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“It took a lot of trial and error to accurately depict the size of a Toys R Us and to figure out the best camera placement for filming,” notes production designer Inbal Weinberg, who says that when director Derek Cianfrance first looked at the 3D model of the store, he told her, “It’s not large enough, it’s not going to feel expansive enough.” To accommodate the moving camera, flyaway walls had to be built. Manchester’s hideaway was positioned at the bottom of the model, overlooking toy shelves and cash registers in the far back.
Blast From the Past
The production design team had six to eight weeks to take the store from concept to reality. CCTV cameras, landlines, and cash registers were all functional. The team built the store as if it were a real franchise, including period-appropriate signage, toys, jingles, and technology.
“At the end, when we had to donate and find a new home for all the toys — we wrapped right before Christmas — we thought, ‘Our crew should be our first customers.’ We opened the store for a few days for crew and family, and gave a discount to purchase things. It was a bit of life imitates art imitates life,” says Weinberg.
Sketched Out
It took Weinberg and her team weeks to close the contract on the commercial space. Time was tight before production, so she drew up floor plans using research on Toys R Us and other big-box stores. Once inside, the vast warehouse forced reconfiguration. They used “layering techniques” with graphics and toys to fill shelves.
The floor model even included back offices and Jeff Manchester’s hideout, which the real Manchester told Cianfrance (via prison phone calls) was behind a curvy bike rack.
From Scratch
The “defunct” Toys R Us Weinberg found was a vandalized, gutted concrete box with no floor, electricity, or running water. She treated it like an interior stage build. In the 23,000-square-foot warehouse, the crew created a functional store so the camera dolly could move anywhere. Floors re-created the Toys R Us pattern, 2,000 fluorescent lights were wired, and every surface was repainted in official Toys R Us colors.
The Source Material
Cianfrance spoke to Manchester (sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2005) several times a week while working on Roofman. Weinberg used his descriptions to shape the hideout. Actor Channing Tatum, who portrays Manchester, would pick things up from the store to adorn his space — blending Jeff’s real story with Channing’s improvisation.
Authenticity, Always
“Everything in the store had to be real, and we had to have quadruples [of every toy],” Weinberg explains. After analyzing 2004 inventory spreadsheets, the crew manufactured toy packaging to match the era.
“What I realized very early on is that we will never have enough product,” adds Weinberg. The team sourced classics like hula hoops and basketballs, and even went to collectors for Barbies and action figures.
This story first appeared in a November stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
