Film Tour of Princeton University

Alliance Français of Princeton hosted a tour of where films were created on campus. As we stood in front of buildings, Yassine, a student who organizes the annual French Film Festival carried around his iPad to shows us images of how the places looked in the movies. 

Some I recognized, such as the 2001 "A Beautiful Mind" and "Oppenheimer," others I did not, including the 1928 film "Varsity" by Yale student Frank Tuttle, but only one really surprised me: "Terminator 2."

The weather was perfect. The calendar says fall, but the temperatures are still summer.

In front of Nassau Hall we learned that "Varsity," a movie by Paramount starring Buddy Rogers, was asked by the University to be removed because it showed *gasp* scenes of students drinking. Mind you, this was the era of prohibition.

If you want to film at the university, you need to get permission.

We headed to Blair Hall, part of the earliest campus expansion. Up until the 1970s it is where the Dinky train used to end. The Dinky station has since been moved twice. It was a famous landmark depicted in such films as the 1979 film "Last Embrace," a spy movie with the protagonist visiting Princeton University to find a professor who could translate Hebrew. "Admission," the 2013 film starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd was also filmed here. Today students and some faculty live in Blair Hall.

"A Beautiful Mind" was filmed outside of Laughlin Hall and inside Rockefeller College. Yassine remembers watching some of the filming.  

We stopped in front of dumpsters outside the U Store. This was an example of when "Runner Runner," a movie starring Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake that was filmed on the streets of Princeton, thus only needing the town's permission, and not that of "the gown."

Also at Rockefeller College, the 1951 Cary Grant film "People Will Talk" was filmed. It is about a female student who is pregnant and the college professor who helps her. Ironically, women were not admitted to Princeton until 1969, so I suppose the trustees did not find this worthy of censorship like they did in the 1920s. 

"Transformers 2" and "Oppenheimer" were both filmed at East Pyne Hall. In real life it is the building where foreign languages are taught. We paused here for a group photo.

Every student has to write a senior thesis before they can graduate. They are housed in Firestone Library. Future students can see them. The most requested ones are by actors Dean Cain, Brooke Shields, and David Duchovny.