Recognizable Vancouver Locations in Films
Vancouver, as you probably know, is Hollywood North. Vancouverites regularly recognize locations in movies and television (in particular, the lame ones). I’ve been meaning to gather a list of these locations in one spot for a while, but haven’t gotten around to it. Lex is doing so (apparently for her marketing class), so I’m starting with her list, and soliciting help from you, my dear readers. I know that IMDB can do this, but without much accuracy and it’s too exhaustive for my taste.
Fire away, and try to be specific. Let’s stick to films, as TV shows would be, literally, all over the map.
Is this the sort of thing one would use Google Base for? Alternately, what’s the least painful, Web-based, technological solution to this problem? A wiki?
UPDATED:
| Location | Film |
| Simon Fraser University | The Sixth Day The Exorcism of Emily Rose |
| Vancouver Art Gallery |
The Accused |
| Vancouver Public Library | The Sixth Day |
| Queen Elizabeth Park | The Boy Who Could Fly |
| UBC | 88 Minutes Antitrust X-Men III |
| Marine Building | Fantastic Four Life or Something Like It |
| Downtown Post Office | Ecks vs. Sever |
| PNE | Cats & Dogs |
| Law Courts | Shoot to Kill |
| BC Ferries | Bird on a Wire Shoot to Kill |
| Casino at The Plaza of Nations | X-Men II |
| St. Andrews Church | X-Men II |
| St. Paul’s Hospital | Unforgettable |
| Stanley Park | Saving Silverman |
| Helmcken and Granville | Saving Silverman |
| Maple Ridge Water Park | Jumanji |
| Crowne Plaza Hotel | I Spy |
November 3rd, 2005 at 1:03 pm
The public library was also used in Battlestar Galactica as a city on Caprica.
I also think they used the Vandusen Botanical Gardens as a setting on one of the ships in the Colonial Day episode.
I’m not positive on the location since I’m new to the area so please correct me if I’m wrong :-)
November 3rd, 2005 at 1:08 pm
except that BG is a TV show, not a film. TV shows would be too numerous to enumerate.
November 3rd, 2005 at 1:08 pm
There are a number of recognizable Vancouver locations, including the law building downtown, in the thriller “Shoot to Kill” with Sidney Poitier and Tom Berenger (especially notable since the scenes in question are actually SET in Vancouver, unlike most other films wherein Vancouver passes for New York or some other metropolis). Deduct points for geographical discontinuity, however, as one car chase leaves downtown and ends up at the Tsawwassen terminal in about 3 frames.
The X-Men series, also shot here, contains a number of recognizable shots too.
November 3rd, 2005 at 1:09 pm
~ B.C. Ferries - Bird on a Wire
~ The former B.C. Pavillion now Something’er’other Casino - X-Men II
~ St. Andrews Church - also X-Men II
~ St Paul’s Hospital - Unforgettable (an ironically titled film, took me ten minutes to recall the name)
November 3rd, 2005 at 1:09 pm
+1 wiki. If your friend wants a lot of external help, having a low barrier to entry is key.
“Saving Silverman” takes place in a couple places in Vancouver (Helmcken @ Granville, West Van, Stanley Park).
“Antitrust” has a lot of scenes on UBC campus, mostly the north end (Chan Center, Koerner’s Pub, Main Mall). I know this because I was kicked out of Koerner’s pub because they needed to film :P
November 3rd, 2005 at 1:24 pm
Parts of Jumanji were shot in the Maple Ridge Water Park. Actually, from what I remember, most of that movie was shot in BC. The “Sir Save-a-lot” ( or whatever the name of the generic supermarket was ) was actually a supermarket in Kelowna, if I remember correctly.
And parts of X-Men III were recently shot near my house near the boundaries of the UBC Research Forest.
Many of the hovercraft sequences near the end of “Rumble in the Bronx”, a Jackie Chan movie, were shot in Vancouver.
November 3rd, 2005 at 1:24 pm
Sounds like you need a page in Wikipedia. Here you go.
November 3rd, 2005 at 1:28 pm
Derek - Good point. I’ll update that once we’re done here.
Though, I’m troubled by the lack of title-style capitalization there. I wouldn’t have complained, except I can’t edit the title to change the case.
November 3rd, 2005 at 1:50 pm
Parts of “I-Spy” was filmed in the Crowne Plaza Hotel (downtown) … specifically a sequence in my wife’s old office area.
November 3rd, 2005 at 3:03 pm
UBC - Hackers, Butterfly Effect
November 3rd, 2005 at 3:09 pm
This article from the Tyee lists a few:
http://www.thetyee.ca/Entertainment/2004/12/17/VampyVancouver/
…in particular, Blade Trinity which was probably the most recognizably Vancouver of all the movies I’ve seen - especially the Marine Building which played a prominent role.
November 3rd, 2005 at 3:16 pm
Thank you so much!!
November 3rd, 2005 at 3:40 pm
Writeboard might be an easy solution.
http://www.writeboard.com/
Ecks vs. Sever should best be forgotten.
November 3rd, 2005 at 8:55 pm
Mr. Magoo was also shot in the VPL Downtown Branch Atrium (they made it into a museum).
I’m sure Stakeout and Another Stakeout have to have something recognizable in them (pretty sure BC Ferries were featured in Another Stakeout).
