Movie/Television Shoots in Hamilton

[raisethehammer]

I snagged lunch at Harvest Burger today and a bunch of film execs were in there scouting their next film.
The recent "Leafs Nation" commercial with people telling their stories of favourite Leaf goals (seriously cheesy) was filmed there as well as other King/Main West locations.
The owner of Harvest Burger told me that they have a ton of filming that takes place in there.

[Hammer Native]

Originally Posted by flar

There's been a lot of filming in Dundas the last few days.

There is a movie or TV crew parked in the St. Joseph's Villa parking lot at the side on Overfield Street. But I think they're filming at this gorgeous old stone house across the street from it. Something like one of the pictures we saw in your photo shoots a while back, I guess someone saw the beauty in the old stone buildings in our area.

[flar]

It's this house:


That house is always used in films. It is a private residence known as Foxbar and featured in some books about Hamilton architecture. It looks amazing inside and out, and the grounds are beautiful too.
They were also filming at the United Church on Governors and downtown, my wife said there were a lot of people milling about. She thought they might have been trying to sneak a peak at a celebrity.

[Boomtown_Hamilton]

Originally Posted by MsMe

I read in paper today too about them filming a truck hitting a van on Stratherne Ave. recently.

They seem to do a lot of filming in the city now.

Here is a list of the movies filmed here. They did miss 2 movies, Haley's Gift was filmed on the beach strip late 60s or early 70s. The house isn't there anymore where it was filmed I think it was where Dieppe Park is now. They also forgot Sins of the Father which was filmed on Depew St.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ilton,_Ontario

I'll get right to it.

[Boomtown_Hamilton]

Originally Posted by MsMe

I read in paper today too about them filming a truck hitting a van on Stratherne Ave. recently.

They seem to do a lot of filming in the city now.

Here is a list of the movies filmed here. They did miss 2 movies, Haley's Gift was filmed on the beach strip late 60s or early 70s. The house isn't there anymore where it was filmed I think it was where Dieppe Park is now. They also forgot Sins of the Father which was filmed on Depew St.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ilton,_Ontario

I was able to find 'Sins of the Father' but 'Haley's Gift' is a no show on imdb.com...did they change the name of that movie?

[MsMe]

Originally Posted by Boomtown_Hamilton

I was able to find 'Sins of the Father' but 'Haley's Gift' is a no show on imdb.com...did they change the name of that movie?

It was made for tv movie. Not sure if any info is on net about it. I could be wrong on the title too since it was ages ago. This brain has gotten pretty dusty with age.

I see Torso is on tonight. Oh that's another they forgot on that list too. Strange we were just talking about this story on the other board. Kind of eerie. Sad happening though.

[MsMe]

Originally Posted by flar

It's this house:


That house is always used in films. It is a private residence known as Foxbar and featured in some books about Hamilton architecture. It looks amazing inside and out, and the grounds are beautiful too.

Do you know the age or history of that house Flar? And yes it sure is beautiful.

[Boomtown_Hamilton]

Originally Posted by MsMe

It was made for tv movie. Not sure if any info is on net about it. I could be wrong on the title too since it was ages ago. This brain has gotten pretty dusty with age.

I see Torso is on tonight. Oh that's another they forgot on that list too. Strange we were just talking about this story on the other board. Kind of eerie. Sad happening though.

Couple of things that sometimes happens with the movie listings over at imdb.com if the movie gets shot both in Toronto and Hamilton sometimes they will only include the one city when listing where it was shot and they choose the one over the other because that is where the production office for that film was but I typed in the name of the film on their search engine and did not get a result for it.

I was the one that created that article there on wikipedia. That listing is not a complete one. Just the more notable ones are listed there in that article.

[Hammer Native]

Originally Posted by Boomtown_Hamilton

I was able to find 'Sins of the Father' but 'Haley's Gift' is a no show on imdb.com...did they change the name of that movie?

I remember that movie Haley's Gift. I was in the 8th grade in elementary school and I remember the librarian mentioning it so I watched it. This was early 1978 so it was likely produced in 1977 (as I think it was a new production), if that's any help.

[MsMe]

Originally Posted by Hammer Native

I remember that movie Haley's Gift. I was in the 8th grade in elementary school and I remember the librarian mentioning it so I watched it. This was early 1978 so it was likely produced in 1977 (as I think it was a new production), if that's any help.

If I recall it was filmed on the beachstrip and the house isn't there anymore. Glad someone else remembered. Not sure I watched the movie though. It's been a while. I'm still surprised nothing is on the net about it though.

And very true Boomtown.

[MsMe]

I can understand why they do so much filming around here when we have just about every style of housing etc here.

