The beauty of the North Coast draws visitors from all over the world. So, it’s no surprise that Hollywood has been using the natural sets of the area as a backdrop for some memorable blockbusters.

Oregon Film Museum located at the jail featured in The Goonies at 8th & Duane in Astoria is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the art and legacy of

Oregon films and professional film-making in Oregon. Opens June 2010.

????The Goonies – 1985

See next article.

The Ring Two – 2005

DreamWorks filmed the sequel to “The Ring” using Astoria as a backdrop. “The Ring Two,” with cheap thrills, a creepy climax and a few good shots of Astoria, opened in 2005. The movie picks up with Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) and her son, Aidan (David Dorfman), in their new home in Astoria.

The Daily Astorian’s name was used, but the film company used the Pacific Coast Medical Supply site at 1210 Marine Drive for the newspaper’s office set.

Come See the Paradise – 1990

Only Hollywood would attempt to fly a kite while running on the mud flats of Youngs Bay the way Dennis Quaid did in the 1990 film “Come See the Paradise.”

Kindergarten Cop – 1990

John Jacob Astor Elementary School, 3550 Franklin Ave., was the main location for “Kindergarten Cop,” but other scenes were shot at the West End Mooring Basin where the Astoria Red Lion Hotel, 400 Industry St., was the setting for a romantic dinner with Arnold Schwarzenegger and his co-star, Penelope Ann Miller. During filming, the Bayview Cottages, 783 W. Marine Drive, was home to Schwarzenegger’s character and his partner, Phoebe O’Hara, played by actress Pamela Reed. In the movie, Schwarzenegger stayed in room 5 and Reed in room 6. The interior of the motel rooms were replicated in a Hollywood movie studio.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III – 1993

One of the hangars at North Tongue Point was made into a sound stage for this movie, and except for some filming done in New York, the entire film was shot here on the North Coast. A Japanese village was built in a clearing near Saddle Mountain, and Fort Stevens State Park was used for filming.

Point Break – 1991

Filming was done at Indian Beach at Ecola State Park in Cannon Beach and in Wheeler, on Nehalem Bay, for the feature crime/adventure film “Point Break,” released in 1991. An FBI agent, Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves), goes undercover as a surfer to catch ringleader Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) and the Ex-Presidents gang of bank robbers.

Free Willy – 1993

In 1992, the feature film “Free Willy,” made use of some of the North Coast’s locales. The 14th Street dock in Astoria was turned into a fish market, complete with fish tossers imported from Seattle’s Pike Place Market. And the breakwater at the Hammond Marina was the site where Willy’s leap to freedom was filmed.

Short Circuit – 1986

A few robots jumped off the Astoria Bridge in “Short Circuit” and although the house at 197 Hume St. was the home for star Ally Sheedy’s character, the majority of the film was shot in The Dalles.

Cthulhu – 2007

Filmmakers from Arkham Productions in Seattle invaded Astoria in October 2005 to shoot scenes for an independent horror move, “Cthulhu” pronounced (ka-THOOL-hoo).

Tori Spelling stars in the production. The crew used an art studio, known locally as the “red barn,” an old net loft that looms on pilings over the Columbia River at the east end of town.

About 30 local residents were cast, and some were seen emerging as sea creatures along the beach.

Into the Wild – 2007

In the summer of 2006, a film crew headed by director Sean Penn came to Astoria to film “Into the Wild.”

The old-fashioned Olney General Store, 89523 Oregon Highway 202, became the “Orick General Store.” Williamsport Road in Astoria was used for a scene in which a Humboldt County, Calif., sheriff stops the story’s star for creating hazards by hitchhiking. Additional filming happened on Highway 4.

Wendy and Lucy – 2008

Award winning writer and director, Kelly Reichardt, from Portland, Oregon, partially filmed 2008’s “Wendy and Lucy” in Astoria. Starring Michelle Williams who portrays a woman whose life is derailed en route to a potentially lucrative summer job.

The Road – 2009

“The Road” was partially filmed in the Astoria area. This apocalyptic film based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy was released in 2009, stars Viggo Mortenson, Charlize Theron, and Robert Duvall.