Billy Eichner’s “Bros” made history as the first gay rom-com to receive a wide theatrical release at a major studio, as well as the first with an all-out LGBTQ cast. From the nightclub where Eichner’s Bobby meets and falls in love with Luke McFarlane’s lover Aaron, to the grand opening of the LGBTQ+ museum, the Big Apple’s love story features some incredible sets – as well as a carefully curated DVD shelf.
While production on “Bros” was originally set to take place in Buffalo, NY, the pandemic derailed plans, and with new tax breaks, New Jersey became a stand-in for the rom-com (with several scenes shot on the streets of New York and Provincetown). Sitting down with Variety, writer-director Nicholas Stoller and production designer Lisa Myers share insight into the film’s key sets.
Bobby’s Apartment
Bobby’s apartment had depth but was small and had an expandable dining table.
Photo: Universal Pictures
Myers: “We were researching what someone his age living in New York with his background and space would live in. We knew we would spend a lot of time there. It was important for us to create a space that has great depth from which one can see into different rooms. All works of art had meaning. They are all LGBTQ artists. Books and DVDs were curated.”
Bobby’s DVD Watchlist, courtesy of Lisa Myers
The LGBTQ+ Museum
Stoller: “Looks like that guy could afford to live there. It doesn’t seem like a crazy idea, and it’s nice. Our cinematographer Brandon Trost kept asking, ‘Are we going to shoot another scene of him sitting on the couch?’ It’s an apartment in New York, all you do is sit on your couch. We chose a beautiful muted gray-blue for that, and that palette was masculine yet elegant.”
Myers: “For the Thanksgiving scene, obviously it’s not a huge apartment with a huge table. We had this table that you could turn and extend when you had guests over, and those were the details we went into.”
The LGBTQ+ Museum was filmed at the Newark Museum of Art
The Nightclub
Photo: Nicole Rivelli/Universal Pictures
