KC in TV and Movies

[ComandanteCero]

hmm, i haven't seen the skyline shot, but i think the movie is set in Detroit.

[Tosspot]

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/four_brothers/

[troostwood]

In this movie, the humans mention that the closest big city is Kansas City. I believe it's also the premier of a young Leo DiCap.

[phxcat]

I think thats the one that took place in rural Kansas.  The only thing I remember was how mad I was that the dad was able to pick up country music from a radio station in Kansas City, but the kid had to listen to tapes in order to get his rock music.  Yes, even as an adolescent I was defensive about the image of Kansas City!

[Missionite]

hmm, i haven't seen the skyline shot, but i think the movie is set in Detroit.

I just saw the trailer in question on Channel 9 and, sure enough, it's a KC skyline shot. Why? I'm not sure. The trailer even says that the movie is set in Detroit. According to IMDB.com, the movie was also shot in Detroit and several Canadian locations.

Interesting.

Matt

[DanCa]

I just saw the commercial again and sure enough, that's the KC skyline.  Strange.  I wonder if it's one of those crappy movies where they say it's set in Detroit but used KC because it was cheaper?  Or maybe the action moves from Detroit to KC?  I'll have to see it.

[ComandanteCero]

^ah, i finally saw, it.  The skyline most definitely looks like KC (i'm guessing it has something to do with the plot of the movie, and since they thought it looked cool they'd throw it in regardless).  It actually makes us look pretty fricking cool if i say so myself (it's a moving shot of the skyline at dusk/dawn, (probably a helicopter) moving north somewhat west of I-35.  The P+L building is in the middle of the shot, all lit up.  Very cool IMO.  Even though the movie looks lame.

[DanCa]

Alright.  Who's going to volunteer to see it first?  I don't want to wast my 8 bucks if it sucks!

[KC0KEK]

It might be that the director or someone who scouted the movie's locations has ties to KC and wanted to give downtown some exposure. E-mail the Star's movie reviewers and ask them if they know why KCMO is in the flick. They probably could check with the studio pretty easily.

[shinatoo]

It might be that the director or someone who scouted the movie's locations has ties to KC and wanted to give downtown some exposure. E-mail the Star's movie reviewers and ask them if they know why KCMO is in the flick. They probably could check with the studio pretty easily.

Maybe his fictional NBA team is from KC??? Cause they coulnd use a real NBA city.

[KCwriter]

Somewhere on the list back a few pages the movie, "Kansas City Confidential" was listed. 

The date is right; this was not some B-movie send up of "LA Confidential."  In fact, I watched it a year or two ago on AMC or TCM.  Its about the robbery of a KC bank, and the fact that an ex-convict turned delivery driver gets framed for the crime because the bad guys happened to copy the look of his delivery van for their getaway vehicle.  The action follows this guy as he escapes KCPD and starts to track down those who framed him.  The action ends at some resort town in Mexico, where it turns out that the mastermind of the crime was a KC Police Sergent; underpaid and overlooked for promotion, and wanting to live out the remainder of his life some place warm.

I thought it was a decent flick.

I don't think it was filmed on location, though; the only genuinely KC shot I saw was an opening view of the 1940's skyline with Union Station in the foreground, KCP&L and the other 30's skyscrapers in the background, and propeller planes flying overhead.  It was kind of neat!

Why don't we try to attract more action flicks to film here?  The West Bottoms  and North KC have plenty of old warehouses; the 12th Street Viaduct to the West Bottoms could make a good backdrop for some kind of chase scene; and the undulating terrain of downtown from 31st to the River, coupled with downtown traffic and activity, could make for some great backdrops and high-speed chases.  And lets not forget about Baltimore Avenue; that street would look great on film!

[Caycee]

What  previews are you guys looking at ? I've seen to versions and didn't see anything that looks like KCMO.

[Missionite]

What  previews are you guys looking at ? I've seen to versions and didn't see anything that looks like KCMO.

The trailer in question (at least the one I saw) is about 15 seconds long. I took a look at the theatrical trailer at imdb.com that is over two minutes long. The skyline shot does not appear in that version.

Matt

[Maitre D]

dunno if anyone mentioned it, but the James Carville character in "Primary Colors" is played by Billy Bob Thornton - and he wears a KU shirt in the movie.

Don't konw if that's a good thing or not.....

