Seth Rogan-Led ‘Dumb Money’ Movie Filmed In Morris Co. Opens In Theaters

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — A new American biographical comedy-drama film, “Dumb Money,” was filmed almost exclusively in New Jersey last fall – and Morris County was among the shooting destinations, officials say.

Saint Elizabeth University, located at 2 Convent Road in Morristown, was crawling with some Hollywood heavyweights last fall, according to Denise Panyik-Dale, Director of Communications and Marketing at Saint Elizabeth University.

According to the production company, “Dumb Money” tells the story of a ragtag group of amateur investors, gamers, and internet trolls who brought Wall Street to its knees by reviving the struggling brick-and-mortar video game retailer GameStop, thereby creating the first so-called meme stock.

The movie, which has a star-studded cast including Seth Rogen, Dane DeHaan, Vincent D’Onofrio Nick Offerman, America Ferrera, Shailene Woodley and Paul Dano, spent the fall of 2022 filming all around New Jersey, specifically in Hudson, Morris, Essex and Union counties.

D'Onofrio and Offerman play billionaire hedge fund CEOs, Steve Cohen and Ken Griffin, respectively, while Rogen portrays millionaire hedge fund CEO Gabe Plotkin and Dano plays financial analyst and investor Keith Gill, known for his posts on the subreddit r/wallstreetbets.

Directed by Craig Gillespie who also directed "I, Tonya" and Disney's "Cruella,” the movie was released in the United States by Sony Pictures Releasing in limited theaters on Sept. 15, before expanding into wide release on Sept. 29.

“Dumb Money” is based on the 2021 book penned by Ben Mezrich, “The Antisocial Network: The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees.”

The book covers the events of the GameStop short squeeze, which saw the collapse of Melvin Capital as users of r/wallstreetbets and other retail traders initiated a short squeeze on stocks like GameStop, AMC and Bed, Bath & Beyond.

The trailer for “Dumb Money” can be seen below.

This is not the first time Morristown has been on the big screen. Saint Elizabeth University, which used to be known as the College of Saint Elizabeth, was previously used as a filming location in 2019 for the Oscar-nominated film "The Trial of the Chicago 7," directed by Aaron Sorkin. That production was filmed at the college's Santa Maria Hall, which will be used again for "Dumb Money," according to Panyik-Dale.

Earlier this summer, downtown Morristown also saw some star-studded appearances, as actors Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg came to town to film a scene for a new movie.

According to the application filed with the Town of Morristown, the actors were in town filming reshoots for their upcoming movie, "The Union."

The film was initially titled "Our Man From Jersey" and stars Oscar winner J.K. Simmons, Berry, Wahlberg, Oscar nominee Jackie Earle Haley and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.

NJ's Motion Picture and Television Commission keeps a list of all productions filmed in the Garden State.

Gov. Phil Murphy has said he wants to dramatically increase filmmaking in the state, and New Jersey offers movie studios one of the most generous tax incentives of any state in America.