Where was Lonely Planet filmed? All filming locations explored

Modified Oct 15, 2024 11:26 GMT

A still from the Netflix movie Lonely Planet (Image via Tudum by Netflix)

Lonely Planet is a romantic drama film starring Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth in lead roles. The movie was written and directed by Susannah Grant and produced by Grant along with Sarah Timberman and Liza Chasin. Furthermore, Margaret Chernin, Brendan Ferguson, and Corinne Golden Weber serve as the film's executive producers.

Lonely Planet premiered on Netflix on Friday, October 11, 2024. The streaming service described the film's official logline as follows:

"At an idyllic writers retreat in Morocco, a newly single novelist finds an unexpected connection with a younger man who's reevaluating his life choices."

Lonely Planet was primarily filmed in Morocco, a country in North Africa, while some scenes were also shot in Los Angeles, California.

Lonely Planet: All filming locations explored in detail

Netflix's latest destination film, Lonely Planet, began production at various locations in Morocco in May 2022. A few additional scenes were filmed in Los Angeles at the start of 2023.

Morocco

Lonely Planet was mainly shot in central Morocco's city of Marrakech. The Kasbah Bab Ourika boutique hotel poses as the resort where the lead characters meet. The luxurious hotel overlooks the Atlas Mountains and is located in the Ourika Valley south of Marrakech.

While getting to know each other, the film's main characters set off to explore the city of Chefchaouen. Located in northwest Morocco, it is a popular tourist destination with stunning blue buildings, which are captured in abundance in the movie.

While speaking to Screen Rant ahead of the film's premiere, Liam Hemsworth described his experience shooting on location by saying:

"Chefchaouen was pretty incredible. Chefchaouen is the Blue City, and we were there for a few days — a week almost, maybe. We constantly were moving around to these different locations, some very remote and some busy cities like Marrakesh, and just living and breathing it."

During the film's promotion, Laura Dern summed up her experience shooting in Morocco in a press note. She said the country is "filled with remarkable people, history, and culture." However, she also noted that shooting proved difficult at times due to the "pandemic and the heat."

Additional filming locations for Lonely Planet included the Atlas Mountains and other remote regions throughout the country.

Los Angeles, California, United States

The film's climax takes place in New York City, but it was filmed in Los Angeles. The scene where Katherine and Owen walk along the shore was filmed at Malibu Beach in Los Angeles. Moreover, the city of Santa Clarita was also used to film certain scenes in Lonely Planet.

Plot summary

Lonely Planet explores the romantic relationship between a reclusive writer, Katherine Loewe (Laura Dern), and the much younger businessman, Owen Brophy (Liam Hemsworth). Their paths cross at a writer's retreat in Morocco, where Katherine hopes to overcome her writer's block and finish her latest book.

Meanwhile, Owen arrives at the retreat to accompany his writer girlfriend, Lily Kemp (Diana Silvers). The two feel an instant connection with each other despite their age difference. They start spending more and more time together while discovering the majestic beauty of Morocco.

The newly single Owen invites Katherine to spend a romantic evening with him on the Moroccan coast. Sadly, she loses all the notes for her latest book while spending time at the beach with him. This leads Katherine to head back to the United States alone in frustration.

But fate has different plans for the two as they run into each other at a bar in New York City one year later. Katherine apologizes to Owen for leaving abruptly, and the two share a romantic kiss, signaling the beginning of their romantic journey.