Sex and the City reboot filming on our block on February 13.
“And Just Like That” on HBO Max.
“And Just Like That,” the reboot to Sex and the City, is filming on our block on February 13 (sources say that “NCP” is the code name for the reboot). It is in its second season on HBO Max. Filming as usual at an extremely early time in the morning.
“Billions” filming on our block on Friday, February 3.
Billions comes back to the block.
Billions season 7 is filming on our block on Friday, February 3. They’ve shot on our block before, and those long trucks you seeing parked on the block (top right) are basically the actors’ dressing rooms.
A lot of the time they label the individual doors on the trucks by the names of the characters (Bobby, Taylor, Chuck, etc.—for those who watch the show), so you can whether your favorite actor is going to be on our block on Friday.
Billions is filming on our block next Wednesday.
Billions is filming on our block next Wednesday. Based on some limited texting with friends and my review of the trailer for Season Five, which is the season currently shooting, this one follows a hedge fund manager named Bobby Axelrod as he wears a hoodie and growls at people in suits while the people in suits occasionally growl back: Billions Season 5 Part 2 (2021) Official Trailer | SHOWTIME - YouTube. Very cool. Very cool block.
I believe a TV miniseries about WeWork is filming on our block this Thursday.
Under the code name “Caviar.”
For whatever reason I have always had an odd obsession with the WeWork saga, from its wild rise to a real estate behemoth with a $47 billion valuation in early 2019 to its spectacular fall by the end of 2019 after a failed IPO. I’ve read all of the books and articles; watched all of the documentaries and interviews; looked at all of the images; Googled all of the searches; thought all of the thoughts, and so forth; and yet still my thirst won’t be quenched. Each new tidbit of information is for me like another sip of saltwater on a hot summer day.
And so you can imagine my delight when I snapped the above picture of a film shoot sign on our block, Googled the project name “Caviar,” and found out that it is code for the upcoming TV miniseries “WeCrashed.” There isn’t a whole lot of information about WeCrashed available yet, but of course it tells the story of the rise and fall of WeWork. It stars Anne Hathaway as Rebekah Neumann and Jared Leto as Adam Neumann. It looks like it will be released sometime in 2022. I’ll be watching.
Film shoots on our block: Ray Donovan and something called “Possible Productions, Inc.”
Continuing to go Hollywood.
There were two film shoots on our block on Friday, June 4th, one for Ray Donovan and one for something called “Possible Productions, Inc.”
On Ray Donovan, I’ve heard of the show and I’ve definitely heard of the last name before, but I’ve never actually watched it. The show is evidently about a “fixer” for celebrities and powerful people who basically makes all your problems disappear. Think Michael Cohen for Donald Trump, I gather, but infinitely more competent and badass. The show was canceled in February 2020 after seven seasons, though a few months ago, Showtime decided to make a feature-length film to conclude the storyline. You can see the trailer for the seventh season, which was filmed in NYC, here: Ray Donovan Season 7 (2019) Official Teaser | Liev Schreiber SHOWTIME Series - YouTube.
On “Possible Productions, Inc.,” I’ve never heard of it before, but it looks like it’s a film production company that basically makes the video for big events—if you want your Super Bowl halftime show to look really slick and professional on TV, I believe you have to pay a company like Possible Productions to do it.
Anyway I’m more interested in the name “Possible Productions, Inc.” than whatever it does—it makes it sound hilariously noncommittal. Like, “we may be shooting something right now on your block, but maybe we’re not?” What are you hiding, Possible Productions, Inc.? Or perhaps I should take it more as a lack of confidence. Something like, “technically we’re shooting on your block right now but it’s nothing really and we really hope you like it and also we’re sorry for getting in your way.” You didn’t get in my way, Possible Productions, Inc., and from one possible block association to one possible film production company, you show know that at least on this block you are safe, we trust you, and we believe in you. Come back and possibly produce anytime you want.
“The Blacklist” is filming on our block next Tuesday, June 1.
Bonus: the flyer says that actors will be in police gear with prop weapons.
The Blacklist, Season 8, is going to be filming on our block next Tuesday. I’ll let the flyer I saw outside provide the synopsis of the show:
In the show, a criminal mastermind aides the FBI in bringing down a network of previously unknown international villains and syndicates.
