Another NYC Film Lost to Canada

Hollywood has repeatedly opted to film blatantly New York movies in other locales and specifically Canada (such as Rent, Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story, Jackie Chan's Rumble in the Bronx etc), and now they've even relocated our city's great Museum of Natural History. According to the Vancouver Sun, Ben Stiller is set to star in Stephen Sommers' A Night at the Museum, a family comedy, loosely based on the children's book by Milan Trenc, about an incompetent security guard at the Museum of Natural History who accidentally triggers an ancient curse, causing the display exhibits to come back to life. Supposedly, 20th Century Fox was prepared to shoot the $140-million film in Montreal, but Stiller demanded the filming be shifted over to Vancouver. Brian Baker, from Quebec film technicians union, called the recent move a total disaster, insisting the significant amount of work and money lost to the city is "heartbreaking." Gothamist can't help but think the only real heartbreaking issue is that Stiller didn't request the film be shot where it belongs -- New York City. Photo credit: Jake Dobkin

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By Rina in Arts & Entertainment on November 8, 2005 10:35 AM

Comments [rss]

nola

Imitation...the sincerest form of flattery.

nola

i should state for the record that i'm an ignorant, uninformed completely insane conservative troll.

rev pays

well, maybe if the credits were shorter, they would get paid more, instead everyone has a specific job and duty.

Screw them, they brought it upon themselves.

Let the producers and studios get rich, again the unions brought it upon themselves.

So long movie making in NC, NY and CA, we're coming up North.

nola

Film crew members do not get insane amounts of money. Union members (and not everyone is one) do get paid pretty well, though they work incredibly long hours and can go extended periods of time without work.

The film business is located in Hollywood. Do you think they trek up to Canada for the heck of it? Yes, they get tax breaks but cheap labor is a major factor.

It's always amusing to hear liberals who hate corporations like Wal Mark make excuses for the selfish bastards in the film business. Middle class Americans are losing when they film in Canada so a few people at the top can fatten up.

Ex-Montrealer

Ben Stiller est une tête de merde. What does he have against Montreal??

911

The Rudy Guiliani Story was filmed in Canada?

Is nothing sacred any more?

hou

Films are shot in Canada because the Canadian government offers tax incentives for them to do so. As Mark says, Canadian film crews are also unionized, but even if they weren't, minimum wage in almost every Canadian province is higher than the federal US minimum wage (even with the exchange rate), and California minimum wage, for example, is comparable to BC, Quebec and Ontario where films would likely be shot in Canada, so slave labor wages are still unlikely.

hou

Films are shot in Canada because the Canadian government offers tax incentives for them to do so. As Mark says, Canadian film crews are also unionized, but even if they weren't, minimum wage in almost every Canadian province is higher than the federal US minimum wage (even with the exchange rate), and California minimum wage, for example, is comparable to BC, Quebec and Ontario where films would likely be shot in Canada, so slave labor wages are still unlikely.

mark

wages may be lower, relatively speaking, because of the exchange rate, but canadian film crews are also unionized. the argument that hollywood film crews are engaging in some kind of sweatshop labor doesn't hold water.

nola

mark, that's one reason they move them to Canada, so they can get around many of the union rules they have to deal with in California. And they can pay lower salaries.

mark

re: nola, whaaaaaaaaaaat?!?! hollywood is completely unionized.

MT

Moving the Museum of Natural History to Canada is just insulting! It's not like it's New York kitsch. It's an honest-to-god respected and beloved institution. I hope no New Yorker goes to see this movie.

nola

Yet another example of Hollywood liberals failing to practice what they preach. They film in Canada so they can pay slave wages to the laborers and keep the big money for themselves. How compassionate.