The Best (and Worst) Movies Filmed in Vancouver |
It's a common occurrence these days - the movie is set in Portland, but you swear you saw Lions Gate Bridge in the background.
There's a good chance you are right, as sneaky Hollywood-types have used Vancouver as a stand in for many cities in numerous television and feature film productions. We've put together a list of some of the best such movies filmed in Vancouver.
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3000 Miles to Graceland (2001)
Kevin Costner, Kurt Russell
A gang of ex-cons rob a casino during an Elvis convention. The king wouldn't have approved.
The 6th Day (2000)
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert Duvall
Set in a future where clones are part of a grand conspiracy to take over the world. Look for the Vancouver Public Library to stand in for an evil corporation's headquarters.
40 Days & 40 Nights (2002)
Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossaman
A man decides to give up sex for all of Lent (that's 40 days) after a brutal break up. Isn't that the same as getting married?
A
The Accused (1988)
Jody Foster, Kelly McGillis
Disturbing yet important film about a lawyer representing a tentative rape victim who decides to strike back against her attackers.
Agent Cody Banks (2003)
Frankie Muniz, Hillary Duff
The kid from Malcolm in the Middle stars as a pint-sized super spy. And they say Hollywood is running out of good ideas!
Air Bud (1997)
Buddy the Dog, Kevin Zegers
A lonely boy and a dog with above-average basketball skills form a unique bond. Seriously. And it somehow spawned no less than FIVE sequels.
Alive (1993)
Ethan Hawk, Vincent Spano
A harrowing true story of the Uruguayan rugby team's horrific ordeal following a plane crash in the Andes. Actually filmed in the mountains outside of town, but let's not split hairs.
Are We There Yet? (2005)
Ice Cube, Nia Long
Cube plays a bachelor trying to woe a divorced mother of two. In doing so, he volunteers to drive the kids from Portland to Vancouver. It's a nice drive, we've done it, but not with bratty kids doing their best to drive us insane.
B
Best in Show (2000)
Christopher Guest, Parker Posey
Hilarious "mockumentary" about dog shows and the strange people that participate in them. Look for Fred Willard to steal the show as the TV colour commentary, as well as the venerable old Coliseum doubling as the venue for the dog show.
Bird on a Wire (1990)
Mel Gibson, Goldie Hawn
Gibson plays an FBI informant outted by an old girlfriend in this underrated comedy. Hawn bought a Shaugnessy mansion after spending so much time filming here.
Blade (1998)
Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson
Action-packed thriller about vampires and the various, violent ways you can kill them.
Blade: Trinity (2004)
Wesley Snipes, Ryan Reynolds
Third installment of this franchise (the second had Prague subbing for Detroit). It is arguably the most fun of the three.
Bulletproof Monk (2003)
Yun-Fat Chow, Seann William Scott
A wise monk takes a street punk under his wing and sets him on the path to righteousness. This project went totally Canadian, with additional scenes filmed in Toronto.
The Butterfly Effect (2004)
Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart
Underrated supernatural thriller that may have suffered from Kutcher's Punk'd image. It is a smart, visually stunning little movie.
C
Christmas With the Kranks (2004)
Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis
Fed up with the stress and commercialism of Christmas, one suburban family tries to skip it completely. Based on a John Grisham book (yes, that John Grisham!) Pacific Centre Mall is easy to spot.
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
Vin Diesel, Judy Dench
Sequel to the sleeper hit Pitch Black, this sci-fi epic was ravaged by critics. It was, however, one of the biggest budgeted movies to be filmed here ($110 million)
The Core (2003)
Aaron Eckhart, Delroy Lindo
The world might stop spinning, which is apparently a very bad thing. So a group of intrepid science-types decide to drill down into the core to make sure it doesn't happen. It lost a lot of money (like $40 million) but jumpstarted many special effects houses in the area.
The Crush (1993)
Cary Elwes, Alicia Silverstone
A 14-year old girl turns a man's life into a living hell when he rebuffs her advances. Usually, 14-year old girls only make their parent's lives a living hell, no?
D
Double Jeopardy (1999)
Ashley Judd, Tommy Lee Jones
A woman is framed for her husband's murder and then finds out he is alive. So, since she can't be tried for the same crime twice, she sets out to actually kill him. Talk about bitter!
