In Entertainment
Coney Island is the setting of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Love Never Dies, the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. It is also the center of Frederick Forsyth's novel, The Phantom of Manhattan, which was part of the basis for Webber's production. In the Penguins of Madagascar series, Coney Island played location of Dr. Blowhole's secret lair in Dr. Blowhole's Revenge as Kowalski had said, smelling a fake King Julien, "Salty Atlantic sea air, Roller coaster grease and all beef wieners, with mustard," and Skipper translated it to Coney Island. Coney Island is the setting of He Got Game, a 1998 American sports-drama film written and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Denzel Washington as Jake Shuttlesworth, a prison inmate convicted for killing his wife. The father of the top-ranked basketball prospect in the country, Jesus Shuttlesworth (played by NBA star Ray Allen). The 1979 film 'The Warriors', directed by Walter Hill, sees a street gang known as the warriors try to reach safety in Coney Island, after being pursued through New York by several other gangs after being falsely accused of murdering another prominent gang leader. The 'Wonder Wheel' and 'Cyclone Roller coaster' feature in severl shots in the film. One of the main characters of Two Weeks Notice was born and lives in Coney Island, and works to save the Coney Island community center during the movie.
Coney Island is also frequently cited by the American singer Lana Del Rey in her songs. Off to the Races, Carmen and Mermaid Motel are some of them.
In the 2003 comedy-drama film "Uptown Girls," Coney Island's Astroland figures prominently within the movie's second act and at its dramatic conclusion, when a nanny, played by Brittany Murphy, goes searching for her missing charge, played by Dakota Fanning, and finds her riding alone in the tea-cup ride. The scene is followed by an emotional meeting between the two while still within the park.
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