news|3march 3, 2009the ubyssey | www.ubyssey.ca
by Sophie Raider
News Writer
We may have appeared ostensi- bly to bristle at the encroach-ment of our campus by (presum-ably) snobbish Hollywood pro-duction crews—geez, they are soin the way. Totally made me lateto class.But really, whenever pos-sible, we exploited the event. We boasted to our friends at otheruniversities, crowded the bar-ricades hoping to catch glimpsesof Hugh Jackman, snapped pic-tures to post on Facebook andperhaps even showed up outsideBuchanan Tower at 2am, stirred by vague rumors that they would
be lming an explosion scene.
The affairs of the
X-Men
Origins: Wolverine
shoot on East Mall late last month were cer-tainly something to talk about.Then again, at UBC we are not
unaccustomed to seeing lm
crews and sets around campus.Last year there were 46 separateproductions shot on university grounds.Considering that BritishColumbia typically hosts over
200 major lm and television
productions (excluding commer-cials) in a year, UBC commands
nearly 15 per cent of lm shoots.
Our campus is a hot venue.“UBC has always been a very
valuable asset,” afrmed Su
-san Croome, British Columbia
lm commissioner. The Film
Commission, which in 2008celebrated its 30
th
year showcas-ing our province as a motionpicture production destination,often recommends UBC to in-
ternational lmmakers. Croome
praised the campus as uniqueand cited a history of valuableexperiences that drives foreignproducers to return.In regards to
Wolverine
shecrooned, “We felt very happy tohave Hugh Jackman back here.”Every other
X-Men
movie featur-
ing Jackman has lmed scenesin BC; and all but the rst have
shot at UBC.
Producers keen to lm on
our campus inquire with UBCBusiness Development, whichcharges location fees of $2500per shoot day and $1250 perprep or wrap day, as well as vari-ous operating fees.
In 2008 commercial lm pro
-duction at UBC brought in morethan $200,000 in location feesalone.A portion of these revenues
serves to sustain UBC’s own lm
program. The departments of Film Studies and Film Produc-tion divide the funds to purchase
lms to screen, projectors, equip
-ment, supplies, and services.“The majority of the fundingfor our equipment comes fromthese location rental revenues,”said Sharon McGowan, associatehead of Film Production. “With-out them we would not be ableto do many of the things we do.”McGowan stressed that whilea UBC student pays the sametuition for a philosophy lecture
course as for a lm production
class, the costs to provide the
lm course are signicantly
higher. The livelihood of UBC’s
lm program depends on cam
-pus commercial production. As bonus, it is blessed by the net-working opportunities that theseproductions beget.“The producer of
The Matrix
,Erwin Stoff, was here last yearwith
The Day the Earth Stood Still
,she explained. “He came into aclass to speak to Creative Writingand Film students—he contactedme to offer to do this—and hetalked about how nice it was tomeet the students and get toknow people from the campus.”Once or twice per term, grant-ing schedules and conditions co-
incide, lm students are allowed
to visit a set. McGowan claimed
that these rsthand observations
have been great successes.In addition to
The Day the
Earth Stood Still
, productionsshot on-campus last year includ-ed the upcoming comedy,
The
Tooth Fairy
, featuring Dwayne(the Rock) Johnson and Ashley Judd, as well as
Harper’s Island
,the new CBS horror series airingApril 9.Arlene Chan, marketing man-ager of UBC Business Develop-ment, processes all campusproduction requests. They rangefrom the scantly-budgeted stu-dent feature to the multi-billiondollar blockbuster hopeful
(student lms have their fees
waived).Chan approves those that aredeemed to be without adverse ef-fect to the university or its repu-tation and minimally disruptive
to university life. Her ofcenoties departments affected,
which also receive a slice of therevenues.Those curious about upcom-ing productions can look to theBusiness Development websitewhich, Chan insisted, will soon be up-to-date.And what of the economic
crisis? American lms and tele
- vision comprise roughly three-quarters of BC production. Asof yet, the languishing economy has not seen a decline in the business.“We’re very fortunate,”Croome said. “We’re actually
seeing a lot of interest for lm
production in 2009.”Vancouver’s production in-dustry ranks third-largest inNorth America and has expand-ed rapidly to meet pre- and post-production needs.As with the choice of UBC forthe
Wolverine
re-shoot, Croomereasoned, “During uncertaintimes producers want to go to atried and true location.”Chan alluded to other major
productions scheduled to lm at
UBC this spring. However, she
declined to offer specics, citing
years past when the paparazzihave materialized on campus,disturbing the peace of produc-ers and students alike.For now, we can be gratefulthat
Wolverine
does not premiere
until after nal exams, that is,
May 1. Afterward we can indulgein that action-thriller-fantasy that only Hollywood (and the cold,dark cement façade of BuchananTower) can produce.
U
Hollywood North on campus
UBC trusted home of Wolverine, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville
goh
irohmoto
photo
illustration
/
the
ubyssey
TELEVISION SHOWS:
Battlestar Galactica (2004to 2008)
1987
The StepatherTerry O’Quinn
2001
AntitrustRyan Phillippe,Rachael Leigh Cook
2004
The Butterfy EectAshton Kutcher, Amy Smart
2007
88 MinutesAl Pacino
2008
PassengersAnne Hathaway, PatrickWilson
2009 (IN POSTPRODUCTION, TO BERELEASED IN MAY)
X-Men Origins: WolverineHugh Jackman, RyanReynolds
UPCOMING MOVIES ON CAMPUS:
MARCH 4-5
7am–10pm Chan Centre or the Perorming Arts
MARCH 6
7am–10pm Chan Centre or the Perorming Arts7am–10pm Liu Institute or Global IssuesProduction will prepare the Chan Centre rom 7am–7pm, March 2–3, withwrap Mar 9–10.
WHO DO I CONTACT?
Contact the Film Industry Liaison Ofcer, at 604-837-1951 or theMarketing Manager, UBC Business Development at 604-822-6555.
American lms compriseroughly three-quarters of BC production.As of yet, the languishingeconomy has not seen adecline in the business.
A SELECTION OF FILMS AT UBC:
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