Miami in NJ?

Apparently, you don’t have to go to Miami to find Miami.

You can just go to Wayne....

If you’ve driven past the Preakness Shopping Center on Hamburg Turnpike lately, you may have noticed something looking a little... different.

No, Wayne hasn't suddenly tried to become South Beach. 

It’s a movie set!

The new Miami Vice ’85, starring Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler, is being filmed in part right here in New Jersey. The movie is a new take on the iconic 1980s crime series, with Jordan playing Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs and Butler playing James “Sonny” Crockett. It’s being directed by Joseph Kosinski, the guy behind Top Gun: Maverick, and it’s being made for IMAX.

I've never seen any of those movies (this is just my research LOL) ...

And apparently, when you need 1980s Miami, you can find a pretty convincing version of it in Passaic County. Who knew!

The production transformed part of the Preakness Shopping Center into a mid-80s Miami streetscape, complete with palm trees and period storefronts. They even recreated retro businesses that make you remember that, yes, there was a time before everyone had an IPhone.

I love stuff like this about New Jersey.

We are constantly standing in for somewhere else.

New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Small-town America, anywhere we're needed that requires a diner, an old industrial building, a suburban street or a suspiciously convenient warehouse.

And now apparently Miami. (in the beginning of winter, I might add? Idk who's idea that was.)

It’s also another reminder of something I think we sometimes forget when we live here: New Jersey has an incredible amount of character - old downtowns, industrial towns, shore towns, suburban neighborhoods, historic homes, farms, woods, highways, diners and, apparently, enough random strip malls to recreate retro 1980s Miami.

And as someone who spends  A LOT of time driving around North Jersey looking at houses, neighborhoods and properties, I think that’s part of what makes this state so interesting. You can drive 20 minutes and feel like you’re in a completely different place. 

So if you happen to be in Wayne and see palm trees where there normally aren’t palm trees, don’t worry, you haven’t taken a wrong turn. 

You’re just in Miami, NJ.

I actually have this dream of having a kind of TMZ tour bus that goes around to a bunch of different NJ spots where iconic Sopranos scenes were shot. 

Would you take my tour?! lol. 

What's a cool NJ movie or TV fun fact you know! Reply to this email!