Campus tourism increases as spectators flock to film sites

Residents of Mathey and Rockefeller colleges have ruined many tourists' souvenirs of the University by dashing through an increasing number of photographs since "A Beautiful Mind" was released in mid-December.

Campus tour attendance has increased by 20 percent compared to last year in which there were 38,000 visitors, said Orange Key officer and tour guide Loren Gutt '02. Though 90 percent of tour members are still prospective students and parents, there are many tourists who come to ogle at the Gothic architecture depicted in the movie and ask "Where did Russell Crowe push his desk out the window?"

Eric Hamblin, Director of the Center for Visitors and Conference Services, has fielded several calls regarding the accuracy of parts of the film, such as the completely fictitious pen ceremony, and specific locations of where the scenes were filmed.

There are other factors, however, that contribute to the increase in campus tourism, such as the University's top ranking in U.S. News and World Report.

Gutt, who gives a tour every other week, said that since the Academy Awards, six people on his tours came specifically to see where the "Best Picture" winner was filmed.

Orange Key has not officially changed the tour material to include information about "A Beautiful Mind" or John Nash. However, individual guides point out the quintessential lead windowpanes and archways featured in the early scenes of the movie during the one-hour tour.

Orange Key Senior Officer Andrew Defillippis '03 first introduced "A Beautiful Mind" to the University when he personally toured director Ron Howard, John Nash and screenwriter Akiva Goldman, who took copious notes. The tour earned Defillippis a walk-through role in Holder Courtyard.

Though tour guides include such movie-related anecdotes in their tours, Gutt said the outline for tour guides, originally written in 1967, has not been changed.

"The interest in the movie will subside in two or three years," Gutt said. The tour remains a relatively systematic introduction to academics, campus life and campus history and supplements the information given in brochures about the campus.

"The idea of celebrity attracts them more than beautiful Gothic architecture," Mathey resident Charif Shanahan '05 said, complaining that he runs into a number of tourists each day.

Mathey freshman David Mesrobian '05 reports receiving at least one question per day concerning the movie.

"There has definitely been an increase in tourism on campus," he said. "But they're not always interested in coming here."

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Orange Key Officer Lisa Hess '03 said the tours attract visitors from near and far. Hess said that on her tour, visitors usually ask about the movie during a question-and-answer session in front of Nassau Hall, where Nash was shown playing "Go!" with other graduate students.

Alexis Zanghi, a student at the University of Toronto and recent University visitor, has always been intrigued by the "Princeton mystique," but "A Beautiful Mind" piqued her interest further.

Zanghi made a special trip to tour Princeton after visiting friends in New York City. She decided to visit not only because of the proximity to New York, but also "to dispel some of the Princeton myths. I wanted to learn more about the place than what I've seen in the movies," she said.

Despite tourists' innocently curious intentions, some annoyed students simply want to carry on with their daily lives without hindrance.

"It's rather disturbing that people would only visit possibly the finest academic institution worldwide only after seeing a movie starring a guy who was walking around in Roman armor a year ago," Mesrobian said.