Showing posts with label filming around the East Village. Show all posts
Showing posts with label filming around the East Village. Show all posts

Thursday, August 28, 2025

EVG Q&A: Darren Aronofsky on 'Caught Stealing' and revisiting the East Village of 1998

Darren Aronofsky (in the green shirt) as seen filming on 6th Street last fall 
Photos and interview by Stacie Joy 

Director Darren Aronofsky filmed parts of "Caught Stealing" in the neighborhood last fall, recreating a 1998 version of the East Village with authentic details, including signage from Kim's Video and Benny's Burritos at their former storefronts. 

Adapted by Charlie Huston from his novel of the same name, this crime thriller — with some welcome humor — premieres Friday. In the area, the film is showing at the Village East by Angelika, AMC Village 7, Regal Essex Crossing, and Regal Union Square, where it had its debut on Tuesday night.

The story focuses on Hank Thompson (played by a charming Austin Butler), a former baseball star now adrift and working as a bartender who inadvertently becomes entangled in New York's criminal underworld. (The Double Down Saloon on Avenue A between Second Street and Houston represented Hank's workplace, Paul's Bar). 
The cast includes Regina King, Zoƫ Kravitz, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D'Onofrio, Bad Bunny, Matt Smith and Griffin Dunne.

We'll admit we expected Aronofsky, an Academy Award nominee whose films include "Requiem for a Dream," "The Wrestler," "Black Swan" and "The Whale," to come across as dark and brooding (especially after seeing his bonkers 2017 "mother!"). 

Instead, the longtime East Village resident, raised in Brooklyn, was thoughtful, genuine, and even quick to laugh during a Zoom interview with EVG as he talked about filming on his home turf, bringing back pieces of the neighborhood's past, and how he sees it today. 

Charlie's book is set in 2000. Why did you choose 1998 for the film? 

You know what? It's a good question, and people have asked that, but I don't know. Actually, if I see Charlie [Huston] tonight at the premiere, I'll ask him, because I can't really remember. I think it may have been as simple as the postseason in baseball. And we wanted the Giants. We just, you know, baseball fans are very, very fanatical about statistics, and we wanted to be truthful, and we liked the postseason of the Giants in '98 more than we did in 2000. [Hank, the main character, is originally from the Bay Area and loves the Giants.] 

What was it about that specific moment in New York that you wanted to capture? 

I lived through that time in New York City, and I wanted to share the kind of joy I had back then. 

You've said the East Village was the place to be when you were growing up in Brooklyn. What's one memory from those early days that still informs how you see the neighborhood? 

I think it's always been a very, very kind of energetic, exciting, young place that hasn't changed. Even now. 

I think it's very hard to gentrify our neighborhood too much, and many things have remained the same. It's changed a lot, but it hasn't been destroyed, I don't think, by any means. But, gosh, I mean, from my high school years, which had been in the 1980s, I think it was a lot more dangerous, and there was definitely some really scary criminal things that happened when I was there, just seeing kind of a lot of danger on the streets. Still, the good memories were how you could really flow from event to event. And there was always something happening three blocks away that was interesting. 

Of course, it always topped off with Save the Robots [on Avenue B], which was such an amazing classical mythical place — before I ever got in there. And then, when you do get in there, you just realize it's this tiny room. It was still amazing. 

When you were shooting here last fall, did anything about the neighborhood surprise you, either in how it's changed or how it hasn't?

Definitely, I couldn't believe how much of a circus Friday and Saturday nights have become. It's like being on Bourbon Street, and it's just so crazy with the bridge and tunnel crowd that it's gone to a different level, but the kind of density of the nightlife scene is just on a whole other scale.

Vanity Fair mentioned an anecdote about a woman urinating on a PA from a fire escape during filming here. Beyond that, how did residents react to the filming? Any other unexpected interactions you'll remember? 

Yeah. There were a few comments where people would walk by and go, "Get the f out of my neighborhood." And all I was thinking was like, actually, I'm pretty sure I've been in this neighborhood longer than you have, so you should be getting out of my neighborhood. 

But I think there was an excitement, too. Look, I live here. I know how much of a pain shooting in one's neighborhood is, so I had a lot of empathy for that. We were careful to have a light touch and to involve as many neighborhood businesses as we could, so that we weren't such a drag on everyone. But you can't make everyone happy. You know, when you ask a New Yorker to cross the street, they're just never going to be happy.
Aronofsky with Austin Butler on 6th Street

What little details did you make sure were accurate, that only someone who lived or hung out here back in the late 1990s East Village would recognize? 

