Indeed the temple is famous for attracting capacity crowds on Friday nights, much like the script’s B’nai Ezra, the synagogue where Jake increases attendance with rather unorthodox techniques, including group meditation and gospel choirs.
For Brian’s church, Edward Norton chose the Church of the Ascension on West 107th Street for its location as much as for its beautiful Gothic interior. "We felt that it was a church in a working neighborhood with a wide variety of people," explains designer Thomas. "That appealed to Edward’s thoughts about the character of Brian working closely with different ethnic groups, trying to make a change in the neighborhood."
Ironically, but in keeping with Jake’s and Brian’s attempts to promote cooperation between their synagogue and church, some of the scenes in Jake’s temple were shot inside a church.
"For some reason most synagogues have very small what we called ‘support spaces’," says Thomas. The production team instead found some space in the Church of SS Paul and Andrew, around the corner from B’nai Jeshurun, where they built a set for Jake’s office that was inspired by that of Rabbi Norry.
"There were a lot of playful elements in Rabbi Norry’s office that showed that all types of people came there. He had children’s toys, for example, for kids to play with in his office."
Also filmed on the Upper West Side were many of the characters’ apartments, both interiors and exteriors, and several of the restaurants the characters frequent: Carmine’s, Delphini, and Boulevard. Flashbacks to the three characters’ childhoods were also mainly filmed in the area, which included P.S. 87 on West 78th Street and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Riverside Drive.
The production also filmed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art off Fifth Avenue, the Cloisters Museum in Fort Tryon Park, the Church of the Ascension and Riverbank State Park in Upper Manhattan, in Chelsea at Peter MacManus Cafe, at the Barnes and Noble on Union Square, in Central Park, and on Irving Place.
For Anna’s office, the filmmakers built a set on a high floor in an office building overlooking Battery Park. Located on the lower tip of Manhattan, the space offered a spectacular view of New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty.
"The location gave a sense of being on top of the world," says Thomas, much in the way that Elfman’s high-powered Anna finds herself. "Plus it had another building right next to it, which the script required," as Anna finds herself watching the saga of an office lothario in the building across the way.
While Wynn Thomas presented Anna’s corporate world with a sleek and monochromatic office, costume designer Michael Kaplan similarly dressed Jenna Elfman in muted colors and greys and in a style far removed from the actress’s TV persona. Even Anna’s hairstyle through much of the film is a simple, no-nonsense ponytail.
"I wanted her to be more streamlined and serious and to the point," explains Kaplan, who dressed Elfman in a variety of beautiful clothes from Costume Nationale and Helmut Lang, among others. "Her deal is simplicity; Anna doesn’t have a lot of time to be concerned with accessories and shopping. Her main accessory is her cell phone.
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