Message in a Bottle

Lighthouse lovers will likely enjoy the recently released movie, "Message in a Bottle." You'll get a glimpse of Chicago Harbor Lighthouse, and lighthouses are the "signature landscape" feature used to depict the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It seems like the director tried to frame most shots so that a lighthouse would be in the background. Foghorns are often heard, too.

Unfortunately, the theater I saw the movie at cut off the credits before they ran to the point of showing where the movie was filmed. (This is a capital felony in my book.) Anyway, maybe some Carolinans can identify the lighthouses that are featured so prominently.

In the meantime, the movie is just further evidence that America LOVES lighthouses.

We also saw the movie this past weekend. Chicago Harbor is well represented but the rest of the filming was done in Maine not in North Carolina. I believe Seguin Island is shown in the background during some of the beach scenes. Seemed like alot of trouble to make Maine look like the Outer Banks, but that's Hollywood.
Also, Patty didn't like the ending! E'nuff said.

The Chicago victorian house was actually within sight of Portland Breakwater. Filmed in downtown Portland Me. All the North Carolina scenes were filmed in Maine. We got caught in all the traffic tie ups last May. Bear

Maine and not North Carolina. Hah! No wonder the setting was confusing. So what lighthouse is it that is constantly in the background of the shots (the white sparkplug style one with a black top)? It isn't Portland Breakwater -- another one in the Portland area?

There is a sparkplug light that used to be just offshore at Portland. It is now at the end of a breakwater. It is shown on the Maine Lights episode of the PBS Series (no, I don't have it memorized, I was just feeling a bit under the weather yesterday, so I watched one of the videos).

Jake (Stephen)

PS- Anybody watching "Storm of the Century" on ABC? They show a light in it, Peggy's Cove. The story is based in Maine.

Haven't seen the movie yet (waiting for the video, the last 'in theater' movie we saw was ET) but the sparkplug type light near Portland might be Spring Point Ledge. There's a picture of it in my gallery here on the HL site. Sorry, I don't know the magic formula to give you a link within this message.

What irony! I just came back from Maine about an hour ago after a wonderful day trip/photo safari. I visited Portland Head, Portland Breakwater, Spring Point Ledge, and Cape Neddick. The weather was fantastic today! Bright sunshine and temps in the low 30's. Spring Point Ledge is on the campus of Southern Maine Technical College. I haven't seen the movie but it sure sounds like this was the light if it was near downtown Portland. Portland Breakwater still had a Christmas Wreath on it. I'll be able to file that picture with my Christmas LH scenes.

That's the word from the East Coast where it's dark and 30 degrees.

Many scenes were filmed down beyond Bath in the Georgetown area. Some around Popham State Park. I haven't seen the movie yet. There was a lot of press last week with a sneak peek locally. I just can't remember all the locations. Only a few city scenes were filmed in Portland.

Bob, you didn't visit us today. We are only 15 minutes from Portand Breakwater and wife graduated from SMTC. Next time we'll meet you. Bear

On behalf of Rick Mau, here's his great shot of the Spring Point Ledge lighthouse:

http://www.harbourlights.com/galleries/images/Rick/SP_Ledge2.gif

Thanks Rick!

I also wouldn't be surprised if Pond Island light was shown in the movie. It's at the mouth of the Kennebec River near Popham Beach.

The Maine Maritime Museum in Bath does a terrific lighthouse tour in the summer that goes by the lights of the Kennebec (Squirrel Island, Doubling Point, etc.), Pond Island, the Cuckolds, Burnt Island, Hendrick's Head, and Ram Island. If seas are calm, they sometimes go close to Seguin. The best part is landing on Ram Island for lunch. I highly recommend it.

I can't STAND the fact that they're trying to make Maine double for North Carolina. The coasts (not to mention lighthouses) are totally different. HUM---BUG!!! Kevin Costner ain't gettin' this Mainers money.

Some friends of ours actually profited from the filming they did in Portland. They were asked to move their car from their parking space at their apartment complex. I think they got $100 for two days of "cooperation."

The view was from a beach with the smaller light on the left and a light with an attached house on a rock ledge on the right island. The night scenes showed both light working.
The rocky ledge was a dead give away ,along with two almost adjacents LHs that it wasn't NC.
I think the only thing from NC in the movie was the license plate on the rental cars.
It was a good movie though, and I'd probably blame Paul Newman rather than Costner for the location.I don't think he travels to far from Conneticutt anymore?

The harbor scenes were shot in New Harbor, Maine. I was there in June shortly after the filming ended, and the natives were upset about the massive traffic jams (there's basically only one road through New Harbor). Early in the movie there's a shot of a sailboat with "New Harbor, NC" on it -- yeah, right. The lighthouse that sort of looks like a spark plug is Pond Island, as Bill suspected (but it's not really that close to New Harbor). Still, any lighthouse in a storm (or movie)....

Speaking of lighthouses in movies... A classic sci/fi film of 1954(?)"The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" The light represents a Maine off shore light(similar to Boon Island): the scene involves two intripid lightkeepers discussing what they plan to do on their days off on the mainland when the movies hero The BEAST rises out of the depths and gives the light a good shove..the Coast Guard has no explanation for the light's disapperence... another classic sci/fi film "The Day of the Triffids" British 1962.. Light keeper on another isolated offshore light battles man- eating plants in a do or die, level by level defense of his light, stiff upper lip and all that rot...1986's "The Lightship".. talk about poor production qualities..filmed in Germany (or a Scandanavian country) passing off one of their own lightships as a southern light vessel off the Carolinas. I think Robert Duvall was looking for some short money when he appeared in this turkey...Grim stuff...

Nearly all, if not all, of the beach scenes are at Popham Beach, south of Bath on the Kennebec. There also is a glimpse of what appears to be the former CG station there.