UCLA and especially USC are great for film, and yeah, it definitely helps to be in LA. NYU has a great reputation as well. All three are quite expensive, however, and only USC is good with merit and financial aid.
You may want to check out Chapman, which has a very good, up and coming film program. The same goes for Emerson (Boston) and LMU (LA). Wesleyan (in Connecticut) has produced a surprisingly large number of people in film, so check it out as well. In upstate New York, there's Syracuse and Ithaca.
The Chicago area, while great for theatre and comedy, is not a film hotspot, but I agree with AllyxlynnUS that it might be worth a look anyway. Northwestern and to a lesser extent DePaul would be decent options.
Honestly, though, I've known a lot of people in the film/TV industry in LA coming from all sorts of places and backgrounds. You definitely don't have to attend one of the major film schools to get a decent job, at least from what I've seen.