Whether it’s Timothée Chalamet filming a Bob Dylan biopic in Hoboken, a Pepsi Super Bowl commercial starring Ben Stiller shot inside a Jersey City soundstage or the upcoming construction of a 78-acre movie studio in Bayonne, Hudson County is making its mark on Hollywood.
With Hudson County’s settings, its proximity to New York City and the allure of state tax incentives, production companies have taken to the local streets to shoot dozens of film and television shows, while permanent film studios and soundstages are set to be built or expanded upon.
“The future is bright in Hudson County because of the proximity of great crews (and) all the variety of locations that you have,” said Jon Crowley, executive director of the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission in an interview.
Since 2022, there has been 33 major film and television productions in Hudson County, as well as dozens of independent film shoots. Along with the Bob Dylan biopic titled “A Complete Unknown,” other productions in the county include “It Ends With Us,” starring Blake Lively and “Joker: Folie à Deux,” starring Joaquin Phoenix.
It mirrors a statewide boom in film production in the Garden State ever since Gov. Phil Murphy reinstated the film tax credits program in 2018. Almost $702 million was spent by the film industry in New Jersey in 2022, compared to the $67 million in 2017.
Many local officials and film production staff cited the tax credits for the increase in film productions in Hudson County. But it’s not the only reason why they’re heading to this side of the Hudson River. For one, it’s the types of locations the county offers.
“Hoboken has a little bit of everything, right?,” said Hoboken Business Administrator Jason Freeman, who recently got to see Chalamet filming the Bob Dylan biopic right outside his home.
“We have the waterfront, brownstones, a busy, vibrant Main Street that lends itself to the opportunity for a production company to come here and try to check every box it needs to shoot a major motion picture.”
There’s also the “emotional attachment” of having a film being shot locally, said Joe Skillender, the Bayonne Director of Planning, Zoning, and Development, citing when he saw the 2005 movie “War of the Worlds,” starring Tom Cruise, which was filmed in Bayonne, as an example.
It isn’t just the film shoots on the streets that have been increasing in frequency. Permanent movie studios, such as the Cinelease Studio soundstages in Jersey City and the Eastern Effects soundstage in Kearny, are becoming part of the local scene.
“Our space is in a great location,” added Scott Levy, president and founder of Eastern Effects. “In the relative grand scheme of what soundstages cost, we provide productions with value for when they come to us at our space in New Jersey.”
One of Cinelease’s clients included the Hulu series “Murder at the End of the World,” while Eastern Effects’ Kearny soundstage is being used to film the “Kiss of the Spider Woman” remake.
Perhaps the biggest endeavor on the horizon for the film industry in Hudson County is 1888 Studios on the southern end of Bayonne, a $900 million project that will include 23 soundstages ranging from 18,000 to 60,000 square feet, amenities and a public waterfront and promenade.
1888 Studios has received significant financial support: Bayonne approved a $65 million bond and a 30-year payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement last year, while the state Economic Development Authority (EDA) approved an agreement this month that will allow film productions there to be eligible for increased tax credits.
“To have an old (Texaco) refinery be repurposed, create the jobs that existed 40-60 years ago that we lost, get something back and have a piece of land revitalized and brought back to much better standards, for the residents, (it’s) a win-win in that regard for everyone,” Skillender said.
When it comes to economic benefits, officials frequently cite local restaurants that get to cater for productions crews or the increase in jobs. The Bayonne complex is expected to employ 2,700 people once it’s up and running and could also help spur efforts to build a new hotel in Bayonne.
Skillender said there are talks to have high school internship programs at 1888 Studios, while Jersey City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said that appreciative production companies make donations towards nonprofits and community organizations.
Not everyone is entirely onboard with the theory that film tax credits create major benefits. One critic says that the government subsidizing the film and television industry is “one of the worst” types of investments, because production work is temporary and people who work on set are not likely to be locals.
“You get less tax revenue, the economic benefits that are generated by these productions are minimal,” said Peter Chen, a senior policy analyst at New Jersey Policy Perspective, a left-leaning think tank.
Chen said that with affordability issues, high housing costs and a $2 billion state budget deficit, spending millions on the film industry “just doesn’t feel like the right prioritization.”
“Walk around any Hudson County school and ask what we should be spending money on: Netflix, Universal Studios or whoever, or spending money investing on school building infrastructure and direct payments to families and whatever else?” Chen said.
When asked for his response to criticism of the tax credits’ impact, Crowley pointed towards the $559 million was spent by the film industry last year in the state in spite of the actors and writers’ strikes that halted productions for months, as well as the impact on local restaurants and businesses.
“The benefits (are) pretty huge,” Crowley said. “Hudson County, especially because of the variety of looks and all these great cities, is the recipient of a lot of that work. A lot of people want to shoot in (that) neck of the woods because of (the) locations and proximity to crews.”
