Filmmaking in Flatiron 2.0
Feb 27, 2018
As the upcoming 90th Academy Awards ceremony prepares to honor Hollywood’s 2017 season on March 4th, the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership highlights recent films starring the Flatiron District as the location of choice for star-studded productions.
In the Fast and Furious billion-dollar franchise’s eighth installment, Vin Diesel and his on-screen crew raced their cars through the streets of Manhattan in 2017’s The Fate of the Furious. The route included sections of Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District and featured a glimpse of the Flatiron Building on 23rd Street. Directed by F. Gary Gray, the PG-13 film earned $226 million at the box office.
A current Best Director and Best Original Screenplay nominee for Lady Bird, actress Greta Gerwig appeared in front of the camera as a veterinary nurse and dachshund owner in the 2016 comedy-drama Wiener-Dog. Filming in Flatiron included 1169 Broadway, between 27th and 28th Streets, and Broadway between 28th and 29th Streets. The indie production, which was directed by Todd Solondz, had a total take of $477,000.
Breaking Bad Emmy winner Anna Gunn showcased her talent in 2016’s Equity, and was billed as the first female-led Wall Street thriller. Area shoots in the neighborhood included Broadway, between 23rd and 28th Streets, and 26th Street, between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue. Directed by Meera Menon, the film made $1.6 million.
Oscar winners Helen Mirren (The Queen), Kate Winslet (The Reader), and Oscar nominee Will Smith (Ali; Pursuit of Happyness) starred in Collateral Beauty, a 2016 drama about an advertising executive coping with the loss of his only child. Production shoots included Madison Avenue, between 23rd and 26th Streets, and Sixth Avenue, between 20th and 21st Streets. David Frankel directed the PG-13 rated movie that earned $31 million.
Emma Roberts, niece of Academy Award winner Julia Roberts, starred in Nerve, a 2016 thriller about a high school senior who joins an online truth or dare game. Filming locations included Madison Avenue, between 23rd and 26th Streets, Park Avenue South, between 24th and 25th Streets, and 26th Street, between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South. Directed by the team of Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, the PG-13 rated production grossed $40 million.
Dakota Johnson played a recent college graduate seeking new life experiences in the 2016 comedy How To Be Single. Director Christian Ditter filmed in a number of New York City locations, which included the Flatiron Public Plazas. The R-rated film raked in $47 million.
Oscar 2005 host Chris Rock wrote, directed, and cast himself in the 2014 romantic-comedy Top Five about a comedian confronting his mid-life crisis and impending marriage to a reality TV star. Neighborhood shoots included Madison Square Park’s Reflecting Pool Plaza, 26th Street, between Madison and Fifth Avenues, and 23rd Street, between Broadway and Madison Avenue.The box office total was $25 million.
Former SNL cast member Will Ferrell returned to the big screen as newsman Ron Burgundy in the 2013 comedy sequel Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. Madison Square Park appears in some scenes as the battlefield where Burgundy and his team have a media face-off with other outlets, which included MTV News, headed by Kanye West, BBC News Service, led by Sacha Baron Cohen, and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, hosts of Entertainment News. The PG-rated film directed by Adam McKay made $125 million.
Academy Award winners Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love) and Tim Robbins (Mystic River) appeared in the 2012 romantic comedy-drama Thanks for Sharing, which looked at a 12-step program group’s struggles with sex addiction. Location shoots included 24th Street, between Broadway and Sixth Avenue, and 23rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Stuart Blumberg directed the R-rated production that earned $1.7 million.
Two-time Golden Globe winner Jim Carrey (The Truman Show; Man on the Moon) starred in 2011’s family fantasy feature Mr. Popper’s Penguins as a high-profile real estate developer whose life undergoes a meltdown after inheriting six penguins. Carrey’s location scenes included the Flatiron Public Plazas and the entranceway to the Flatiron Building, where the filmmakers changed the iconic property’s address from 175 Fifth Avenue to 949 Fifth Avenue. Directed by Mark S. Waters, the PG-rated movie grossed $68 million.
Photo Credit: On The Set Of New York
Credit: Domestic box office figures courtesy of Box Office Mojo
