Dhruv Trivedi
‘Fools Rush In’ is a cross-country romantic comedy that sees a one-night stand between an unlikely couple blossom into love. Alex and Isabel’s budding relationship takes them from city to city and even to rural Mexico. The constantly shifting backdrop of the multicultural romantic comedy adds to the movie’s underlying theme of happenstance and chance encounters. However, across all the shifting scenery, the undeniable chemistry of the lead pair remains constant, and location and story combine to give the film a truly spectacular climax. Let’s take a look at where ‘Fools Rush In’ was filmed!
Fools Rush In Filming Locations
‘Fools Rush In’ was filmed on location in multiple states around the country, including Nevada, New York, New Mexico, Oregon, Arizona, and California. The production of this movie took place cross-country and included many iconic locations. To portray the film’s eligible protagonist Alex’s multi-city itinerary in the search for love, the film’s production team also traveled to many of the places that feature in the film.
On the other hand, stand-ins were used for scenes like the ones depicting rural Mexico. Principal photography started on April 19, 1996, and wrapped up by June 20 of the same year. Let’s take a look at the specific places where this film was shot.
Clark County, Nevada
Production for the film took place extensively in and around Clark County, Nevada, including the city of Las Vegas, where Alex initially meets Isabel. A house located on 6679 Merced Lake Drive in the city doubled up as Alex’s house in the film. He meets Isabel while researching for a new nightclub project, for which filming took place at a club on South Dean Martin Drive and West Flamingo Road. The Mountain View Hospital on 3100 North Tenaya Way, the Neon Museum on 520 Fremont Street, and the Storybook Wedding Chapel on 619 South Las Vegas Boulevard were also used as filming locations.
The wedding night scenes were filmed at the opulent Caesars Palace Hotel, located on 3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South, whereas the ultrasound scenes of the couple’s love child were filmed at the West Valley Imaging medical diagnostic center on 3025 South Rainbow Boulevard. The car chase scenes were also filmed in Las Vegas, on Spring Mountain Road and Industrial Drive, and then also on Highland Drive near West Desert Inn and Western Avenue. The McCarran International Airport, located at 5757 Wayne Newton Boulevard, also features briefly in the film.
The production crew also shot the film in many other parts of Clark County to depict the journey from New York to Las Vegas that Alex makes. Several scenes were filmed at Valley of Fire State Park, Red Rock Canyon, and the city of Henderson, which is located southeast of downtown Las Vegas. The state border area between Nevada and Arizona, where the picturesque Lake Mead National Recreation Area is located, is also featured in the film. The climax of the movie, where Isabel gives birth while on the Hoover Dam, was actually filmed here on the Hoover Dam.
New York City, New York
Filming also took place extensively in New York City, where Alex works as an architect. Many of the city’s iconic landmarks, mainly in Manhattan, are featured in the film. The locations include Central Park, Times Square, and Rockefeller Center on 45, Rockefeller Plaza.
In Central Park, the Bethesda Fountain and the area around it were chosen for filming, as was the 72nd Street Subway Station, which is also in Manhattan. The city’s quintessential Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island also features in the movie.
Other Locations in the Western United States
To depict Alex’s journey across the country, as well as his visit to Mexico to look for Isabel, the production team filmed across multiple locations in the western states. The historic Rancho de las Golondrinas on 334 Los Pinos Road in the state capital of Santa Fe, as well as the town of Taos in Taos County, New Mexico, were used to depict Mexico. The central Mexico panorama was shot at Crown Point on the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, 15 miles east of the city of Portland.
The film’s climax, where Isabel gives birth to their child, who Alex so far thought was miscarried, takes place on the iconic Hoover Dam on the Arizona-Nevada border. Another widely famous site from Arizona that is featured in the film is the Grand Canyon, in Grand Canyon National Park. Lastly, studio filming for ‘Fools Rush In’ was undertaken at Columbia Pictures, located inside the Sony Pictures Studios complex at 10202 West Washington Boulevard in Culver City, California.
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