New Jersey is bustling with energy as filmmakers rediscover the magic of that state that the industry was created in. In other words, “Hollywood” is coming home.

You may have read in the news that Netflix is preparing to build their next “mega studio” in the same state from where Thomas Edison built the world’s first movie studio, the Black Maria. Governor Phil Murphy’s administration says that this initiative could help turn Jersey into the “Hollywood of the East.”

The state is actually booming with new construction in cities like Bayonne, Newark and Carteret…all just a few miles from where the Black Maria stood in West Orange, NJ.

The award-winning movie “The Joker” and series “Succession” were filmed in the same Northern part of New Jersey as Edison’s historic movie, “The Great Train Robbery.” 

Edison’s legacy is deeply intertwined with New Jersey’s vibrant film history. The revolutionary Black Maria was created in 1893 and served as a laboratory for experimentation and creativity, where Edison and his team pushed the very early boundaries of visual storytelling.

Nicknamed for its similar appearance to a paddy wagon, the Black Maria was equipped with a roof that could be opened to use the sunlight for the kind of lighting needed to capture the films at this time, since it wasn’t available with bulbs yet.

It was a kind of living piece of technology that had to be wrestled into place every hour or so. It used the light of the sun for filming and since the sun moves about 15 degrees across the sky every hour, Edison’s staff had to push the building around on a circular track to make sure it faced the sun for maximum illumination.

Although mostly 20 seconds long, stories unfolded within this studio’s tar-covered walls that would forever change history. The earliest copyrighted film in history that still survives is actually Edison’s “Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze” in January 1894. He was also one of the first to experiment with color film and putting sound to film in this very studio.

Today, as the landscape of filmmaking undergoes another transformation, New Jersey emerges once again as a hub of cinematic innovation with its vibrant blend of cultures, bustling cities, and timeless landscapes. These modern studios, equipped with state-of-the-art technology and fueled by boundless imagination, are poised to redefine the cinematic landscape yet again. The resurgence of excitement and creativity is truly reminiscent of Edison’s era.

As we embrace the future, let’s not forget the lessons of the past and pay homage to the visionary pioneers who paved the way for us. Innovation isn’t just about technology; it’s about preserving the spirit of creativity and exploration that defines New Jersey’s cinematic legacy.

In this ever-changing world, the magic of cinema seems to have found its way home.

Have you ever heard of “christening” a ship? When a ship sets sail on its maiden voyage, there is a ceremony held where a bottle is broken over the ship’s bow for good luck and safe travels. The practice dates back to the days of the ancient Romans, the Vikings, the explorers who voyaged to this country, the US Navy and is even an important tradition in the Thomas Edison family.

It’s just an old red brick building, but probably one of the most important structures in American business history. Known as Building 5, and named by Thomas Edison himself, this is the fabled “invention factory” – the place the process of transforming raw ideas into marketable products was codified. The very heartbeat of innovation was born and perfected here. 

Teams of men under Edison’s direction, skilled in both the professional sciences and industrial arts, came together to solve important and marketable problems aimed at improving humanity and removing the drudgery of life.

From his iconic 16,000+ volume library and office, Edison honed team-based problem solving to a fine edge.

Typically, 30-40 teams were constantly at work on problems identified by Edison, using the incredible workshop on the first level to produce rapid prototypes of their creations for detailed testing and validation against expectations.

This would later give birth to commercial R&D labs, the large-scale spawning ground for American ingenuity and global competitiveness. Today, this philosophy is the mainstay of STEM education in schools and rising makerspaces.

Thousands who visit the building every year find the old red brick building “magical”. While Edison may not have chalked it up to supernatural forces, the hard work, curiosity and first of its kind thinking that came out of the lab conjured inventions out of thin air as if by some kind of wizardry. After all, he was nicknamed “The Wizard” for a reason.

No matter what you believe in – science or magic – Once you know what has been created here, Edison’s presence is still palpable…not only at the labs and but in your daily lives.

[West Orange, New Jersey, June 1] — On May 17, 2023, the Edison Innovation Foundation held its 13th annual pitch contest final competition. Twelve teams competed, 4 each in the elementary, middle school and high school divisions—via a mixture of live and Zoom presentations. This event was once again hosted at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, NJ. A distinguished panel of judges from the science/technical, business and governmental communities evaluated and selected the order of top award recipients.

This final competition was the culmination of five months of intense creativity and invention by student design teams, involving 319 teams, with 962 students from 97 schools across the country (37 states), including teams from France and Canada. Here is the order of awards from that high energy final competition: