Filming on Location in Flatiron
Jan 21, 2020
As the 92nd Oscars marks the end of this year’s awards season on February 9th, the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership looks back at recent notable productions filmed in the neighborhood.
Directed by Academy Award nominee Noah Baumbach, the 2019 Netflix movie Marriage Story delves into the divorce of an artistic couple portrayed by Oscar-nominated actors Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson. Film location permits for the drama included East 21st Street, between Broadway and Park Avenue South; Park Avenue South, between East 20th Street and East 22nd Streets; and Broadway, between East 20th and East 22nd Streets.
The multiple award-winning Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel stars Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner Rachel Brosnahan in the title role as a housewife-turned-stand-up-comedian. Film location permits for the show’s third season included Madison Avenue, between East 24th and East 25th Streets; East 24th Street, between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South; and East 27th Street, between Madison and Fifth Avenues. The series is available to stream on Amazon’s Prime Video service, whose founder Jeff Bezos is the reported owner of three Flatiron District units at 212 Fifth Avenue, between 25th and 26th Streets.
High Flying Bird, a 2019 Netflix movie drama about the business challenges faced by a sports agent played by André Holland was filmed on an iPhone by Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh. Permit locations for filming in the neighborhood included West 25th Street, between Broadway and Sixth Avenue. The filmmaker also has had real estate ties to the Flatiron District, which have reportedly included a painting studio and office space.
Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winner Damian Lewis stars as a self-made hedge fund manager in Billions, the Showtime drama series about the high-stakes world of finance and politics. Film location permits for the show’s fourth season included Park Avenue South, between East 20th and East 22nd Streets; and East 21st Street, between Park Avenue South and Broadway.
(Credit: All Things Law and Order)
Now in its 21st season, NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is TV’s longest-running live-action prime-time program. Emmy Award winner Mariska Hargitay stars as SVU head Lt. Olivia Benson. Film permit locations for the show’s 20th season included Park Avenue South, between East 24th and East 28th Streets; East 26th Street, between Lexington Avenue and Park Avenue South; and East 25th Street, between Park Avenue South and Madison Avenue.
Adapted from The New York Times bestselling young adult novel by Nicola Yoon and directed by Ry Russo-Young, 2019’s The Sun is Also a Star starred Yara Shahidi and Charles Melton as two teens who meet one fateful day in New York City. Film permit locations for the movie drama included Broadway, between West 25th and West 26th Streets; Fifth Avenue, between West 24th and West 26th Streets; and West 25th Street, between Broadway and Sixth Avenue.
God Friended Me, a CBS drama series now in its second season, features an atheist depicted by Brandon Micheal Hall who gets an online “friend request” from “God.” For its debut season, film permits included West 24trh Street, between Broadway and Sixth Avenue; West 25th Street, between Broadway and Sixth Avenue; East 27th Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenues; and the Flatiron Public Plazas at the intersection of 23rd Street, Broadway, and Fifth Avenue.
(Credit: Nike’s Ready to Run campaign via Youtube)
The Flatiron Public Plazas also served as a filming location for Nike’s Ready to Run NYC ad campaign in 2019. Featured in a video is runner Eliud Kipchoge, who made history last year by completing a marathon in under two hours. “If you’re in New York,” declares the Kenyan-born Kipchoge in the segment, “you’re a runner. Even if you don’t know it yet.”
Comic Billy Eichner frequently roams the sidewalks of the Flatiron District and asks pedestrians outrageous pop-culture trivia questions with some notable celebs. Recent episodes included features with Mariah Carey, Kate McKinnon, and The Jonas Brothers often starting at the corner of 24th Street and Broadway, and the making rounds on 23rd Street often between Fifth and Sixth Avenue.
Photo Credit: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel via Amazon Prime
