Discover Vancouver

Location, Location, Location: Where Films Are Shot

Hollywood filmmakers have come to know Vancouver as a venue offering a wide scope of diverse locations suitable for filming most interior or exterior scenes.Locations scouts have little trouble identifying areas able to host sets for almost any scene from drama to science fiction.

Here are a few examples of locations seen in some recent productions.

Double Jeopardy
Ah, the beautiful US Pacific Northwest.Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones play their cat and mouse game against a backdrop of some of the most breathtaking scenery around.However, Judd isn’t sailing off Seattle – that boat is in the waters off Vancouver.And the vehicle that nosedives off a Washington State ferry actually takes the plunge from a BC Ferry.Most of Double Jeopardy was filmed around Greater Vancouver.

Lake Placid
Talk about confusing.This action comedy doesn’t even take place at the old US Olympic Games venue.But the feature film’s man-eating crocodile is supposed to live in a small lake in Maine.BC’s Buntzen Lake, Hayward Lake and a water tank at a film studio in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey combine to set the scene as Bridget Fonda and Bill Pullman battle their lake monster.

Millennium It’s a July 4th celebration with a group of Americans partying at a small-town bar.There’re red, white and blue banners and lots of American flags.That’s the setting for an episode of Fox’s Millennium.However, the actual date is April 5th and the small-town bar is the back room of an old curling club in North Vancouver.Almost all of the actors and crew are Canadian.

Alka Seltzer The scene has a commuter train pulling into a station during a snowstorm.The commuters are lined up waiting in the cold.It’s the perfect scene for an “Alka Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine” commercial.But in reality, it’s late June and the snow consists of fan blown potato flakes.The train station is located in Porteau Cove -- population zero.

Beggars & Choosers
A TV show about TV shows!Beggars & Choosers is a series about a Los Angeles-based television studio.But behind all the glamor is a film set that contains film sets, located in an old warehouse not far from Vancouver’s worst neighborhood. The L.A. film crews we see on screen are Vancouver actors taking tips from real Vancouver film crews.

Cold Squad and Da Vinci’s Inquest
These two Canadian TV series break the mold in terms of Vancouver productions.Both gritty cop shows are about Vancouver and the scenes take place around identifiable city landmarks.The problem is, the audience recognition factor is fairly limited and neither show is widely seen outside of Canada.

There are many examples of rules being bent to create the perfect location to tell a story.Those visiting the city are often able to spot film locations by the bright pink or yellow arrows, posted to lamp posts or street signs, directing crews to the location of a shoot.These temporary signs usually contain the abbreviation of the show or production company.Companies such as The X-Tours offer guided drive-by tours of many of Vancouver’s film locations.