One Night in Miami: All Filming Locations of the Movie Explored

of One Night in Miami: All Filming Locations of the Movie Explored Nishitha Dutta
Updated August 4, 2022

‘One Night in Miami’ is a peculiar fictional crossover between Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke. Remembered and profoundly admired by all, these four legends formed the basis of Regina King’s directorial debut. The plot revolves around the group gathering to celebrate Cassius Clay’s – later known as Muhammad Ali – (Eli Goree) win over boxer Sonny Liston (Aaron D. Alexander) in the finals of a heavyweight championship. In a celebratory mood, the group rejoices in a hotel room in Miami on February 25, 1964.

They inadvertently engage in a serious discussion about the Civil Rights Movement and the trajectory of American culture in the 1960s. The movie is predominately set in an indistinctive hotel space where the party retreats into a heated dialogue concerning politics and culture. A few exterior scenes fill in periodically as the characters recollect significant moments in their lives mid-conversation. Based on a hotel in Miami, fans must be curious to know where the movie was actually shot. Was it filmed in Miami? Let’s find out.

One Night in Miami: Where Was it Filmed?

Filming for ‘One Night in Miami’ started around November 2019 and ended in February 2020. In contrast to a hotel in Miami, where the plot is based, the production covered a few areas in Louisiana for its shooting. Let’s get into specific details.

Thibodaux, Louisiana

Although not filmed in Miami, the movie’s tones imitate Miami’s vibrant blues and fiery warmth. The exterior hotel sequences were seemingly shot at The Hampton Inn & Suites Thibodaux, situated at 826 North Canal Boulevard, Thibodaux.

LaPlace, Louisiana

Filming stretched across different areas in Louisiana. The production for ‘One Night in Miami’ was housed in a sound stage at St. John the Baptist Parish Civic Center, situated at Highway 51, LaPlace. It is essentially a community center located along the eastern border of the Mississippi River. The place was booked from November 1, 2019, to February 6, 2020. Indoor sets were constructed, and the production relentlessly proceeded.

Editor Tariq Anwar revealed that a motel room could be a challenging movie set up to film in. But the production team adopted different angles and perspectives to remove monotony. For the same purpose, they used two large-format Alexa 65 cameras stationed on a jib system. This arrangement increased mobility as the cameras could smoothly pan across the actors’ vicinity. They recorded at 6K to achieve a heightened image resolution but softened it using Prime DNA lenses.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Located on the Mississippi River, New Orleans is famous for its radiant nightlife and lively spirit. The location is also abundant in culture and cuisine. A few exterior scenes of ‘One Night in Miami’ were filmed in the pleasant hum of this city, which fizzled into silence after the advent of the pandemic.

Los Angeles, California

A few scenes comprise outdoor locations in Los Angeles, California. Due to lockdown restrictions imposed, the production had trouble filming the scene where Ali and Cooke drive to a late-night store. The production crew had to make significant changes to the entire shot, which included removing a few portions, refining the clip, re-installing scenes, and editing the music.

They subsequently set up editing gears in their respective homes to get through with the filming process. Even the scenes depicting the Fontainebleau hotel room was shot in Los Angeles. The last three scenes were finished in a rush against the pandemic, with a crew comprising 60 members.

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