CINEMA CINÉMA Lights…Camera… Canada! Ever since the winter of 1965, when David Lean went to Alberta to film some railway scenes for Doctor Zhivago, Canada has been a popular place to make movies. A look at a long-term trend. BY | PAR DANIELLE GOYETTE Silence, on tourne au Canada Depuis qu’à l’hiver 1965 David Lean a réalisé en Alberta quelques scènes de train pour son Docteur Jivago, le Canada est devenu un lieu de tournage prisé de tous. Survol d’une tendance lourde. 36 destinations WITH ITS MAJESTIC MOUNTAINS, cosmopolitan cities, MONTAGNES IMPRESSIONNANTES, villes cosmopolites, endless prairies, captivating north, European-style old vastes prairies, Grand Nord, villes aux allures des vieux conti- quarters, and picturesque seaside villages, Canada has all nents, villages côtiers pittoresques… tout cela constitue certai- the physical assets it needs to lure movie producers. In nement un atout important pour convaincre les producteurs September 2007, after making The Assassination of Jesse de venir tourner au Canada. À son passage en Alberta pour le James by the Coward Robert Ford in Alberta, Brad Pitt talked tournage de L’Assassinat de Jesse James, en septembre 2007, about the film’s locations with the Toronto Star. “The loca- Brad Pitt parlait ainsi des lieux de tournage lors d’une entrevue tions really shaped the feeling of the film. It’s as much accordée au Toronto Star : « Les sites de tournage en Alberta a character as the people in the film. We really enjoyed ont vraiment influé sur l’ambiance du film. Ce lieu est devenu it there.” un personnage en soi, comme les gens de cette histoire. Nous By adding value in the form of film professionals and avons vraiment apprécié l’expérience. » attractive financial incentives, Canada’s 25-year effort to En enrichissant l’offre de ces sites diversifiés avec l’expertise make itself a sought-after filming location has finally paid de professionnels du cinéma et des incitatifs fiscaux fort allé- off. When foreign producers realize they can save 20 to 30% Photos: 2008 Alberta Film Commission compared to a similar U.S. shoot—even after accounting for chants, le Canada est finalement devenu un lieu de tournage the recent rise of the Canadian dollar—they just keep com- des plus prisés au cours de ces 25 dernières années. Quand ing across the border. ils savent qu’en plus, ils peuvent économiser de 20 à 30 % sur On November 1, 1997, the federal government introduced leurs coûts de production en comparaison de ceux d’un tourna- a film production services tax credit. The measure was sup- ge aux États-Unis, et cela, même malgré la récente augmenta- posed to encourage foreign producers to come to Canada tion de la valeur du dollar canadien, les producteurs américains and hire local technicians, creative minds, and actors. The sont de plus en plus nombreux à traverser les frontières. program is partly responsible for the fact that 49 films were Le 1er novembre 1997, le gouvernement canadien instaurait le shot in Ontario alone between 2005 and 2007. crédit d’impôt pour services de production cinématographique. “All you have to do [in Calgary] is show up, get off the Ce projet allait encourager les producteurs étrangers à venir plane and you have a great crew waiting for you,” James tourner au Canada en y embauchant des techniciens, créateurs Schamus, producer of Brokeback Mountain, told the et acteurs d’ici. Ce qui explique en partie que, de 2005 à 2007, Calgary Sun. 49 films étrangers aient été tournés en Ontario seulement. What’s more, Canadian film professionals have built a « Tout ce que vous avez à faire à Calgary, c’est de vous rendre strong international reputation. Their courtesy, warmth, and sur place, descendre de l’avion et être reçu par une super équi- respect for international celebrities are among the traits that pe qui n’attend que vous », a dit au Calgary Sun le producteur win Canadians the favour of foreign producers, not to men- du film Brokeback Mountain, James Schamus. tion their competence and passion for their work. C’est clair, la réputation des professionnels canadiens en destinations 37 OTHER MOVIES FILMED AT LEAST PARTLY There’s also a large pool of dedicated talent to choose from. IN CANADA. According to a recent study by Quebec’s cultural-industry VARious… support body, SODEC, the province’s film and television Bon Cop, Bad Cop (2006) with Patrick Huard and industry provides over 35,000 direct positions in film, mak- Colm Feore: Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto, ing the industry a key cog in the province’s economy. British Vancouver Columbia and Ontario have a total of over 80,000 direct and An Unfinished Life (2005) with Robert Redford and indirect workers in the industry. Another way of looking at Morgan Freeman: Ashcroft, B.C. and Burdett and it: it’s estimated that for every $10 million spent by a foreign Medicine Hat, Alberta production, 155 Canadian workers will have a payday. Legends of the Fall (1994) with