Maps of Movies
Starship Troopers (1997)
Where Starship Troopers says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
Buenos Aires gets destroyed on screen, but not a single frame was shot in Argentina: the battle planets are Wyoming and South Dakota.
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Scenes and places
Rasczak's classroom in Buenos Aires
Teacher Jean Rasczak ends the school year by asking his students what a citizen owes the state, and Johnny Rico can only repeat the textbook. The exchange sets up the choice Rico faces between civilian life and Federal Service.
Set in Buenos Aires education center classroom — The classroom in Buenos Aires where Johnny Rico's history teacher quizzes his students on citizenship. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A fictional school in the Argentine capital, filmed on a Hollywood studio lot.
Filmed at Sony Pictures Studios sets, Culver City — The Buenos Aires classroom and biology lab were sets built at Sony Studios. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The beetle dissection and the card test
Johnny Rico dissects a sand beetle in class, then fails a card-guessing test with his psychic friend Carl. Carl shows he can make an insect do his bidding.
Set in Buenos Aires school biology lab — The school biology lab where Rico and his friend Carl Jenkins dissect a beetle and try a mind-reading card test. Google Maps · Apple Maps
Same studio lot as the classroom, a different set.
Filmed at Sony Pictures Studios sets, Culver City — The biology lab was a set built at Sony Studios. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The Jump Ball game
Rico plays the star role in a team game while his girlfriend Carmen watches, and a rival named Zander appears on the other team. The scene is the last high-school night before everyone leaves for Federal Service.
Set in Buenos Aires Sports Arena — The arena where the school team plays Jump Ball; the announcer names the Buenos Aires Sports Arena. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A fictional sports venue; the film shows the Buenos Aires Sports Arena on screen.
The last dance
At the dance Carmen introduces Rico to the rival he played against, and Rico, jealous, tells her he will join Federal Service. She says she will go with him and Carl the next day.
Set in Buenos Aires school dance — The dance on the last night before the graduates ship out. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The film's graduation dance was shot at a working medical center in Southern California.
The recruitment center and the train hub
Rico, Carmen and Carl sign up for Federal Service and learn their assignments: Carmen will be a pilot, Carl goes into military intelligence, and Rico into the infantry. At the hub Carmen and Rico say goodbye and separate.
Set in Federal Recruitment Center — The recruitment center where the friends sign up and the transport hub where they separate.
The director chose this building because he found its architecture futuristic and clean.
Filmed at Los Angeles Convention Center — The recruitment scene and the following scene of Carmen leaving by train were filmed over four days here. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Camp Currie boot camp
Drill instructor Zim breaks the recruits in, and Rico, hoping to become squad leader, sees Dizzy Flores has transferred in to be near him. The training shows how rough the Mobile Infantry is before any bug appears.
Set in Camp Currie — The Mobile Infantry boot camp run by Career Sergeant Zim.
A county park whose old blimp runway became the film's parade ground.
Filmed at Mile Square Regional Park, Fountain Valley — The boot camp scenes were filmed here, on an abandoned World War II blimp runway turned into a parade ground. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
News from a ruined Buenos Aires
During training the recruits learn that a meteor has hit Buenos Aires. Rico realizes his home and family were there, and he then asks to withdraw his request to quit.
Set in Ruins of Buenos Aires — FedNet coverage of survivors digging through the remains of a destroyed Buenos Aires. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The scene was shot in Los Angeles, not in Argentina.
The invasion of Klendathu
The Federation lands its troops on the bug planet and runs into defenses much stronger than military intelligence predicted. Rico is among the wounded and is rescued by his former teacher.
Set in Klendathu — The Arachnids' home planet, where the Federation lands a large invasion force.
A fictional planet; Earth shows up only as the location where it was filmed.
Filmed at Hell's Half Acre, near Casper, Wyoming — Six weeks of filming started here in April 1996; a Klendathu night battle used about 1,300 trooper extras. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The Tanker Bug on Tango Urilla
Rico's squad fights its way up a ridge, hunting bug holes, until a huge Tanker Bug attacks. Rico's quick thinking saves the squad, and Rasczak promotes him to corporal on the spot.
Set in Tango Urilla — A disputed planet the Roughnecks are sent to clear of bugs.
A rolling prairie landscape in South Dakota stands in for the planet.
Filmed at Barry Barber Ranch and Badlands National Park, South Dakota — The ranch and the national park were chosen for little vegetation and a smooth, undulating landscape; the coordinate is the park centre, not the exact filming spot. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The dance after the battle
After the victory the squad celebrates, and Rico and Dizzy finally become a couple. The mood is lighter before a distress call sends the unit out again.
Set in Tango Urilla camp — The camp where the Roughnecks celebrate their victory.
A well-known set of rock formations north of Los Angeles that appears in many productions.
Filmed at Vasquez Rocks, California — The celebration after the Tango Urilla battle was filmed at these rock formations. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The outpost on Planet P
The Roughnecks land on Planet P and find the outpost wrecked and its soldiers dead. Rico examines a corpse and sees that the bugs have done something to its brain.
Set in Planet P — An Arachnid-controlled planet where the Roughnecks find a ravaged outpost.
The same Wyoming badland as Klendathu, shot for another planet.
Filmed at Hell's Half Acre, near Casper, Wyoming — The same Wyoming badland was used for Klendathu and Planet P. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Filmed at Sony Pictures Studios sets, Culver City — Jenkins's basement Google Maps · Apple Maps
Characters
- Johnny Rico — A teenage football player from Buenos Aires who enlists in the Mobile Infantry to stay close to his girlfriend.
- Carmen Ibanez — Rico's girlfriend, who joins the Fleet as a pilot.
- Dizzy Flores — A friend in love with Rico who transfers to his unit.
- Jean Rasczak — Rico's former high school teacher, who becomes a lieutenant of the Roughnecks.