List of films shot in Hamilton, Ontario

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Film production in Dundas Town Hall
Film production in Dundas Town Hall

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, has become a popular destination for the television and film industries, attracting dozens of film and television productions each year.[1]

Many of these productions have chosen Hamilton as their home base because of regional tax incentives.[2][3] As well, Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan announced on December, 2007, that the 'Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit' for domestic producers, would increase as well as the 'Ontario Production Services Tax Credit' benefitting foreign production.[4]

Hollywood actors who have filmed in Hamilton in 2006 and 2007 include: Don Cheadle, Jeff Daniels, Michael Keaton, Harvey Keitel, Eugene Levy, Shirley Maclaine, Michael Madsen, Steve Martin, Edward Norton, Chris O'Donnell, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Plummer, Randy Quaid, Tim Roth, Martin Sheen, John Travolta, Mark Wahlberg, Christopher Walken, Sigourney Weaver, and Robin Williams.[5]

Hamilton also figures prominently in a number of TV commercials. In the current May 2008 Lotto 6/49 commercials, people are doing their "happy dance" all over town. Brown cows took over James Street South at Main for a chocolate milk protest. ING used the historic bank building at Main and James as their backdrop. Also, Hamilton is home base for a number of new and returning TV shows including ReGenesis, Jeff Ltd., MVP and Would Be Kings.[6]

McMaster University president Peter George joined Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty on a 17-day trip to India in January 2007. The trip was intended to lure that country's $1.7-billion film industry to shoot in Ontario, a.k.a. Bollywood North.[7]

Also in 2007, the City launched a new ad campaign called "CHOICES: HAMILTON, Why Shoot Anywhere Else?"[8] Awards have been received from the Association of Film Commissioners International and the Economic Development Association of Canada.[9]

Contents

[edit] Film & culture activity

Source: Hamilton Television & Film Office.[10]
Year # of Productions Prep, shoot & wrap days Direct impact
2002
58
834
 $5 million
2003
45
600
 $8 million
2004
48
740
 $10.5 million
2005
90
1,330
 $15.6 million
2006
94
1,280
 $15 million
2007
106
1,318
 $12 million


[edit] Hamilton's contributions

See also: List of media outlets in Hamilton, Ontario and People from Hamilton, Ontario


Julia Arthur
Julia Arthur
Florence Lawrence, "Hollywood's first movie star."
Florence Lawrence, "Hollywood's first movie star."

Local TV station CHCH introduced Canadians to "Smith & Smith", which featured Steve and Morag Smith (the former better known from his stint as Red Green). "The Hilarious House of Frightenstein" was a Canadian children's television series which was also produced by CHCH in 1971. It was syndicated to television stations across Canada and the United States, and occasionally still appears today in some TV markets. The show's cast included Billy Van, Fishka Rais, Guy Big, Mitch Markowitz, Vincent Price, and Julius Sumner Miller. One hundred and thirty episodes of the series were made in a nine-month span starting in 1971. "Don Cherry's Grapevine" began airing on CHCH TV in the 1980s and shot on location at the restaurant Cherry had in town, also called "Don Cherry's Grapevine". The restaurant was on Main Street West. CHCH also produced local broadcasts such as "Tiny Talent Time" and "The Party Game".[11]

"Power Play" was a Canadian television drama series that aired on CTV from 1998 to 2000. The show starred Michael Riley as Brett Parker, a former New York City sports agent who became the general manager of a (fictional) National Hockey League franchise, the Hamilton Steelheads.[12]

A number of Hamiltonians played a part in the early development of Hollywood, including Jean Adair (1873-1953)[13], Julia Arthur (1868-1959)[14], Douglass Dumbrille (1889–1974)[15], and Florence Lawrence (1890-1938) who was a silent film actress and often referred to as "Hollywood's First Movie Star". She was also known as "The Biograph Girl" and "The Girl of a Thousand Faces". During her lifetime, Lawrence appeared in more than 270 films for various motion picture companies.[16] Del Lord (Grimsby, Ontario) was an early Hollywood film director and actor, best known as a director of Three Stooges films. Interested in the theatre, he travelled to New York City; when fellow Canadian Mack Sennett offered him a job at his new Keystone Studios, Lord went on to work in Hollywood, California. There he played the driver of the Keystone Kops police van, appearing in several of the successful films.[17]

