The 1984 Jim Jarmusch film “Stranger Than Paradise” was shot in New Jersey, Ohio and Florida. Willie, played by John Lurie, is visited by Eva, played by Eszter Balint, his cousin from Hungary. Willie’s apartment can be found in Hoboken, New Jersey, but it has since been extensively remodeled.
LOCATION: 464 Newark St, Hoboken, NJ 07030
The story jumps ahead one year, after Eva has gone to Cleveland to be with her mother. Willie and Eddie, played by Richard Edson, decide to take a road trip and head to Cleveland, passing this bus station.
The 1979 film “The Amityville Horror” was shot primarily around New Jersey. The film is of course based on real events, where in 1974, a man murdered six of his family members. In 1975, the Lutz family purchased the home and later claimed to have experienced paranormal activity, although the truthfulness of their claim has been widely disputed. Initial attempts to film in the real town of Amityville, New York proved unsuccessful, after the town denied permission to film any scenes there in an ongoing effort to distance themselves from further infamy. You can read about the real home here.
Instead, a similar looking home was found in Toms River, New Jersey. The production added a third-floor facade with the distinct crescent moon windows on the sides of the house.
LOCATION: 18 Brooks Rd, Toms River, NJ 08753
Aside from a few interior scenes being filmed inside the Toms River house, the majority of interior scenes were filmed at MGM studios in Culver City, CA.
In the TV show “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” which ran from 1996 to 2003, Sabrina Spellman, played by Melissa Joan Hart, lives in this Victorian home with her aunts. The show is set in the fictional town of Westbridge, Massachusetts, but the home can actually be found in Freehold, New Jersey. The property currently operates as business offices.
The 1997 Kevin Smith film “Chasing Amy” was shot primarily in Smith’s native state of New Jersey, with some additional filming in New York. Holden McNeil, played by Ben Affleck, shares an apartment with Banky Edwards, played by Jason Lee, at this building, located in Red Bank.
LOCATION: 30 Broad St, Red Bank, NJ 07701
Here is a view of the full building.
The interior of the same location appears later in the film as the music shop where Holden talks with Hooper X, played by Dwight Ewell. It still operates as a music shop to this day.
After meeting Alyssa Jones, played by Joey Lauren Adams, Holden develops a friendship with her, which slowly develops into an unlikely romance. Holden and Alyssa sit on the swings at Victory Park in Rumson. The park has since changed a bit, but the hills in the background, as well as the Oceanic Bridge, still match up.
LOCATION: Victory Park, 1 Lafayette St, Rumson, NJ 07760
During a montage of Holden and Alyssa hanging out, they are seen at Washington Square Park in New York City. Washington Square Park has been seen in countless films, including “Kids,” “When Harry Met Sally…,” “I Am Legend,” “Ghostbusters II,” “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “Serpico” and many more.
LOCATION: Washington Square, New York, NY 10012
After Holden confesses his feelings for Alyssa, a dramatic argument ensues in the rain. This is the spot where Holden parks his vehicle. The building’s address is Broad St, but the area seen in the film faces Mechanic St. This is also located in Red Bank, almost right across the street from Holden and Banky’s apartment.
LOCATION: 33 Broad St, Red Bank, NJ 07701 (facing Mechanic St)
Alyssa is deeply upset at Holden’s confession, as she identifies as a lesbian and is not interested in dating men. After an intense argument, Alyssa acknowledges her feelings for Holden and the two kiss in front of this building, which is located next to the above location.
LOCATION: 10 Mechanic St, Red Bank, NJ 07701
Banky talks about Catholic school girls as he watches some girls at this corner. This is directly across the street from where Holden and Alyssa have their argument.
LOCATION: 25 Broad St, Red Bank, NJ 07701
Cohee tells the “Fingercuffs” story about Alyssa’s past in front of the Quick Stop Groceries in Leonardo. The location is of course synonymous with Smith’s filmography, most famously as the central location of “Clerks.” The building also appears in a number of Smith’s other films, including “Mallrats,” “Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back” and “Clerks II.”
LOCATION: 58 Leonard Ave, Leonardo, NJ 07737
Unable to accept Alyssa’s sexual past, Holden and Alyssa have another major argument at this ice rink in Brick Township. This spot is a bit further away from most of the other New Jersey locations featured in the film, roughly thirty minutes south of Red Bank.