[phxcat]

Yikes!  I know that the movie was taking shots at Clinton, but even then that was a low blow to Carville!

[Caycee]

The trailer in question (at least the one I saw) is about 15 seconds long. I took a look at the theatrical trailer at imdb.com that is over two minutes long. The skyline shot does not appear in that version.

Matt

I finally saw it  yesterday and that in indeed KC.

[phxcat]

I just saw it too- I thought  "Hey, that's Kansas City!" and then I thought "Hey- thats that one movie!"

[ComandanteCero]

so, i was watching this old movie from the early 40's last night called "Sullivan's Travels", about some director who decides to impersonate a hobo to learn more about down and out living in the U.S.  Anyway, i guess he was going to travel from L.A to KC as a hobo.  However, since i started the movie somewhere in the middle, i wasn't too clear that KC was the ultimate destination, i thought it was a stop.  Anyway, his crew decides to set up shop in a hotel at the destination where they'd meet him once he got there.  So, all the scenes where they show these people making phone calls take place in this really swanky hotel room with a large window in the background with a view of what looks like skyscrapers and what not.  Now, i was confused, and assumed they were in Manhattan or something, since it was a really dense place. 

BUT, turns out that was supposed to be KC?!  Which makes me want to check the movie again, and look at the buildings in the background to see if they really were in KC (or just some stock footage of buildings put in there to represent KC).  Honestly, i just thought it was some shot of Manhattan or something. 

Another thought that came to me, was that KC was not portrayed as some cowtown (actually, pretty funny, the director/hobo stops in a small town to get some coffee that's basically one diner and desert all around, he asks where they are and the owner tells him Las Vegas!!).  KC is represented, in terms of this swanky hotel room and this urban vista in the background as this kind of big city/ cosmopolitan place.  The next big stop after L.A.......  Which makes sense taking account KC's natoinal prominence during the 20's and 30's. 

[KC0KEK]

www.filmsite.org/sull.html

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... 1?v=glance

[KCMax]

http://www.tvacres.com/geographic_settings_kansas.htm

TV Shows set in Kansas

The Adventures of Superboy/SYN/1988-92 Smallville 
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok/SYN/1951-58 Abilene 
Alias Smith & Jones/ABC/1971-73 Kansas Territory 
Apple Pie/ABC/1978 Kansas City 
Bat Masterson/NBC/1958-61 Dodge City 
Cimarron Strip/CBS/1967-71 Kansas Territory
F Troop/ABC/1965-67 Fort Courage, Kansas Territory, 
Gunsmoke/CBS/1955-75 Dodge City 
Legend of Custer/ABC/1967 Fort Hays, Kansas Territory 
The Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp/ABC/1955-61 Dodge City
Lois & Clark-The New Adventures of Superman/ABC/1993-97 Smallville 
Married to the Kellys/ABC/2003-2004 Kansas City
Paper Moon/ABC/1974-75 Kansas Territory 
Pete Kelly's Blues/NBC/1959 Kansas City 
The Phil Silvers Show/CBS/1955-59 Fort Baxter 
The Popcorn Kid/CBS/1987 Kansas City 
The Road West/NBC/1966-67 Lawrence County 
Smallville/WB/2001+ Smallville 
Tom/CBS/1994 Family Farm Near Topeka 
Wichita Town/NBC/1959-60 Wichita 

http://www.tvacres.com/geographic_settings_missouri.htm

TV shows set in Missouri
Apple Pie/ABC/1978 Kansas City
The Baxters/SYN/1979-81 St. Louis 
Grace Under Fire/ABC/1993-98 Victory
Jack & Bobby/WB/2004+ Hart
The Jersey/DIS/1999 St. Louis
The John Larrouquette Show/NBC/1993-97 St. Louis (Crossroads Bus Terminal)
Knight & Daye/NBC/1989 St. Louis 
The Legend of Jesse James/ABC/1965-66 St. Joseph 
Lucas Tanner/NBC/1974-75 Webster Groves 
Making the Grade/CBS/1982 St. Louis 
The New Adventures of  Huckleberry Finn/NBC/1968-69 Hannibal 
On Our Own/ABC/1994-95 St. Louis 
Rawhide/CBS/1959-66 Sedalia Trail 
The Robert Guillaume Show/ABC/1989 St. Louis 
Someone Like Me/NBC/1994 St. Louis