Naman Shrestha
With Paul Briganti occupying the director’s chair and the trio of Ben, Martin, and John starring as themselves, Peacock’s ‘Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain’ is an adventure comedy film that chronicles the life of three best friends turned co-workers, who also happen to live together. Bored and frustrated with their mundane life, they decide to embark on an adventurous mission to find a gold treasure that is supposedly buried in the nearby mountain.
During their search for a life-changing treasure, Ben, Martin, and John must stray clear of hairless bears and desperate park rangers, and deal with a hypocritical cult leader in order to get their hands on the gold. Since most of the film is set at the fictitious Foggy Mountain, the audience tends to wonder where ‘Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain’ was filmed.
Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain Filming Locations
‘Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain’ was shot primarily in Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as a few other sites across the Old North State, including Concord, Connelly Springs, Kings Mountain, and Burnsville. As per reports, principal photography for the comedy film got underway in mid-July 2022 and went on for about seven weeks, before getting wrapped up in early September of the same year.
Charlotte, North Carolina
A major chunk of ‘Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain’ was lensed in the city of Charlotte, which is situated in the Piedmont region. The neighborhoods of NoDa and Plaza-Midwood served as a couple of production locations where several portions of the film were taped. For instance, right at the beginning of the movie, we see Ben, John, and Martin rollerskate their way to work with Boudreaux’s Louisiana Kitchen at 501 East 36th Street in the backdrop.
Several significant hot spots can also be spotted along the main strip of the city’s art district on North Davidson Street, including Bargarita, Billy Jack’s Shack, and The Evening Muse. Moreover, Segen Food Mart at 2212A The Plaza in Charlotte was transformed into Franny’s Market for the Paul Briganti directorial where the trio of friends get persuaded to buy beers for some younger kids. Unfortunately, it has closed its doors permanently.
Another permanently closed property that served as a filming site is the former DICK’S Sporting Goods at 6445 Northlake Mall Drive. The cast and crew make the most of the interiors of the store to shoot the indoor scenes of Trout Plus, where the three friends work. Meanwhile, to record the exterior scenes of Trout Plus, they set up camp in and around Crunch Fitness – Charlotte University at 8514 University City Boulevard in Charlotte. The gym’s parking lot was utilized to lens an important scene near the climax of the movie.
New Hope Missionary Baptist Church at 1303 Hawthorne Lane stood in for the Pinewood Falls House of God, where Martin gets baptized. Interestingly, the exterior of the Saint Martin De Tours Catholic Church at 133 South Main Street in Saint Martinville, Louisiana was utilized for establishing shots of the church. As for shooting the diner scenes where John runs into Ben and Martin at the end, the production team set up camp in Circle G Restaurant at 4818 Rozzelles Ferry Road in Charlotte.
Other Locations in North Carolina
For shooting purposes, the filming unit of ‘Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain’ also traveled to other places across North Carolina. To represent the fictitious Foggy Mountain, they recorded numerous scenes in three different state parks — South Mountains State Park at 3001 South Mountain Park in Connelly Springs, Crowders Mountain State Park at 522 Park Office Lane in Kings Mountain, and Mount Mitchell State Park at 2388 NC-128 in Burnsville. Furthermore, Bost Grill Mill at 4701 NC-200 in Concord served as yet another pivotal production location, where the production team constructed a set portraying the world of the Foggy Mountain cult, which took them about two and a half months to build.
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