Owls are not what they seem. Locations in movies and TV series are too. The WhereFilmed project, specially for "After the Credits," about unexpected locations in popular projects.

We're all used to deception and tricks from marketers and advertisers, from colleagues and bosses, but our loyal friends, the directors, doing this to us? "Never!" you might say, and you'd be wrong. Often, this game works in our favor when they use special effects and other methods to liven up the picture and make the movie more interesting. But sometimes, such tricks are done purely for money or to simplify the production process.

For the sake of filming convenience, tax breaks, and grants, scenes are sometimes shot not where they are supposed to be according to the plot. It's simpler and more profitable. For example, the Canadian government subsidizes filming, reduces taxes, and provides various kinds of benefits. This helps reduce production costs, and the total budget for creating the film is lowered.

For these reasons, the American heartland is often filmed in Canadian provinces. After all, taking a crew to some state in the US is sometimes more expensive and complicated than going to a backwater near Quebec. Therefore, all desert landscapes are usually filmed in California. And let's not forget about political or other kinds of disagreements, because of which, for example, London in Soviet films about Sherlock Holmes was filmed in Odessa, and Turkey from "The Diamond Arm" was played by the city of Baku.

Let's look at examples where the director, like a clever magician, openly told us one thing, but in reality showed another, using our trustfulness.

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" (TV Series 2005 – ...)

First up is our beloved series, which by its title you might think was filmed in Philadelphia. There were, of course, some scenes there too, but mostly these were exteriors of famous and notable buildings in that state.

But the majority of the series was filmed in Los Angeles. For example, Paddy's Pub, some of the streets around it, interior shots of apartments, pubs, and offices, as well as many other scenes. If you check the location on Google Street View, you can see not only the familiar pub but also the entire film crew in the lens of the Google car in Los Angeles.

All locations from the series "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"

"Baywatch" (2017)

White sand, blue water, the curvaceous forms of Pamela Anderson in a red swimsuit – these are images we remember from childhood, practically absorbing them with our mother's milk. Many who haven't even watched the original series remember it, largely thanks to endless references and parodies.

So we wouldn't forget these images, we were given a remake in the form of the 2017 film "Baywatch," where other girls were dressed in the same swimsuits, and the muscular guys were replaced with fresher and bulkier ones. But the creators didn't stop there; they also changed the location! Now the Baywatch lifeguards actually ended up in Florida and Georgia. Malibu in Georgia, in Georgia, Carl! (imagine that famous meme).

To be specific, the beach scenes were filmed in the city of Savannah. For those who don't have a good grasp of US geography: Malibu is in California, i.e., the left coast with access to the Pacific Ocean, while Georgia is on the right coast and further north, where the Atlantic Ocean is and the beach seasons aren't as great. It's like filming Sochi in Vladivostok.

All locations from the film "Baywatch"

"Resort to Love" (2021)

This film doesn't promise us filming in a specific location in its title. It ended up on this list because of the incredibly distant location of the filming site from the one mentioned in the movie.

According to the plot, the story begins in New York and continues at a paradise resort where, incidentally, the Bounty commercial was once filmed – on the island nation of Mauritius. But it turns out that the on-screen New York here is actually the capital city of Port Louis. This was clearly done for reasons of convenience and practicality, although the palm trees in the frame could have been removed somehow.

For reference: the distance between these two points is 14,927 kilometers. But it really did turn out similar. Look at Port Louis at night, with some computer touch-ups, isn't it just like a New York neighborhood?

All locations from the film "Resort to Love"

"Dune" (2021)

And of course, we can't leave out the already legendary film Denis Villeneuve's "Dune," which was most brazenly filmed in the Wadi Rum desert and the deserts of Abu Dhabi, and not, as we all thought, on the planet Arrakis!

All locations from the film "Dune"