Why sci-fi alien planets all look the same

There's a reason that a lot of planets in American science fiction look the same: they're all filmed in the same places. But why those particular locations? It's about money, about union rules, and about the thirty-mile zone -- or as it's otherwise known, the TMZ.

Wikipedia on Vasquez Rocks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_productions_using_the_Vasquez_Rocks_as_a_filming_location

Camera: Matt Gray http://www.mattg.co.uk/

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