Move over, Hollywood, New Jersey is quickly becoming a top destination for filmmakers. With A-list productions rolling into town, Netflix setting up shop, and even Bruce Springsteen’s story hitting the big screen, the Garden State is turning into a major player in the film industry.
Surge in New Jersey Productions
The past few years have seen major film projects choosing New Jersey as their backdrop. The state has become a hotspot for productions, with blockbusters such as West Side Story (2021), Oppenheimer (2023), and It Ends With Us (2024) recently filmed within its borders. While New Jersey has historically served as a stand-in for New York City, new tax incentives have led to a surge in productions choosing to shoot in the state.
This rise is largely thanks to the state’s Film and Digital Media Tax Credit, which was reinstated in 2018. The program offers a 30% tax credit on film projects and a 35% credit for productions in certain targeted areas, making it an attractive alternative to New York and California. These financial benefits have played a major role in drawing in large-scale productions.
A Complete Unknown: Transforming New Jersey into the 1960s
Most recently, releasing in late 2024, A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothee Chalamet, had almost 99% of its production take place in New Jersey. The project spent $80 million in the state and transformed various locations, including Jersey City, Hoboken, Newark, Belleville, Paterson, Elizabeth, Milburn, West Orange, Blairstown, Red Bank, Cape May, and more.
Jersey City and Hoboken were used to emulate 60s Greenwich Village, with vintage taxis and retro storefronts recreating the iconic era in the city. The 1965 Newport Folk Festival (originally in Rhode Island) was meticulously recreated in Cape May, where local extras dressed in period fashion and classic cars roamed the streets.
Netflix’s Monmouth County Sound Stage
Perhaps the most significant development in New Jersey’s movie business is Netflix’s decision to build its largest East Coast production facility at Fort Monmouth, a former military base in Monmouth County. The $900 million, 289-acre campus is expected to feature 12 sound stages, backlot areas, and offices, making it a prime spot for major TV and film productions.
Greenlit by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority in December, this project signals a shift in the state’s entertainment industry footprint. The project is still in the process of securing additional approvals from the state, but Netflix plans to open the entire facility by 2028.
The Future of Filmmaking in NJ: Deliver Me From Nowhere (Bruce Springsteen Biopic), Happy Gilmore 2
The new movie, Deliver Me From Nowhere, a Bruce Springsteen-inspired film starring Jeremy Allen White, was filmed almost entirely in NJ, in locations across the state such as Bayonne, Rockway, Asbury Park, and Rahway. Capturing the authentic feel of the movie, Bruce Springsteen himself aided in using the set of NJ to capture the essence of himself in the film.
Using iconic spots of Bruce Springsteen’s childhood, like the Stone Pony located in Asbury Park, and a soundtrack filled with Springsteen’s iconic hits, Deliver Me From Nowhere tells a deep story not only as a tribute to Bruce himself, but as a love letter to NJ and its impact on his life.
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