LOCATION: 197 Chambersbridge Rd, Brick Township, NJ 08723
The 2001 comedy “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” starring Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, was primarily filmed in Southern California, with some additional footage shot in Smith’s home state of New Jersey. The film opens in 1970s Leonardo, New Jersey at the Quick Stop Groceries, where Jay and Silent Bob are shown as babies sitting outside the store in strollers. The location is of course famous among Smith fans as the primary location of his debut film, “Clerks.”
LOCATION: 58 Leonard Ave, Leonardo, NJ 07737
As the story jumps to present day, the original characters from “Clerks,” Dante and Randall, played by Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson, talk inside at the counter. Randall decides to call the police on Jay and Silent Bob, to get rid of them loitering outside.
Jay and Silent Bob stand next to the RST Video, where they appear in many of Smith’s other films.
LOCATION: 60 Leonard Ave, Leonardo, NJ 07737
Brodie’s Secret Stash, a fictional take on Smith’s “Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash” was filmed at the real store, formerly located at 35 Broad St, Red Bank, NJ 07701. It has since relocated to a bigger space down the road at 65 Broad St, Red Bank, NJ 07701.
The Mooby’s restaurant seen in the film now sits vacant in North Hollywood. This same location was used as Pig Burgers in “Better Off Dead.” Here Jay meets Justice, played by Shannon Elizabeth, and he and Silent Bob join up with her friends, who turn out to be diamond thieves.
LOCATION: 6223 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91606
Justice and her accomplices stop at this liquor store in Winnetka, where Jay and Silent Bob try to stand out front, but can’t get comfortable leaning on the glass windows. The same liquor store also appeared in the film “Magnolia” and The Smashing Pumpkins’ music video for “1979.”
LOCATION: 20001 Roscoe Blvd, Winnetka, CA 91306
The women set up Jay and Silent Bob as patsies, sending them on a mission to rescue a monkey from a testing lab, while they actually stage a diamond heist. These scenes were filmed in Valencia, California.
LOCATION: 27220 Turnberry Ln, Valencia, CA 91355
This area is where the science lab entrance was located.
To the right is where the Diamond Exchange entrance was located.
The Arena Diner, where Jay and Silent Bob escape police, was filmed at the famous Vasquez Rocks. One of the most popular filming locations in all of California, the iconic rocks have appeared in such films as “The Flintstones,” “Dante’s Peak,” “Jingle All The Way,” “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey,” “Hail, Caesar!,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Paul” and dozens more. Television shows which featured Vasquez Rocks in episodes include “The Fugutive,” “The A-Team,” “MacGuyver” and perhaps most famous of all, the original “Star Trek” series, where the rocks were seen in numerous episodes, serving as multiple different planets. The rocks have also been seen in music videos for Michael Jackson, Radiohead, 311 and many more, as well as countless commercials.
LOCATION: 10700 Escondido Canyon Rd, Agua Dulce, CA 91350
The building where Jay and Silent Bob run into Pumpkin Escobar, a fellow unionized drug dealer played by Tracy Morgan, was formerly located at 1557 N El Centro Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028. It has since been demolished and a parking lot stands in its place.
E! News does a story in front of Mirimax Studios, which does not actually have a real studio lot. The scenes were filmed at the CBS Studio Center in Studio City. The film’s studio lot scenes were all shot here as well.
LOCATION: 4024 Radford Ave, Studio City, CA 91604
At the end of the movie, numerous characters from Smith’s past films are seen coming out of the El Rey Theatre, which is depicted as a movie theater. Jay then invites everyone to the concert “across the street.” The El Rey is in fact a live music venue, not a movie theater, and the closing performance by Morris Day & The Time was filmed inside the same location. The venue also appeared in the film “License To Drive.”
LOCATION: 5515 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
The 2019 Martin Scorsese film “The Irishman” was mostly shot north of New York City, in small towns such as White Plains, Suffern and Hempstead, with a bit of additional filming in New Jersey and Florida. While noted for using de-aging effects on the actors, the film likewise utilized visual effects on several of the locations to make them more period authentic. Sometimes what you see in real life does not immediately match what appears on screen. However, the filmmakers used every tool at their disposal, combining a unique mixture of visual effects, practical set dressing and in some cases, simply finding great locations that didn’t need anything changed to bring about the appropriate look. The production reportedly traveled to over 200 different locations in the film, so we obviously weren’t able visit every spot, but we did as many as we could.
Frank Sheeran, played by Robert De Niro, lives at this home, located in White Plains.
