Silvercup Studios

The massive complex was originally the site of Silvercup Bakery. In 1979, the Suna family took over the space to house a sheet-metal business, but the operation used only a quarter of the facility's potential area. "Starting the studio had to do with finding an appropriate use for all that leftover space," says Alan Suna, the company CEO. One of the building's caretakers told Allen and his brother Stuart that networks were looking for places to film. With help from late director-producer Frank Streich, the brothers opened the studio in 1983.

"Silvercup has sizzle to its name now," says Stuart Suna, the president of Silvercup, as he stands in front of the lot's iconic signage. The studios were used frequently to shoot episodes of Sex and the City, which helped increase demand for the already-popular filming space. Now Silvercup execs occasionally have to turn away productions because they're so booked.

The busiest time of year at Silvercup is from the end of November through May, according to Alan. It's during that time that shows either move forward or are canceled.

"There really isn't a typical day," says Amy Kaufman, co-executive producer for the WB hit Gossip Girl. "I'm prepping and shooting at the same time, plus location scouting, casting, going to prop meetings, reading scripts, rereading scripts and handling the unexpected." Regardless of the tasks at hand, Kaufman's day usually lasts 13 to 14 hours.

"I have one of the best offices," Kaufman says, referring to her view of the Queensboro Bridge and Manhattan.

David Yoon, an office/art production assistant for HBO's Girls, is responsible for "getting random weird things, taking care of people [and] making sure things run smoothly." When someone from props calls from the set with an urgent request for candles, Yoon pulls the items from the storage closet and runs them downstairs.

At lunchtime, Yoon and two other assistants rip plastic delivery bags from a local burger joint open and begin scrawling staffers' names on the cardboard boxes. "Lunch becomes a huge ordeal," he says. "[We're] ordering for 10 to 15 people every day."

Joshua Marsh, a costume coordinator for Girls, occasionally turns to online shopping for offbeat, otherwise-unattainable items: "There's always that child's velvet sombrero.... It's so random, but you know in a few months somebody's going to be asking where it is."

Before Girls, Marsh worked on costumes for The Good Wife. He was supposed to assist at Girls for a week, "but that was seven months ago," he laughs. "It's the steadiest work you'll get in entertainment."

For ten years, Stuart Suna lived in a huge duplex apartment he built in what used to be the Silvercup Bakery refrigerator---it once held milk and yeast. After it was an apartment, it became what's now part of the Girls office. The space is fully carpeted, with gorgeous views of the Queensboro Bridge and a modern staircase topped with a wooden banister.

In addition to the A-list shows that shoot at Silvercup, several companies use the facilities for commercials and photo shoots. Among the other businesses that film at Silvercup is Michael Schrom and Company. Production supervisor Pam Crawshaw organizes clients, coordinates prop arrival, and advises and assists the director, among many other duties as production supervisor. Many of the productions are food-based, which isn't always a plus: Some days, she heads home "smelling like fried chicken."