Brad Pitt and Anthony A number of memorable movies were filmed in Canada. Hopkins: 43 Powell Street and Gastown, Vancouver; Among them are Brokeback Mountain, the story of star- Calgary, Morley and the plains, Alberta crossed love between two cowboys. No one who saw it was left unmoved by the spectacular landscapes in the movie, QUEBEC which won three Oscars in 2006. It was shot almost entirely The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (December 2008) in Alberta’s mountainous Kananaskis country, near Banff with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett: Old Montreal National Park, about an hour from Calgary, and at Mount Secret Window (2004) with Johnny Depp and John Lougheed, south of Canmore. Turturro: Bromont-sur-le-Lac, North Hatley, Saint- The bittersweet comedy Juno, the Oscar winner for Best Alexis-des-Monts Original Screenplay in 2008, was filmed mainly in the Vancouver suburbs of Port Coquitlam and Burnaby. The ONTARIO Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Man of the Year (2006) with Robin Williams and meanwhile, was shot on the Alberta plains and at the Burton Christopher Walken: Toronto, Cambridge, Dundas, Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg. Also noteworthy was VR, Hamilton, Richmond Hill starring Robin Williams, which was made in Milk River, A History of Violence (2005) with Viggo Mortensen and Alberta. The small town’s residents even appointed Williams Ed Harris: Millbrook, Rockwood Conservation Area, their mayor for a day to thank him for the time he spent Toronto, Tottenham, Uxbridge among them! Chicago (2002) with Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta- But few of these Canadian locations are also the setting for Jones and Renée Zellweger: Distillery District and the films in which they appear. To cite just a few examples, Queen’s Park, Toronto; Parkwood Estate, Oshawa Quebec City’s Place Royale has stood in for the French hide- out of an American con man in the 1960s (Catch Me If You SASKATCHEWAN Can); Saint-Hubert, Quebec’s small-town airport became a Sleepwalking (2008) with Charlize Theron and Dennis California airfield for The Aviator; an ersatz Berlin Wall went Hopper: Moose Jaw and Regina up in Old Montreal for Confessions of a Dangerous Mind; and in I’m Not There, the Champ de Mars, Montreal’s colonial-area ALBERTA military parade ground, became a square in front of a hotel Unforgiven (1992) directed by Clint Eastwood, starring in England. Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman: Brooks, Calgary, More than just using one place to stand in for another, some Drumheller, High River, Longview productions even have to build entire fictional places from scratch. In the summer of 2007, Canada’s largest film lot, BRITISH COLUMBIA Mel’s Cité du Cinéma/Locations Michel Trudel, in Montreal, Night at the Museum (2006) with Ben Stiller and Robin buzzed with fevered activity for the making of The Mummy Williams: Vancouver 3, the lot’s second-biggest production in terms of scenery Firewall (2006) with Harrison Ford: Paul Lake creation. That title belongs to The Day After Tomorrow, which (Kamloops), Pritchard, Vancouver, Walhachin assembled 300 local extras before Montreal’s Jean-Talon Station—the location was standing in for New Delhi, and the NOVA SCOTIA extras were playing Indians. Titanic (1997) with Leonardo DiCaprio and But like so many others, the special-effects extravaganza Kate Winslet: Halifax and the Atlantic Ocean was actually made right here in Canada. 38 destinations cinéma a dépassé les frontières. La courtoisie, la chaleur AUTRES FILMS TOURNÉS EN TOUT OU EN humaine et le respect même des célébrités internationales paRTIE AU CANADA. font partie des qualités des Canadiens prisées des producteurs étrangers. Il y a aussi la compétence et la passion du métier. UN PEU PARTOUT AU CANADA… Selon une étude récente de la Société de développement des Bon Cop Bad Cop (2006) avec Patrick Huard et entreprises culturelles, l’industrie du cinéma et de la télévision Colm Feore : Montréal, Québec, Ottawa, Toronto, québécoise emploie, à elle seule, plus de 35 000 personnes Vancouver à des postes en lien direct avec le cinéma, faisant ainsi de la Une vie inachevée (2005) avec Robert Redford production cinématographique l’un des plus importants sec- et Morgan Freeman : Ashcroft à Vancouver en teurs de l’économie québécoise. Les provinces de la Colombie- Colombie-Britannique et Burdett et Medicine Hat Britannique et de l’Ontario réunies engagent plus de 80 000 tra- en Alberta vailleurs dans le domaine (emplois directs et indirects). On peut Légendes d’automne (1994) avec Brad Pitt et aussi ajouter que, pour chaque tranche d’environ 10 millions Anthony Hopkins : 43 Powell Street à Vancouver, de dollars dépensés par un producteur étranger aujourd’hui, Gastown à Vancouver, Calgary, Morley et les plaines ce seront près de 155 travailleurs canadiens compétents qui de l’Alberta mettront la main à la pâte.