The forces that be — 20th Century Studios — have decided to deliver us from life without a trailer for the upcoming Bruce Springsteen movie.
A first trailer starring Jeremy Allen White as a young Springsteen in “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere“ was released Wednesday.
The movie, filmed in The Boss’ native New Jersey this past fall and winter (see full Jersey locations list below), is due out in theaters Oct. 24, just in time for the run-up to awards season.
Awards watchers and prognosticators are waiting intently to see if White, 34, a two-time Emmy winner for “The Bear,” delivers an Oscar-worthy performance.
The actor donned a leather jacket and tight jeans to play Springsteen in the early 1980s in the film, written and directed by Scott Cooper (“Crazy Heart,” “The Pale Blue Eye,” “Antlers,” “Black Mass”). White also had the unenviable task of singing as Springsteen, a longtime musical hero to a global audience.
Of course, there was also the daunting prospect of knowing Springsteen would be listening, too.
“Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” is based on the 2023 book of the same name from Montclair’s Warren Zanes, which chronicles the making of Springsteen’s acclaimed 1982 “Nebraska” album.
That’s where the title comes from — more specifically, the song “State Trooper“:
“Hey, somebody out there, listen to my last prayer,” Springsteen sings. “Hiho silver-o, deliver me from nowhere.”
However, the song White is singing in the trailer (watch below) as he takes up his guitar and harmonica is the title track from “Nebraska.”
The album title might be Midwest-flavored, but Springsteen recorded the album, his sixth, in the bedroom of the Colts Neck home he was renting. A brief teaser for the film released Tuesday featured a cassette tape labeled “Colts Neck - DEMO” that played a demo version of “Born in the U.S.A."
Springsteen recorded the song, which sounds much different than the hit song released in 1984, in the same sessions that became “Nebraska.” Unlike the “Born in the U.S.A.” released on the album of the same name, the songs on “Nebraska” were not recorded with the E Street Band. They were intended to be solo demos Springsteen would re-record with the full band, but they went on the album as is, favoring Springsteen’s voice and words over a big band sound.
Emmy winner Paul Walter Hauser (“Black Bird”) plays guitar tech Mike Batlan, who set up the recording equipment for Springsteen to record “Nebraska” in the Colts Neck house.
“Don’t need it to be perfect‚” White’s Springsteen tells Hauser’s Batlan in the trailer when doing a mic check. “Want it to feel like I’m in the room by myself.”
The trailer was first shown to a film industry audience in April at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.
“I feel really lucky,” White said, introducing the trailer at the event. “We all had Bruce’s blessing on this film. The film tells the story of a very pivotal moment in Bruce’s life when he’s struggling to reconcile the pressures of success, the ghosts of his past, and it all culminates in his 1982 album ‘Nebraska.’”
In depicting Springsteen’s life and career in the early ’80s, the movie also flashes back to Springsteen’s 1950s childhood with black-and-white scenes.
Springsteen himself was often on set for the making of “Deliver Me from Nowhere,” including scenes filmed in his longtime haunt, Asbury Park — in the film, White is seen staring out into the Atlantic Ocean — and his hometown in the borough of Freehold. The Boss was also on set for other scenes in Bayonne, Rahway and Rockaway.
He signed autographs for fans who gathered to watch the filming and signed scripts for the cast and crew. Springsteen also freely dispensed hugs to White and other actors like Stephen Graham, who plays Springsteen’s father, Douglas “Dutch” Springsteen, in the flashback scenes.
Springsteen, 75, has been effervescent about White’s portrayal of him.
“He’s got an interpretation of me that I think, A, the fans will deeply recognize and he’s just done a great job, so I’ve had a lot of fun,” he told Jim Rotolo of SiriusXM’s E Street Radio. I’ve had a lot of fun being on the set when I can get there.”
“He sings well,” Springsteen said of White. “He sings very well. You know, and Jeremy Strong and Odessa Young, you know, it’s a tremendous cast of people. They cast the film beautifully, so it’s very exciting.”