[Berklon]

An independant film recently released was entirely filmed in Hamilton. I think it's getting a very limited release (perhaps straight to DVD). It stars Randy Quaid and Jay Baruchel. This city is all over the trailer:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/realtime/

[Boomtown_Hamilton]

Originally Posted by MsMe

I can understand why they do so much filming around here when we have just about every style of housing etc here.

As much as I'd like to agree with you here as to why they like to shoot here, yes we do have the locations and the architecture but the bottom line for these film production companies is the bottom line.

Hamilton benefits in two ways in that one, we are close enough to Toronto, the film hub of Ontario, that a lot of the spill-over work from there spills into Hamilton and yet at the same time we are just far enough away from Toronto and outside the Toronto film zone that extra tax breaks start to kick in for them when they choose to shoot here in Hamilton from the Ontario government.

The Ontario government recognizes that Toronto is the film hub of the province so they offer film companies extra tax breaks if they film outside of Toronto to encourage filming to other parts of the province. Hamilton lucks out big-time in that we lie just outside the Toronto film zone.

When a production company looks to cash in on these extra tax breaks they don't have to have the production office based out of Hamilton. They can have the production office based out of Toronto and have most of the filming done there too as long as they get a percentage of it done here in Hamilton then they qualify. I'm not too sure the exact percentage right now that it has to be but it could be as low as 33% of the shoot done here in Hamilton.

If an Internatinal/ American film company shoots here in Hamilton they get 6% more tax break compared to what they would get shooting in Toronto. The numbers are even better for home grown, Canadian film companies. They get 10% more shooting here in Hamilton compared to Toronto and this is why all the domestic work is being shot here in Hamilton. Whereas Toronto in a lot of cases gets to double as New York, Chicago and L.A. on the big screen Hamilton on the other hand gets to double as Toronto in a lot of domestic films.

The Toronto film folks are not too happy to see all the domestic work shot here in Hamilton but those extra tax incentives are doing what they originally were set out to do and that is to encourage filming to other parts of the province outside of Toronto.

Last season TV/ film industry was a $1-Billion industry here in Ontario and 40% of that was right here in Hamilton, Ontario.

[Boomtown_Hamilton]

.....and we still don't have a film studio here in town.

[MsMe]

Originally Posted by Boomtown_Hamilton

.....and we still don't have a film studio here in town.

Yes architecture is one of many reasons they film here as you mentioned.

They tried for the studio but it didn't go over well unfortunately. Now the building sits empty.

[Boomtown_Hamilton]

Originally Posted by MsMe

Yes architecture is one of many reasons they film here as you mentioned.

They tried for the studio but it didn't go over well unfortunately. Now the building sits empty.

.....a film studio in Hamilton is long overdue....a film studio in Hamilton would do extremely well, with the right people at the helm.

[MsMe]

I don't think the location of the studio was the best either Boomtown.

[Boomtown_Hamilton]

Originally Posted by MsMe

I don't think the location of the studio was the best either Boomtown.

Actually MsMe......the location was a great one when you consider just how many empty factory and warehouse buildings that we have sitting in our industrial north-end that could easily be transformed into film studios...The location was not the problem.

[SteelTown]

Gritty look of Hamilton in winter perfect setting for new film 'Real Time'

TORONTO — When Randall Cole originally wrote the script for "Real Time," he didn't know he'd end up shooting his movie in Hamilton, Ont.

But the gritty, bleak look of Steeltown at winter's end ultimately provided the perfect backdrop for the film, which tells the story of a hitman (Randy Quaid) who is out to kill a young gambler (Jay Baruchel) but grants him one final hour to get his life in order.

"(In) Hamilton you can sort of go from that dirty core and then ... an hour later be in someplace completely different. You see the good, the bad and the ugly," said Cole, who originally envisioned a Toronto shoot for "Real Time."

"I didn't see it as a pretty film, I wanted it ugly-pretty, which is how (Baruchel's character) is seeing the world."

Hamilton is only referenced as "The Hammer" in the movie, but anyone vaguely familiar with the southern Ontario city will find it instantly recognizable onscreen. Overall, the film seems to flaunt its Canadian pedigree, featuring Canuck currency, a flag, and a Tragically Hip song over the closing credits.

The story plays out as Baruchel's character, Andy, spends his final 60 minutes driving around looking for a hooker, seeking revenge on a former boss and searching for old toys at his grandmother's house.

Throughout, Quaid's character, Reuban, questions Andy about his past choices and the clock ticks down as a soundtrack of classic rock hits plays on the car stereo.

