Hollywood North – Favorite BC Feature Film Locations
There’s good reason Vancouver is graced with such a glamorous pseudonym. After all, it has been a cinematographic center for almost a century.
In 1910, the Edison Manufacturing Company filmed two movies – the Cow Striker Glove Y The ship’s husband. The rest, as they say, is history. Today, the province of British columbia houses more than half of Canada total foreign production slate and is North America third largest film production center behind the Angels Y New York. But what makes this such an attractive place to shoot? There’s the short 3-hour plane ride from Los Angeles and, of course, the tax breaks … but it’s the myriad of incredible location options that keep Hollywood coming back for more. And it is this continued support from the heavy hitters south of the border that has helped nurture Vancouver’s own industry. Bridge Studios in the Vancouver metropolitan borough of Burnaby not only has one of the largest special effects sets on the continent, but has also been responsible for television shows and feature films such as Black Christmas and the award-winning hit Juno. Vancouver is also home to the Vancouver International Film Festival and the Vancouver Film and Television Forum. But we digress. The key is still location, location, location. And you might be surprised how many productions call this home. On your next trip to Vancouver, you may find yourself walking through some of your favorite movies …
Most people are familiar with iconic Vancouver shows such as 21-Jump Street, The X-Files, Smallville, and Supernatural, but not many people realize that they are taking a behind-the-scenes tour as soon as they step off the scene. airplane. Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has served as the setting for films such as Final Destination, The Cleaner, Firewall, The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants and Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer, as well as the hit television show, The L Word.
BC Place is the 60,000-seat stadium on the shores of downtown False Creek. This unmistakable white-domed structure has hosted regional and international sporting events, as well as trade shows and super concerts. But unknown to most, it has also taken into account favorite movies like Paycheck, Butterfly on a Wheel, Two for the Money, and The Fantastic Four. A few blocks away is Vancouver’s Chinatown, the second largest of its kind in North America behind San Francisco. And with the colorful shops, open-air markets, and attractions like the Han Dynasty Bell in Shanghai Alley and the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden, it’s easy to see why this would be a favorite among travelers. location finders. You might recognize this unique corner of town in movies like Killer Instinct, X-Men: The Last Stand, Rumble in the Bronx, and Unforgettable.
Anglo Olde Towne from Vancouver has seen a fair share of the action as well. Gastown’s character buildings and cobblestone streets have drawn more than just cameras of tourists over the years. See if you recognize anything familiar in Catwoman, I, Robot, Legends of the Fall, Romeo Must Die, and the immortal children’s classic, The NeverEnding Story. Vancouver’s new neighborhoods have also received attention. Yaletown’s super-hip brewery and condo neighborhood has been featured in movies like 88 Minutes, Good Luck Chuck, Rumble in the Bronx, and the Stargate SG-1 television series. Spend a cult day at the Vancouver Art Gallery? So did the cast and crew of The Core, The Deal, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, and Night at the Museum.
Most summer trips to Vancouver include a visit to the Pacific National Exposition, a city institution that began in 1910 as a provincial industrial showcase and has grown into one of the continent’s largest entertainment venues. Internationally acclaimed and award-winning live shows have originated here, such as Cirque Pop, City Rhythm and Bring on the Night, but also many films: Rocky IV, Cats & Dogs, Final Destination 3, Riding the Bullet, Fear and Best in Show . …
Even the local learning venue has made room for the occasional director’s chair. The vast and beautiful campus of the University of British Columbia (UBC) has provided sets for feature films such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Antitrust and The Exorcism of Emily Rose, as well as the television shows The 4400, Bionic Woman, Stargate Atlantis. , Battlestar Galactica and Deadzone.
Film production in British Columbia is not relegated to Metropolitan Vancouver. The capital city of Victoria on Vancouver Island has also seen its share of production time. Craigdarroch Castle, once home to the family of turn-of-the-century coal magnates, the Dunsmuirs, has undergone many metamorphoses, including the war hospital, music conservatory, museum, and more recently, the home of the March sisters in the movie Little Women. You may not like vintage pieces. Do you love those action movies from the mid-eighties? You’ll probably recognize the one-block stretch of downtown Victoria’s Fan Tan Alley that was shot and then looped to create the deceptively long motorcycle chase with Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn in Bird on a Wire. More in the horror genre? Any visitor to Victoria who has walked through the popular Bastion Square can feel a pang of familiar unease. This could be because Bastion Square briefly became the Parisian corner where the main character of Final Destination meets his inevitable end.
Other areas of the province have been immortalized through the big screen. The arid, windswept hills of Lake Williams in the Cariboo Chilcotin became a 14th-century Asian battlefield for Antonio Bandera and starred in The Thirteenth Warrior. Just north of Vancouver in the picturesque town of Lions Bay, Jennifer Garner earned her superhero stripes as Elektra. Historic Barkerville was turned into a seedy little town in Mexico to Robert Rodriguez’s hit Desperado. Kamloops was doubled as an American military prison camp in Germany in the acclaimed film Cadence. And Steve Martin immortalized Nelson in the unforgettable hit Roxanne.
But the best part of Hollywood North isn’t the movies that have been shot here in the past, it’s the one that’s being shot here right now. Anywhere in Vancouver, Victoria, or anywhere in the province, you might stumble upon a line of huge white trailers, a closed street, a flurry of activity, a famous face, and a rapidly growing crowd of curious onlookers. Nothing compares to the thrill of a behind-the-scenes perspective as Hollywood magic unfolds here in the North.
Welcome to BC. Lights, camera …
Leave a Reply