Spielberg Film Gives Boost To Small Jersey Shore Towns

CAPE MAY COUNTY, NJ — Who needs Hollywood when you have the Jersey Shore? That seems to be what Steven Spielberg thinks, anyway - his upcoming flick is getting ready to start filming in the tiny communities of Woodbine and Tuckahoe.

In January, a casting call went out, seeking Cape May area locals to serve as extras for the new movie, rumored to be about UFOs and starring Emily Blunt.

Local businesses are enjoying the production as it brings a tourism boost during the slow, winter months.

“Not too much exciting happens in Tuckahoe so this is very exciting,” an onlooker told NBC Philadelphia.

Filming has begun already up in Montville and reportedly will come down to South Jersey next week. But even before that, businesses are seeing benefits - with workers staying at local hotels, picking up pastries at local eateries and drinking at local bars.

Woodbine Mayor William Pikolycky told Fox 29 that he wasn't sure why Spielberg picked his borough, but he was happy about the positive economic impact.

It will be the first major movie filmed in Woodbine since 1964, Pikolycky told OCNJ Daily.

Spielberg, 78, spent several years of his childhood living in Haddon Township - in his 2022 film "The Fabelmans," a fictionalized account of his childhood, he shows how his interest in movies was sparked when he saw "The Greatest Show on Earth" playing at the Westmont Theatre in Haddonfield.