Maps of Movies
The Ghost Writer (2010)
Where The Ghost Writer says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
Set on Martha's Vineyard and in London, shot in Germany and Denmark: a ghostwriter's thriller played almost entirely by the North Sea and Baltic coasts.
View on the map
Scenes and places
The London publisher hires a ghost
A ghostwriter with no politics and no pedigree is the last of the candidates interviewed to finish former Prime Minister Adam Lang's memoir. His predecessor, Lang's aide Mike McAra, has just died in an apparent drowning, and the publisher wants the book done fast.
Set in Rhinehart offices, London — A London publishing house where a nameless writer is offered the job of finishing a former prime minister's memoir.
The London office of Rhinehart, Inc., the publisher behind Lang's memoir.
Filmed at Charlottenstraße 47, Berlin-Mitte — Exteriors and interiors of the London publishing house were shot here. The coordinates are the nearby Gendarmenmarkt, not the building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The ferry to the island
The writer crosses to the island carrying a contract and a month-long deadline. The ferry is also where McAra was last seen before his body turned up on the beach.
Set in Ferry to Martha's Vineyard — The ferry crossing to the island where Lang is holed up. Coordinates are the island, not the ferry route. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A car ferry between the mainland and Martha's Vineyard.
Filmed at MS SyltExpress, Sylt–Rømø route — The ferry scenes were shot on the MS SyltExpress. The point is Havneby on Rømø, not the ship's position. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Old Haven harbour
Off the boat, the writer finds a small island town in off-season grey and a staff that is already on edge. He is driven to the compound where Lang's team is working in secrecy.
Set in Old Haven, Martha's Vineyard — The harbour town of the film's island setting. Old Haven is the film's name; coordinates are the island's.
A small harbour town in the story, played by two North Sea islands.
Filmed at Sylt harbour, Germany — Harbour exteriors were shot on Sylt. Coordinates are the island, not a specific quay. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Filmed at Rømø harbour, Denmark — The second island used for the harbour exteriors. Coordinates are the island. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The beach compound
Behind security and confidentiality forms, the writer is given six hours with a manuscript that turns out to be a pile of clichés. Anti-war protesters gather outside while Lang's wife Ruth and his assistant Amelia Bly size him up.
Set in Lang's beach compound, Martha's Vineyard — A modern beach house complex where Lang, his wife Ruth and his staff are staying.
The house is a set built for the film, not a real building.
Filmed at Usedom (Peenemünde), Germany — The exterior set of the house was built on Usedom, and the German article places it on the beach at Peenemünde. Coordinates are Peenemünde, not the exact set. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The shore where McAra was found
Alone on the beach, the writer meets an old local who says the current would never carry a body from the ferry to this spot. He also learns of flashlights seen on the sand that night.
Set in Shore on Martha's Vineyard — The beach where McAra's body washed up.
A stretch of beach on the island's far side.
Filmed at Sylt, Germany — Most island exteriors were shot on Sylt; this scene is not singled out in the sources. Coordinates are the island. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The drive off the island
The writer sets off in McAra's old car, meaning to head back to his hotel, but the car's navigation takes him somewhere he did not choose.
Set in Roads of Martha's Vineyard — Island roads the writer drives along in McAra's old car. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The only scenes of the film shot in the real Massachusetts.
Filmed at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts — A few brief driving shots were filmed in Massachusetts by a second unit, without Polanski or the actors. Coordinates are the island's. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Professor Emmett's house
The car's navigation delivers the writer to the Belmont home of a Harvard professor. Emmett denies knowing McAra and says he is only a distant acquaintance of Lang.
Set in Paul Emmett's home, Belmont, Massachusetts — The Belmont home of Harvard Professor Paul Emmett.
A quiet wooded drive with a house at the end.
Filmed at Südwestkirchhof Stahnsdorf, Germany — The approach and surroundings of Emmett's house were shot at this cemetery near Berlin; the house itself is not here. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The island airport
Stuck on the mainland and followed, the writer accepts a ride aboard Lang's private jet on its way back to the island. The flight puts him in a room with the man he has been writing about.
Set in Martha's Vineyard airport — The island airstrip where Lang's executive jet lands. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A small airfield in the story, played by an airfield near Berlin.
Filmed at Strausberg Airport, near Berlin — This small airfield near Berlin stood in for the Vineyard airport. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Filmed at Babelsberg Studio, Potsdam — Studio work for London and the island Google Maps · Apple Maps
Characters
- The Ghost — A British ghostwriter hired to finish a former prime minister's memoir after the first writer dies.
- Adam Lang — A former British Prime Minister, holed up on an island with his staff while his memoir is finished.
- Ruth Lang — Lang's wife, who keeps her own counsel at the beach compound.
Questions answered on the map
- Where was The Ghost Writer's Martha's Vineyard really filmed?