All the businesses. I think that has been a really big hit — from Benny's Burritos and Kim's Video, and people have been pretty psyched when they were up, and also when they see them in the film. But we were really careful. 

We went as deep as the graffiti that was up, contacting some of the great graffiti artists from that time period and asking them if we could put some of their pieces up. My designers went really, really deep into every decision on that and presented me tons of photos. 

There were many little things, such as the type of trash piles, which featured a huge selection of bikes. My production designer showed me a picture of it, and it totally triggered a memory of it. But there would just be the weirdest kind of art, sculptural, part-artistic things that were happening in the streets back then, which were fun to recreate.
You folks did a phenomenal job. EVG documented it pretty obsessively. I was super impressed.

Thank you!
The East Village has always had a push and pull between being a stage for outsiders and a home for locals. How do you balance showing its grit and unpredictability while avoiding caricature? 

Oh, I mean, it's always tricky. You know, they call it a cliche because it's often true. So how do you walk down that line? Very carefully. I think we were just honest and truthful. And then, of course, there's always a conversation like, Is that too much? And if it's too much, you pull back.
Was there an instance where you pulled back? 

That would happen more in wardrobe, makeup, and hair, that type of thing. I think in the actual landscape, it's hard, you know. Sometimes with picture cars, sometimes that looks too much like a real kind of collectible car, like a show car, more than like a car that would have been in the East Village that was often like, "Get that Cadillac out of here!" Because if there was a Cadillac parked here in the 1990s, the radio would be gone, and no one would really park that car on the streets here.

If you could drop back into the East Village of 1998 for one night, where are you going first? 

One night? 

Yep, one night. 

I know I always go to Sophie's [on Fifth Street near Avenue A]. Start the night in Sophie's and end the night in Sophie's. It's always my place. Best jukebox, best pool table, best bartenders. 

Can't argue. Best black and white cookie?

I mean, if I were in the East Village, gosh, I'm totally spacing…What was the Jewish place on Second Avenue that's now a French bakery? What was it called again? 


Yeah, Moishe's!
Aronofsky with Austin Butler at the Double Down Saloon on Aug. 17.

Monday, August 11, 2025

Monday's parting shot

An EVG reader shared this photo from earlier today... as crews for the Lena Dunham-directed Netflix rom-com "Good Sex" were filming a fire-escape scene with lead Natalie Portman on Seventh Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

Crews will be in the neighborhood for the next two days, as we mentioned in this post.

This week in Dodging film crews

Crews for a production called Dodging Productions are back this week (Monday-Wednesday) on streets around Tompkins Square Park...
As we noted, this is for the Lena Dunham-directed Netflix rom-com "Good Sex" with Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo, Rashida Jones, and Meg Ryan. 

You can find some paparazzi shots of the cast in and around Tompkins here. Not really our thing, unless it is Keanu Reeves.

Thursday, July 31, 2025

About the large film shoot now in the East Village ('Good Sex' for the SEO)

We've been fielding questions today about the film trucks parked around Tompkins Square Park and up Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

Film notices state the project as "Dodging Productions." (More like "Dodging PAs!") 

Eh, anyway, Stacie J. did a little digging, and the production is the Lena Dunham-directed Netflix rom-com called "Good Sex" with Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo, Rashida Jones and Meg Ryan.

Flyers state production will be today and tomorrow (not sure about any outdoor shots tonight in this downpour). 

There will be some indoor scenes at the movie-and-TV-scene staple 7B/Vazac's/Horsehoe Bar...

Saturday, July 26, 2025

Love, American 1990s style

Film crews descending upon the East Village this week, Wednesday, and last night for a vague "ABC Studios" shoot... (thanks to Jacob Ford for these two pics along St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue)...
This is for Ryan Murphy's 2026 series "American Love Story," which will chronicle the (love) lives of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. 

Last night, they were back on St. Mark's Place, as well as on 10th Street at Second Avenue outside St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery (thanks to the EVG reader for these)...
There were some early 1990s props...
... and a fleet of dated cars...
The crews were also here in June (with film notices marked "White Plains"). 

And why the East Village? Bessette Kennedy reportedly lived in the East Village when she first moved to NYC in 1989... the two started dating in 1994. 

The cast includes Naomi Watts as Jackie Kennedy.

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

'Caught Stealing' catches eyes with new poster

Poster courtesy of Sony 

After 347 posts on the filming of "Caught Stealing," we thought you might like to see the new poster. ⬆️

The black comedy-crime thriller from Darren Aronofsky (based on Charlie Huston's novel) is set (in part) in the late 1990s East Village. 