I gather that James Spader, who is one of those guys you’ve definitely seen in something before but can’t immediately remember what, plays the criminal mastermind. Here’s the teaser for Season 8, where Spader seems to play like a quippy killer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U_chX0Ml_o.
Bonus—the flyer includes the following disclaimer:
***PLEASE BE ADVISED, STUNT WORK WILL BE IN PROGRESS, ACTORS WILL BE IN POLICE UNIFORMS AND PROP WEAPONS WILL BE IN USE***
I’m here for it.
What the hell is fly fishing?
Whatever it is, it’s filming on our block on May 3.
Fly fishing falls squarely into the category of things that (i) I’ve heard of before, but (ii) don’t really know what they mean. Given, however, that something called “Fly Fishing” is going to be filming on our block on May 3, I did a little research into it and here is what I’ve learned:
Regular fishing basically uses a rod, a relatively weightless line, some sort of bait like a worm, and a “sinker” or weight near bait. The weight of the sinker is what allows you to cast the bait and hook out into the water.
Fly fishing does not use an actual fly as bait, dork. It uses a rod, a weighted line (sort of like a heavy rope at the gym, I gather), some sort of artificial “fly” (made out of feathers or something that imitates an insect), and no sinker or weight near the hook. Because there is no weight at the end of the line, you sort of chop the fishing pole in a tomahawk-like motion to fling the “fly” away from you and out into the water.
Importantly, because there is no sinker on the end of the line, the bait doesn’t sink, and you can catch fish like trout that swim on the top of the water.
So why on earth would anything involving this slightly altered form of fishing be filming on our block? I’m not exactly sure, but I think that the shoot is associated with the “Fly Fishing Film Tour,” which is basically a collection of 10 or so fly fishing-related short films that are produced on a yearly basis by a small film company in Boulder, Colorado. The films tell true, up-lifting stories about fly fishing from around the world. You can see the winner of the 2019 Tour here (it’s only 12 minutes long): THE MIDNIGHT MISSION - Award Winning Short Film - YouTube.
Perhaps the 2022 Fly Fishing Film Tour will feature gratuitous shots of fly fishing on the Hudson. If so, we’ll organize a fly fishing event in 2023.
Season 3 of the HBO Series “Succession” is currently filming at The Shed.
All those trucks outside 28th Street between 10th & 11th Avenues are the actors’ dressing/makeup rooms.
Season 3 of “Succession” is currently shooting at The Shed, which is the reason for all those trucks on 28th Street. I haven’t seen the show myself, but I have definitely heard of it and it has a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. I gather that it’s about a family which owns a major media company where the family members are all vying to take over for the aging family patriarch. The trailer for the first season looks really good, and it features gratuitous shots of NYC, which I am always, always a sucker for: Succession: Season 1 | Official Teaser | HBO - YouTube.
Interestingly, the little yellow signs outside the trailer doors correspond to the names of the characters in the show, not the names of the actors in real life. So, for example, one of the signs is for “Shiv,” and “Shiv Roy” is the daughter of the family patriarch (Shiv Roy | Succession Wiki | Fandom). The actress who plays “Shiv” is named Sarah Snook. I probably would have thought that Sarah Snook’s dressing room would say “Sarah” on it, but what do I know. I suppose this is where they get into character after all.
Film shoots on our block: Raising Kanan currently on 28th St. b/t 10th & 11th Ave., and Law & Order SVU previously on 27th St. b/t 10th & 11th Ave.
This block has gone Hollywood.
A cool thing about NYC has always been that you might just stumble across a movie or TV set while out looking for a “Dog of the Day” to post on your website.
That happened to me about two weeks ago, when I saw what seemed like 50 police cars on 27th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues, along with a couple people with clipboards nonchalantly mulling around making clear that this was all just a TV set. I’m now basically positive that the TV set was Law & Order SVU (Tuesday, Feb. 23 Filming Locations - On Location Vacations).
Currently being filmed on 28th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues is a TV show called “Power Book III: Raising Kanan.” I remember seeing a flyer for it a few days ago that I forgot to take a picture of but which looked like the image I found on the internet and posted here.
The show is a prequel to the “Power” franchise. It is set in the 1990s and essentially looks at the early years of 50 Cent’s character in Power, “Kanan Stark.” Here’s a teaser for it: Official Tease | Power Book III: Raising Kanan | STARZ - YouTube.