The Movie ‘Waiting…’ Was Inspired By Real Life In Florida

Florida is home to some of the top filming locations in the country for Hollywood movies. We’ve seen some of the most iconic movie scenes shot right here in Florida. The movie 'Waiting...' was inspired by real events in one of Florida’s most notable cities.

The 2005 cult classic movie 'Waiting...'  stars some of Hollywood's biggest names. It may have been filmed in New Orleans but has deep Florida roots. The movie was written and inspired by the real-life experience of waiting tables in Orlando.

'Waiting...' stars Ryan Reynolds, Dane Cook, Ana Ferris, Justin Long, Andy Milonakis, and more in a movie that cost less than $3 million catching all of these actors right before their big break.

The movie 'Waiting...' follows a restaurant crew in a Bennigan's-style restaurant, from open to close, in a whirlwind of insanity. Dean (Justin Long), a mid-level waiter, fights the challenge of ‘what’s next?’. While, coworker and roommate, Monty (Ryan Reynolds) faces a different kind of challenge; lust for underage employees.

The film goes on to showcase the oddities and dangerously accurate representation of what it’s like working in a restaurant. From the kitchen crew to the customers, the movie tells the perfect story every restaurant worker experiences at one point or another.  

This comedy is stacked with pranks, fights, parties, and conflict. “It [Waiting... ] captures, on the whole, what I wanted. It does depict, even if some of the scenes are sort of over the top, what it's like to be a server … the truisms of Waiting tables. All the different customers you complain about and have to deal with. And people that actually wait tables told me that it's surreal watching it” said McKittrick.

The inspiration for the movie 'Waiting...'  came from writer and director, Rob McKittrick. Rob was born in California and moved to Bradenton in his early years as a child. Growing up going to elementary, middle, and high school on the outskirts of the Tampa Bay area, McKittrick moved to Orlando after college.

He worked at Steak and Ale in Bradenton, Bennigan’s in Sarasota, and Roadhouse Grill in Orlando. From his experience of waiting tables and working in restaurants across Florida, the idea of 'Waiting...'  was born.

McKittrick said, “There was always a flirty hostess, there was always a waiter or waitress who’d been there too long and was just burned-out and perpetually angry, there was always at least one manager that everybody hated.”

After writing the script and years of sitting in a stalemate in Hollywood, McKittrick got the $3 million needed to film the movie, and 'Waiting...'  was brought to life. His directing debut with this movie launched his career and has landed him roles on Blockbuster hits like ‘Tag’.

If there's one thing we love it's a good movie! Whether you're from the area or new to the area, there have been several famous movies filmed in Tampa Bay. With our warm weather and beautiful beaches, it's easy to pick a perfect time to film. Many of these movies you've seen before or maybe there's one of two you need to check out.

Filming a movie can be extremely time-consuming. A lot of movie companies like to shoot in Florida because of the many incentive programs. Most of the counties in the state don't over-tax these movie companies which in turn helps with potential tourism. In general, it takes around 3-4 months to shoot a normal movie. We know there are going to be some movies missing from this list like Cop and a Half, Smokey and the Bandit 2, The Infiltrator, and a few others.

Although traveling down to the state can be an undertaking for a film crew, Tampa Bay offers so many different advantages. We looked up several movies on IMDB and there were a ton of them that we didn't know were shot in the Bay area, then ranked them based on personal opinions and their Rotten Tomato score.

If you didn’t know, Tampa ranks #2 on the list of Florida family vacations! Out of 400 towns in Florida a recent study looked at hotel prices, number of restaurants, and amusement parks. Florida is undeniably one of the best vacation destinations in the entire world.

There are tons of reasons why Florida continues to attract millions of visitors every year. From its stunning beaches, vibrant cities, and diverse wildlife there’s always something fun to do. They have thrilling theme parks and offer a wide range of attractions for anyone’s travel interests and preferences.

Florida features vibrant cities with a diverse cultural scene all over the place. Miami is mainly known for its lively nightlife but still offers a lot of family-friendly things to do. Tampa offers the Tampa Museum of Art and Florida Aquarium as fun places for the family to enjoy. Don’t forget about their energetic sports scene with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning.

Florida is known for it's Spring Break life style! It's definitely a hot spot for Spring Breakers every year and this movie was shot in St.Petersburg in the James Franco movie, ‘Spring Breakers’. In the trailer you can also see the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Coral Reef Motel, located between RumFish Beach Resort and TradeWinds Island Grand, was also displayed in the movie. It has many famous actors featured like Selena Gomez and Vanessa Higgins.

Channing Tatum’s Magic Mike showcases Tampa Bay and it's beautiful beach scenery. Channing who went to school in Tampa showed off the area in his successful movie as well as The Amphitheatre at Ybor City. The film is a loose portrayal of Tatum’s real life experience of being a male stripper. His character Chan Crawford worked in Tampa before making it big in Hollywood.

Did you know that Honeymoon Island was portrayed as Puerto Rico in the 2004 movie The Punisher? This movie starred Thomas Jane alongside of John Travolta and cost a total of $30 million to make. They created high speed chases on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, US 19 and even I275. It's a fun movie to watch!

Derby Lane located in St. Petersburg was used in the 2001 action-comedy Ocean’s Eleven. They hired a whopping 2,800 local residents as extras for the scene featuring Brad Pitt. This famous movie is a favorite for moviegoers. If you haven't seen it definitely check it out because you'll love it.

The 2011 Disney movie ‘Dolphin Tale’ was actually inspired by the true story! It's about Winter a dolphin that loses its tail and thankfully gets a prosthetic replacement. The movie had famous actors Harry Connick, Jr. and Ashley Judd and was a success. They filmed a lot of the movie in Clearwater Aquarium.

A classic movie! The 1990 film Edward Scissorhands was shot around the Dade City and Wesley Chapel area. Tim Burton featured Lutz in his movie with all the houses looking the same. As a matter of fact, you can take a tour of the house that was featured in the movie.

Ever been to Lowry Park Zoo? Well the 1990’s classic film ‘Goodfellas’ was filmed there. When actors Ray Liotta and Robert De Niro play mobsters that are asked to carry out a job in Tampa, a lot goes wrong. In a famous scene where they dangle an indebted gambler over the lion's den that was filmed at the zoo.