“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” Production Designer Stefania Cella on Her New Jersey Dream Tour
Avoiding the familiar cradle-to-grave music biopics, writer-director Scott Cooper’s dramatic interpretation of rock icon Bruce Springsteen wisely focuses on one pivotal year in his life. Following Springsteen (a soulful and heartbreaking performance by The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White) from the fall of 1981 to 1982, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere chronicles the painful process behind his famed 1982 album, Nebraska. As he says early on in the film, recording music is “not much about capturing sounds but capturing the ideas.” As he digs deep to tear down the demons that have long haunted him — thanks to residual childhood trauma stemming from his mercurial father, Doug (Stephen Graham) — he mostly holes up in a rental house in Colts Neck, New Jersey, to carve out the album.
Since Springsteen’s legacy is intertwined with his home state of New Jersey, most of the 20th Century Studios film was shot at historically accurate locations across 14 municipalities within the state, spending almost $42 million on 500 cast and crew members over 31 shoot days. Authentic locations in the film include the famed Power Station recording studio (where “Born in the U.S.A.” was recorded in 1982), the Stone Pony concert venue, and the boardwalk and convention hall in Asbury Park.
Production designer Stefania Cella obtained unprecedented access to Springsteen during prep, including his vault, where she scanned the original notebook he used to write Nebraska and other music from that era. As a personal fan of the musician, she could not believe that she was looking at his scribbled notes and original writings that accompanied the lyrics of “I’m on Fire.” She recently talked to The Credits about sourcing a vintage carousel from an antique dealer in Pennsylvania and constructing the bare bedroom in the rental house to hone in on Springsteen’s emotional struggles.
How big is your team, and are they mostly based in the Tri-State area?
My team was medium-sized for a feature like this, mostly people based in NY, and the set decorator, Kris Moran, is from Asbury Park, which was very important to me. Kris grew up in the shadow of the Stone Pony and her family DNA comes from that world. I also had a small crew of 6 or 7 people in California for the driving sequence and the diner.
Approximately how many people were on set construction for the centerpiece location of the Colts Neck rental house and other sets?
Construction generally has a core of 10 people between carpenters and painters; it fluctuates when we have a set built and a location, which increases to 40 or 50 people. We worked locally in New York and also transferred to New Jersey.
As a fan of Springsteen yourself, what was it like to have access to his personal vault for research? Were you able to talk to him during prep?
Yes, I am a big fan of Bruce. I was fortunate enough to go around with him in Colts Neck, Asbury Park, his hometown, and Freehold.
Can you talk about sourcing the vintage carousel for Asbury Park and refurbishing it?
You might not believe it, but there are a lot of collectors around the U.S. who have old fair games, including carousels. The hardest thing was to find one that matched the original in style and feel. It took a lot of searching and a bit of time, but we found one that fits our film.
Why was the landscape outside the Colts Neck rental house important to reveal Bruce’s emotional psyche?
The landscape was a mirror for his state of mind and feeling. We needed it as a connection for Bruce to nature, solitude, and the lake, which inspired him to write the album.
What was done to dress the interior of the rental house? How did that connect to Bruce’s psyche and writing/recording process during that period?
We wanted the feel of an impersonal space, so we had nothing from his own home, just a blank wall and impersonal furniture. Bruce needed a break from himself and his life at that point, so it needed to feel like a ghost home. I wanted to find a house with a strong architectural personality that could stand on its own when seen on screen. It needed to be solid in order to express that lonely feeling.
What about the bedroom where he writes and records the “Nebraska” album?
The bedroom was built on the sound stage, with an LED screen outside and pre-shot plates to make it feel real, and it does feel real. I added a flowering wallpaper from Bruce’s previous photoshoot for “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” meant as an homage.
For the exterior scenes set in the streets of Manhattan and Jersey City, how did you make them look like 1981 (aside from the VFX alterations)?
We shot the main scene with Bruce and [longtime friend and manager] Jon Landau (another powerhouse performance by Succession’s Jeremy Strong) in Jersey City, where we redressed 200 yards of stores and lights with period cars and fake subway entrances. The rest of it was picked up by VFX. We also dressed downtown Freehold for the 1950’s, when his mother (Gaby Hoffmann) drives young Bruce (Matthew Pellicano Jr.) to pick up his father, and later in the 1980s, when Bruce drives through the same intersection.
What was done to dress Bruce’s childhood home? What did you want to reflect on from his turbulent childhood in that house?
We found a condemned house that was perfect. It needed some safety checks in order for us to work in it, but we redid the wallpaper, flooring, and the entire interior since it was from the 1980s [and Bruce’s childhood era was the 1950s and 60s]. It was perfect for the exterior, but there was a lot to do inside. We had photos of the original home, and Bruce’s memoirs guided us to replicate his past.
What was the process to build the sets for the live performance sequences?
We chose the oldest arena in NJ, the Meadowlands, which is perfect for big concerts, and carefully reconstructed the stage and lighting from Bruce’s concerts, as well as the changing rooms. For Stone Pony, it was a redress inside to make it look like the old days. Bruce gave us the original backdrop with the horse stuck on black cotton. It was great to have that item for the set.
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is streaming now.
Featured image: Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen in 20th Century Studios’ DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE. Photo by Macall Polay © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
