Zig Zag Records Moves To Court Street… In 1969

Will Smith is again saving a slice of Southern Brooklyn history… sort of.

You may have thought we saw the last of Zig Zag Records when they closed down in December, after 35 years in business as a Southern Brooklyn cultural staple. But no. The store is getting ready for its close up, and will soon be immortalized on the silver screen in Men in Black III.

Production crews have put up Zig Zag Records signs on the corner of Court Street and Livingston Avenue in downtown Brooklyn, and the entire area is being retrofitted with signage, cars and subway fixtures from the late 1960s. Sure, it’s not actually resurrecting Zig Zag Records – or saving it from any sort of destruction, as the film’s production crews did for Coney Island’s Grashorn Building – but at least it’s being recognized for its place in popular culture.

Now, some nitpicking. A chunk of MiB III takes place in 1969, when Will Smith travels back in time to do some crap with Josh Brolin playing a younger Tommy Lee Jones because Jones is getting too old for this nonsense. However, Zig Zag Records opened up in the mid-1970s. And, of course, it wasn’t in downtown Brooklyn – it was on Avenue U. And I’m sure, back then, the sign looked much nicer than that.

But you know what? It’s Will Smith. He’s got magical powers and can make that happen. Who are you? Nobody.

Oh, and for those wondering if the signs were ripped down off the 2301 Avenue U location, the answer is no. These are vinyl replicas, and they’re not exact, as you can see in the photo below: