A film shoot at a former Newark jail block took an unscripted turn Saturday afternoon when police had to rescue an actor who got accidentally locked inside a real holding cell. Officers responded to an emergency call placed around 2:30 p.m. at 31 Green St., and the actor was freed without injury.
According to NJ.com, Newark police officers rescued an actor who was accidentally locked inside a real holding cell during the film production, authorities said. The actor has not been identified, and the outlet reports that it remains unclear how the person became trapped inside the cell or how long they were stuck there before officers arrived.
Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda reported no injuries resulted from the incident, per the same account. The Newark Office of Film & Television did not return a request for comment on the mishap, and it has not been officially confirmed which movie was being filmed at the site that day.
A Former Jail Block Turned Film Set
The 31 Green St. address is no ordinary filming location. The site was formerly part of Newark's old Police Headquarters jail block, and it now doubles as a municipal courthouse and a backdrop for productions. The building's municipal court still operates out of the address, according to the City of Newark.
The cell block itself was shuttered in 2017. Its closure came after years of scrutiny: Mayor Ras Baraka said the Green Street cell block had serious overcrowding and sanitation problems for decades, according to RLS Media. The facility, located in the basement of the old headquarters, was originally set up to hold only 50 men and eight women, the outlet reported.
A federal probe found that conditions at the Green Street facility constituted a significant suicide risk for detainees, and the facility had at least seven reported suicides during its last decade of operation. Those findings predate Saturday's filming and are unrelated to the actor's brief ordeal inside the cell.
Freefall’s New Jersey Production
The movie being filmed at 31 Green St. has not been identified. Separately, “Freefall,” an upcoming Universal Pictures feature film starring Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler and set in the 1980s, had scenes filmed in Wayne and Newark in October, per NJ.com's earlier casting coverage.
That report described a casting call seeking local law enforcement professionals to play police officers in the film, per the casting notice. Applicants were asked to list their law-enforcement experience, agency, and years of service, according to Daily Voice, which also reported that the film's scenes are mostly set in Miami but were being shot in New Jersey. Background actors recruited for the roles were set to earn $241 for an eight-hour day, NJ.com previously reported.
Filming had tentatively been scheduled for Oct. 15 and 16 in Wayne, with additional scenes planned for Oct. 26 in Newark and Oct. 30 in Brooklyn, according to the casting notice coverage. Whether those dates match the day the actor got locked inside the cell has not been confirmed.
NJ.com's Nicole Rosenthal authored the original report on the rescue. For now, the exact circumstances behind how the actor ended up trapped, and which production was filming at the historic Green Street site, remain unanswered questions.
