Dhruv Sharma
With a star-studded cast that includes Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Jonathan Hyde, and Owen Wilson, ‘Anaconda’ takes you on a thrilling jungle safari where a group of documentary makers picks up a stranded man. Little do they realize that this stranger, who is obsessed with catching giant Anaconda snakes, will lead them to the jungle’s darkest corners.
Other than its relentless CGI-induced thrills, the movie also fascinates you with its lush green swamp scenery. And because of that, one can’t help but wonder where its filming took place. Well, you’ll be surprised to know that, contrary to common belief, the movie was not shot in the Dominican Republic. If you’re curious to know about its actual filming locations, read on further.
Anaconda Filming Locations
The filming of ‘Anaconda’ was initiated sometime in Spring 1996 and wrapped in the Summer of the same year. Over this span, the movie was shot in several different locations of Brazil and California.
Brazil
Throughout its runtime, the film walks a viewer through the tropical jungles of Brazil, where giant snakes hunt their prey in the lush foliage and shallow swamps. For the most part, the forest featured in the backdrop of the film is Amazonas’ Manaus, which is known to be one of the largest cities in Brazil. An animatronic anaconda was used for the movie’s depiction of giant anacondas. According to several reports, the animatronic anaconda had shorted out during one of the scenes, which made it go completely out of control. Some of the footage taken during these moments was also included in the film. There were also several other moments when the movie’s filming had to be abruptly stopped because several cast members were scared of the real snakes on its sets.
A stationary animatronic anaconda from the sets of the movie was later put on display at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. The skin in its tail was intentionally taken off to reveal its skeletal system and also to show the inner workings of an animatronic anaconda.
ANACONDA 1997
Behind the scenes
Jon Voight Ice Cube
Jennifer Lopez pic.twitter.com/vpouKffRjR— Peter Oxley (@oxley264) October 30, 2018
California
The last few action sequences of the movie were filmed in The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, which is a renowned historical site near the San Gabriel Mountains, at 301 North Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, United States. Other than ‘Anaconda,’ many well-known Hollywood films such as ‘Mission Impossible (1968)‘, ‘The Lost World: Jurrasic Park,’ ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day‘, and ‘Meet the Fockers’ have been filmed in the Arboretum.
Here’s a picture of a signboard near the Baldwin Lake, which was substituted for the movie’s Amazon River:
Here’s another picture from the movie’s sets at the Arboretum, featuring Jennifer Lopez with the animatronic anaconda:
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