Residents of Forest Hill have been contacted about using their homes as locations for a new season of Hulu’s “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” and CBS’ upcoming series “The Equalizer,” starring Newark/East Orange native Queen Latifah. In late 2019, Halle Berry was seen in and around Lower Broadway’s Elite Heat Boxing Gym while filming her directorial debut “Bruised.” Due to the work of New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission and Newark Office of Film and Television, this is all part of broader trend that’s been happening in the city for the last decade. In particular, Downtown Newark is on quite the run as a location for major film and television productions. Whether it’s being a stand-in for Gotham in “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Joker,” Chicago in the Netflix film “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” or New York in Steven Spielberg’s forthcoming version of “West Side Story,” Newark is in demand. We’re not just a body double for other cities, Newark also did a good job playing itself in scenes from the HBO adaptation of Phillip Roth’s The Plot Against America.

Most recently, Eric Andre filmed his signature bizarre man-on-the-street prank segments downtown. In an interview with Den of Geek, Andre recounted how one gag nearly turned ugly:

“There’s this one where I’m a news reporter and I’m in Newark, New Jersey, reporting on the street. There’s this passed out businessman, stuntman behind me that looks like he jumped off a building and tried to commit suicide. And then he started getting up, and I go to my news camera team. I’m like, ‘This guy, if he doesn’t stay injured, I don’t have a story.’ Boom. And I started kicking him on the ground. The guys bleeding out the back of the head, kicking him on the ground. I’m like, ‘Stay down, motherfucker. I need this story.’ All these people came out of coffee shops and this one guy was like, ‘I’m going to fucking kill you.’ And I was like, ‘No, if I don’t get this story, I don’t get the promotion I need, this man is my big break in news.’ And he’s like, ‘I’m going to fucking kill you.’ And we had to, we pushed that guy to the limit before he clocked me, and then we had to cut and reveal.”

We know you want to see this, so we’ve included video here:

We’re just excited to hear Newark has added a midtown! In March, look out for the release of Sopranos prequel film, “The Many Saints of Newark,” on HBO Max and its recreation of the rebellion of 1967, shot on Branford Place. If the state and city keep it up, you can also look out for the next major production (and the street closures that accompany it) near you.

Independent film is also alive and well in the city. Phil Mazo is an actor, director, and writer that created his latest short, “I’m Phil,” while quarantined at his childhood home in Newark during the COVID-19 pandemic. Check it out:

If you’re filming content in Newark, we’d love to feature it and tell our readers more about you. See our contact page to make a submission.

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