Naman Shrestha
Adapted from Rumaan Alam’s 2020 eponymous novel, Netflix’s ‘Leave the World Behind’ is a psychological thriller movie that features Ethan Hawke and Julia Roberts as Clay and Amanda Sandford, a married couple who along with their two children — Archie and Rose — travel to a luxurious rental house for a weekend getaway. However, their relaxing vacation is soon interrupted by the arrival of two strangers — G.H. Scott and his daughter Ruth — who claim that the property belongs to them.
Along with them, the Scotts bring rather alarming news of a mysterious cyberattack. Dealing with the approaching disaster in their own ways, the two families must come to terms with the fact that the world might collapse. Written and helmed by Sam Esmail, the apocalyptic thriller mostly unfolds in the modern and luxurious property where they decide to spend their weekend, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, making the viewers curious to know where ‘Leave the World Behind’ was filmed.
Leave the World Behind Filming Locations
‘Leave the World Behind’ was filmed in its entirety in New York, specifically in Long Island and Katonah. As per reports, principal photography for the Ethan Hawke starrer got underway in April 2022 and continued through the following two months or so, before getting wrapped up in June of the same year. So, allow us to take you through all the specific sites that make an appearance in the Netflix production!
Long Island, New York
The shooting for most of the pivotal sequences of ‘Leave the World Behind’ took place in Long Island, a densely populated island situated in southeastern New York State. The Sandford family, led by Amanda, travel to a secluded luxurious rental property for a short getaway, which is an actual modern farmhouse, called The Open Corner, sprawling across 5,200 square feet designed by The Up Studio in 2019. Situated in the village of Old Westbury on the North Shore of Long Island, the house consists of an L-shaped floor plan that maximizes changing daylight conditions, enhanced by the windows. Anastasia White, the movie’s production designer, said that it helped them decide whether to choose a traditional property, according to the book, or more on the modern side.
Apart from shooting on location, the production team reportedly utilized the facilities of a sound stage of one of the film studios to tape some interior portions set in the house. The Up Studio helped the Netflix team of ‘Leave the World Behind’ connect with the homeowners to talk about the rental details as well as assisted the art directors to construct a replica of the luxurious house on the sound stage.
Moreover, the filming unit set up camp in and around the Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve at 25 Lloyd Harbor Road in the village of Lloyd Harbor. A private property around Beach Drive and Soundview Drive North also served as a prominent production location. In addition, a few key portions of the psychological thriller were lensed in the town of Riverhead, especially on Hulse Landing Road, Sound Avenue, Twomey Avenue, and Horton Avenue. During the shooting process, the cast and crew were also spotted recording several scenes around the Sunken Meadow State Park Beach on the Sunken Meadow Boardwalk in Kings Park.
@olv filming for “Leave The World Behind” at Sunken Meadow State Park pic.twitter.com/DTYf8RHioe
— alexie (@90smiIfs) June 7, 2022
When asked about a dance sequence in the movie during a conversation with Collider, Julia Roberts deemed it as one of the most challenging scenes. She explained, “There was a lot of rehearsal time for that. A lot of it was just talking about how to hold the space, how to share the space, how to be apart from each other, how to be close to each other. A lot of it was just me being able to look up into Mahershala’s eyes and not have my cheeks turn red and start kind of getting teary-eyed and giggly like a 15-year-old girl. There was a lot of that, and you were very patient and sweet. And it’s a complicated scene. I mean, we were just talking, it’s maybe, for us, one of the harder scenes that we had together in the movie.”
Katonah, New York
For the purpose of shooting, the production team of ‘Leave the World Behind’ also traveled to the hamlet and census-designated place of Katonah, which lies within Westchester County’s Bedford, and the surrounding areas. For instance, in May 2022, some important sequences were reportedly lensed on Todd Road, while the director and the rest of the crew utilized a parking lot in nearby Goldens Bridge as a base camp.
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