Dreamcatcher (2003)
Morgan Freeman, Jason Lee
Parasitic space aliens terrorize a group of buddies on vacation at a cabin. What do you expect, it's based on a Stephen King book. Look for Steveston to double as a quaint, Maine town.
E
Eight Below (2006)
Paul Walker, Bruce Greenwood
The mountainous terrain around Vancouver stands in for the Antarctic as two explorers must abandon their dogs in order to survive. Better than you think, by the way.
Elf (2003)
Will Farrell, James Caan
Vancouver is very different from New York City in a lot of ways, but it does an admirable job standing in for the Big Apple in this charming Christmas flick.
Ernest Goes to School (1994)
Jim Varney, Linda Kash
Somehow left out of the Oscar race of '94, this follows the exploits of Ernest as he seeks to get his high school diploma. Not Vancouver's proudest silver screen manifestation, but it's alright - know what I mean?
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson
Allegedly based on a true story, this horrifying movie tells the tale of a young girl killed while a priest attempts to exorcise a demon from her. The UBC campus is all over this film.
F
Fantastic Four (2005)
Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis
Big-budgeted adaptation of the Marvel comic. Once again, Van City stood in for New York, with lots of digital effects making it indistinguishable from NYC.
Fear (1996)
Reese Witherspoon, Marky Mark
The first foray into film for the former leader of the Funky Bunch. He plays a rather disturbed young man with slight jealousy issues. The rollercoaster at the PNE plays a major part in one memorable scene.
Final Destination 1 (2000)
Devon Sawa, Kerr Smith
According to this film, if you cheat death he will go to increasingly complicated means to make sure he gets you the next time. YVR gets a little screen time, something it richly deserves.
Final Destination 2 (2003)
Ali Larter, AJ Cook
Another group of teens escapes death when a friend has a premonition, but only for a while! Most of this movie was filmed in the Fraser Valley, but one great scene features the highway outside Campbell River.
Final Destination 3 (2006)
Mary Winstead, Ryan Merriman
See above, except make sure to watch for the Corkscrew rollercoaster from the PNE. Well, it's fairly hard to miss.
Firewall (2005)
Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany
A common trick used by budget-minded directors is to base their movie in Seattle, but film it in Vancouver. The cities look similar, and they save big bucks by filming up here. Such was the case with this techno-thriller.
Five People You Meet in Heaven (2004)
Jon Voight, Jeff Daniels
Based on the heartwarming book by Mitch Albom, this mini-series tells the story of a man who dies and meets five seemingly random people who helped shape his life. Look for one of Vancouver.com's own staff as the photographer in the ribbon-cutting scene!
The Fly II (1989)
Eric Stoltz, Daphne Zuniga
The spawn of the original half fly/half human creature from the first movie must find a cure for his "problem" before he is completely transformed into a hideous monster.
Freddy Got Fingered (2001)
Tom Green, Rip Torn
This time, Vancouver doubles for Portland, LA and everything in between. As for the movie, um, well...it's kinda what you expect from Tom Green (and then some).
Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
Robert Englund, Monica Keena
Two of Hollywood's biggest bad guys duke it out for the title. What title and why remains to be seen.
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
Todd Shafer, Kane Hodder
Vancouver is turned into NYC once again, this time to welcome mass murdering Jason Voorhees. We won't lie to you, this is a bad movie. So bad it's good, though.
G
Get Carter (2000)
Sly Stallone, Mickey Rourke
An aging Sly Stallone plays a mob hitman bent on revenge. Downtown Vancouver becomes downtown Seattle again. Hey, at least it isn't doubling for downtown Buffalo or something.
Ghost Ship (2002)
Gabriel Byrne, Julianna Margulies
Creepy ghost story set aboard a derelict luxury boat found randomly floating at sea by the crew of a salvage vessel. Also filmed in Australia, so it is a full-on Commonwealth production.
Gods & Monsters (1998)
Ian Mckellen, Brendan Fraser
This art house film dramatizes the final days of Frankenstein director James Whale. Weird and wonderful!
A Guy Thing (2003)
Jason Lee, Julia Stiles
A guy thinks he cheats on his fiancee, and all comedy breaks loose. Look for majorly obvious Vancouver landmarks throughout - despite the fact it is set in Seattle.
H
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Jamie Lee Curtis, Busta Rhymes
A group of teens agrees to spend a night in Michael Myers' house as part of a reality show. Only they don't exactly get voted out of the house, more like cut up with knives and left to die.