Austin Butler, playing an East Village bartender, stars alongside Bad Bunny, ZoĆ« Kravitz, Griffin Dunne, Matt Smith, Regina King, Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio, among others. 

"Caught Stealing," set to hit theaters on Aug. 29, was filmed throughout the neighborhood this past fall.

No word yet if the film will have its own specialty popcorn bucket.

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

About that 'White Plains' shoot in the East Village

Crews for an ABC production called "White Plains" have been filming around the neighborhood this week. 

This is code for Ryan Murphy's 2026 series "American Love Story," which will chronicle the lives of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. (H/T Gracie!)

For the second time in less than a week, Panna II on First Avenue is serving as a location ("Daredevil" was here this past Friday)...
She reportedly lived in the East Village when she first moved to NYC in 1989. 

As for the fake production name, Bessette Kennedy was born in White Plains. 

Meanwhile, early promotional photos have reportedly left fans unimpressed with the dull styling and wardrobe of the leads.

Saturday, June 14, 2025

'Daredevil' season 2 at Panna II

Photos by Stacie Joy

Over the past two days, crews for a large production called "Out of the Kitchen 2" (as indicated by posted notices) have been filming in the neighborhood. That is code for the Disney+ series "Daredevil: Born Again" from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Last evening, crews were filming inside Panna II on First Avenue at Sixth Street.
We'll likely see more filming for season 2 in the weeks ahead... in which Krysten Ritter reprises her role as Jessica Jones. (Flashback to the first "Daredevil" series filming at Sophie's...and when they blew off the front doors at Vazac's/Horseshoe Bar/7B.) 

The cast includes one-time EV resident Vincent D'Onofrio.

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

First look at the 'Caught Stealing' trailer, filmed partly in the East Village last fall

Photo via Sony Pictures 

Today, Sony dropped the first "Caught Stealing" trailer. 

The black comedy-crime thriller from Darren Aronofsky (based on Charlie Huston's novel) is set (in part) in the late 1990s East Village. 

Austin Butler, playing an East Village bartender, stars alongside Bad Bunny, ZoĆ« Kravitz, Griffin Dunne, Matt Smith, Regina King, Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio, among others. 

"Caught Stealing," set to hit theaters on Aug. 29, was filmed throughout the neighborhood this past fall.

Check out the trailer below... (you'll catch a glimpse of the Kim's Video set)...

   

The official plot: 

Hank Thompson (Austin Butler) was a high-school baseball phenom who can't play anymore, but everything else is going okay. He's got a great girl (ZoĆ« Kravitz), tends bar at a New York dive, and his favorite team is making an underdog run at the pennant. 

When his punk-rock neighbor Russ (Matt Smith) asks him to take care of his cat for a few days, Hank suddenly finds himself caught in the middle of a motley crew of threatening gangsters. They all want a piece of him; the problem is he has no idea why. As Hank attempts to evade their ever-tightening grip, he's got to use all his hustle to stay alive long enough to find out…

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

The hit Hulu series 'Rafael's Interiors' (nudge, nudge) is filming in the East Village on Friday

Filming notices are up around Tompkins Square Park and Fourth Street between Avenues A and C for the Hulu series "Rafael's Interiors." 

The shoot will take place sometime on Friday...
Like when "Russian Doll" filmed around here as "Black Gumball" in 2021 ... "Rafael's Interiors" is code for a hit Hulu series that rhymes with "Only Birders in the Quilting." 

This will be season 5 for the show that stars Slate Marvin, Bartin Snort and Elena Fauxmez.

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Thursday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

Crews and mannequins for "Dexter: Resurrection" were in the neighborhood today... we spotted some filming on Lafayette, and there was likely action elsewhere... 

Michael C. Hall reprises his role as Dexter Morgan in the sequel series set to debut this summer. The cast includes Krysten Ritter, Steve Schirripa, Neil Patrick Harris, Peter Dinklage and Uma Thurman.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

'Caught Stealing' slides into theaters this August

Pics from 2024 by Stacie Joy 

ICYMI: Sony announced that Darren Aronofsky's crime thriller "Caught Stealing" now has an Aug. 29 (2025!) release date, per the Hollywood trades

As we diligently noted, "Caught Stealing" was filmed throughout the neighborhood this past fall. 

There were multiple sightings of lead Austin Butler (below), whose character lived on the SW corner of Sixth Street and Avenue A. Also, on Avenue A, the Double Down Saloon subbed for Paul's Bar, the scene of a lot of action. (It was on Avenue B in the book.)
Charlie Huston adapted the screenplay from his 2004 book "Caught Stealing." The story finds Hank Thompson (Butler), a former baseball prodigy, now a binge-drinking bartender, being chased by a criminal element in the East Village of 2000. 

