Naman Shrestha
Directed by Dito Montiel, ‘Empire State’ is a crime drama movie that involves two friends who rob an armored-car repository. The narrative follows Chris Potamitis (Liam Hemsworth), who works as a security guard at the Empire State Armored Truck Company. After mistakenly mentioning the frail security of the company to his childhood friend, Eddie (Michael Angarano), Chris gets involved in the elaborate plot of robbing the cash stored in the place.
Following the robbery, enters Detective James Ransome (Dwayne Johnson), who is a veteran NYPD officer. The detective, along with the local crime lords of the area, attempts to find out who pulled off the largest cash heist in the history of the US while Chris and Eddie lay low to outwit everyone. Apart from the action-packed narrative, what holds the attention of the viewers is the locations that appear as backdrops in the film. In case you are curious about the same, you might be interested in what we have to share.
Empire State Filming Locations
‘Empire State’ was mostly filmed on location in New York, Louisiana, and Ontario, specifically New York City, New Orleans, and Toronto. The filmmakers made use of several neighborhoods and streets in these cities, and possibly a studio or two too, to ensure that the movie is shot in the right atmosphere. The principal photography for the Dwayne Johnson-starrer took place in late spring and early summer 2012, seemingly from May 2012 to June of the same year. Now, allow us to take you through the specific sites that serve as production locations for the crime drama film!
New York City, New York
The production team of ‘Empire State’ set up camp in New York City, where they filmed a significant portion of the movie on location, mostly in places where the storyline is set in. Several sequences were shot against the backdrop of 53rd Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Queens.
Specifically, scenes involving Eddie were taped outside a shop at 52-13 Roosevelt Avenue and 53rd Street. The bustling city life of NYC complements the setting of the film perfectly, just like it has for several other productions over the years. Some of the movies and shows that made use of the vast features of the city include ‘Friends‘ and ‘West Side Story.’
New Orleans, Louisiana
For filming purposes, the cast and crew of ‘Empire State’ even traveled to New Orleans. Located along the Mississippi River in the southeastern region of Louisiana, New Orleans is considered a unique city in the US. This is mainly due to the cross-cultural and multilingual heritage of the city. Not only that, thanks to its frequent involvement in the film industry and pop culture in general, New Orleans is also gaining prominence as Hollywood South.
Due to all these features, the city has been one of the preferred destinations for the production of several filming projects. Apart from ‘Empire State,’ New Orleans has served as an important production location for movies and shows such as ‘Django Unchained,’ ‘Baby Driver,’ ‘Logan,’ and ‘True Detective.’
Toronto, Ontario
A significant portion of filming also took place in Toronto, the capital city of the province of Ontario. The cast and crew members used the modern and vast landscape of the city to record some important sequences for the film. Over the years, Toronto has made itself a prominent center for theatre, music, motion picture production, and television production.
The city is also home to several skyscrapers and high-rise buildings that make for impressive backdrops for movies and TV shows. Several attractions like The Art Gallery of Ontario, the Toronto Eaton Centre, the Toronto Sculpture Garden, and Nathan Phillips Square keep the production teams occupied and intrigued when they are not working on filming. Thus, Toronto has featured in several kinds of filming projects, including ‘Nightmare Alley,’ ‘Suits,’ ‘American Psycho,’ and ‘Schitt’s Creek.’
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