Modern-day contributions to Hollywood by Hamiltonians include SCTV alumni Eugene Levy, Martin Short, and Dave Thomas. All three attended McMaster University along with John Candy in the 1970s.[18] Well-known movie directors and producers in Hollywood from Hamilton are Daniel Goldberg (Space Jam, Twins) and Slovakian-born, Canadian-raised Ivan Reitman. Reitman is most remembered for directing and producing a string of comedies, mostly in the 1980s and 1990s (Meatballs, Stripes and Ghostbusters). Reitman is also a founder of the McMaster Film Board at McMaster University.[19] Reitman and Goldberg have worked together in the past on a number of film productions and continue to work together today as partners in the production company Northern Lights Entertainment.[20][21][22]

[edit] Outdoor production locations

In 1999, Detroit Rock City, starring the rock group Kiss, was filmed at the Copps Coliseum arena on Bay Street North.[23][24] In 2004, Copps Coliseum was used again to film Meg Ryan's Against the Ropes.[25]

In 2000, LIUNA Station reopened the James Street North Canadian National rail station as a banquet hall. In 1996 the station was used for the most expensive film ever made in Canada to that time, The Long Kiss Goodnight, which cost $95,000,000.00 (USD) to make and starred Samuel L Jackson. Also in 2000, X-Men, featuring Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, shot some of its scenes at LIUNA Station.[26][27] Also that year, parts of Sean Connery's Finding Forrester was filmed inside the gymnasium of Cathedral Secondary School on King Street East and Copps Coliseum arena stands in for Madison Square Garden in the film.[28]

In 2001, the Steven Seagal film Exit Wounds used the streets of Downtown Hamilton for a period of six weeks for a night shoot of the movie's climatic chase scene that features the Gore Park water fountain and the Hamilton GO Transit station (the original site of the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway from 1892 to 1987).[29] At the same time, around the corner, the second unit was shooting a rapid-fire car crash involving a motorcycle, a car, and a couple of dumpsters. Downtown Hamilton had been invaded by the cast and crews of "Exit Wounds," but no one seemed to mind and even though it was the middle of the night, a huge crowd was on hand to cheer the performers on. [30][31]

In 2005, George A. Romero's Land of the Dead zombie flick was partly filmed at the Hamilton Cemetery on York Boulevard, across the street from Dundurn Castle and Dundurn Park. Also in 2005 the Mark Wahlberg film Four Brothers was filmed mostly in Hamilton's North End neighbourhoods, north of the Canadian National Railway lines, and featured Stelco and Dofasco's steel mills as a backdrop. Also that year Ron Howard's Cinderella Man starring Russell Crowe filmed the dock workers scene on the boardwalks of one of the piers of Hamilton Harbour.

For the 2006 movie Man of the Year, starring Robin Williams and Christopher Walken, some scenes were shot throughout Dundas, Ontario and most of Downtown Hamilton.

In 2006, the Disney film Firehouse Dog was filmed at the old Westinghouse headquarters building (1903-1997), on Wentworth Street North, (entrance one block east on Sanford Avenue) which featured the firehouse dog jumping off the roof of the burning building.

In 2007, the film The Incredible Hulk was filmed on Main Street East — a two-week night shoot that featured the film's climatic fight scene between the Hulk and Abomination. Temporary buildings were erected by the film's crew on parking lots behind the Royal Connaught Hotel building on the north side of Main as well as across the street on the southwest corner of Main and John Streets. The streets of Hamilton were made to look like Harlem, New York. The film is scheduled to be released in June of 2008.[3][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]

[edit] Film studios

On March, 2008, a brand new film studio opened up on 525 Parkdale Avenue North called, Steel Work Studios. It is a full service studio with 13 departments to meet the needs of the TV and film industry which includes a talent agency for Extra's and talent called, 'Cast In Steel.' This one stop shop for film production is a 20,500-square-foot facility with plans for expansion of up to 30,000-square feet.[41] The group of investors involved with Steel Work Studios are very optimistic about the studio noting that in 2007 TV and film was a $1-billion industry in Ontario and 40% of that was in Hamilton, Ontario.[42]

In recent years there has been talk of converting the 500,000-square-foot facility on Victoria Avenue North that was one time home of the Otis Elevator Company and Studebaker plant into a Mega-Film Studio. In 2004 a group of local investors were ready to open up the $30-million facility named Hamilton Film Studios but pulled out 2-months after it opened up. One of the main reasons was they over-estimated the appeal of the site, in that the interior had too many support beams, making the space impractical for productions requiring wide, uninterrupted expanses.[43]

