Congratulations Eddie Redmayne on winning an Oscar for your amazing performance as physicist Stephen Hawking. See where the movie was filmed and live life like a movie star with these top 10 Oscars-themed holidays:
Mr Turner – London
The film: Mike Leigh has notched up six Oscar nominations in his career, and 2015 could be the year he finally takes home a statuette. This fantastic film starring Timothy Spall focuses on the final years of 19th-century painter JMW Turner’s life.
What to see: Turner was born on Maiden Lane in Covent Garden and educated at the Royal Academy of Arts. The Tate Britain, meanwhile us home to the world’s largest collection of Turner’s work.
Where to stay: Head to a 2-bedroom apartment in Covent Garden with a balcony overlooking the city. From £241 per night (housetrip.com)
The LEGO Movie – Billund, Denmark
The film: This fun-filled animation tells the story of an ordinary Lego mini-figure construction worker who is identified as the key to saving the Lego universe. He and his friends must go on an epic journey to defeat the evil tyrant Lord Business who is bent on destroying the universe by gluing it together.
What to see: Head to Legoland in Denmark – the true home of the iconic toy. Those looking to make a bigger build out of a trip can add beautiful landscapes, stunning beaches and Viking ruins to their travel itinerary.
Where to stay: Where else but on site at the Legoland Hotel? Double rooms start from £78 per night (legoland.dk)
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Saxony, Germany
The film: Another brilliant comedy from Wes Anderson. His latest movie was inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig, and stars Ralph Fiennes as a hotel concierge who teams up with one of his employees, the lobby boy, to prove his innocence after he is framed.
What to see: Filmed entirely on location in Germany, the main setting of the film was the town of Görlitz and its art nouveau department store, also called Görlitz, which served as the atrium lobby of the hotel in the film.
Where to stay: Kurort Jonsdorf is a refurbished apartment that sleeps 6 people. From £46 per night (housetrip.com)
Birdman – New York
The film: With a whopping nine nominations, this movie tells the story of a washed up actor, who once played an iconic superhero. He battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career and himself in the days leading up to the opening of a Broadway play.
What to see: Catch a show at the off-Broadway St James Theatre on 44th St where many scenes were filmed, then simply enjoy one of the greatest cities in the world.
Where to stay: The Intercontinental New York on 44th and 8th is a 2-minute walk from the theatre. Double rooms start from £150 per night (intercontinental.com)
The Imitation Game – Bletchley
The film: The Imitation Game follows the story World War II mathematician Alan Turing who attempts to crack the Enigma code. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the British cryptanalyst and Kiera Knightly as his colleague Joan Clarke.
What to see: Bletchley Park is a heritage site and vibrant tourist attraction where visitors can explore some of the iconic WW2 codebreaking huts and marvel at the astonishing achievements of the codebreakers whose work is said to have helped shorten the war by two years.
Where to stay: Flitwick Manor offers Bletchley Park breaks including dinner, B&B and tickets from £160 for two (bespokehotels.com)
Theory of Everything – Cambridge
The film: This romantic film, starring Oscar-winning Eddie Redmayne as world-renowned Stephen Hawking, tells the story of the physicist and literary student Jane Wilde back in the 1960s, whilst the pair were studying at Cambridge. It explores how they fell in love, Stephen Hawking’s diagnosis with motor neurone disease, and his incredible dedication to physics. What to see: Check out the university campus where many scenes were filmed. There’s also the National Trust’s Anglesey Abbey Gardens and Lode Mill stately home, or Shepreth Wildlife Park, and the Imperial War Museum.
Where to stay: Kingfisher Apartment sleeps six and is in walking distance from the town centre. From £216 per night (housetrip.com)
Foxcatcher – Pennsylvania, USA
The film: Foxcatcher follows the true story of John E. du Pont who employed wrestling brothers Mark and Dave Schultz to train upcoming US wrestlers. The relationship led to du Pont murdering Dave Schultz.
What to see: The 800-acre du Pont farm has now been split up and sold off, but filing was mostly around the Pittsburgh area. Fight scenes were shot at the Monroeville Convention Center and Wilpen Hall in the upscale Sewickley Heights neighbourhood doubles as the du Pont mansion.
Where to stay: The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Suites Pittsburgh Downtown is ideally placed for visits to Sewickley Heights. Double rooms start from £106 per night (Hilton.com)
Selma – Alabama, USA
The film: Selma follows the story of Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement’s epic 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. The march was a turning point in American history after Americans were outraged at the Bloody Sunday events at Edmund Pettus Bridge when protestors were attacked by Alabama State Troopers.
What to see: You can still visit the Alabama River bridge in Selma where those events took place. Some scenes were shot in Montgomery, where you can visit the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church where King helped organise the Montgomery bus boycott made famous by Rosa Parks.
Where to stay: Red Bluff Cottage is a real Deep South home in Montgomery and comes complete with a southern-style porch. Double rooms are from £80 per night (redbluffcottage.com)
Boyhood – Houston, USA
The film: This highly acclaimed movie with Ellar Coltrane and co-starring Patricia Arquette chronicles the life of a young man, Mason, from five to 18 – and does so in real time!
What to see: Most of the locations are in Texas – including scenes in the Big Bend National Park, and Minute Maid Park and the Museum of Natural Science in Houston.
Where to stay: Houston’s upscale Hotel ZaZa is across the street from the Museum of Natural Science. Double rooms start from £161 per night (hotelzaza.com)
Ida – Poland
The film: Up for best foreign language film, Ida follows the story of Ann, who when about to take her vows as a young nun, finds a dark family secret that dates back to the years of Nazi occupation.
What to see: Scenes were filmed around the country, with most being shot in Lodz and Zgierz. The 18th-century Zamoyski palace in Klemensów doubled as Ida’s convent.
Where to stay: Overlooking Lake Nielisz, Hotel Marina is less than 4 miles from Klemensów and has its own yacht marina. Double rooms are from £18 per night (booking.com)
