Why are Hollywood films so full of fakery?

Last night (Sat 4 April) I was watching my DVD copy of the film The Da Vincii Code. Towards the end of the film there is an areal scene of the Rosslyn Chapel, then the scene changed leading to the two main characters entering the chapel, etc. etc.
After the film ended I thought I'd find out where the chapel was located so I might make a tour of it one of these weekends. I googled it and found out that it was not far from Edinburgh at all. Just 20 min. drive from where I am currently living.
The weather this morning turned out to be real nice, so I did my usual groceries shopping, put my stuff away, had lunch, then drove to the chapel.
On my approach to the chapel I noticed that the area looked nothing like in the scene in the movie. Once there I discovered the chapel was covered over by this canopy protecting it from the rain. I walked around and wondered how they shot the outside scene with this metal thing over the chapel, with columns supporting the canopy, which did not touch the chapel in any fashion.
The inside is much like the film, so the interior was used. The basement, where the two characters entered to find all those historical documents, is nothing like in the film. It's only a basement, fairly bare, with a few items, and no documents, stars on the ceiling, etc.
A woman tour guide gave a half hour talk about the chapel, and towards the end of her talk explained much of the legends behind the chapel, and what Hollywood made up for the film.
She explained that the exterior aerial shot was made up, and made to look more majestic, a chapel on a hill appearance, but what the chapel actually looks like in real life.
For me finding out what the chapel was really like was a bit disappointing, like finding out Santa Clause really doesn't have a wonderful looking red flying sled, but only a '56 white Chevy panel truck thats rusting here and there.
Though, I should say I wasn't really disappointed with my visit. The chapel was really nice and interesting to visit. The talk also help to dispel much of the mysteries created by both the film and some of the books written about the Rosslyn Chapel, which lead to the book by Dan Brown.
What you learn is that it was only a chapel, with an interesting history, lots of myths attached to it, which was started to be built by an important individual, William St Clair, back in 1446. If you want to read more, click here: http://www.rosslynchapel.org.uk

You wouldn't believe how disappointing my first visit to The Chocolate Factory really was. Not an oompaloompa to be found,

you sure you didn't just get sucked up into a tube before they came out?

The Death Star was a letdown as well, everything was styrofoam and cardboard and Vader actually had people choke his victims for him.

Dude...'The Neverending Story'...such a misleading title...

norman bates. really nice guy, actually.

Wouldn't surprise me if they were doing some restoration work there when you visited.

It is rather funny. I'm teaching The DaVinci Code in my Mystery Lit class right now. The connection to Rosslyn Chapel to the story is pretty thin. It would require several steps that are tenuous at best:

1: Somehow, early Christian documents would have to have been buried, for some unknown reason, under the Second Temple, which makes no sense. Early Christians would want to have as little to do with the High Priesthood as possible, and probably wouldn't have had much of a chance to store anything there.

2: The 9 original Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon (Templars) would have had to find those documents, be able to read them (historically, only one of them was even literate, and that was just in Latin, not Greek or Ahramaic).

3: The Templars would have to have morphed into the Scottish Rite Masons, which has not been historically proven. The Mason's claim it, but there is nothing but speculation to back them up.

Rosslyn is connected to the Templars through the St. Clair family, but the rest is unprovable.

It turns out hobbits are really just hairy midgets! What a rip!

To the OP:

You said it yourself, the basement was plain and boring and the exterior was totally obscured.

Wouldn't have made a very entertaining movie, would it?

Major motion pictures are full of fakery because they have the luxury of making everything perfect. The true story is seldom as fantastic & dazzling as the movie version.

No, I was disappointed that the chapel shown in the aerial scenes was made up. If you visit the site, it is nothing what is shown in the movie. Also some shots were made at different locations, not at the chapel site.
In the film you get this idea that the chapel is on a scenic hill top surrounded by lush trees. It's not.

And there's no fairy-land in the back of my closet. What of it?

There seems to be lots of legends as to what is buried under the chapel, the holy grail, the arc of the covenant, la deeda, etc. etc. Some have even speculated that even Elvis is buried there. Go figure.

Because tarps and scaffolding aren't majestic enough for the film adaption of a bestselling novel guaranteed to film success just on name recognition. You're one of the few people I've heard say "you know, I wish that film looked a bit shittier."

There are no crocodiles in Dundee. WTF?

Lying bastards

Hollywood films have always been full of fakery, specifically because money and special effects were prized above artistic quality and veracity. This goes way back, even into the silent era.

There would have been no reason to develop an independent scene if Hollywood consistently favored quality over quantity. It never has, and it never will.

My trip to Cyberton was rather disappointing too.

The movie made it seem so real, but when i got there, boy was i upset. That and my truck still hasn't transformed into a giant robot hellbent on my personal protection.....

One time I visited an apartment into New York, and there weren't a bunch of quirky, good-looking people having silly conversations or a laugh track or anything. There were a bunch of cockroaches and it smelled and it wasn't very big. And the guy living there yelled at me a lot, but he left his door unlocked, so what the fuck? I think he was Vietnamese.

Could the reason for this fakery also be to visually display impossible or at least improbable events? Or are you upset that all the people killed in movies survive to film again?

You're supposed to make friends with the roaches and then they get you a girl friend and sing to you.

I knew I should have bought a guidebook.

Because Batman isn't real.

YOU SHUT UP YOU LIAR