Have you seen Woody Allen’s movie Manhattan? Yes? No? But you’re certainly familiar with one of the most iconic shots from Allen’s opus and one of the most memorable shots of New York. Here’s the famous bridge shot:
A few months ago Christopher Moloney took a similar photo, but with a twist.
The location of the bridge shot is just one of many locations from the awesome blog FILMography, run by Christopher. He matches real-life locations with those from the movies. The result is a brilliant example of set-jetting, i.e. traveling to destinations that are first seen in movies.
Let’s meet the man behind FILMography.
How did you get the idea for FILMography?
I work near Columbus Circle in New York City. One day I realized the spot outside my office window was the place the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man appeared in the movie Ghostbusters. So I printed off a photo, held it up and snapped a picture. I posted the shot on Facebook and my friends really liked it, so I took more.
Eventually I started my blog on Tumblr. Now I’ve snapped almost 200 photos.
Can you describe your working process: do you watch a movie and try to spot some locations during the movie; do you have some well-known locations and try to find if they appear in the movies or is there some other way?
I’ve seen a lot of movies and I walk around the city a lot, so I usually know where they were shot. Sometimes I do a little research online.
Do you work alone or do you have an assistant? :)
I work alone. I snap the photos on my walk to work. That’s why so many of them are in and around Central Park.
FILMography is one of the best examples of set-jetting. Have you ever visited some other famous locations from the movies (not counting those from NYC)?
Most of the photos I’ve done are in New York City but I’ve snapped shots in other countries too. I’m originally from Toronto and I did a few there. And I just got back from a month in Asia where I recreated movie scenes in Vietnam and Thailand.
And, just last week, I posted photos I took in Chicago.
At the moment you’re doing your project on the streets of New York. Do you plan on expanding to other cities/countries?
I’d be more than happy to post photos from other places. I love to travel.
Have you thought of expanding your blog to a full website, with the option of people contributing photos from all over the world?
If people want to send me shots they’ve snapped, I’m happy to post them.
Which movies or movie scenes would you like to include in your blog, but you haven’t had a chance yet?
As for movies I haven’t done yet — I hope to one day be hanging off the side of the Burj Khalifa to snap a shot from Mission Impossible.
—————
Christopher Moloney is a Canadian writer/producer who currently lives in New York City. He was raised in Brampton, Ontario and graduated from Ryerson University in Toronto. He has written for CNN, CBC, CBS, Citytv and networks that don’t start with C, like A&E, and MuchMusic.
Christopher’s favourite movie is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.