Despite the recent drop in the American dollar, Montreal remains a popular location for film companies from all over North America for shooting different types of films. With different parts of Montreal easily made over to resemble both Europe and America, as well as access to over 50 sound stages and television studios, the city regularly provides the backdrop to anything from feature films to commercials and television.
Keep it under control
The Montreal Film and TV Commission handles the management of any film production that decides to work in Montreal. They are the ones who take care of permits, arrange for street closures and coordinate with film crews to make sure that they have all of the resources that they require. Montreal is in fact the original center of Canada’s film production, and is currently the home of the National Film Board of Canada, which has had its headquarters here since the 1950’s. The NFB also operates 6 production studios as well as 2 public access and information centers in the Montreal area.
How big is the industry?
35 000 people are employed by 500 companies in Montreal which are directly tied in with the film industry. It is not just foreign filmmakers who benefit from filming in Montreal – the Canadian government provides subsidies through the NFB and Telefilm Canada to Canadian directors and producers who want to stage their productions here. Telefilm specifically promotes films designed to further Canada’s cinematic reputation on the world stage.
On the more commercial side of things, Alliance Films is also based in Montreal. Alliance is a company which produces film and television for a global audience, such as the CSI television show. They also own many specialty television channels in Canada. Studio Mel’s Cite du Cinema handles the nuts and bolts of film production with an enormous 36 500 square foot facility located just south of downtown. It contains 19 sound stages. Mel’s also rents out every conceivable piece of equipment that a production might need to shoot in the Montreal area.
Where have I seen Montreal on the silver screen?
In recent years, it seems as though the Montreal skyline has been popping up almost everywhere when it comes to feature films. Will Ferrell’s recent figure skating movie ‘Blades of Glory’ prominently featured the city and the Olympic village as part of its finale. Other productions have chosen to mask the location, transforming it into many different worldwide locations. In 2001, ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ managed to make Montreal the site of a worldwide ice age apocalypse – not to far from the truth according to anyone who has experienced the Montreal winters. Other films, such as ‘The Jackal’, ‘The Score’ and ‘Gothica’ and ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind’ have mixed and matched Montreal locations in with recreations of other cities.
Quebec filmmakers have also enjoyed great success filming in Montreal. The recent films ‘The Rocket’, telling the story of Maurice Richard and ‘Bon Cop, Bad Cop’, the comedy from Eric Canuel were both set in the city.
Check out this page for more cinema movies shot in Montreal.
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