Happy Gilmore (1996)
Adam Sandler, Bob Barker
An ex-hockey player takes up golf and turns the stiff, conservative sport on its ear. Swan E Set Bay Golf Course and Furry Creek are easy to spot.
Herbie Fully Loaded (2005)
Lindsay Lohan, Matt Dillion
Lohan takes a break from not eating and stars in this remake of the Disney franchise from the 80's that featured a Volkswagen Bug with attitude.
House of the Dead (2003)
John Cherry, Tyron Leisto
Ravers looking for a party instead find an island of zombies. The #16 ranking on IMDb's "Bottom 250" list speaks volumes on how bad this is.
I
I Spy (2002)
Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson
Forgettable but not altogether terrible buddy action flick with two bankable stars that occasionally shine. A large chunk was also filmed in Budapest, that hotbed of movie production.
I, Robot (2004)
Will Smith, Bridget Moyanahan
Special-effects laden action blockbuster about robots on the fritz that start to kill their human owners. Huge budget ($120 million) meant its gross ($144 million) was barely adequate.
Insomnia (2002)
Al Pacino, Hillary Swank
Memento director Chris Nolan returns with this taut thriller about a murder in a northern town where the sun doesn't go down. They really rolled the dice filming a movie about perpetual sun here in Vancouver, wouldn't you say?
It's a Very, Merry Muppet Christmas (2002)
Kermit, Miss Piggy
The grand old Orpheum Theatre gets a lot of screen time in this latter-day Muppet movie.
J
Josie & the Pussycats (2001)
Tara Reid, Rachael Leigh Cook
Archie's favourite band comes alive and gets transplanted in the seedy, corporate world of music in this under-appreciated 2001 comedy. Watch for scenes at the Chan Centre and the Virgin (HMV) Megastore.
Jumanji (1995)
Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst
A man trapped inside a board game is released by a pair of unsuspecting teens, which also unleashes a torrent of badly computer-generated animals on their hometown. Maple Ridge, Delta and Tsawwassen get some screen time, too! Did we spell that right? Twsassen? Tsawwasen?
K
Kiss the Girls (1997)
Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd
Creepy serial killer movie filmed primarily in the hidden studios populating North Vancouver.
L
Lake Placid (1999)
Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda
A giant (and we mean GIANT) alligator starts causing trouble in a "Maine" lake (trouble being eating people.) It was filmed around Buntzen Lake near Port Moody. We swim there and hope that all alligators were removed following filming.
Legends of the Fall (1994)
Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins
Gorgeously filmed melodrama about a family coming of age at the turn on the century. Most of the outdoor work was done in Alberta, with Vancouver's studios picking up the interior work.
Look Who's Talking (1989)
John Travolta, Kirstie Alley
Bruce Willis provides the "voice" of a toddler in this family comedy. The little guy has got some pretty witty things to say. Look, we don't really have a say in which movies are filmed here.
M
Mission to Mars (2000)
Tim Robbins, Gary Sinise
A rescue mission is sent to Mars after the first manned trip to the red planet goes really wrong. Who would have thought Mars was a lush, green temperate rainforest. Oh, wait - we've just been told this was filmed in Vancouver's studios. Our bad.
Mr. Magoo (1997)
Leslie Nielsen, Kelly Lynch
In the interest of full disclosure, it must be known that we couldn't quite get through this whole movie, but it is about a myopic millionaire and jewel thieves. Shrug.
MVP (Most Valuable Primate) (2000)
A monkey, Russell Ferrier
Imagine pitching this movie to studio execs: "It's about a young boy who bonds with a monkey that can play hockey." Now imagine them greenlighting it - and THREE sequels! Why can't we sell our script?
My Boss's Daughter (2003)
Tara Reid, Ashton Kutcher
A young office drone gets a chance to house-sit for his new boss. Throw in a hot daughter, a drug dealing gang member and an escaped owl and you've got a High C/Low B comedy.
N
NeverEnding Story II & III (1990 & 1994)
Johnathin Brandis, Kenny Morrison
Unfortunate sequels to everyone's favourite kids movie. The producers went truly international, with filming locations from France and Italy to Australia and Argentina. And, of course, Vancouver.