LOCATION: 63 Lincoln Ave, White Plains, NY 10606
After his truck has some mechanical issues, Frank first meets Russell, played by Joe Pesci, at the Texaco gas station, with a Stuckey’s dessert restaurant on the right. The real location is not a gas station at all, rather it is part of Great Hunger Memorial Park, just off the Saw Mill River Pkwy. The gas pumps were added by the production, as well as some set dressing to bring the buildings back to life, but the area is still instantly recognizable from the film. It’s pretty easy to access and open to the public, so we highly recommend visiting the park.
LOCATION: Great Hunger Memorial Park, Saw Mill River Pkwy, Irvington, NY 10533 (GPS coordinates: 41.024472, -73.846028)
Frank works his way up the criminal ranks, meeting Skinny Razor at the Friendly Lounge. Again, the building was repurposed to appear a bit older for the film, but is still recognizable. Several other locations from the film were shot in this same area, including the church in the background.
LOCATION: 880 Woodward Ave, Queens, NY 11385
The baptism scene was shot inside of this church. The exterior of the church appears in a couple scenes as well, but always in the background.
LOCATION: 5815 Catalpa Ave, Queens, NY 11385
Russell collects money and runs some of his operations at Penn Drape & Curtains. This was filmed in the town of Suffern and once again, a couple other locations from the film are on the same street.
LOCATION: 104 Lafayette Ave, Suffern, NY 10901
After Anastasia is killed in a barber shop, Russell is seen exiting Penn Drape & Curtains to talk to a man parked out front and calm things down.
LOCATION: Lafayette Ave / Suffern Pl, Suffern, NY 10901
After a man fails to pay up on a debt owed to Skinny Razor, Frank forces the man into his car in front of this building. This is again located just around the corner from the Friendly Lounge location in Queens, with the same church appearing in the background.
LOCATION: 881 Onderdonk Ave, Queens, NY 11385
Still in the same area, directly across the street from the Friendly Lounge location, is the store where Frank beats the owner on the sidewalk for shoving his daughter. Quite a bit of set decoration was added for this scene, making the storefront look much different in the film.
LOCATION: 885 Woodward Ave, Ridgewood, NY 11385
Whispers offers Frank a side job at “Philadelphia’s Melrose Diner,” which is actually the former Goodfellas Diner in Maspeth. The diner was famous for its appearance in another Scorsese film, “Goodfellas,” changing it’s name from the Maspeth Diner after the success of that film. However, it got damaged by a fire in 2018. Since then, the building has remained closed down and appears in disrepair these days. Only the exterior was revisited for this film, the interiors for the scene were filmed at 106 E 2nd St, Mineola, NY 11501.
LOCATION: 56-26 Maspeth Ave, Maspeth, NY 11378
Back in Suffern, Frank makes the rounds to collect more money for Russell at Fair Furriers. This is located very close to the Penn Drape & Curtains location.
LOCATION: 88 Lafayette Ave, Suffern, NY 10901
Frank begins spending a lot of time working with Jimmy Hoffa, played by Al Pacino. Hoffa eats with Frank’s family at this ice cream stand. It really is called Weir’s and very little of it was altered for the film. The spot is a bit of a distance away from most of the other locations, however, in Salisbury Mills.
LOCATION: 2159 NY-94, Salisbury Mills, NY 12577
Hoffa is once again enjoying ice cream with Frank when they learn of J.F.K.’s assassination on a television inside.
LOCATION: 84 Hillside Ave, Williston Park, NY 11596
Hoffa’s teamsters headquarters was actually the Hempstead Town Hall.
LOCATION: 1 Washington St, Hempstead, NY 11550
Hoffa gets sentenced to prison, with the exterior scenes filmed at the East Jersey State Prison. A real prison, the location has appeared in numerous films, including “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Malcolm X,” “Rounders,” “He Got Game,” “The Hurricane” and more.
LOCATION: 1100 Woodbridge Rd, Rahway, NJ 07065
Umbertos Clam House, where Frank performs a hit in front of shocked onlookers, made heavy use of CGI to modify the ground level, incorporating what was a set into the interior views of location. The exterior can be found at 90 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002.
After the hit, Russell is seen at a payphone, making a call to an unknown person in front of the Sunoco gas station. Quite a bit of set dressing was added to make it look like vintage gas station. The real building is part of a bagel shop. The business owns a couple buildings side by side. The one used in the film sits off to the left, near the intersection of Park Ave / Orange Turnpike. The building is currently vacant, although the main building to the right is still operational.
LOCATION: 203 Orange Turnpike, Sloatsburg, NY 10974 (to the left, near the intersection of Park Ave / Orange Turnpike)
Frank buys hot dogs for Jimmy at Lum’s, supposedly located in Florida. The scene was actually filmed in Tuxedo Park, New York, just a short distance away from the above Sunoco location. Visual effects were used to erase the mountain and trees in the background, substituting them for palm trees. The building has also since been remodeled, making it even more tricky to match up.