November 4th, 2005 at 5:41 am
You can add The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972) and Agent Cody Banks (2003) to the SFU listing. Also, Bird on a Wire (1990) used SFU’s Harbour Centre campus as FBI headquarters.
November 4th, 2005 at 11:30 am
SFU:
Outer Limits,
Battlestar Galactica (market scenes)
UBC:
Battlestar Galactica (Caprica scenes, both around Koerner Library and in the Endowment Lands)
November 4th, 2005 at 11:45 am
Ecks vs Sever was filmed in Vancouver, and actually took place in Vancouver! I think that was a first.
November 4th, 2005 at 5:17 pm
Parts of Lynn Headwaters are visible in Jumanji, and many of the other scenes were filmed in Dunbar.
Almost all of “Rumble in the Bronx” was filmed in Vancouver, which became kind of a in-joke in the industry, as the North Shore “Mountains of the Bronx” were frequently visible in the background. And there’s a great stunt where the Jackie Chan character is supposed to jump between the Woodward’s parking lot and a fire escape across the alley, but was actually performed by the film’s directory because Chan broke his foot early in the filming when leaping onto a Coast Guard hovercraft.
November 11th, 2005 at 10:33 am
Yes, wikis are great for this.
And I was at SFU during the taping of Sixth Day. First, bad movie, btw. But, that 5 second car chase scene took weeks of shooting and the car fumes were so bad they kept having to evacuate the library!
November 18th, 2005 at 4:00 pm
“The Butterfly Effect” — I recognized the Park theatre interior and a scene outside Koerner Library at UBC; I’m sure there were others as well.
“Paycheck” — many recognizable locations like the train yards in North Vancouver and a corner in downtown Van (where Ben Affleck gets off the bus).
“Carnal Knowledge” — I’ve never seen this film but I’ve heard there is a famous scene where Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel are talking on the steps of the SUB at UBC.
Currently IMDb lists 1421 titles with Vancouver filming locations, though that includes television series.
February 5th, 2006 at 11:51 am
Even though the setting for the moveies,
“Stakeout” and “Another Stakeout”, are supposed to be in Seattle. They are nonethless shot in Vancouver. I just thought I would point that out, seems to me there should be a complete list of all movies shot in Vancouver regardless of the original intent of the setting of any movie.
March 4th, 2006 at 9:43 pm
“Rumble in the Bronx” also had scenes along Front Street, New Westminster; and there’s a scene in Mr Magoo aboard the New West paddlewheeler which used to (still does?)run day trips along the Fraser River to Fort Langley.The cruise company used to be called the Fraser River Connection, but was called “Paddlewheeler River Adventures” in the movie — the boat owners liked it so much,they took that as their new name!!
“Man of the House” starring Chevy Chase and Farrah Fawcett, is one of the best travelogues for Vancouver — though it’s supposed to be Seattle. Shot in 1994, the finale pans back from a West End apartment rooftop to a great view of the city, including the ex-Sears tower doubling for the space needle!!! These days though,film makers often pan in so tightly around the action that it’s hard to be sure of specific backgrounds, unless you’re really familiar with them. (Which most Vancouver residents would be.)
Cheers and good luck with your “locations collection”.
May 23rd, 2006 at 7:27 am
Intersection starring Richard Gere is filmed around Sqaumish, but uses MOA as one of it’s sites (RG is supposed to be the architect)
Double Jeopardy is filmed somewhere up the coast and in vancouver.
Sorry can’t be more specific - a lot of my family live in vancouver but I am over here in Yorkshire, England. I love it when vancouver pops up when least expected and have been known to shout in the cinema!
August 27th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
The first RAMBO film FIRST BLOOD was shot near Vancouver… in HOPE, BC.
Also Rocky 4 shot some fight scenes at the Agradome at the PNE.
GET CARTER was also in Vancouver.
Not too menchion The 6th Day, Happy Gilmore, I-Robot, and all of the X-men films.
August 27th, 2006 at 5:58 pm
was the marine movie shot in vancouver
October 30th, 2007 at 5:54 am
[…] years ago (almost to the day), I wrote a blog post soliciting filming locations in and around Vancouver. Derek thought it would make a good Wikipedia […]
November 3rd, 2007 at 9:28 pm
I’ve just finished watching “Another Stakeout” after not having seen it in years. The last time was in 1995, when I was living on an island just off Vancouver’s coast - Bowen Island, to be exact, where most of the movie was filmed. The filming was done on board a BC ferry, first scene driving on the island was up the main street in Snug Cove, and interior and exterior shots were filmed on Bowen’s south side (check out the details - and the houses - on Google Earth).
May 8th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
There was a movie recently filmed in Vancouver that had some sort of a car chase or driving scene that showed GM Place and/or BC Place in plain view. Anyone know which movie this is?
August 19th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Vancouver is rubbish
August 20th, 2008 at 1:47 am
I saw bright purple flashing lights a while back near jericho and kits. There was a film crew with loads of equipment there. Was that War of The Worlds? It looked alot like the lights in that movie.
Also an old 80s orange camper van that is always parked on the lookout point at UBC closest to 49th and 41st street entrance was in Chaos Theory 2008.
September 6th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
I just watched ‘The Chaos Theory’and I saw it was filmed in BC, but I really want to know where exactly, was it in Banff area ?
I actually live in Brazil, but I went to Edmonton, Calgary, Banff ad Lake Louise in 2001…and I realy love those places and I feel proud to see it shown in movies,