Ben Stiller, Ricky Gervais
One of the most successful films ever produced in the Terminal City, boasting a box office in excess of $220 million. The VAG gets more screen time, this time representing the Museum of Natural History in NYC.
O
Out of the Blue(1980)
Dennis Hopper, Linda Manz
Dennis Hopper directed this hellacious movie he deemed to be a pseudo-sequel to Easyrider. It tells the tale of a disenfranchised teenaged girl who is reunited with her ex-con dad. That, my friends, is a recipe for good cinema.
P
Paycheck (2003)
Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman
Sci-fi flick about a guy that does cool, industrial espionage type jobs and then gets his memory erased afterwards. The North Shore's sulphur piles keeping popping up in the background.
The Perfect Score (2004)
Erika Christensen, Scarlette Johansson
Teaching the age-old lesson that crime does in fact pay, this flick tells the tale of a group of teens who pull off a grand heist to get their cheating little hands on the answers to the SAT test before they have to take it. The Chemistry Building at UBC is obvious, as is the ironic fact that Canada doesn't have SATs!
R
R.V. (2006)
Robin Williams, Cheryl Hines
Surprise box office hit about a hapless dad taking the family on a cross-country vacation in a, you guessed it, RV. If you think a lot of their vacation takes place in Mt. Seymour Park, you just might be right.
Reindeer Games (2000)
Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise
Anyone remember this movie? Ben Affleck probably does, he got ten lifetime's worth of money to star in it. He plays an ex-con who assumes his dead cellmate's identity to get with his girlfriend, but also assumes the dude's role in a heist. Oops.
Rocky IV (1985)
Sly Stallone, Tommy Morrison
The ol' Agrodome at the PNE grounds was featured as a boxing venue in this classic Rocky sequel (it's the one with the big, bad, Russian dude.)
Romeo Must Die (2000)
Jet Li, Aaliyah
Fighting, bullets, cracked spines and some blatantly obvious Vancouver scenes, including Gastown, Chinatown and Vanier Park.
Roxanne (1987)
Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah
Filmed mostly in picturesque Nelson, BC, but with a lot of interior work done at our handy, world-class studios. It is a modern remake of the Cyrano de Bergenac tale.
S
Santa Clause 2 (2002)
Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell
Remember when Tim Allen got turned into Santa in the first movie? (we don't - having never bothered to see it) Well, it turns out that he will be reverted back to his old self if he doesn't find a Mrs. Claus. Talk about pressure. Little ol' Port Moody and Coquitlam are featured extensively. We always thought Port Moody had a North Pole vibe to it.
Saving Silverman (2001)
Jason Biggs, Amanda Peet
Some buddies go to extremes to stop their friend from marrying a horrifically bad girl. Watch for a "car chase" around the leafy confines of Point Grey and the UBC campus.
Scary Movie (2000)
Anna Faris, Shannon Elizabeth
While certainly never a threat at Oscar time, this hilarious horror-film spoofing franchise is hugely successful (budget $19 million - box office $159 million) and keeps a lot of Vancouverites gainfully employed.
Scary Movie 3 (2003)
Anna Faris, Regina Hall
This franchise returns to Vancouver after filming part 2 in LA. Look for scenes shot in Porteau Cove and along Broadway.
Scary Movie 4 (2006)
Anna Faris, Dr. Phil
When movies make hundreds of millions of dollars in profits, get ready for a lot of sequels. The fourth installment, filmed all over the Lower Mainland, made an insane amount of money, meaning part 5 is planned for 2008.
Scooby Doo 2 (2004)
Matthew Lillard, Freddie Prinze Jr.
Live action remake of everyone's sort of favourite cartoon. This time, the Vancouver Art Gallery becomes the Coolsville Museum of Criminology and the Mining Museum in Britannia Beach gets majorly worked over to look like a ghost town.
She's the Man (2006)
Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum
Rising star Amanda Bynes is forced to dress up as a boy, and various slightly predictable hijinks ensue. UBC, Jericho Beach and the pre-Skytrain construction addled Granville Mall are here.
The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants (2005)
Amber Tamblyn, Jenna Boyd
Um, some girls, a pair of pants, laughing, crying, boys, friendship. That's pretty much it. Look for Ashcroft, BC to get some much-deserved screen time.
