, right? So what better setting for a half-baked children’s movie about the disturbing spirit of everyone’s favorite dead child?
Suggested signs at the border: “Unlike some other towns we can mention, our ghosts are awesome. Cough – Bangor – Cough.”
Durham – So More More Stephen King
Like Derry/Bangor, Kings made no secret of his hometown standing in for Castle Rock, which is inhabited by other fictional Maine monsters. Let’s see, Castle Rock/Durham has a killer dog/furious bat (“Kujo”), a dangerous road followed by a post-apocalyptic psychic vision (“Dead Zone”), a terrifying knife-wielding bully and It boasts wooded areas filled with the occasional dead child. (“Stand By Me”), and straight up demons (“Needful Things”).
Suggested bumper sticker: “Arguably the second wickedest fictional city inspiration in Maine. (Oh, that dome just missed us.)”
Harmony – “Graveyard Shift”
The small Somerset County village was honored in 1990 that not only was a Hollywood production set up in the town’s old Bartlett Textile Mill, but it was actually named as the location for a Stephen King adaptation. I was. No “Castle Rock” nonsense here. So what happens when the resulting film is about an infestation of increasingly gigantic and murderous rat monsters, with a bewildering cast of the worst Mainner accents ever committed to a film? What if you’re showing an array?
Recommended local tees: “I had to hear Steven Macht say ‘oh’ and all I got was this crappy t-shirt.”
Kennebunkport – “Welcome to Mooseport”
A picturesque and clichéd seaside tourist destination with ties to a former presidential dynasty, the setting for this devastating and unfunny Ray Romano political comedy cannot pretend to be anywhere else. Couldn’t. Fun fact: This 2004 movie was so bad, literally Gene Hackman decided to call it a career.
Recommended banners: “At least our actual ex-presidents have only started wars twice.”
ORR’S ISLAND – “THEY NEST” aka “CREEPY CRAWLERS”
Ok, this is going to be a tough sell, I admit to you. A low-budget horror film set on the picturesque island of Maine, where cockroaches writhe with their appetite for human flesh. It’s technically set in the “Isle of Olu” community in Maine, so I’ll chalk it up to people in the distance who don’t do their homework.
Suggested travel brochure: “Olds Island – Mosquitoes and gnats are incredible, not so many killer cockroaches!”
Portland – “Night of the Living Fat”
A cheeky zombie comedy from Portland native Kyle Rankin. The truly hilarious and adorable Maria Thayer plays the brave savior of the world, and the great Ray Her Wise (“Twin Peaks”) plays the spiteful cool weirdo.
Recommended ad copy from Bon Appétit: “Whether you’re a traveler craving one of America’s best food destinations, or an undead ghoul with a serious hunger for the pulsating flesh of the living, Portland We’ve got you covered!”
Vinalhaven – ‘Deep Waters’ (1948) and ‘Islander’ (2006)
In previous films, Dana Andrews has been a troubled fisherman, dealing with soap operas on land and bad weather at sea. In the latter indie, Thomas Hildreth is a troubled fisherman dealing with bad weather at sea and his family’s melodrama on land.
Recommended warning signs for local docks: “Fishing is super hard, guys.”
Waterville – “Wet Hot American Summer”
Funniest Group on Earth (Amy Poehler, Michael Showalter, John Benjamin, Paul Rudd, Molly Shannon, Ken Marino, Janine Garofalo, Michael Ian Black, Joe Lo Truglio, Bradley Cooper), a cult summer camp comedy featuring Chris Meloni, Elizabeth Banks, and David Hyde Pierce), all fictional, but arguably set at Camp Firewood, adjacent to Waterville? ? Even in the film (and its equally hilarious subsequent TV sequel), the vast swathes of Waterville are occasionally pelted with space debris, dripping with toxic waste, and canned food talking to shady government operatives. There are claims that it is overflowing, but please sign up.
PR recommendations: No notes!
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