A group of famous New Yorkers — Spike Lee, Amy Schumer, John Krasinski, Natasha Lyonne, Darren Aronofsky and Celine Song — appear in a PSA released by mayor Zohran Mamdani‘s office of media and entertainment about the city as the ideal destination for filmmaking.
“We’re cutting the red tape and making it the easiest place to film in the country,” Rafael Espinal, commissioner of the media and entertainment office, said in a social media clip introducing the PSA.
“People are in the habit of discounting New York because they think it’s so expensive, or it seems unattainable to shoot here,” Schumer says in the PSA. “Then you find out, with the tax breaks here, it’s never been easier to shoot in New York.”
Lee adds, “I remember there was a time where a lot of stuff would shoot in Toronto, but it’s not New York. You save a couple of nickels — you don’t even have to know it was shot in Toronto — but you feel like something’s off.”
“It’s so magical, what happens when you’re shooting in New York,” says Lyonne. “There’s nothing in the world like a New York night shoot, and everything’s all sparkly, and the lights. ‘After Hours,’ ‘Taxi Driver,’ ‘Midnight Cowboy’ — it’s Manhattan.”
Krasinski attested to the ease of filming in the city. “Working with the film office here in New York and the city agencies has been a dream come true because I think there’s an understanding from all sides how special it is to shoot in New York.” Says Lee, “Whether a student film or a big-bifget film, they’re gonna do what they can to help you make your film.”
Concluding the video, Schumer says, “New York is there to service whatever you’re looking for and the story you’re telling. One of the things that you learn as a filmmaker is that every frame should have a purpose. It should be part of telling your story. And whatever that story is, whatever mood you’re looking for, New York has it for you.”
See a preview of the PSA below. The full video is viewable on the New York City media and entertainment office’s website.