The traditional approach of adapting books into movies and television shows is no longer enough in this day and age. Instead, companies and individual products are being used as an effective way to tell stories. An example of this is the "Florida Man" meme, which started to become popular in 2013. This meme was based on the outrageous and comical headlines that were coming out of Florida at the time, such as the Local 10 News headline, "Florida man arrested after wife hit with flying chicken wings".
It’s a journey, to say the least, but where exactly does the journey take us behind the scenes? There’s only one way to find out: Where was Florida Man filmed and is Florida one of the filming locations?
#1. Where Was Florida Man Filmed?
Source: TC
North Carolina is a filming hub. For creator and Florida native Donald Todd, his home state is certainly a hotbed of mug shots and headlines, but it's also a perfect setting for a crime thriller. "The brightest sun casts the darkest shadows, so people can hide in shadows," Todd told Netflix. "All of that creates an ethos that's perfect for a bright and noirish crime story."
Todd effectively captures Florida's essence for the small screen — except for the small detail that it's actually filmed in North Carolina. Florida's freedom of information laws may make it easier for local journalists to pick up zany stories, but the state apparently can't compete with North Carolina's film tax incentives.
Source: Variety
You can take the man out of Florida, but you can't take the Florida out of the man. That's the gist of the new series from Donald Todd and executive producer Jason Bateman, which follows disgraced Philadelphia cop Mike Valentine (Edgar Ramírez). To pay off his gambling debts to local mob boss Moss Yankov (Emory Cohen), Valentine is forced to do grunt work — including returning to his home state of Florida to retrieve the mobster's runaway girlfriend, Delly West (Abbey Lee).
North Carolina is an apt stand-in for the Sunshine State, and shots of the glistening Atlantic coast abound. Filming occurred in the coastal city of Wilmington for five months in 2021. Owing to the state's tax incentives and agreeable weather, North Carolina is a popular shooting location, hosting everything from "The Hunger Games" to "Dawson's Creek" to "The Last of the Mohicans." Ironically, however, "Outer Banks" was filmed in South Carolina.
Source: Parade
To adopt the Florida mindset, Ramírez chatted extensively with Floridian Todd, and also visited the state. "I went to the places that inspired the story ... to look at the characters, the atmosphere in the air and the mood that inspired the show," the actor told ABC News.
For Todd, Florida is as much a state of mind as it is a place, making the North Carolina shooting less of a faux pas. "A 'Florida man' is someone who's proudly independent and doesn't live by your code," he said, "which means he doesn't live by any code."
Related: Where Does Yellowjackets Take Place? Reveal Filming Locations
#2. Other Florida Man Filming Locations
Source: Decider
Brickell City Centre, Downtown Miami, South Beach Bayside Marketplace and the Miami Beach Architectural District in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami can be seen in certain episodes.
Ultimately, the crew made the most of Florida while also using their creativity to branch out. Showrunner Donald Todd recently spoke to Netflix about the inspiration behind the project.
“[People] laugh at the mug shots and the headlines, but what’s the story behind the meme?” he asks.
He argues that “the brightest sun casts the darkest shadows, so people can hide in shadows. All of that creates an ethos that’s perfect for a bright and noirish crime story.”
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