LOCATION: 192 NY-17, Tuxedo Park, NY 10987 (since remodeled)
Hoffa is killed inside of this house, supposedly located in Michigan. The house seen in the film is actually located in White Plains, New York.
The 1994 independent classic “Clerks,” which famously launched the film career of Kevin Smith, was shot near his hometown of Highlands, New Jersey. The story of “Clerks” is well documented, with Smith financing it via personal credit cards and eventually being accepting into the Sundance Film Festival, ultimately landing national distribution. As you might imagine for a film with such humble beginnings, the locations are all within a short distance of one another.
At the beginning of the film, Dante, played by Brian O’Halloran, is called into work on his day off to cover another employee’s shift. Here is the home of Dante, which still mostly resembles how it appeared in the film.
LOCATION: 102 W Washington Ave, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716
The most iconic location is of course the Quick Stop Groceries, where most of the film takes place. At the time of filming, Smith worked at the store and the owners allowed him to film at night, while the business was closed. The store is quite a popular destination, attracting fans on a daily basis. The staff is quite welcoming to fans and allow you to take as many pictures as you’d like, both inside and outside of the store, so we highly recommend a visit.
LOCATION: 58 Leonard Ave, Leonardo, NJ 07737
With the expansion of Smith’s “View Askewniverse,” in which characters from multiple films existed within the same cinematic universe, Quick Stop Groceries would appear in many more Smith films over the years, including “Mallrats” (extended cut only), “Chasing Amy,” “Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back” and of course the sequels “Clerks II” and “Clerks III.”
Here is the main checkout counter, where Dante spends much of the film. Overall, the interior hasn’t changed much since filming took place.
Randall, played by Jeff Anderson, makes his famous entrance here.
The back of the store appears in multiple scenes, such as the man picking through the eggs, the woman (played by Smith’s mother) checking all the expiration dates on the milk and Caitlin Bree having sex in the bathroom.
Randall works at the RST Video, which is located right next door to the Quick Stop. This is also where Jay and Silent Bob, played by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, hang out for most of the film. The interior of this area is not open to the public at this time.
LOCATION: 60 Leonard Ave, Leonardo, NJ 07737
After Dante learns one of his exes has died, he and Randall attend the wake at this funeral home.
LOCATION: 59 E Lincoln Ave, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716
The 2004 Kevin Smith film “Jersey Girl,” starring Ben Affleck, was primarily filmed in Paulsboro, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York City, New York. The majority of the film’s exteriors were filmed in Paulsboro, while many of the interiors were shot across the Delaware River in Philadelphia.
Ben Affleck plays Ollie Trinké, a successful publicist in New York City. Ollie brings his new love Gertrude, played by Jennifer Lopez, to meet his father Bart, played by George Carlin. Later Ollie moves into the home with their daughter Gertie, played by Raquel Castro. Arguably the central location of the film, Bart’s home is located in Paulsboro. The house beside it has since been demolished, but thankfully the Trinké house remains mostly unchanged. Most of the house interiors were sets built in Philadelphia.
LOCATION: 262 Thomson Ave, Paulsboro, NJ 08066
Bart frequents the Clamdigger Bar and drinks with his buddies. Ollie and Gertrude dance together inside the bar in one scene.
LOCATION: 30 E Monroe St, Paulsboro, NJ 08066
Ollie’s New York City apartment seen early in the film overlooks Central Park in New York City. Later Ollie brings his daughter to the city and points out the apartment to her.
LOCATION: 785 5th Ave, New York, NY 10022
Smith did shoot a bit of material around his frequent stomping grounds. The scene where Bart tells Ollie he can’t watch the baby because he’s busy driving a street sweeper was filmed at the corner of Highland Ave / S Bay Ave, Highlands, NJ 07732. This is just a couple blocks away from Smith’s real childhood home, which also served as a filming location for Randall’s house in “Clerks II.”
The Hard Rock Cafe, where Ollie loses his temper at a room full of press, was a composite of two locations. The exterior was the former Hard Rock on W 57th St in New York, which has long since closed and been completely remodeled. The interiors were filmed at the Hard Rock in Philadelphia (1113 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19107).
LOCATION: 221 W 57th St, New York, NY 10019 (heavily remodeled)
The exterior of Gertie’s school is Loudenslager Elementary School in Paulsboro.
