Mayhem visits Rutgers Newark

You know those "Mayhem" commercials from AllState Insurance? Well, keep an eye out for a new ad in the series, filmed on our own streets of Newark, NJ. Brad Armstrong took some photos of the shoot for us to preview.

Mayhem's damage:

A couple of photos of the film crew working

No real humans were harmed in the making of this commercial. The dummy below looks like it's seen better days though.

Mayhem driving through Halsey St. the wrong way (note: Halsey is a one-way street). In the commercial, the GPS told the driver to make a turn onto the street, even though it's a one-way in the other direction. Anyone with GPS ever had something similar happen?

Ever wonder how they get the close up video while driving? Check out the camera set up below:

This isn't the first time Halsey St. was filmed. Check out photos from the filming of Cadillac Records where Halsey doubled as 1950s Chicago.

Newark as 1950s Chicago for Cadillac Records

For a few days in April, part of Halsey Street was transformed into 1950s Chicago for the movie Cadillac Records, which is opening this week and has gotten some good press so far. The movie is about the rise of Chess Records and the lives of its musicians, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.

Of course us common folk were not allowed anywhere near the stars, but with the help of a zoom lens I did get some photos of the street, the film crew, a few extras, and the cool cars.

Sorry, no Beyonce or Adrian Brody. I know, I was disappointed too.

Below is a photo of the huge film crew hanging out off to the side on New Street with all their equipment.
Below you can see all the signs that were hung over the existing shops and businesses, including the Chess Records label (right below the "Lucky's Mens Shop" sign)