Gone Hollywood: Some towns don't know what they've got 'til they're drawing movie-loving tourists to town

One night in 2001, Dawn Welch stayed late at her restaurant in Stroud, Oklahoma, to welcome a group traveling historic Route 66 as part of a research trip for a planned animated movie.

That late shift paid off: Five years later, Welch became famous as the inspiration for Sally Carrera, the Porsche who charms wayward racecar Lightning McQueen in the movie "Cars."

Welch said her business saw a 40 percent boost in its bottom line as young fans poured into the Rock Cafe to meet "Sally."

"It was just overwhelming," she said of the response to the film.

An Albuquerque, New Mexico, woman saw a similar influx of travelers after her home was used as the fictional Walter White's house in the television series "Breaking Bad," said Heather Briganti, senior manager of communications and tourism for the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau.

During Albuquerque's annual hot-air balloon festival last fall, the woman counted at least 2,500 cars stopping so fans could see and photograph the house, Briganti said.

"She says she'll never move. ... She seems to enjoy it," she said.

Local tourism promoters have expressed hope that "Gone Girl," released Friday in theaters nationwide, will have a similar effect on Cape Girardeau.

"The better the movie does, the better of a chance we're going to have to have a sustaining economic impact from 'Gone Girl,'" said Stacy Dohogne Lane, director of public relations for the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The bureau's website already has a self-guided driving tour visitors can download and print out.

Dawn Welch, right, signs movie posters for fans during the June 2006 premiere of “Cars” in Oklahoma City. Welch, owner of the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Oklahoma, was the inspiration for the character Sally Carrera in the popular Pixar film. (Emily Priddy)

Dohogne Lane said organizers based the tour on the locations where filmmakers spent the most time, but it may be modified based on which sites end up with the most screen time.

Drawbacks

Welch said Cape Girardeau can expect a different type of traveler after "Gone Girl" is released.

"It just changes the face of your tourists, really," she said in a recent telephone interview. "... People that are coming there (now) are familiar with the area, because they have researched it."

That will change, Welch said. While her old customers read up on Route 66 before heading out on the road, many travelers coming into the Rock Cafe today are unfamiliar with the road and its attractions, she said.

"Sometimes they're deflated by what is actually there," Welch said. "They want it to be more. They want it to be like the movie."

"Gone Girl" fans may have the opposite experience after seeing Cape Girardeau's fictional counterpart, North Carthage, on screen, Dohogne Lane said. As described in the book, North Carthage is a gritty, economically depressed community full of shuttered businesses and empty houses.

"Cape Girardeau is not North Carthage," Dohogne Lane said. "Cape Girardeau is playing the role of North Carthage. ... I absolutely think people are going to be very pleasantly surprised."

Capitalizing

Welch advised Cape Girardeau business owners to use social media to promote themselves and the community's Hollywood connection.

"It's all about your social media. ... 'Gone Girl' is going to be looking for -- they'll have a hashtag," she said. "Find out what their hashtag is, and [use] it."

The film's promoters will share relevant tweets, Instagram photos and other social media postings containing the hashtag, Welch said, promoting Cape Girardeau and its businesses in the process.

"They're going to love it, and they'll retweet it. ... That's the easiest, fastest way to get that done," she said.

Kumar Patel, who runs the Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino, California -- the inspiration for the Cozy Cone Motel in "Cars" -- said local businesses need to prepare for travelers who are specifically interested in the movie.

"Know what's going to come. If people are coming to town for 'Gone Girl,' you probably want to gear yourself to that type of mentality," with souvenirs, maps of filming locations and themed tours, Patel said.

He said the city can expect local visitors this fall, with international travelers following in a year or so, after they have had time to plan their vacations.

"At the end of the day, the people coming out to visit the sites and stuff -- it might be slow at first, and who knows how long it lasts? ... They should be prepared for the boom to capitalize on it when it happens," Patel said.

Businesses that hesitate too long could miss the opportunity altogether, he said.

Late 'Breaking'

Tania Armenta, vice president of marketing for the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the hometown of Walter White arrived to the "Breaking Bad" party a little late.

"A show about illegal drugs and the manufacturing of them is admittedly not something that is a tourism destination," she said.

By the show's third season, however, it became obvious the "Breaking Bad" filming locations were drawing visitors, Armenta said.

"We just saw a great interest. The show had become really a cultural phenomenon," she said.

A local trolley company began offering "Breaking Bad" tours, and the owners -- who were former CVB employees -- contacted the bureau about enlisting partners to create more themed experiences for fans of the show.

A key prop in the show -- blue rock candy created by a local candymaker -- provided merchandising opportunities.

The candymaker sells bags of the candy at her shop, and one Albuquerque bakery sprinkles it on doughnuts. Bars created themed drinks; a day spa sells "Bathing Bad" bath salts; and visitors can choose from four special tours, including one aboard a replica of the RV used as a portable meth lab in the show, Armenta and Briganti said.

When the show ended its run with the death of the lead character, his obituary appeared in the Albuquerque Journal, and Briganti said a steakhouse placed his "grave" on its property.

"Kudos to our partners for getting creative and just really embracing 'Breaking Bad,'" Armenta said.

Promotion

Dohogne Lane said some Cape Girardeau businesses and attractions have gotten creative, too, with downtown business owners organizing a "Gone Girl"-themed scavenger hunt and the Cape River Heritage Museum creating a special exhibit on the city's movie and theater history.

"It's been really cool to see people get inventive with it," she said.

The bureau has been in communication with 20th Century Fox about the possibility of creating "Gone Girl"-themed souvenirs, Dohogne Lane said.

"We want to be sure we are entirely above board with this," she said.

Armenta said a section of the Albuquerque CVB's website devoted to "Breaking Bad" has drawn more than 200,000 hits.

"The power of the website is really strong in terms of finding a place where travelers can come and get all this information," she said. "...It's great whenever you can come to a resource that you know you can trust."

Like its counterpart in Albuquerque, the Cape Girardeau CVB has created a special "Gone Girl" page on its website, with a driving tour, information about opening weekend, upcoming events and related links.

The Albuquerque CVB also held press tours, bringing journalists in to cover "Breaking Bad" tourism, Armenta said.

That kind of coverage can attract additional tourists, Patel said, citing a Route 66 television documentary by Scottish comedian Billy Connolly that aired in the United Kingdom a few years after the release of "Cars," drawing travelers from overseas.

"'Cars' movie ingrained that Route 66 is still alive in America, and it is something special, but you have to seek it out. ... It influenced other people in a way that they don't even realize 'Cars' is the reason they're traveling Route 66," Patel said.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

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