# Guerilla filmmaking **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [March 21, 2026, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665 "2026-03-21T19:54:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/1 "2026-03-21T19:54:35Z")
Curious to see examples. In “North by Northwest”, Roger Thornhill gets out of a cab to enter the UN. Apparently Hitchcock had a camera hidden in a nearby laundry truck to get this shot, to avoid the authorities. Always wondered if Scorcese did the same with the countless exterior NYC shots in his work. Or maybe he got permits every time? 🤷‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/2 "2026-03-21T19:58:38Z")
I haven’t seen it, but I understand the final scene of Michael Clayton is George Clooney in the back of a cab while, he, the actor, was ignoring fans yelling as they’d spot him. They ‘stole’ that location. ETA, I can’t find anything helpful right now, but what you’re looking for are ‘stolen locations’ or ‘stolen scenes’, which is (I just learned a few weeks ago) what it’s called when they shoot without getting permits. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/3 "2026-03-21T20:06:24Z")
I found a page with a list of them. I’ll post it if you want it, but I’ll leave it if you want this thread to be more of a game. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/4 "2026-03-21T20:10:45Z")
Sean Baker, of recent _Anora_ fame, has done a bunch of guerilla shooting, but most famously (or daringly) was a shot entering Disneyworld at the end of _The Florida Project_. Also in Disneyworld, all of _Escape from Tomorrow_ was shot on Disney property with no permission. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/5 "2026-03-21T20:15:46Z")
Apparently the abandoned London scenes in 28 Days Later were filmed by turning up just after dawn on the longest day of the year, and having their prettiest and nicest PAs very politely asking people not to walk on the set. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/6 "2026-03-21T20:17:20Z")
I’m trying to find a good cite for it, but it appears that the “I’m walkin’ here!” scene on a NYC street in _Midnight Cowboy_ was filmed this way, as the production didn’t have enough money to shut down a city street for filming the shot. [![](https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/untitled-57.jpg?w=1200&h=675&fit=crop) ](https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/untitled-57.jpg?w=1200&h=675&fit=crop) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/7 "2026-03-21T20:18:23Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > the “I’m walkin’ here!” scene The legend says he was about to say “I’m acting here” before correcting himself so the take would work. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/8 "2026-03-21T20:32:20Z")
In the “Stairs in Movies” thread, someone posted an article about Stallone recalling that his famous run up the stairs in front of the Art Museum in _Rocky_ was shot quickly without permission. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/9 "2026-03-21T20:40:07Z")
In _The Fugitive_, the pursuit scene in Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day parade was apparently shot guerilla-style during the actual parade. A reporter from a local TV station, covering the parade, spotted Tommy Lee Jones, and stopped him for a short interview, not realizing that he was interrupting a movie shoot. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/10 "2026-03-21T22:51:09Z")
Wish I’d gotten back sooner… > [@Joey\_P](#): > > I found a page with a list of them. I’ll post it if you want it, but I’ll leave it if you want this thread to be more of a game. Thanks for the offer but will decline. I mean, there _is_ google, I guess, so there’s that, but it’s funner seeing what folks have come up with so far, some of which might not be very well-known/documented. And interesting! And TILs like: [quote] > [@Joey\_P](#): > > ETA, I can’t find anything helpful right now, but what you’re looking for are ‘stolen locations’ or ‘stolen scenes’, which is (I just learned a few weeks ago) what it’s called when they shoot without getting permits. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > “I’m walkin’ here!” No, you’re not Christopher. > [@griffin1977](#): > > The legend says he was about to say “I’m acting here” before correcting himself so the take would work. When I saw “…acting…”, with it being done in NYC, I immediately thought of something irrelevant to this thread that should be spoilered - In the “Marathon Man” resevoir pumpouse scene, Hoffman was over-fretting how to approach the scene, to the point that the production crew was making it known, until a frustrated Olivier eventually just said, “My dear boy, why don’t you just try acting? It’s so much easier.” ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/11 "2026-03-21T23:54:06Z")
Keenan Ivory Wayans, when he first tried to make it in Hollywood, was frustrated to find that he was only being offered trite black stereotypes to play. So he wrote a satirical critique, called Hollywood Shuffle. It was directed by Robert Townsend, and filmed over a few weeks using rented equipment. The whole production was guerrilla filmmaking. > **[Hollywood Shuffle - American Film Institute](https://watch.afi.com/movie/hollywood-shuffle)** > > Hollywood Shuffle directed by Robert Townsend. Watch the trailer, learn more and read about American Film Institute alumni. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/12 "2026-03-22T00:06:50Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Also in Disneyworld, all of _Escape from Tomorrow_ was shot on Disney property with no permission. I only know about that movie because Jenny Nicholson has a video essay of it on YouTube. By most accounts, it’s a terrible, terrible movie. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/13 "2026-03-22T00:33:15Z")
I remember being underwhelmed, I couldn’t tell you anything else about it. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/14 "2026-03-22T00:43:34Z")
All of the scenes of Buddy on the streets of Manhattan in _ **Elf** _ were shot without permits. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/15 "2026-03-22T00:44:46Z")
There were scenes in 1984’s _Terminator_ that were shot in public without a permit. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/16 "2026-03-22T02:43:17Z")
In _Carnival of Souls_ there were some guerilla shooting, like in a department store. Other scenes, in workshop/industrial areas, showing workers looking at the camera, I’d imagine would require permission of the shop owners, but who knows. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/17 "2026-03-22T03:07:04Z")
An entire series was filmed inside an IKEA without permission: > **[IKEA Heights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKEA_Heights)** > > IKEA Heights is a 2009 comedic melodrama web series created by Dave Seger, Paul Bartunek, Delbert Shoopman, Spencer Strauss, and Tom Kauffman for Channel 101. A spoof of soap operas, the series was filmed covertly inside the IKEA store in Burbank, California. IKEA Heights stars Randall Park, Whitney Avalon, and Matt Braunger. > Entertainment Weekly's Whitney Pastorek wrote that the series "is so brilliant and awesome that its glories can really only be diminished by additional words." > Madeleine... ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/18 "2026-03-22T03:44:41Z")
A lot of B movies, student projects and films of that ilk are probably done wholly or in part without permission. Once all the footage that they can shoot in the best friend’s garage / uncle’s fishing shack / Steve’s backyard has been shot, then they need to go out into the wider world to capture their art. I think municipalities and property owners do not want to say no out of principle, but they will need to protect their own legal exposure and ask for traffic controllers, proof of insurance, first aiders on set, compliance with any noise ordinances, etc etc etc, all of which outweighs the miniscule budgets that these are shot with. Hence guerillas in the mist. To be fair, even Big Hollywood will happily ignore laws, permissions and prior commitments if they think they can get a shot. I worked for a government department which said yes to a Hollywood film using one of its properties as a set. A long list of dos and donts was agreed, but when filming began the production was happy to lie to your face if abiding by that agreement became inconvenient. Less guerilla and more malignant baboon. It was all very Radioactive Man in Springfield. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/19 "2026-03-22T04:11:44Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > Hence guerillas in the mist. 👏 👏 👏 ---
**Author:** ![f.coli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eada6e/32.png) [@f.coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/f.coli)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665/20 "2026-03-22T14:13:07Z")
Yes, I believe the final scene where Sarah stops at a gas station was shot that way. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guerilla-filmmaking/1028665.md?page=2)