Ski School 2 (1995)
Dean Cameron, Heather Campbell
Basically a 90-minute commercial for Whistler, with plenty of hero shots of Vancouver's favourite ski resort. As for the movie, there is a girl, a good guy and a bad guy. All gets decided by the requisite ski race.
Slither (2006)
Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks
Space slugs infest a small town and turn everyone into zombies. Hey, it could happen! This film was criminally ignored at the theatre, but should enjoy a healthy business at the video store. Props to suburban Vancouver, with Surrey, Cloverdale, Langley and Abbotsford being used as locations.
Snakes on a Plane (2006)
Samuel L. Jackson, a planeful of snakes
An FBI agent transporting a high profile witness must deal with, yup, a bunch of snakes on a plane.
Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
Ethan Hawke, Youki Kudoh
A murder may have taken place in the salmon-rich waters off the "Washington" coast. Can an intrepid reporter with a crush on the suspect's wife prove his innocence? And can Kootenay Lake pass as the Pacific Ocean? These answers and more await all viewers.
Spy Game (2001)
Brad Pitt, Robert Redford
Basically filmed all over the world, but look for the familiar concrete blocks known as the SFU campus.
Stakeout (1987)
Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez
Cops stakeout a beautiful woman and one of them falls for her. Not sure, but that is probably not really allowed. The leafy environs of Shaugnessy are featured here.
Street Fighter (1994)
Jean Claude Van Damme, Raul Julia
Cheesy live action adaptation of the popular video game. Hey, when the game is basically just beating up the other guy, how good can the movie be? (hint - not very good.)
SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)
Jon Voigt, Scott Baio
Critically-devastated sequel to a movie we've never even heard of (red flag #1). Starring Scott Baio (red flag #2), it tells the tale of super-hero toddlers (red flag #3) who must defeat a greedy inventor that wants to crack the code of baby talk. It ranks #9 on IMDb's Bottom 250 (red flag #4).
T
Timecop (1994)
Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mia Sara
A cop who sheriffs the new frontier of time travel gets wrapped up in some sort of political plot. Yes, that is Granville Island that you see many, many times.
U
Underworld: Evolution (2006)
Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman
Werewolves and vampires fight it out in this gore-filled, supernatural action flick. We personally root for the werewolves, no real reason. Just kinda like the cut of their jib.
An Unfinished Life (2005)
J-Lo, Robert Redford
Wait a second, J-Lo filmed a movie here? Obviously, as she stars in this drama about a desperate single mother forced to reunite with her estranged father-in-law. Ashcroft and the 'Loops get credited here, too.
V
Van Wilder (2002)
Ryan Reynolds, Tara Reid
Reynolds shines as a cocky, charismatic lifetime student. Tara Reid plays a journalist out to discover why he is the most popular guy on campus. We are left to wonder why they are pretending UBC is in Southern California.
W
Walking tall (2004)
The Rock, Johnny Knoxville
A soldier returns to his hometown to find it overrun with crime and corruption. So, he does what any returning war hero would do - grab a big 2X4 and clean house! Squamish doubles for a small US town. Not sure how Squamishites feel about that. (Squamishians?)
White Chicks (2004)
Wayans Brothers, Jamie King
Two black FBI agents must go undercover as rich white girls at a US college to protect an heiress. Sounds like a reasonable plan to me. Victoria and Chilliwack share the screen with Vancouver this time around.
White Noise (2005)
Michael Keaton, Chandra West
A widow becomes obsessed with talking to his wife in the afterlife after hearing mysterious sounds from a device that uses EVP (electronic voice phenomenon.) Burnaby Hospital was overrun by key grips and actors to film many scenes here.
Who is Harry Crumb (1989)
John Candy, Annie Potts
John Candy could cough and it would make us laugh, so when he plays a dim-witted detective who threatens to end his family's long-line of world-class sleuths, we were in stitches. Literally. We spend three months in the hospital recovering from laughing so hard. YVR is easy to spot.
X
The X-Files (1998)
David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson
Big screen adaptation of the hit TV series, with Mulder, Sculley and that creepy guy who smokes too much.
X2 (X-Men 2) (2003)
Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry
Major box office success that was head and shoulders over the first installment. A human with a hate-on for mutants creates a machine that harnesses Dr. Xavier's powers and uses it to kill them. Robson Square might be dressed up different, but we all know it's in there.
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen
Third installment has a "cure" for mutantism threatening their existence. Great special effects and a staring role for the Wall Centre.