Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Parker Finn, ‘Smile 2‘ is a sequel to the fan-favorite horror movie ‘Smile’ and expands on the same world and the mysterious curse that it’s afflicted with. This time, the protagonist is a pop star named Skye Riley, who is among the most successful artists based in New York. Having battled a series of recent tragedies, she feels ready to make a comeback into the industry, and nothing expresses a renewed drive more than a concert tour at the grandest arena in the world, Madison Square Garden. However, as she gets cursed by the Smile Entity, the week-long ritual slowly begins to eat at her consciousness, and the climax quite literally takes place on the big stage, with thousands of fans eagerly awaiting the drama that is to follow.
Herald Square Garden is a Reference to NYC’s Madison Square Garden
Herald Square Garden is the unmistakable stand-in for Madison Square Garden, created specifically for the world of ‘Smile 2.’ The confirmation came from Parker Finn himself, who explained, in a conversation with TheWrap, that the main stage is modeled after the Garden, which sits at 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, in New York City, in New York. Among the most well-known arenas in the world, the Garden has served as the city’s cultural and sports epicenter since its creation in 1968. While most famous for being the home to some of the most iconic NBA, ice hockey, and boxing championships in history, it is also prized as a venue for concerts by top global musicians. These lines up exactly with the premise of the film, with Skye choosing Herald Square Garden as the backdrop to her musical comeback.
While ‘Smile 2’ is set in New York City, mainly Manhattan, the creative team chose not to film the entire film there. Instead, they based much of the production up north, in the Hudson Valley and Albany. Location manager Damon Michael Gordon was both familiar with the region and presented Finn with a list of locations that could work for the film, and among them was MVP Arena, located at 51 South Pearl Street, in Albany. Spanning across 30,000 square feet and boasting a capacity of more than 15,000 people, the indoor arena serves as the stand-in for the fictional Madison Square Garden on screen. We see it not only in the climactic final sequence, but also in a lot of other musical performances and rehearsal sequences.
The decision to go for a fictional version of Madison Square Garden likely came with a number of practical and stylistic reasons. Given how challenging filming can be in The City That Never Sleeps, it makes sense that Finn and his team opted for a more flexible production design. Furthermore, Herald Square Garden also becomes the stage for some of the most intense sequences in the film, and it makes sense for the writing team to avoid direct comparisons to a real-life location for that reason. Ultimately, Herald Square Garden epitomizes the narrative contrast that this movie is going for, where the most haunting sequences can be found in the most brightly lit, glittery settings. While its name and aesthetics may be a nod to Madison Square Garden, the film’s iteration ultimately stands on its own.
Read More: Smile 3 Expected Release Date, Plot and Cast Theories
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