Directed by Peter Berg, ‘Battleship’ is a sci-fi film based on a board game of the same name. The 2012 film revolves around the crews of a small group of battleships teaming up to fight against an alien fleet to put an end to their destructive goals. The military film features gripping performances from a star-studded cast of actors, including Alexander Skarsgård, Brooklyn Decker, Liam Neeson and Rihanna, as well as locations that served as the perfect backdrops for dramatic, action-packed scenes. If you want to know in detail the filming locations, we have what you need!
Battleship Filming Locations
“Battleship” was mostly filmed on the USS Missouri and Hawaii, where the battle took place. Several scenes were shot in other locations, such as Louisiana and California. Filming for this big-budget sci-fi film took place around August 2010. Several guided-missile destroyers, such as the USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53), USS Sampson (DDG-102) and the Kongō class of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer, also appear in the film.
Since many of the film’s scenes involved filming on the waters, the production team required more than the usual filming time. The Science and Entertainment Exchange also offered consultations regarding the technical elements. Here are the exact locations where the film was shot!
O’ahu Hawaii
Peter Berg admitted the crew spent several months filming in Hawaii and off the Hawaiian coast for their action-packed studio flick “Battleship.” The director expanded on this by revealing that they started filming a mile off the coast of Hawaii with huge barges and several large pieces of floating scenery. He also revealed that around 600 people had to go out daily by boat to take the pictures for the film.
As for the shootings inside the battleships, they were shot on the Battleship Missouri Memorial. Also known as Mighty Mo, the 45,000 ton Iowa-class battleship is located at 63 Cowpens Street, Honolulu in O’ahu, Hawaii. The memorial was specially closed for the filming of this film. Besides the museum ship, the production team also shot some scenes at Punchbowl Cemetery and the sprawling 4,000-acre Kualoa Ranch. According to reports, Maui AKA The Valley Isle also served as a filming location for the film.
San Antonio, TX
Even though the film’s main protagonists are well-known actors, the real military had a significant presence in the film. This included a scene filmed in San Antonio, south-central Texas. Besides filming several scenes in the waters, the “Battleship” team also filmed some scenes in the city. The scene in which Samantha Shane (Decker) and Lt. Col. Mick Canale (Gregory D. Gadson) team up to battle alien creatures on the ground was shot in the city.
California
Several shots for the film were shot in western California, including San Diego and Los Angeles. The San Diego warship Bonhomme Richard served as the backdrop for a few shots. Additionally, some of the filming took place at Hotel Figueroa, an urban retreat located at 939 S Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles. A few scenes were shot in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood. Playa Del Ray, a beach community in Santa Monica Bay and the Westside of Los Angeles, also served as a filming site for several scenes, including a shootout sequence.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Due to the impracticality as well as the high cost of shooting the entire film on the high seas, the crew shot many scenes at Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge, located at the Celtic Media Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Using the sound stage capability of the production facility, the team was able to remove walls from sets to accommodate film crews in tight spaces for the filming of key shots. Raleigh Studios was hosting the production of another film “Twilight: Breaking Dawn” at the time.
Speaking about the filming process, Peter Berg told NOLA: “We basically built an entire destroyer in different stages throughout, so one stage would have the bridge; a control room; a, corridors; one, one bedroom. We used every inch of this facility. We built a huge chunk of the H1 highway in Hawaii that we blew up in a nearby parking lot. We built the exterior of a ship. We used every inch of this studio.
Hong Kong, China
Peter Berg revealed in an interview that Hong Kong is one of his favorite cities in the world. It was therefore only fitting that the production team moved to the city to film a few scenes, including one in which an alien ship crashes in Hong Kong.
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