It all started with a phone call from the assistant set decorator of a movie production company asking if I would have any interest in providing a portion of my collection for an upcoming Netflix movie. She said she found my website while searching the internet for Pennsylvania breweriana; and after hearing some of the details, I agreed to assist in the project. The next day, I got an email from David Schlesinger who introduced himself as the lead set decorator of the production and explained that the movie was a Netflix production called “Hustle” starring Adam Sandler and Lebron James. David and his production team have been a part of such movies as John Carpenter’s: Vampires, Twilight: Breaking Dawn 1 & 2, The Equalizer 2, John Wick: Chapter 2 & 3, Knives Out, and The King of Staten Island.
The Set-Up
David described the concept of the scene as the food court of the Philadelphia Airport (set at the Fargo Center made to resemble the airport food court) where characters are grabbing a beer and checking out. David’s idea was to fill coolers with local craft beer and in the background fill 76 wooden cubbies with collages of vintage Pennsylvania breweriana, beer cans, and beer bottles. And that’s where I came in…
Two days later, I had a small production team in my house picking through items in my personal collection and trade stock. They were mainly interested in items that would fit in the 14″ X 14″ cubbies on the set and agreed to rent them for a 2-week duration. In total, the production team took 197 individual pieces from my collection including a few pieces from another local collector and a good friend of mine who I included in the project. The items were picked up a few days later by a production trucking company and the production proceeded as planned. The assistant was kind enough to send me a few pictures of the set (pictured below) prior to filming. Two weeks later, everything was returned to me via delivery of another production trucking company truck. It was a pleasure providing a portion of my collection for this movie and I can’t wait to see the scene when the movie is aired!
Below are some of the items that they selected to use in the film:
The Movie Plot
The movie “Hustle” begins with Stanley Beren (played by Adam Sandler), a washed-up basketball scout who discovers a phenomenal streetball player while abroad and sees the prospect as an opportunity to get back into the NBA. Hustle was produced by Sandler’s Happy Madison Production Company alongside LeBron James and his SpringHill Entertainment Company as well as Roth / Kirschenbaum Films. Oscar nominee Queen Latifah will also star as the main female lead; also appearing in the movie are Oscar winner Robert Duvall, Ben Foster, Jordan Hull, Maria Botto, Ainhoa Pillet, Kyle Lowry, and Kenny Smith as well as a handful of Philadelphia 76er’s.
Below are a few photos of the production:
Movie premiering on June 10, 2022 only on Netflix
Check out the Official Netflix Trailer: