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Everything You Wanted to Know About Film Production in Western Canada but Were Afraid to Ask by Sheri Radford

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Everything You Wanted to Know About Film Production in Western Canada but Were Afraid to Ask by Sheri Radford Everything you wanted to know about film production in western Canada but were afraid to ask by Sheri radford Big productions mean big bucks: in 2009, more than $1.3 billion was spent in BC on film and TV projects, while over $89 million was spent in Alberta. Thousands of British Columbians and Albertans work the film industry, in roles such as costume designers, grips, location scouts, actors and extras. Thousands more benefit indi- rectly through industry spending on local hotels, restaurants, taxis, caterers and building material suppliers. On film, BC has portrayed everything from a quaint small town to a bustling metropolis, from a tropical jungle to the surface of Mars. Locals have become skilled at identifying their province in films as varied as Watchmen, Elf, Hot Tub Time Machine, Frankie and Alice, Charlie St. Cloud, The Imaginarium of Doctor Par- nassus, the X-Men series and the Twilight series. Several TV shows have been filmed in BC, too: Fringe, Smallville, Stargate, The X-Files, Battlestar Galactica. Occasionally filmmakers don’t even try to disguise BC, 14 | Rocky Mountaineer MAGAZINE 2011 such as in Rumble in the Bronx, which includes background images of Vancou- ver’s distinctive BC Place Stadium and North Shore mountains. Alberta most often fills in for cowboy country, in movies such as Brokeback Mountain, Unforgiven, Shanghai Noon, Open Range, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and River of No Return (starring Marilyn Monroe), as well as miniseries such as Broken Trail. Brad Pitt obviously enjoys Canada’s cowboy country, since he filmed Legends of the Fall in Alberta and later returned to shoot The Assas- All sination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, leading to many sightings of res. U Pitt and Angelina Jolie with their brood in tow, visiting local attractions such as Pict Drumheller’s Royal Tyrrell Museum. But the province shouldn’t be pigeonholed: L rights reserved it has portrayed Mexico, Vietnam and even Afghanistan on film. Non-cowboy All movies shot in Alberta include Inception, Superman, Passchendaele, Rat Race, RV ent. M and The Edge. ntertain e Weather Woes it iyah Peraiyah © 2010 Universa d Unlike Hollywood, BC and Alberta have unpredictable climates. Snow in Alber- by Summ ta is ideal for movies such as Cool Runnings, Snow Dogs and Mystery, Alaska, but loud c t. t. s can prove disastrous for those set in sunnier climes. In BC the scourge is rain — though the province gets nowhere near the “400 inches of rain a day” claimed rench © 2010 harlie f c ey by X-Files star David Duchovny. Sometimes the weather even cooperates. In L ber February and March 2007, M i k Juno filmed in Vancouver by se P eserved. #3 & #4 on a tight 30-day schedule. r cli e The city delivered an array ights aga: r s of weather — everything Filmed in western Canada (from top): Paul All nc. from rain to sunshine to a i wilight Gross directs Passchendaele. Caroline Dhav- t s he lm freak snowstorm — mak- ernas and Paul Gross in Passchendaele. Burr i t f ing it easy for the film- Steers directs Charlie St. Cloud. Zac Efron in iance makers to portray all four Charlie St. Cloud. Chris Weitz directs Ashley All seasons referenced in the Greene, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner in eserved. #6 & 7 r script. The original plan The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in The ights r had been to import fake Twilight Saga: Eclipse. David Slade directs All hris Large © 2008 (i.e., expensive) snow for c Kristen Stewart in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse ent. by M the winter scenes. ntertain e How to Find a Film Shoot it Passchendaele Visit bcfilmcommission.com and albertafilm.ca, both of which post lists of all Summ movies and TV shows currently in production in the province. ) #1 & # 2 P Check Twitter and listen to local radio stations for up-to-the-minute infor- to M mation on where filming has been spotted around town. rench © 2009 f y L On local streets, look for signs with neon arrows and (to thwart autograph age, fro P ber seekers) strange codes that keep