Strong, who won an Emmy for “Succession,” plays Springsteen’s manager, Jon Landau.
“Jon was of course deeply invested in Bruce as an artist, but he was also deeply invested in his friend’s happiness and well-being and his struggles with mental health,” Strong, 46, said at CinemaCon. “I see Jon as the Lewis to Bruce’s Clark and I think that the journey that they’ve been on together is just beautiful and unprecedented in the history of music.”
Springsteen talks to a car salesman in the opening scene of the trailer, which was filmed in Bayonne.
“Never owned a new car before,” he tells the salesman, sitting in a 1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28.
“It’s awfully fitting for a handsome devil rock star,” the man tells Springsteen. “I do know who you are.”
“Well that makes one of us,” Springsteen says.
Strong’s Landau has a scene in the trailer with Wyckoff’s David Krumholtz (“Oppenheimer”), who plays record executive Al Teller.
Landau’s remarks to Teller in the scene serve as a kind of narration for the trailer.
“Here’s what I want you to understand,” Landau says. “This is not about either one of us. This is not about the charts. This is about Bruce Springsteen. And these are the songs that he wants to work on right now.
“I wanna tell you a little story,” he continues as scenes turn to black and white. “When Bruce was little, he had a hole in the floor of his bedroom. The floor, it’s supposed to be solid. You’re supposed to be able to stand on it. Bruce, he didn’t have that. Bruce is a repairman. And what he’s doing with this album is he’s repairing that hole in his floor. He’s repairing that hole in himself. And once he’s done that, he’s gonna repair the entire world.”
In another scene, White’s Springsteen says he’s “trying to find some real in all the noise.”
“You always do,” Strong’s Landau tells him.
At the end of the trailer, the movie’s Springsteen can be seen belting out “Born to Run” with the E Street Band.
By the looks of it, the scene was filmed at the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, which was the very place Springsteen and the band played 10 nights for the “Born in the U.S.A.” tour in 1984, when the venue was known as the Brendan Byrne Arena.
Odessa Young plays Springsteen’s love interest. White and Young were seen kissing for a scene in Bayonne this past November, and they kiss at the Carousel House in Asbury Park in the trailer.
The rest of the cast includes Johnny Cannizzaro (“Jersey Boys”) as Steven Van Zandt; Gaby Hoffmann as Springsteen’s mother, Adele Springsteen; Jersey City native Marc Maron as Chuck Plotkin, producer of “Nebraska”; and Grace Gummer (daughter of Meryl Streep, credits include “American Horror Story” and “Mr. Robot”) as Barbara Downey, Jon’s wife.
“Deliver Me from Nowhere” filmed in Hudson, Bergen, Essex, Morris, Union and Monmouth counties, casting local extras and background actors.
The state Economic Development Authority tells NJ Advance Media that the production spent $41.8 million filming in New Jersey and received a $14.6 million tax credit.
See below for a town-by-town and city-by-city list.
‘Deliver Me from Nowhere’ New Jersey filming locations
Asbury Park
Boardwalk
Convention Hall
The Stone Pony
Carousel House
Bayonne
John’s Midtown (tavern)
Municipal parking lot at East 26th Street
Private residence
Driving shots on Avenue A
Chatham Township
Loantaka Way
Denville
Broadway
Hunan Taste restaurant
East Rutherford
Meadowlands Arena
Freehold Borough
Monmouth County Hall of Records
Harding Township
Wightman Farms (mailing/Google address is in Morristown)
Red Gate Road
Great Swamp (also in Basking Ridge)
Jersey City
Office building, Exchange Place
Montclair
Montclair Public Library — Bellevue Avenue Branch
Private residences
Mountain Lakes
Private residences
Newark
Orange
Private residence
Rahway
Union County Performing Arts Center
Rockaway Borough
Private residence
Roseland
Eisenhower Parkway
Stories by Amy Kuperinsky
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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads.
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