🎬 When Hollywood Came to Elizabeth The Ritz Theatre, the Movies & the City That Welcomes the Camera.
By Isabel Lopez
Raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey
There is something special about growing up in Elizabeth.
When you are raised here, you don't always realize how much history surrounds you. The streets you drive through, the buildings you pass every day, the neighborhoods where you grew up — they can feel ordinary because they are home.
But every once in a while, the movie cameras arrive.
Suddenly, the familiar streets of Elizabeth become something different. A historic building becomes a movie theater in another city. A neighborhood becomes the backdrop for a television series. A street becomes part of a Hollywood story.
And for me, as someone raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, watching that happen is incredibly exciting.
At the center of that story stands one of Elizabeth's most recognizable treasures:
🎭 The Ritz Theatre
Located at 1148 East Jersey Street, the Ritz Theatre opened in 1926 and has spent nearly a century becoming part of Elizabeth's identity. With its beautiful historic architecture and grand interior, the Ritz has survived generations of change while continuing to welcome audiences and performers.
But the Ritz is not only a place where people go to watch entertainment.
The Ritz itself has become part of the entertainment.
For producers, it offers something that money cannot easily recreate history, character, architecture and authenticity.
And that is exactly why the cameras keep coming back.
🎥 When Hollywood Comes to Elizabeth
Elizabeth has increasingly become a welcoming home for film and television productions.
The City of Elizabeth proudly promotes itself as a “film friendly” destination, working with the New Jersey Film Commission and helping productions with permits, police contacts and other resources needed to bring filming into the city.
That friendliness matters.
When a production company chooses Elizabeth, it doesn't simply bring cameras.
It brings people.
Actors.
Directors.
Producers.
Camera operators.
Lighting crews.
Electricians.
Set designers.
Security.
Transportation companies.
Caterers.
Hotels.
Restaurants.
Local businesses.
And local workers.
A movie production can bring an incredible amount of activity into a city. People eat at local restaurants, stay in hotels, purchase supplies, hire services and experience Elizabeth firsthand.
In other words:
When Hollywood comes to Elizabeth, Elizabeth benefits too.
🍿 The Ritz Meets the Big Screen
The Ritz Theatre has welcomed productions connected to some of the biggest names in entertainment, including Netflix, HBO, Fox and NBC. The theatre has also been featured in movies, television productions and music videos.
One of the most recognizable examples is HBO's The Plot Against America.
For the production, the Ritz was transformed into a 1940s-era newsreel theater. The filmmakers changed the marquee and details of the building so that Elizabeth could stand in for another place and another time.
Think about that for a moment.
A theater that has stood in Elizabeth for generations was suddenly being used to recreate 1940s America for a major HBO production.
That's the magic of filmmaking.
And that's the magic of the Ritz.
🎬 From Bob Dylan to Netflix
The Ritz has continued to attract major productions.
The Bob Dylan biographical film A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet, filmed scenes at the Ritz. The theatre was also used for Marty Supreme, another major production filmed in New Jersey.
And then came another exciting chapter:
⭐ Netflix's Little Brother
For many Elizabeth residents, Little Brother is especially exciting because the movie brought John Cena, Eric André and a major Netflix production to New Jersey — including Elizabeth.
The City of Elizabeth lists Little Brother among the productions filmed in the city, and reports on the production identify the Ritz Theatre and surrounding Elizabeth locations as filming locations.
Imagine walking through your hometown and knowing that the same streets and historic places you have known your entire life are now being seen by audiences around the world on Netflix.
That's more than a movie.
That's Elizabeth being put on the map.
🌆 Elizabeth: More Than a Backdrop
What I love about this story is that Elizabeth isn't just pretending to be somewhere else.
Elizabeth is being chosen because Elizabeth has something filmmakers need.
We have historic buildings.
We have beautiful architecture.
We have busy streets.
We have neighborhoods with personality.
We have diversity.
We have transportation access.
We have businesses.
And most importantly, we have people.
The city has a character that can't simply be built on a soundstage.
That is why productions continue to discover Elizabeth.
The city's official film information now highlights productions including A Complete Unknown, Nonnas, The Plot Against America, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Smile, Power, Song Sung Blue, The Housemaid, 72 Hours, I Play Rocky, The Rip, Little Brother and many others.
That's an impressive list.
And it tells us something important:
Elizabeth is becoming part of New Jersey's film story.
❤️ A Personal Connection
For me, this isn't just a story about movies.
It's personal.
I was raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
I grew up seeing these streets.
I grew up knowing the neighborhoods.
I watched the city change.
And I have seen how much character Elizabeth has always had — even when people outside the city didn't always recognize it.
So, when I see a film crew arrive in Elizabeth, I don't just see cameras and production trucks.
I see my hometown being recognized.
I see the places that raised me becoming part of stories that people around the world will watch.
And when I see the Ritz Theatre on a movie screen, there is something especially powerful about it.
It's home.
🎞️ The Ritz Has Its Own Hollywood Story
The Ritz has been part of Elizabeth since 1926.
Over the decades, its stage has welcomed legendary entertainers including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Miles Davis, Maya Angelou, Chaka Khan and many others.
Now, nearly 100 years later, another generation is discovering the Ritz through movies and television.
That's what makes the theatre so remarkable.
It has never stopped telling stories.
Sometimes those stories are told from the stage.
Sometimes they are told through music.
And sometimes they are told through a movie camera.
🎥 What Happens When the Cameras Arrive?
A movie production can change the energy of a neighborhood.
Production trucks appear.
Lights go up.
People begin working.
Businesses become busy.
Residents stop to see what's happening.
And suddenly, a place that people have walked past for years becomes part of something much bigger.
For local businesses, this can mean new customers and new opportunities.
For local workers, it can mean jobs and connections.
For the city, it means exposure.
And for residents like me, it means seeing our hometown represented in a completely different way.
The cameras may eventually leave, but the memory stays.
🌟 Elizabeth Has a Story Worth
Telling
There are thousands of cities where filmmakers could choose to shoot.
Yet they continue to find their way to Elizabeth.
Maybe it's the architecture.
Maybe it's the history.
Maybe it's the location.
Maybe it's the Ritz.
But I believe it's also the spirit of the city.
Elizabeth has always been a city of people who work hard, build businesses, raise families and create their own stories.
Now, some of those stories are becoming part of movies and television.
And that makes me proud.
🎬 The Lights Are Still On
The Ritz Theatre has survived almost a century.
It has seen silent films.
Vaudeville.
Hollywood.
Live music.
Legends.
Television.
Streaming.
And now a new generation of filmmakers.
From HBO and Fox to Netflix and today's major productions, the Ritz continues to prove that historic places still have a place in modern entertainment.
And Elizabeth continues to open its doors.
Because when the cameras come to town, they aren't just filming a movie.
They are capturing a piece of Elizabeth.
A piece of its streets.
A piece of its history.
A piece of its people.
And a piece of the city that I have been proud to call home my entire life.
I was raised in Elizabeth.
I've watched this city grow.
And now I get to watch the world discover what we've always known:
Elizabeth has a story worth filming.
🎥❤️
— Isabel Lopez
Elizabeth, New Jersey
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