Spike Lee, Schumer Star in NYC Filming PSA
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- Mayor Zohran Mamdani's office of media and entertainment released a PSA promoting NYC as the ideal filming destination, featuring Spike Lee, Amy Schumer, John Krasinski, Natasha Lyonne, Darren Aronofsky, and Celine Song.
- Commissioner Rafael Espinal said in a social media clip that the city is "cutting the red tape" to make New York "the easiest place to film in the country."
- Amy Schumer countered the perception that NYC is prohibitively expensive to shoot in, noting that tax breaks mean "it's never been easier to shoot in New York."
- Spike Lee argued that productions fleeing to Toronto to save money backfire, saying audiences "feel like something's off" when a New York-set story is filmed elsewhere.
- Natasha Lyonne championed NYC night shoots as uniquely magical, citing "After Hours," "Taxi Driver," and "Midnight Cowboy" as films that could only be made in Manhattan.
- John Krasinski praised the city's film office and agencies, calling working with them "a dream come true," while Lee added the city helps both student films and big-budget productions alike.
Why it matters: This is a direct recruitment push from Mamdani's film office to reverse the long-standing drain of productions to cheaper cities like Toronto and Eastern Europe. With Schumer explicitly pitching tax breaks and Espinal promising streamlined permitting, the administration is signaling that entertainment-industry jobs and local vendor spending are a priority for the new mayor.
