PHOTO BY CRAIG BLANKENHORN

Thanks to tax breaks, Greenpoint, Brooklyn got a real treat this year: Rather than film the upcoming Boardwalk Empire in overpriced New Jersey, HBO leased a New York City plot and literally laid down the sand to reimagine the Garden State's most beloved landmark. 

After extensive research and three months of labor, the studio that brought us the definitive vision of modern day Jersey with The Sopranos has resurrected the circa 1920 heyday of the Atlantic City boardwalk, complete with taffy stands and incubator baby exhibitions. Series creator Terry Winter said that, while he hasn't had a chance to sit down with Nelson Johnson, author of Boardwalk Empire, he used the book and its environs as a jumping off point, though he did fictionalize the characters. Steve Buscemi stars as Nucky Thompson, a character based on the Nucky Johnson of the novel. Buscemi is joined by Michael Pitt, Michael Shannon, Kelly Macdonald, and enough extras to fill even the most spacious speakeasy. Who wouldn't want to play a part in Prohibition?