Silvercup Studios | |
---|---|
Type |
Studio |
Industry |
Entertainment |
Founded |
1983 |
Location |
|
Products |
Motion Pictures, television shows |
Silvercup Studios is the largest film and television production facility in New York City. Located in the neighborhood of Long Island City, in the borough of Queens, the studio complex has been operating since 1983 in the former Silvercup Bakery building. It is owned and operated by brothers Alan and Stuart Suna.
History[]
During its early years the facility was used mostly for the filming of music videos and commercials, although occasionally scenes for motion pictures were shot there, including Highlander and Garbo Talks. Norman Leigh, well known among New York City filmmakers for his electrical/gaffing work on the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy, oversaw the studio during its first few years.
Over the years, use of the studio's space has shifted toward the production of television series.
Productions[]
Silvercup was the primary shooting facility for ABC's Hope & Faith, FX's Rescue Me, and HBO's Sex and the City and The Sopranos. Other film and television productions that have made use of the studio include:
- 30 Rock
- Julie & Julia
- Gossip Girl (TV series)
- Analyze That
- The Savages (film)
- Dark Water (2005 film)
- Big Daddy (film)
- Big Lake (TV series)
- Birth (film)
- Black Rain (American film)
- The Devil Wears Prada (film)
- Gangs of New York
- Fringe (TV series)
- Garbo Talks
- Hide and Seek (2005 film)
- Highlander (film)
- The Impostors
- Jonny Zero
- Just My Luck (2006 film)
- Krush Groove
- Little Children (film)
- Little Nicky
- Mad Men
- Meet the Parents
- Mickey Blue Eyes
- No Reservations (film)
- Private Parts (1997 film)
- Righteous Kill
- Sex and the City (film)
- Two Weeks Notice
- The Sopranos
- Ugly Betty
- Uptown Girls
- What Happens in Vegas
- White Collar (TV series)
As a location[]
The building also serves as a location for magazine photo shoots and music video productions. In Spring 2011, the alternative rock band Just Visiting's "Life In A Shoebox" music video featured the band playing on the Silvercup rooftop, and had a shot of the iconic sign. In Fall 2007, an American Express TV commercial starring Tina Fey featured shots of the outside and inside of the studio. The facility can be seen from the New York City Subway Queens-bound 7,N & Q Trains just before the Queensboro Plaza stop, and it is also visible from cars crossing over the Queensboro (59th street) bridge to and from Manhattan. It is also the location of part of the final battle in Highlander, with the character "The Kurgan" destroying the iconic sign during the battle.
Shots taped at the foot of the rear of the sign appeared in WNBC-TV's 1992 "Four New York" image campaign.[1]
Silvercup Studios East[]
Silvercup has a second studio complex, also in Long Island City.[2]