LOCATION: 100 Baird Ave, Paulsboro, NJ 08066
Many of the school interiors, including Gertie’s “Sweeney Todd” performance, were filmed at Paulsboro High School.
LOCATION: 670 N Delaware St, Paulsboro, NJ 08066
Mub & Renee’s Video Blast is the video store where Maya, played by Liv Tyler, works. This was built in a shopping plaza on W Broad St in Paulsboro, which was empty at the time of filming.
LOCATION: 545 W Broad St, Paulsboro, NJ 08066
Here’s a closer look at where the video store would have been. It has obviously changed a bit since filming, as the space was incorporated into the store next to it.
Ollie takes Gertie into New York City to see a Broadway performance of Sweeney Todd. Afterwards, the two talk at Gapstow Bridge in Central Park, where Gertie asks questions about her mom. Gapstow Bridge was also featured in “Home Alone 2: Lost In New York.”
LOCATION: Gapstow Bridge, Central Park, New York, NY 10019
Ollie has lunch with Maya at the Berlin Diner in Berlin, New Jersey. This location is about a 30 minute drive from Paulsboro, so it’s a bit out of the way if you’re visiting the filming locations, but still looks nearly identical to how it appeared in the film.
LOCATION: 117 S White Horse Pike, Berlin, NJ 08009
After their lunch, Maya talks to Ollie on the ramp out front. She takes pity and offers to have sex with him.
We leave you with a couple locations that didn’t make it into the final cut of the film. We’ve included them in case the long-promised extended version of the film ever sees the light of day.
Ollie and Gertrude’s wedding was shot at this church.
LOCATION: 647 Beacon Ave, Paulsboro, NJ 08066
Another scene filmed when Gertrude visits Ollie’s hometown was the two characters having a romantic moment beneath the Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse.
LOCATION: Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse, Paulsboro, NJ 08066
If you find yourself in the Philadelphia area and enjoy this film, don’t forget most of the locations are just a short distance away over the New Jersey border in Paulsboro. As we’ve outlined in this article, a few of the other locations are a bit more spread out. If it’s been awhile since you’ve seen the film, we recommend giving it a revisit.
The 1995 Kevin Smith film “Mallrats” was mostly filmed in Minnesota, with some scenes filmed in Smith’s native New Jersey, as well as a few additional scenes shot in Los Angeles, California. There are several existing cuts of the film, the two most famous being the theatrical cut and the extended cut. Some locations only appear in certain cuts, which we’ll note in this article.
The house of Brodie, played by Jason Lee, can be found in Minneapolis.
LOCATION: 4808 Valley View Rd, Minneapolis, MN 55424
As TS Quint, played by Jeremy London, drives to the house of Brandi, played by Claire Forlani, he drives past the Quick Stop Groceries, which is of course famous for being the central location of Smith’s first film, “Clerks.” The store only appears in the extended cut of the film. The location has appeared in many of Smith’s other films as well, such as “Chasing Amy,” “Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back,” “Clerks II” and “Clerks III.”
LOCATION: 58 Leonard Ave, Leonardo, NJ 07737
The location of the house of Brandi is confusing because two different places were used and depending on which cut of the film you see, different houses appear. The extended cut of the film features the original location in Minnesota, where a news crew waits outside as TS visits with Brodie. After the original movie opening performed poorly with test audiences, the opening was reshot in Los Angeles. For the shorter, theatrical cut, a totally different home was featured, where TS meets Brandi alone and tries unsuccessfully to take her on a trip to Florida. This is the Los Angeles location of the reshoot scene.
LOCATION: 414 S Rimpau Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90020
Hedges have since been planted along the front of the property, obscuring much of the house from street level.
In the Mallrats audio commentary for the theatrical version, Smith confirms the scene was shot long after the original footage and was indeed filmed in Los Angeles. The location is omitted altogether from the extended cut of the film, in favor of the original footage. The Minnesota location of Brandi’s house, which is only seen in close-up shots, has yet to be found.
The key location of the movie, the Eden Prairie Center Mall, has since been heavily remodeled and no longer appears how it did in the film.
LOCATION: 8251 Flying Cloud Dr, Eden Prairie, MN 55344.
The “dirt mall” where TS Quint and Brodie meet a topless fortune teller has since been demolished. It was formerly located at 17 US-1, New Brunswick, NJ 08901.
At the end of the film, TS and Brandi are married at the Jaws ride, supposedly at Universal Studios Florida. The scene was instead filmed at the Jaws ride at Universal Studios Hollywood.
LOCATION: 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608
Film Oblivion 