What states was hell on wheels filmed in? near Adelaide SA

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Appears in “Hoodoos and Hoodonts”.

Images courtesy of R&R films.

Never Too Late is the latest feel-good flick to come out of our great state. Originally attended for only a digital release, the film is now screening across the country.

Filmed on location here in Adelaide, Never Too Late is an FG Film Productions production with Principal Investment from Screen Australia in association with the South Australian Film Corporation.

Described as cross between Grumpy Old Men and The Great Escape, Never Too Late is the riotous story of four heroic Vietnam veterans, famous for escaping from a POW camp, whose new challenge is to break out of the nursing home from hell to chase their unrealised dreams.

In what’s been an incredibly tough year for the creative industries in Australia, it’s great to see feel-good movies hitting our screens once again.

The movie has been produced by an incredible line up of talent. It was directed by Mark Lamprell (My Mother Frank, Goddess, A Few Less Men), the screenplay was written by screenwriter and crime novelist Luke Preston and the film was produced by Antony I Ginnane (Patrick, Turkey Shoot) and Adelaide’s own, David Lightfoot (Wolf Creek).

The stellar cast includes acting heavyweights such as Jack Thompson AM (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Breaker Morant), two-time Oscar nominee JackiWeaver (Silver Linings Playbook, Animal Kingdom) and Shane Jacobson (Kenny, The Bourne Legacy) alongside renowned British actor Dennis Waterman (New Tricks, The Sweeney), Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwell (The Green Mile, Babe) and Australia’s Roy Billing (The Dish).

Much of the film was shot on location at an abandoned repatriation hospital in the suburbs of Adelaide.

Our city has many advantages for filmmakers, Mark Lamprell says, including minimal traffic and a fantastic variety of locations that haven’t often been seen before on screen.

“When you’ve only got 20 days to shoot, if you’re travelling 2 hours across town through traffic, that’s just shooting time you can’t afford to lose. We didn’t compromise anything by being in the city of Adelaide; in fact, the film feels very big and cinematic and Adelaide provided that. And the Adelaide crew were just brilliant,” he says.

You can catch the film at a variety of cinemas around town, including Palace Nova, Hoyts, Piccadilly Cinemas and more.

Click here to view the where you can see the film.

“I think it’s a long time since an Australian film has had such an elegant and outstanding cast in the one 90-minute film – and the beauty of that is that our audience have grown up with these actors.

“They’ve grown up with Jack Thompson, they’ve grown up with Jacki, they empathise and connect with the life lessons that these characters have learned.” says Producer Antony Ginnane.

The films synopsys —

When a nursing home stands in the way of a 50-year courtship, four grumpy old Vietnam Vets unite to re-enact the great escape. They may have lost their memory and speed, but these renegades prove it’s never too late for new adventures, even if you have to break rules to break free.

This riotous story of four heroic Vietnam veterans, famous for escaping from a POW camp find themselves sharing new prison Hogan Hills Retirement Home. Each of the men have unrealised dreams they want to achieve before it’s too late. So once again, they band together to devise a plan to escape the nursing home from hell.  After so many years apart these mates teach each other that it’s never too late, no matter how old you are, to chase your dreams.

A delightful comedy about love, friendship and determination, NEVER TOO LATE has an all-star cast including Academy Award Nominee Jacki Weaver and Academy Award Nominee James Cromwell, Shane Jacobson, Jack Thompson, Roy Billing and Dennis Waterman.

More information click here.

YOU can be forgiven for getting the wrong idea about new drama series Hell On Wheels.

Perhaps the title conjures images of a series about the torturous Tour de France. Or a reality show about a parachute pants-wearing bogan who gets his kicks from dropping donuts in his lowered Commodore.

On the contrary, Hell On Wheels is a critically acclaimed period drama about the construction of the railway through the wild west of America.

It is a brutal post-Civil War saga that in some ways resembles the renowned Deadwood. There is plenty of violence (including scalping), drinking, sex and greed.

Mixed up in it all is a young Irish immigrant Sean, who has his initially naive sights on achieving "the American dream". It is a plum role for Ben Esler (pictured), who was raised in the Melbourne suburb of Templestowe.

"The first audition for it, I remember just sitting in a waiting room with lots of other Irish-looking guys," Esler says.

"I just went in there (to audition) and did my best."

Esler, 29, back home for a break before returning to Canada to begin work on a second season, spent many years performing bit parts in shows including Blue Heelers.

His stocks skyrocketed after he scored a key role in the $200 million Steven Spielberg-Tom Hanks war series The Pacific, which was filmed in Australia in 2007. Esler played gunner Chuck Tatum, whose real-life memoirs were used as source material for the show.

Hell On Wheels is being produced by US network AMC (Breaking Bad). "AMC make shows that push the envelope - they get away with a fair bit," Esler says.

"One of the big stories in the show is about racial prejudice and being a black man in America figuring out what his life is going to be like post-emancipation. How real his prospects are."

Hell on Wheels, FX channel, Sunday, 7.30pm

Where Is Hell On Wheels Filmed: All Locations

Later seasons of Hell On Wheels were shot near Calgary’s Bow River, though production was forced to shut down during filming on season 3 due to severe floods in Alberta in 2013. For season 5, the Kananaskis Country park system was used to stand in for the Sierra Nevada mountains, where the railroad had progressed to. It also filmed on the CL Western Town and backlot that was home to other movies and TV shows like Wynonna Earp. The showrunners would later praise Calgary for their efforts in helping to bring the series to life, and it’s hard to imagine the series feeling as vast and epic without this backdrop.

While Hell On Wheels ended with Cullen still among the living, it seems unlikely another season will happen. There were reports of a spinoff that could jump decades ahead, but since the series came to an end back in 2016, there’s been no sign of any continuation; maybe the show really has reached the end of the line.

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