For their latest holiday offering, “Carry-On,” Netflix left behind their typical holiday rom-coms and family films in favor of a “Die Hard”-esque action-thriller set in the Los Angeles International Airport. If you’re a Los Angeles local — or if you’ve spent enough time navigating the airport — your immediate reaction to the idea of an action movie set at LAX is “there’s no way they shot that at LAX.” And you would be correct!
So, where was “Carry-On” filmed?
Production actually unfolded far from California, in a decommissioned terminal at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. That way, the production was tucked away from the active parts of the airport (and strict boundaries were created to enforce that separation), but the filmmakers had access to a realistic airport backdrop, including pivotal scenes set on the tarmac — and boy does it look nice to see some action shot practically on location.
Inside the airport, production designer Diane Lederman (whose credits include “CODA” and “Russian Doll”) spearheaded the transformation of the weathered terminal into a polished, LAX-inspired set. Her team not only revitalized the space, they also partnered with some local staples like Lemonade and Pinkberry to use their signage and add authentic Los Angeles touches.
Lederman and her team also had to craft high-tech replicas of TSA baggage scanners. Why not use real ones? A years-long wait list and prohibitive costs. Instead, they molded and painted machines to mirror real-world airport equipment. Travel Pro contributed hundreds of pieces of luggage to enhance the realism, and, for the holiday flourish, Balsam Hill supplied the Christmas decorations seen throughout the terminal.
To further enhance the airport authenticity, production recruited two seasoned TSA and law enforcement agents as protocol and procedure consultants. Tony
Boiselle, a law enforcement professional with the Los Angeles Airport
Police, trained the actors to be authentic in their TSA duties, from pat-downs to bag searches, and also advised on dialogue.
Former FBI Special Agent and current Associate Senior Vice President of Safety and Risk Assurance at USC Erroll Southers also advised the production team. Specifically on getting the local law enforcement lingo right (it’s districts, not precincts) and the complex interagency dynamics between between the FBI, TSA, airport police, and airport operations while on airport grounds.
One final bit of authenticity? A costuming choice from star Taron Egerton, who chose to wear Goodyear footwear because he saw it on a real-life TSA agent.