Cole, who directed the movie, chose the songs after fiddling around with a score, which he ultimately abandoned, deciding it would take away from the "reality" of "Real Time."

"I knew it was an option to have the car radio playing," he said. "(The songs) just kind of kept the pace up a little. It felt like the kind of stuff that would be playing in the car of a guy that age. Kind of 'dad music."'

The film takes place in real time (the title, of course, is a play on that, as well as a suggestion that it's time for Baruchel's character to "get real," said Cole). Snagging Baruchel has turned out to be a coup, as the Montreal-raised actor has seen his star rise in recent months with roles in "Pineapple Express" and "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist."

Cole says he nabbed Quaid by writing him a letter.

He pitched "Real Time" as a reversal of the 1973 Hal Ashby movie "The Last Detail," which dealt with similar themes but featured Quaid as the younger man.

The Toronto-based Cole, who studied filmmaking at Montreal's Concordia University and later at the Canadian Film Centre," says the veteran actor liked his 2002 directorial debut, "19 Months," as well as the parallels to the Ashby film.

The relationship between the two characters evolves throughout the film, culminating in a surprise ending. But one thing Cole didn't want viewers to think was that Quaid's character was Andy's long-lost father.

The Texas-raised actor adopts an Australian accent for the film, a device Cole hoped would dispel that notion.

"A lot of people kept saying they were expecting 'The Empire Strikes Back' kind of thing where he admitted he was his father," says Cole.

"I just wanted to get that idea out of the way."

"Real Time" opens Friday in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

[Boomtown_Hamilton]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Gritty look of Hamilton in winter perfect setting for new film 'Real Time'

TORONTO — When Randall Cole originally wrote the script for "Real Time," he didn't know he'd end up shooting his movie in Hamilton, Ont.

But the gritty, bleak look of Steeltown at winter's end ultimately provided the perfect backdrop for the film, which tells the story of a hitman (Randy Quaid) who is out to kill a young gambler (Jay Baruchel) but grants him one final hour to get his life in order.

"(In) Hamilton you can sort of go from that dirty core and then ... an hour later be in someplace completely different. You see the good, the bad and the ugly," said Cole, who originally envisioned a Toronto shoot for "Real Time."

"I didn't see it as a pretty film, I wanted it ugly-pretty, which is how (Baruchel's character) is seeing the world."

Hamilton is only referenced as "The Hammer" in the movie, but anyone vaguely familiar with the southern Ontario city will find it instantly recognizable onscreen. Overall, the film seems to flaunt its Canadian pedigree, featuring Canuck currency, a flag, and a Tragically Hip song over the closing credits.

The story plays out as Baruchel's character, Andy, spends his final 60 minutes driving around looking for a hooker, seeking revenge on a former boss and searching for old toys at his grandmother's house.

Throughout, Quaid's character, Reuban, questions Andy about his past choices and the clock ticks down as a soundtrack of classic rock hits plays on the car stereo.

Cole, who directed the movie, chose the songs after fiddling around with a score, which he ultimately abandoned, deciding it would take away from the "reality" of "Real Time."

"I knew it was an option to have the car radio playing," he said. "(The songs) just kind of kept the pace up a little. It felt like the kind of stuff that would be playing in the car of a guy that age. Kind of 'dad music."'

The film takes place in real time (the title, of course, is a play on that, as well as a suggestion that it's time for Baruchel's character to "get real," said Cole). Snagging Baruchel has turned out to be a coup, as the Montreal-raised actor has seen his star rise in recent months with roles in "Pineapple Express" and "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist."

Cole says he nabbed Quaid by writing him a letter.

He pitched "Real Time" as a reversal of the 1973 Hal Ashby movie "The Last Detail," which dealt with similar themes but featured Quaid as the younger man.

The Toronto-based Cole, who studied filmmaking at Montreal's Concordia University and later at the Canadian Film Centre," says the veteran actor liked his 2002 directorial debut, "19 Months," as well as the parallels to the Ashby film.

The relationship between the two characters evolves throughout the film, culminating in a surprise ending. But one thing Cole didn't want viewers to think was that Quaid's character was Andy's long-lost father.

The Texas-raised actor adopts an Australian accent for the film, a device Cole hoped would dispel that notion.

"A lot of people kept saying they were expecting 'The Empire Strikes Back' kind of thing where he admitted he was his father," says Cole.

"I just wanted to get that idea out of the way."

"Real Time" opens Friday in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

Hey Steeltown,

Thanks for that post. Can't believe a movie like that where Hamilton gets all sorts of exposure isn't opening up in at least one location here in Hamilton. What's with that? They should have a red carpet gala here in town on opening night with the actors in attendance.