each movie’s title a secret. In Vancouver, M i k M. (this production signs for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse read TSE, while signs for The by CO . Twilght Saga: New Moon went one step further with the subterfuge, reading HOTO ew Moon USM, short for Untitled Sports Movie. n Follow the signs until you spot a parking lot filled with big white aga: s trucks. Other indications of filming in progress: lots of bright lights and wilight frazzled-looking people dressed in black, wearing headsets and carrying t he t duct tape. Look for the huddle of polite Canadian looky-loos staying out of the way osite) © adventtr, istockP pp and not saying a word but surreptitiously snapping dozens of photos on their phones and updating their Facebook status: “I can’t believe I just saw Photos: (o rights reserved. #5 Reese Witherspoon!” Rocky Mountaineer MAGAZINE 2011 | 15 Mediocre Movies Western Canada used to be known for low-budget sequels and direct-to-DVD stinkers. Scary Movie and its three sequels, Final Destination and its two se- ew Line quels, and Air Bud and its five sequels were all filmed in BC. More embarrassing- n ly, three of the five films nominated for worst picture at the 2004 Razzie Awards (razzies.com) were shot in Vancouver: Catwoman, SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2 and White Chicks. Alberta had a similar reputation, churning out forgettable M iyah Peraiyah © 2004 d fare: Good Luck Chuck, Intern Academy, Exit Wounds, Excess Baggage. Qual- e.co by M ity has improved in recent years, however, with Oscar winners such as Juno sti M rinity and Brokeback Mountain, as Hollywood executives have realized that western t rea Canada isn’t just a cheap location to shoot unmemorable movies. The West d Blade: akov, akov, boasts talented workers and L cho i generous tax incentives. As eserved. r k © a bonus, BC is in the same L ights r time zone as California, and Filmed in western Canada (from top): Halle Alberta is just a one-hour All nc. i Berry in Frankie and Alice. David Duchovny and difference; both are a quick s lm i Gillian Anderson in The X-Files: I Want to Be- f plane ride from Hollywood. lieve. Ashley Judd in Helen. Jessica Biel, Wesley iance This region has become the ctions. star on sidewa Snipes and Ryan Reynolds in Blade: Trinity. Will U All Ferrell and Ed Asner in Elf. Samuel L. Jackson third-largest film centre in North America, trailing in Snakes on a Plane. Robert Englund and Ken © 2009 ew Line Prod Kirzinger in Freddy vs. Jason only California and New elen n h York. ox. f ry U Where the Stars Are ent c ittiger © 2003 Hotel concierges have a wealth of knowledge about where the hot celebs con- d es gregate. Top-drawer restaurants, especially those with private rooms, and M expensive hotels and spas are always a safe bet, along with private boxes at by Ja NHL games. Shops such as The Vancouver Cigar Company attract stars such as Ice Cube and the original “Shaft,” Richard Roundtree himself. In Calgary, Peraiyah © 2008 20th d by Italian restaurant Osteria De Medici has hosted the likes of Anthony Hopkins, Freddy vs. Jason Cuba Gooding Jr. and Tom Selleck. In Vancouver, Pierce Brosnan has enjoyed ctions. the West Coast cuisine at West, and Wesley Snipes and Vin Diesel have U ant Believe to supped at Brix. So keep your eyes peeled in BC and Alberta — you never w i know which celeb or film shoot you might ew Line Prod stumble upon. n he X-Files: t eserved. r Prominent Passengers ittiger © 2005 d es ights the fifth season of the reality TV hit the Bachelor- r M ette featured alberta’s lovelorn Jillian harris. she All by Ja nc. i rode the rocky Mountaineer for one entire episode s lm i through BC and alberta scenery. well-known film f and television actors have ridden the rocky Mountaineer rails: iance nakes on a Plane s › All anna faris (the house Bunny, lost in translation) as. › Morgan freeman (Million dollar Baby, the shawshank redemption) M © 2011 ine c › lice reba Mcentire (country music star, reba) a › Carlo rota (24, little Mosque on the Prairie) ew Line › Patrick Stewart (star trek: the next generation, X-Men) n › Molly Sugden (are you Being served?) Frankie and ): P © 2003 F l e › alan Thicke (growing Pains) to other VIP guests include Microsoft founder bill Gates, champion skater M ctions. Katarina Witt and israeli President Chaim herzog. U Photos (fro Prod.
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