The Artist (2011) -- which was set in 1927 and filmed in Hollywood, CA -- won three Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Lead Actor. director, and lead actor. Not only is the film in black and white (though it was filmed in color), it's also silent, with only a few lines of dialogue in the entire movie. The film follows silent film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) as he adapts to the “talkies.” The Arist features many theaters where the characters screen their own films, including the Orpheum Theatre, the Wilshire Ebell Theater, and the ornate Los Angeles Theatre. Take a stroll down Fremont Place (which is only steps from the Wilsher Ebell Theater), which is where George and Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) both reside.

Both Oahu and Kaui serve as spectacular backdrops in the Oscar-winning film, The Descendants, which stars George Clooney as Matt King. Clooney's character is on a quest to track down the man who had an affair with his dying wife while also dealing with battling cousins over a pristine plot of land on Kauai. For an up-close and personal view of the gorgeous scenery, head to Kaui's Kalalau Trail, which features breathtaking views of canyons, waterfalls, and the Pacific. Parts of Jurassic Park and South Pacific were also shot here. The actual tracts of land that the King family owned were shot at Kipu Ranch on the southeast coast of Kauai, where you can embark on an ATV tour and go camping. 

Set in New York City a year after the attacks on the World Trade Center, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close follows the brilliant and eccentric nine-year-old Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) as he tries to solve a mystery he believes his father (Tom Hanks) left him before his death on 9/11.  Adventurous Oskar journeys to all five boroughs -- on foot! Walk the Manhattan Bridge, then wander through Chinatown and the Lower East Side, where several scenes were also filmed. From there, catch a train from Grand Central, where Oskar finally confronts his fears of public transportation, to the Upper West Side. Then, stop for lunch at the iconic Barney Greengrass deli, where five scenes were shot (You’ve Got Mail and Revolutionary Road were also filmed here).

Martin Scorsese’s Hugo (2011) won Oscars for cinematography, art direction, sound editing, and visual effects. The story centers on an orphan boy who lives inside the walls of a cavernous Paris train station, where he fixes clocks and steals mechanical parts from an old toy shop owner later revealed to be film pioneer George Méliès (Ben Kingsley). Gare Montparnasse is another leading character in the movie; however, the 1840 train station reproduced for the film was replaced by a modern station in 1969. Recapture the excitement and grandeur of the station’s heyday at Gare de Lyon, which features a large clock tower like the one in the film. You can also visit the grave of George Méliès at the famous Pere Lachaise cemetery, the final resting place of Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Moliere, and other notable figures.

War Horse (2011), which was directed by Steven Spielberg, is about a boy, Albert Narracott, and his horse, Joey. When Joey is sold for use as a warhorse in World War I, he must fight to survive as Albert struggles to find and return him home to Devon. Much of the movie is set in Devon and was filmed in Dartmoor National Park, located in South Devon (about 225 miles from London). The park, which is free to enter and open year-round, is dotted with rivers, ruins, and villages, including Ditsworthy Warren House, the Narracott family's farmhouse. Other filming locales include the town of Castle Combe in Wiltshire and the Duke of Wellington’s Stratfield Saye Estate (the grounds of which are open to visitors) in Hampshire. 

RingCentral Coliseum is center stage in Money Ball as The Oakland Athletics' general manager, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), and his assistant, Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), build a baseball team using unconventional methods during the 2002 season. During baseball season (April to September), stadium, tours are offered when the A’s are away. 

Want to experience the inspiration behind Director Darren Aronofsky’s eerily beautiful psychological thriller about a ballerina’s stomach-churning spiral into total madness? Visit New York City’s Lincoln Center which serves as the film's backdrop. Then, head into On Stage Dancewear to pick up a pair of handmade pointe shoes and the perfect tutu. Once you’ve got the gear, sign up for a beginner-friendly class at Joffrey Ballet School. Afterwards, unwind at The Black Swan pub in Brooklyn. 

