I am the type of person who can watch a movie over and over and enjoy it as much as I did the first time. Maybe even more. My husband, Bobby, is not like that. He doesn’t usually watch a movie a second time, let alone over and over. The one exception is the movie Jack Reacher. We both really like that movie. (Blog continues below photos.)
So when we decided to make a trip to Pittsburgh on Saturday, April 23, 2016 we knew we had to visit some of the sites where the movie was filmed. (As an aside, we actually rode the Duquesne Incline, which was a film location of the 1980s movie, Flashdance. Click here for that story, you’ll love Bobby’s photos.) Unlike our trip to Weirton, WV, to see the sites of the movie Super Eight, we tried to be more thoughtful while in Pittsburgh. We didn’t want to drive back and forth across town. We started with the auto parts store. Which in real life is a Pep Boys. In the show it is called Default Auto Parts.
We saw the bar were Jack Reacher encountered his first interchange with Sandy. It’s real name is Mario’s Saloon. Interestingly, the bartender, Dave, told us that the movie people actually built a booth like the ones in the bar, but was put in the back because they could have better camera angles there. Also, in the movie he orders dinner, but Mario’s does not serve food. Dave also told us, while they liked the interior of Mario’s, they shot the exterior in the Strip District.
We also went to the area where the fight scene took place. It is in the Strip District. This actually reminded me of West Side Market a little bit.
We went to Jeb’s house, which was quite an adventure in itself. The streets in Pittsburgh are pretty narrow when you are up in the hills. The road to Jeb’s house was so narrow there didn’t seem to be enough room for cars to pass each other. I thought I was going to hyperventilate while driving. We talked to Lynn, who lives up the hill from the film location. She said that the producers of the film paid the tenants $100 a day to move their cars. They shot for two days, but they only had to move their cars once. She has four large dogs, which when we got there, were barking up a storm. She said that they asked her if she could keep them inside while they were filming. She reminded them that the dogs only went out four times a day, so they could work around her dogs’ schedule.
We went to PNC Park and tried to figure out where the shooting scene took place. We should have watched the movie on Friday so we wouldn’t have to rely on our memories. Turned out we were a little off, but doesn’t really matter to us. We were close enough to relive it in our minds.
It was a beautiful day to be out and about in Pittsburgh reliving scenes from a movie we both enjoy. The people were really nice, some even taking time to share their experience with the city when the movie was being filmed. The movie didn’t do very well in the box office, so it didn’t appear that there would be a sequel. However, I learned a new Jack Reacher movie is in production. It was filmed in New Orleans, Louisiana. I’m looking forward to the movie October 2016. If we decide to see the film locations for this movie, it will definitely be longer than a day trip!
