Grant Avenue looked like it had slipped back nearly a century this week, with vintage phone booths, old-fashioned stop signs and hand-painted signs advertising shoeshines and hotel rooms lining the block between Union and Green streets. The transformation is the work of Fog City, a Depression-era noir shooting on location in North Beach, where classic cars rolled past storefronts dressed for 1930s San Francisco.
The production, written and directed by Dan Pritzker, is set against the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, according to VicScreen. Crews installed an elaborate lighting rig and period street signs on Grant Avenue, and filmed classic cars driving along the street, per SFGATE. The crew also used the Savoy Tivoli, which has operated in some capacity since 1907, for an interior shoot, SFGATE reports.
From Steiner Street to Alta Plaza
North Beach isn't the only San Francisco neighborhood getting a Depression-era makeover for the film. Fog City previously filmed on Steiner Street, where the production took over two blocks during an earlier stretch of shooting, according to SFist's report on the project, which also notes that Pritzker is an heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune. Around Alta Plaza, crews transformed Steiner Street between Jackson and Clay with vintage cars, period costumes, set dressing and even simulated rain, the article notes, citing coverage from The New Fillmore.
Additional filming took place at the former Fireman's Fund-UCSF campus at 3333 California Street, per the same account. The Chronicle reports that the production also shot some scenes in Melbourne, Australia before moving to San Francisco, with crews spotted in Pacific Heights and the Mission District as well.
A Noir With a Sprawling Cast and a Melbourne Backlot
Fog City features interwoven stories of a police inspector, a scheming socialite, a Dust Bowl transplant and an underground abortionist, and the cast includes Cooper Koch, Angus Imrie, Sarah Bolger, Miranda Otto and Carla Gugino, according to Deadline. Pritzker previously directed a 2019 film about jazz trumpeter Buddy Bolden.
In Melbourne, VicScreen said the production used many of the city's heritage landmarks along with the stages and converted backlot at Docklands Studios to recreate 1930s San Francisco. The agency projected the shoot would inject $60 million into Victoria's economy, create 365 local crew jobs and 2,645 roles for cast, casuals and extras, while supporting 250 local businesses.
San Francisco's Production Boom
Back home, Mayor Daniel Lurie has said Fog City booked 30 days of production in San Francisco and is using 100,000 square feet for a soundstage and interior sets in Potrero Hill, contributing an estimated $35 million to the local economy. The film has no announced release date or distribution details.
Fog City's arrival comes as San Francisco's film industry is having a notably strong stretch. Shoots in the city were up 28% in fiscal year 2025-26 over the previous year, with 309 productions permitted compared with 241 previously, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Estimated direct local spending jumped 84.6% to $32.3 million, up from $17.5 million the prior year, the paper reported.
The San Francisco Film Commission has attributed the surge to the Scene in San Francisco incentive program, which is set to expire in 2028. From late July through late October, 90 productions filmed in the city for a combined 294 days, generating an estimated $29 million in local spending, per the Chronicle's more recent reporting. Netflix's A Man on the Inside also benefited from the program, shooting 28 of its 30-day third-season schedule in San Francisco, spending about $12 million in the city and qualifying for the full $1 million rebate.
