Newsstand: November 9, 2009
Rocket Talk: When's the TTC Going to Roll Out More Fare Collection Methods?
Zack Taylor in Disney Mama Drama
The Daily Photoist: November 9, 2009
Elsewhere in the Ist-a-Verse
Toronto's extensive work on the silver screen reveals that, while we have the chameleonic ability to look like anywhere from New York City to Moscow, the disguise doesn't always hold up to scrutiny. Reel Toronto revels in digging up and displaying the films that attempt to mask, hide, or—in rare cases—proudly display our city.
Contrary to rumours, this is not a frequent sight in Elora
Oh, the things we do for our art. It is our humble opinion that Jennifer Lopez has made exactly one really good movie, and it hardly seems fair we should have to suffer through another just because it was filmed in Toronto, but that's the job.
Angel Eyes, as far as we could tell, was about a cop, played by Lopez (can we call her J.Lo? Is that okay?), and a dude who survived a car crash, played by Jim Caviezel. There's a lot of moping about, and there's some family subtext, but we weren't paying attention a lot of the time.
Ah, Chicago. The Sears Tower, the Hancock Tower the, um, Scotiabank tower and, erm....the CN Tower...?
We were willing to give Angel Eyes a chance, at least until the film's opening shot. See, this is supposed to be Chicago but, last time we checked, they ain't got no CN Tower there. It's one thing to let our phallic pride show up in your un-Toronto movie, but at least save it for later. At least try to hide it.
As you can see above and this lovely crane shot, the opening crash scene takes place on the Queen Street Bridge.
In fact, an awful lot of the movie was shot in and around Queen Street and eastern Toronto in general. Sometimes, your only clue is something subtle, like this reflection in a restaurant window.
On the other hand, sometimes someone is running by a landmark, like the Garden Gate and the Beach's Fox Theatre.
Other times, someone is cruising down a Chicago street and you go, "Hey! I didn't know they had Sam the Record Man in Chicago!" (They don't. Neither do we, come to think of it....)
Or, perhaps, someone is strolling down another Chicago avenue and you go, "Hey! I didn't know they had an Honest Eds!" (Still, nope.)
Yup, after a nice little stroll down Bloor, JLo and Caviezel check out a jazz bar. The exterior is just a mock façade on Bloor, but the inside...
...is not too far away, at the Silver Dollar Room. After Police Academy, Adventures in Babysitting, and now Angel Eyes, it seems safe to say the Silver Dollar's place in Hollywood history will never be challenged.
Maybe in this Bizarro Toronto the Varsity Blues win games...?
Since the producers loved Bloor Street so much, they also filmed a chase scene at the dearly departed Varsity Stadium. inside and out, there wasn't much to see, truth be told.
"Hey, let's make kissy faces and do some PG skinny dipping!"
When it's time for a romantic getaway, they do what any sensible couple does: head to a swimmin' hole. In this case, it's the Elora Quarry.
J.Lo's family lives in the lovely Playter Estates, just off the Danforth.
Seedy Toronto gets a few shout-outs too. Caviezel gets into a bit of a shouting match with this one dude outside of Jilly's, and Filmore's also served for some interior shots.
The exterior of the Richmond Rogue also makes an appearance.
Caviezel's apartment is a bit to the north. As you can see, it's near the Sun Milk & Variety on Vaughan Road, and his apartment seems to be 88 Kenwood.
If Seedy Toronto didn't do it for you, maybe you'd like a little Religious Toronto? Despite the sign, those gates are actually the entrance to the Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
And this shot, inside the cemetery, was way across town, at St. John's Norway Cemetery.
This lovely wedding scene was filmed at the Church of St. Matthias.
| CORRECTION: AUGUST 28, 2008
We mistakenly identified the building in one shot as "pre-gentrification" Gladstone, when the building pictured was actually the Richmond Rogue (at Richmond and Sherbourne). Thanks to Carly Beath for naming the correct building. |
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A friend of mine actually had her house rented out for interior shots. She claims she still charges for teenage boys to touch the same banister graced by the hand of J. Lo.
And you know, I really miss those old posters at Jilly's. They had a cheesy, 70s/80s-vintage charm to them, and were somewhat sexier than the crappy photos they have now.
There is actually a good movie Jennifer Lopez made, back when she was starting as an actress in 1995. It's called My Family-Mi Familia. About a Latin family settling in LA (of course). She wasn't the star, though, it was Edward James Olmos: IMDB link to My Family-Mi Familia
I wasn't defending her, though, just sharing the experience.
While I also believe Out of Sight was her best movie, don't forget how awesome Anaconda was.
I liked her in The Cell.
Are you sure that's the Gladstone in that one shot? The building across the street, the slope of the street and the height of the window don't seem quite right.
When, oh, when will Jon Voight, Ice Cube, Owen Wilson and J.Lo reunite on the big screen?
One of the weirdest casts ever...
I know that they also filmed some interiors on College at Bloor (the building next to the Starbucks), although having never seen the film I don't know if was in the final cut. I was working at College Park at the time and everyone in my office ran downstairs to stare at Lopez as she stood on the sidewalk with her bodyguard.
The Cell is awesome.
I went to Namibia last summer and our tour guide took us to this famous dead lake in the middle of the desert. I'm looking around thinking "this is vaguely familiar" when the guide says "they shot some j-lo movie here once". Turns out it's locale for that opening sequence of the cell, when she's visiting the kid's brain. I nearly lost my nerdy little mind.
Another lesser-known J-Lo flick, Selena (again, catering to the latin crowd).
Mmh, I'm not that good at HTML (sorry), here's the link to the imdb site:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120094/
i'm with jill re the gladstone shot.
This was fun to read. I used to live around the corner from the Playter Mansion - they filmed quite a bit of Cinderella Man in that neighbourhood while I lived there.
As for great JLo movies -- you all are forgetting about Maid in Manhattan ... instant classic.
I watched them shoot the scene across from Honest Ed's one summer night. Her ass was huge in person; her pants just couldn't contain it. Incredible.
I'll third the challenge about The Gladstone. That's not it. I live around the corner and walk by there pretty much everyday and they building in the background doesn't exist. Plus, Gladstone Ave. goes downhill at that corner, which the photo doesn't show.
Also, what's with the "pre-gentrification" dig? Shit, can they not renovate their fucking hotel without some OCAP bullshit about "gentrification". If you don't like a nice neighbourhood then go live in a fucking dump already.
Also, what's with the "pre-gentrification" dig? Shit, can they not renovate their hotel without some OCAP bullshit about "gentrification"?
If you don't like a nice neighbourhood then go live in a fucking dump already.
The exterior bar shot that's tagged as the Gladstone is the Richmond Rogue, at Richmond and Sherbourne.
Yeah, def not the gladstone (it faces Queen, and the number on the building behind is 287.. 287 Gladstone is between College and Dundas).
I always wondered about streetcar tracks. When they shoot movies in Toronto, the streetcar tracks are always as plainly visible as the nose on my face, especially in chase sequences. It kills the illusion for me, but maybe the American audiences don't notice or don't give any attention to those funny steel rails in the pavement?
Anyone know what building it might be? We're trying to figure it out on staff right now.
Missed Carly's reply above! I'll issue a correction about it momentarily.
@13: Dude, not a classic. J.Lo was cute, but the romance was pretty flat. Ralph Fiennes looked like he was constipated through the entire movie.