Bruce Springsteen wrapped up a productive 2024 on location in New Jersey, which has included spending time on the set of the biopic Deliver Me from Nowhere.
The 20th Century Studios film, about the making of Springsteen’s 1982 album Nebraska, stars Jeremy Allen White of The Bear and began filming scenes in November. The production is scheduled for more Jersey location shoots in January, including concert scenes in East Rutherford, on its way to a 2025 release date.
Much of the filming so far has taken place in Asbury Park, with scenes involving Frank’s Deli and Restaurant on Main St., the Stone Pony, the Convention Hall, the Carousel House, and, of course, the beach. The movie has transformed Asbury Park into a 1980s version of itself, with period-appropriate cars parked on Main St. Inside the Carousel House, the production recreated the old merry-go-round, as well as the rides that were iconic on the Asbury Park boardwalk.
The Stone Pony, pictured here in 2020, is a key location for Deliver Me From Nowhere
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
For the Stone Pony scenes — where White recorded multiple takes as Springsteen singing Little Richard’s “Lucille” — the outside marquee was fashioned to look exactly as it did in the early ’80s, with the band Cats on a Smooth Surface topping the bill (the group featured Bobby Bandiera, who later toured as a guitarist in Bon Jovi; Ray Anderson, who toured with Meatloaf; and Glen Burtnik, future member of Styx).
Filming also took place at John’s Midtown Tavern in Bayonne. Nearby, a parking lot was set up to look like an early 1980s used car dealership. Locations in Montclair included the town library.
Filming was originally scheduled to occur in the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s hometown of Freehold, with Main St. transformed to resemble stores in the early ’50s. However, a medical issue with a crew member suspended filming in December, and it is expected to film in the town in January.
Springsteen celebrated a number of milestones in 2024. His 2023-2024 tour sold over 4 million tickets — with a triumphant hometown show at the Sea.Hear.Now Festival in Asbury Park last summer — and was chronicled in the recent documentary, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (available on Hulu and Disney+). Sony Music released the career-spanning two-album collection Best of Bruce Springsteen in the spring, and celebrated the 40th anniversary of Born in the U.S.A. over the summer with a special limited-edition vinyl set.
‘Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Courtesy of Disney
In 2025, the Boss will return to Europe to perform 16 shows in six countries with The E Street Band, and will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the seminal Born to Run album. Also on tap: milestones for The River (turning 45), The Ghost of Tom Joad (turning 30) and Devils & Dust (turning 20). There are also plans for a retrospective featuring never-before-heard material, though no further details have been shared on this release.
Deliver Me From Nowhere is directed by Scott Cooper and adapted from Warren Zanes’ 2023 book, Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.
Succession‘s Jeremy Strong will play Jon Landau, longtime Springsteen music manager. The film will also star Cobra Kai‘s Paul Walter Hauser as guitar tech Mike Batlan; Stephen Graham as Springsteen’s father, Douglas “Dutch” Springsteen; Johnny Cannizzaro as E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt; and Odessa Young as a character called Faye, described as a formative love interest.