Filmed on location in Lowell, Massachusetts, the working-class hometown of Micky Ward (played by native Bostonian Mark Wahlberg), The Fighter is noted for its realistic boxing scene -- which were choreographed from Micky’s actual fights and filmed at UMass Lowell’s Tsongas Arena. Learn how to deliver a knockout punch firsthand at Ramalho’s West End Gym, where Ward himself trained and the movie’s gym sequences were filmed. Then, visit nearby historic Lexington and pop by the Lexington Venue movie theater, where parts of the movie were filmed. 

Though production for this sci-fi thriller occurred in six countries, Paris serves as the backdrop of Inception’s most pivotal mind-bending scenes. Traverse the vaulted Bir-Hakeim bridge near the elevated Passy metro station that is reported to have housed Cobb’s (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) dream training facility, and where Ariadne (Ellen Page) first tests her subconscious’ architectural skills. Next, visit the post-modernist Parc de la Villette, a conceptually experimental complex with roots in architectural deconstructivism, and ponder its 26 “follies” -- seemingly unfinished red metal buildings that evoke the impossible objects created in the film’s lucid dream worlds. In the evening, catch a French flick at the Cinéma Gaumont Champs-Elysées, which hosted the movie's Paris premiere.

This quirky comedic drama chronicles two lesbian mothers (played by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore), their teenage kids, and their leather-clad sperm donor, Paul (Mark Ruffalo), was shot and set in the Silverlake and Echo Park neighborhoods of LA. Spend an afternoon at the Rose Bowl Flea Market in nearby Pasadena, where the film’s set decorator scored many of his props. Emulate Paul’s organic farming lifestyle and bag a bushel of locally grown, pesticide-free produce (or sample some tasty BBQ) at the Echo Park Farmer’s Market. Afterward, stop by 1642, a one-of-a-kind craft beer bar, for a refreshing adult beverage.  

Trace King George VI’s (Colin Firth) path to coronation and his challenge to overcome a lifelong stutter with a London-area film locations tour beginning at Wembley Stadium, where then Prince Albert struggles to deliver an address at the opening of the film. Continue with an excursion to Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire. Next, take a stroll down prestigious Harley Street, which hasn’t changed much since the 1920s; number 146 marks the site of speech therapist Lionel Logue’s (Geoffrey Rush) former practice. A peek into the windows of 33 Portland Place is as close as you’ll get to the shabby-chic, 18th-century townhouse in central London that serves as Logue’s striking consultation room in the film (and, unbeknownst to audiences, was also the same film set for the Duke and Duchess’s Picadilly home). 

127 Hours, which tells the harrowing true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston’s (played by James Franco) five days spent pinned beneath a boulder in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, is not a film for the faint of heart. However, true adventure-seekers should enlist the pros at Moab Cliffs and Canyons for high-caliber (and chaperoned!) canyoneering in Blue John Canyon, near where Ralston was trapped. 

This fictionalized biopic about the creation of Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, was filmed in and around Cambridge, MA, and Silicon Valley, CA. Though the Harvard scenes were actually shot off-campus, you can still enjoy a free, student-led tour of Harvard Yard. While the Facebook headquarters is not open to the public, tourists can visit its sprawling Menlo Park campus and take pictures in front of the entrance sign. 

The Coen Brothers’ remake of this classic Western flick about a crusty old one-eyed U.S. Marshal (played by Jeff Bridges) and a stubborn girl in search of her father’s murderer (Hailee Steinfield) put Granger, Texas, on the map. Head south to Bandera and saddle up at one of the self-proclaimed Cowboy Capital’s half-dozen dude ranches. Then, head further west to beautiful Monastery Lake in New Mexico (where parts of the film were also filmed), and embark on a scenic, day-long hike. 

Winter’s Bone (which stars Jennifer Lawrence) paints a bleak picture of life in Southern Missouri’s Ozark Mountains, an otherwise beautiful landscape that appears stark and desolate onscreen. Most film locations were set near Branson, a popular vacation spot boasting endless activities from fishing to zip-lining, a number of wineries, and square-dancing and variety show establishments.