How Spielberg Turned New Jersey Into the Midwest for His Latest Sci-Fi Thriller

Forget alien worlds and far-off galaxies. Steven Spielberg’s new film, *Disclosure Day*, is set firmly in the here and now—in the American heartland, to be exact. But here’s the twist: most of that Midwestern scenery was actually shot in New York and New Jersey.

Production designer Adam Stockhausen, a frequent Spielberg collaborator, explains that the director wanted this story to feel grounded. “He wanted it to feel real,” Stockhausen says. “This isn’t a fantasy world. It’s ours.”

The plot follows whistleblower Dr. Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) and his girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson) as they flee a secret agency called WARDEX, led by Colin Firth’s character. They cross paths with Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), a Kansas City meteorologist who has her own ties to the extraterrestrial cover-up.

About two-thirds of the film was shot in New York City, New Jersey, and upstate New York—standing in for Missouri, Maryland, and West Virginia. Kansas City, the story’s anchor, was recreated using New York locations. “It’s not often you shoot New York for Kansas City,” Stockhausen notes.

Key sets include the KCXE TV station, built inside the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The finale, where Margaret’s broadcast goes global, was filmed at the real NBC News headquarters in Rockefeller Plaza, with actual news employees appearing on screen. “Steven wanted their reactions to be live and authentic,” Stockhausen says.

The West Virginia farmhouse where the couple hides was built from scratch on a farm in Morristown, New Jersey. A car chase and crash sequence used a real train line in Cape May, New Jersey. Even the alien crash sites were created on Staten Island.

Stockhausen avoided any nods to Spielberg’s earlier sci-fi work. “No Easter eggs,” he says. “We wanted a story that stands on its own.” And with real locations, practical stunts, and live newsroom reactions, he got exactly that.