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Movies shot at your favorite college campuses
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High School Musical (2006) - photo by Travis Poppleton
Ah, beautiful, beautiful autumn. Is there anything better than the smell of freshly sharpened pencils or that first glimpse of a meticulously groomed football field? Its back to school time for students, college football season for sports fans and favorite-campus-hoody weather for the rest of the country.

And what better way is there to celebrate Mother Natures season of bluer skies and sepia toned trees then bundling up indoors for a string of movies set on your favorite college campus? I mean, besides lazy walks through a leaf covered park or adding pumpkin spice to everything edible? Thats right, nothing. And, as always, we have a few ideas to get your movie marathon started.

'High School Musical' University of Utah

While the beautiful state of Utah has been generously depicted throughout classic and contemporary cinema, almost no love is given to its places of higher learning. One exception to this unfortunate trend however is the University of Utahs appearance in Disneys uber-trendy High School Musical. Fans of the phenomenon will remember the Jon M. Huntsman Center doing its part to promote communication through song and random though perfectly synced explosions of high energy choreography.

'Beautiful Mind' Princeton University

Ron Howards A Beautiful Mind captures Princeton University, well, beautifully. The film, which tells the story of John Forbes Nash Jr., uses many iconic locations of the campus, including Holder Courtyard and the Firestone Common Room. One interesting side story told about production mentions that winter scenes were actually shot during spring, which meant film crews needed to cover parts of the campus with fake snow. Princetons own website noted, Imagine the surprise of Holder Hall residents who awoke one warm May morning to find snow piled up outside their windows!

'Forest Gump' University of Southern California

For obvious reasons, seeing movie cameras around UCLA or USC campuses is nothing to write home about. As noted in the heading, Forest Gump was filmed at USC, taking up shop around the schools Hancock Building. Other USC attendees include, Frost/Nixon, Die Hard 4, The Social Network, Matilda, Million Dollar Arm and Young Frankenstein. For UCLA, Legally Blonde Erin Brockovich, Back to School and Old School make up just a few of the movies that called the Bruins' campus home.

'Real Genius' Occidental

Before he was Ice Man, Val Kilmer was working on chemical lasers at Pacific Tech University. The fictional school was mostly captured at Californias Occidental College, with a few additional scenes shot at Pomona College. Look for Weingardt Hall on Bird Road or Johnson Student Center if youre ever in town. Theres even a website dedicated to Goggle Mapping each location of the film at 80s film locations.

'Ghostbusters' Columbia University

You know that scene shortly after the Ghostbusters get fired from their university jobs and Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd are sitting on those steps discussing what to do next. Its that scene where Murray says: For whatever reasons, Ray. Call it fate. Call it luck. Call it karma. I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe that we were destined to get thrown out of this dump. Well, that moment takes place at Columbia University. Which means, if you think about it, Columbia University is the birthplace of the original "Ghostbusters."

Other movies shot at Columbia include Spider-Man 2, West Side Story and Malcolm X.

'Rudy' Notre Dame

There is no movie that celebrates a single university quite like that classic stand-up-and-cheer underdog story, Rudy.

At the time of its release, Rudy was one of only two movies ever allowed to be filmed on the Notre Dame campus. The other, also based on a notable Notre Dame football player, was Knute Rockne All American. Many of the colleges famous landmarks can be seen throughout the movie, including the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, but Rudys most famous scene was filmed during halftime of the 1992 game against Boston College. Notre Dame has also detailed many of Rudys behind-the-scene moments on its website.
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Have You Seen This? Street musician slays with clarinet
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Better than almost every face-melting guitar or drum solo. - photo by Facebook video screenshot

THE BIG EASY — Yeah, yeah, we all know that New Orleans is stuffed to the gills will incredible musicians.

But knowing that fact and then hearing that fact are two different things. You can step into any number of jazz clubs on any given night on Bourbon Street, and you’ll probably be impressed with virtually every act. Or you can sit at home on your comfy couch and watch this featured video.

In the video, you’ll see a woman who is in the groove. She is swinging hard, and wailing on her clarinet with a practiced expertise that makes it sounds so easy.

From note one you’ll be drawn in; your appreciation will grow with every second, and then your face will melt off when you realize how incredible she really is.

If you’ve never played a woodwind or a brass, you may not know everything that comes with a performance like this. Lung capacity and breath control are huge factors in keeping your notes clear and loud, and hitting those high notes is especially difficult.

So when this woman hits that high note and holds it for several seconds, you know you’re dealing with an exceptional musician. It means she has worked hard for years to develop skill on top of her natural talent, and we get to benefit.

It kinda makes you wonder how we let people get away with mumble rap and autotune when talent like this exists in the world.

I wish this video were longer, and I wish I had more information about this woman, but as it is, we’ll just have to appreciate the little flavor of New Orleans jazz posted by the Facebook group Clarinet Life.

Martha Ostergar is a writer who delights in the ridiculous that internet serves up, which means she's more than grateful that she gets to cruise the web for amazing videos to highlight for your viewing pleasure.
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