September 9, 2013: Taxi: Brooklyn South, we believe, is filming a scene in Oakland in the Reserve. Here is a little about the show:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/miptv-taken-2-director-olivier-435061
January 24,2013: We will have to add Hunger Games II to the video! Click here to read the story complete with recipes!
Shooting Oakland Video at the end of article
A shooting in Oakland is relatively rare, and that is unfortunate. With it’s scenic byways, unique establishments, and an abundance of wooded, isolated areas, Oakland offers a prime opportunity for shooting.
And of course we are talking about shooting films and television shows.
Most recently, Oakland has been the location for shooting the Real Housewives of New Jersey – and again, that means shooting as in filming. They have shot on location at Portobellos Restaurant and at The Oakland Diner.
But Oakland has also been the location for Hollywood movies, independent films, and HBO’s most successful TV series – The Sopranos.
Oakland was the location for scenes of the 2009 film Lyme Life starring Alec Baldwin, Rory Culkin, Cory Culkin and Emma Roberts known for her work on Law & Order; Martin Scorsese was executive producer. Set in 1979, Lyme Life follows two families who crumble when tangled relationships, real estate problems and Lyme disease converge in the heart of suburbia.
Oakland was also the location for an episode of The Sopranos. This episode was rated as the best of the series by Time magazine, and was ranked #2 on TV Guide’s list of “TV’s Top 100 Episodes of All Time”.
In this episode, Tony and his daughter Meadow have some serious, personal conversations as he drives her to college. Unfortunately, Fabian Petrulio is tracking Tony and his daughter and follows them back to the roadside motel – (Ramapo Motel in Oakland). Only the presence of two elderly bystanders prevents Petrulio from taking a shot at an unsuspecting Tony.
The parents of Oakland children today will remember growing up with the movie Diner which was produced in 1982, and grandparents will remember the 1950’s reflected in the film. Diner tells the story of a group of high school buddies, now in their twenties, who reunite for the wedding of one of their group.
The diner in the movie Diner was made by Oakland’s Paramount Diners (Paramount Modular Concepts, Inc) which today does business by refurbishing old diners. Paramount offered the all-stainless-steel exterior before anyone else,and developed the split-construction method now widely used in the modular building industry. In business since the 1930, Paramount produced many other famous diners such as the White Mana in NJ, and the Cheyenne Diner in Manhattan.
According to old Oakland residents who belong to the Oakland, NJ group on facebook, two very famous movies also had scenes shot in Oakland.
The Subject Was Roses, filmed in 1968, was a drama starring Patricia O’Neal, Jack Albertson, and a young Martin Sheen. It tells the story of middle class parents who have drifted apart, quarreling at the least provocation, and their young army veteran son caught in between.
This was a major comeback for Patricia O’Neal as it was her first film after having suffered three major strokes two years earlier. The strokes had left O’Neal unable to speak or move her limbs, and it was only through hard work and determination that she was able to return to the screen and be nominated for an Academy Award.
The other very famous movie filmed in Oakland is Bonnie & Clyde from 1968. This innovative film starred Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and helped make Gene Hackman a recognizable movie star. Residents recall a scene being filmed along a dirt road on the Ramapo River near the West Oakland.