[edit] Film list

The following is a partial list of films and television programmes shot in Hamilton, Ontario, and their release dates:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hamilton Economic Department- Film & Television Office. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  2. ^ Regional Tax Incentives for Filmmakers. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  3. ^ a b Regional Tax Incentives for Filmmakers (Ontario Media Development Corporation). Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  4. ^ (www.hollywoodnorthreport.com) "Ontario Liberals Boosting Film/ TV Tax Credits.". Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  5. ^ Actors, Films shot in Hamilton. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  6. ^ Invest in Hamilton, Economic Development Review 2005, Wednesday, 28 June, 2006, "Hamilton 'Reels' In The Stars." Page H20
  7. ^ Faulkner, Rob. "Peter goes to Bollywood", The Hamilton Spectator, 2007-01-15, pp. A10. Retrieved on 2008-01-25. 
  8. ^ "REEL CHOICES: HAMILTON, Why Shoot Anywhere Else?" (investinhamilton.ca)
  9. ^ Invest in Hamilton, Economic Development Review 2006, Hamilton Spectator Insert; Tuesday, May 23, 2007, Page IH5
  10. ^ City of Hamilton page 22 (May, 2008). "Economic Development Review 2007". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-05-07.
  11. ^ The Hamilton Spectator- Souvenir Edition (Saturday June 10, 2006). "The Hamilton Memory Project;". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  12. ^ Internet Movie Database: Power Play (TV series). Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  13. ^ Internet Movie Database Biography: Jean Adair. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  14. ^ Internet Broadway Database Biography: Julia Arthur. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  15. ^ Internet Movie Database Biography: Douglas Dumbrille. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  16. ^ Bailey, Thomas Melville (1992). Dictionary of Hamilton Biography (Vol III, 1925-1939). W.L. Griffin Ltd. 
  17. ^ Internet Movie Database Biography: Del Lord. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  18. ^ McMaster University Alumni. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  19. ^ Internet Movie Database Biography: Ivan Reitman. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  20. ^ Internet Movie Database Biography: Daniel Goldberg (I). Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  21. ^ Tribute.ca: Ivan Reitman. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  22. ^ CinemaReview.com: "Reitman currently heads Northern Lights Entertainment". Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  23. ^ CSWAP: Detroit Rock City filmed in Hamilton, Ontario. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  24. ^ [http://www.kissasylum.com/movie/index.shtml (www.kissasylum.com) "KISS Shoots Film Scenes In Ontario ."]. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  25. ^ (www.tribute.ca) Against the Ropes filmed in Hamilton.. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  26. ^ The World Wide Guide to Movie Locations: X-Men filming locations- Hamilton, Ontario. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
  27. ^ Manson, Bill (2003). Footsteps In Time: Exploring Hamilton's heritage neighbourhoods. North Shore Publishing Inc. ISBN 1-896899-22-6. 
  28. ^ (www.movielocity.com) Finding Forrester: "Copps Coliseum stands in for Madison Square Garden in the film.". Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  29. ^ (www.episodenetwork.com) Exit Wounds: Parts of it shot in Hamilton, Ontario. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  30. ^ (www.cinema.com) Exit Wounds: Production Information. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  31. ^ (www.myhamilton.ca) Hamilton Film: "Hamilton Goes Hollywood." - Page 10. Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  32. ^ (SuperHeroHype.com) Exclusive Incredible Hulk Set Photos: Hamilton, Ontario. Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
  33. ^ SUPERHEROFLIX.COM: "The Incredible Hulk Blows Up Hamilton, Ontario.". Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
  34. ^ Comics 2 Film: "Pictures from Hamilton, Ontario set of the Incredible Hulk.". Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
  35. ^ Aint It Cool News: "THE INCREDIBLE HULK set footage from Hamilton". Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
  36. ^ The Movie Blog: "Incredible Hulk Set Explosion Video.". Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
  37. ^ ComingSoon.Net: "Exclusive The Incredible Hulk Set Photos!" (Hamilton, Ontario). Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
  38. ^ Steel Town Kids: "The Incredible Hulk films in Hamilton.". Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
  39. ^ The Hamilton Spectator: "Strong Canadian dollar does not scare Hulk.". Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
  40. ^ The Hamilton Spectator: "Stand by for mayhem on Main. The Incredible Hulk's to blame — but he'll be in a digital hiding place.". Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
  41. ^ STEEL WORK STUDIOS- 525 Parkdale Avenue North. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
  42. ^ (www.thespec.com) Hollywood dreams on Parkdale North - New studio aims at share of $1 billion Ontario business (March 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-21.
  43. ^ (www.playbackonline.ca) Hamilton studio closes doors (June 2004). Retrieved on 2008-03-17.

[edit] External links