NEWARK, N.J. – Locations in Jersey City and Cresskill were used to film scenes for You Should Have Left, a new thriller starring Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried. The movie, based on Daniel Kehlmann’s novel of the same name, tells the story of a screenwriter who travels to a remote house in the Alps with his family to write the sequel for his big hit film, but he begins to regret his decision after suffering from a severe case of writer's block. You Should Have Left, written and directed by renowned screenwriter David Koepp, was released on demand on June 18.
Bacon is no stranger to New Jersey, having worked here on many occasions. His other projects filmed in the state include Loverboy (Hillside, Madison, Montclair, Westwood), the legendary horror film Friday the 13th (Blairstown) and the Emmy Award winning HBO telefilm Taking Chance (East Rutherford, Paramus, Fairfield, Newark, West Caldwell, Glen Ridge, New Hanover). Koepp wrote the screenplays for Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, shot in Newark and Bayonne, and Brian De Palma’s Snake Eyes, produced in Atlantic City.
Motion picture and television production in New Jersey has increased dramatically since the Garden State Film and Digital Media Jobs Act took effect in 2018. Other major motion pictures filmed here include Joker, The Many Saints of Newark, Army of the Dead and Trial of the Chicago 7.
About the New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission
The NJMPTVC, which falls under the New Jersey Department of State’s Business Action Center, is staffed by industry professionals and serves as a resource for production companies. The Commission promotes film and television production in New Jersey.