The cast includes Bad Bunny, Action Bronson, Vincent D’Onofrio, ZoĆ« Kravitz, Liev Schreiber, Griffin Dunne, Matt Smith and Regina King. 

We're looking forward to seeing this because a) we read the book, b) we're curious to see the East Village as depicted in the film, and c) we generally really like Aronofsky's movies (and he also lives in the neighborhood).

Monday, January 13, 2025

Playing Santa, Arnold Schwarzenegger looks for his magic bag outside Veselka

Crews were set up today outside Veselka on Second Avenue and Ninth Street, filming scenes for Amazon MGM's holiday movie, "The Man With the Bag." 

An EVG reader shared these photos...
... including a quick shot of Arnold Schwarzenegger in costume as — Santa Claus...
The plot for the action comedy, per IMDB: "When Santa's magic bag is stolen, he turns to his naughty list to find Vance, a former thief, to help him get it back." 

Production trucks were also set up along Tompkins Square Park today. 

Veselka, whose location credits include "Ocean's 8," will be closed today. 
 
Previously on EV Grieve:

Sunday, January 12, 2025

Arnold Schwarzenegger filming Amazon MGM's holiday movie 'The Man With the Bag' in the East Village tomorrow

Photos by Steven 

Crews for Amazon MGM's holiday movie, "The Man With the Bag," will film in parts of the East Village tomorrow.

We've spotted filming notices along Avenue A from Seventh Street to 10th Street... and St. Mark's Place, Ninth Street, and 10th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...
The plot for the action comedy, per IMDB: "When Santa's magic bag is stolen, he turns to his naughty list to find Vance, a former thief, to help him get it back." 

Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Santa and "Reacher"'s Alan Ritchson is Vance. (The production has been filming around NYC in recent weeks.) 

And thinking about other large-scale shoots in the neighborhood in the last 30+ years... Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson filming on Avenue A and Tompkins Square Park for 1995's "Die Hard With a Vengeance."

   

Also, Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino at Most Holy Redeemer on Third Street for 1997's "The Devil's Advocate" ... and Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman on 10th Street/Stuyvesant Street for 2005's "The Interpreter." What else?

Sunday, November 3, 2024

'Caught' taking photos of Austin Butler's stand-in

Photos by Stacie Joy 

On Tuesday, crews for the Darren Aronofsky-helmed crime thriller "Caught Stealing" (aka "Chelsea Honeymoon") returned to the neighborhood to film at several locations, including at Quick Coin laundromat on Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street.
Here is lead actor Austin Butler in character on Oct. 2 on Sixth Street and Avenue A...
He was in the same outfit for the scenes this past week While Butler distracted the assembled paparazzi, we could focus more on his stand-in/lighting double, who was rockin' a similar slouchy yet dreamy orange-and-olive ensemble.
We spotted AB a little later entering the set...
Charlie Huston adapted the screenplay from his 2004 book "Caught Stealing." The story finds Hank Thompson (Butler), a former baseball prodigy, now a binge-drinking bartender, being chased by a criminal element in the East Village of 2000. 

The cast includes ZoĆ« Kravitz, Regina King, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Bad Bunny, Griffin Dunne, Vincent D’Onofrio and Action Bronson.

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Another chance to catch 'Caught Stealing' filming around the East Village

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Crews for the Darren Aronofsky-helmed crime thriller "Caught Stealing" (aka "Chelsea Honeymoon") will return to the neighborhood this week. 

We've seen fliers covering a pretty wide swath, from Cooper Square to Avenue B, for the filming taking place on Tuesday. So expect to see more late 1990s set dressing ... one confirmed location is the Quick Coin laundromat on Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street.

The laundromat will be closed for set dressing during the day tomorrow (open again after 5 p.m.) ... closed Tuesday... reopening Wednesday after 4 p.m.
Several weeks ago, workers were seen dating the laundromat to fit the late 1990s. However, there must have been a change in the production schedule, as the filming didn't take place.
Everything with the yellow caution tape was for the shoot. 
Charlie Huston adapted the screenplay from his 2004 book "Caught Stealing." The story finds Hank Thompson (Austin Butler), a former baseball prodigy, now a binge-drinking bartender, being chased by a criminal element in the late-1990s East Village. 

The cast includes ZoĆ« Kravitz, Regina King, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Bad Bunny, Griffin Dunne, Vincent D’Onofrio and Action Bronson.