The film was shot in several states of the American South and Southwest, telling a cross-country journey from Tennessee to Arizona. The production used real small towns in Tennessee, including Manchester, Jasper, Lynchburg, Shelbyville, Heleighton, South Pittsburg, and Chattanooga, giving the road story an authentic atmosphere of rural America. Filming then moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where the neon Fremont Street was captured before its transformation into the covered pedestrian mall Fremont Street Experience. The journey ends in Arizona at iconic desert locations, including an old Indian trading post near Winslow and the real Meteor Crater — a massive impact crater privately owned by the Barringer Crater Company. Jeff Bridges received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of an alien who takes human form and travels across the country with a young widow. Many locations in Tennessee have since been demolished or heavily altered — the Amoco gas station in Manchester was destroyed around 2000, and the Bowdarks bus stop structure was torn down in the 1990s or early 2000s. The film also features a memorable scene shot at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, which played the role of a fictional racetrack in Gallup, New Mexico.

Filming Locations:

Shellmound Road and Highway 134, Heleighton

In the Movie

Scene where the Mustang drives past a helicopter along the road by Nickajack Lake, heading south on Shellmound Road, with the Tennessee River visible in the background. The helicopter follows the car from above as they move through the rural Tennessee landscape.

In Reality

The scene was filmed on a rural stretch of Shellmound Road, which runs along Nickajack Lake, part of the Tennessee River system. The road passes through a quiet part of Heleighton, Tennessee, and offers beautiful views of the lake and surrounding hills. Over the decades, overgrown trees have partially obscured the view of the river that was visible during filming in 1984. This location was used for the helicopter chase scene.

Main Street and Betsy Pack Drive, Jasper

In the Movie

Scene where the car runs a red light on Main Street and crosses Betsy Pack Drive, heading east. The car flies through the intersection without stopping, drawing the attention of other drivers and heightening the tension in the chase scene.

In Reality

The scene was filmed at the intersection in the small town of Jasper, Tennessee, where Main Street (US-64) crosses Betsy Pack Drive. This is the central part of town with typical small-town American commercial buildings and storefronts. Jasper is the county seat of Marion County, and the intersection remains easily recognizable in town, almost unchanged since the mid-1980s.