And why so many of them are shot in Vancouver.Jesse Prupas isn't just joking when he says Santa Claus is Canadian; I wrote Canada claims North Pole so Santa is Canadian nearly a dozen years ago. That's not why so much television production occurs in and around Vancouver. Vox mentioned the variety of locations in and around the city, the generally good weather, the welcoming locals, the skilled cast and crew members, and the tax incentives. Vox did a good job explaining all of those, but I have an anecdote about the weather/climate to add.
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Movie magic is what makes our favorite films so good: Actors flawlessly inhabiting the personalities of totally made-up characters, visual effects transforming a green screen to an otherworldly setting, musical scores making us feel every emotion under the sun. But there’s another kind of magic we don’t talk about as much: one physical location masquerading as another. And it happens all the time.
When filmmakers are trying to make a movie, deciding where to shoot isn’t as straightforward as choosing the location described in the script. They need to find a place with cooperative weather, a few landscapes to choose from, a big enough workforce, and — perhaps most importantly — one that fits their budget.
All these factors mean that locations with downtowns, country landscapes, mountain ranges, and water features within a drivable distance are highly sought after, especially when they also have good tax credits. While Hollywood might be the legendary film capital of the world, places like Vancouver are becoming more and more popular thanks to the flexible landscapes and tax breaks.
This is especially true for holiday movies — many of which are filmed in Canada. In this video, we talk to a prolific Christmas movie producer — who has worked on films like 2024’s Netflix hit Hot Frosty — about shooting movies in Canada.
Nearly 40 years ago, when I was working on my M.S. in Geology at CSUN, I had a conversation at the campus pub with a drinking buddy who had just finished taking a final exam in The Geography of Canada. He mentioned one of the blue book exam questions: "Where would you live in Canada?" I responded, "That's easy. British Columbia, especially around Vancouver. It has the best weather in Canada. It's also in the west, so it has the fewest cultural differences with California and some of the best scenery." He shook his head and said, "Man, you should have taken my final exam for me." Ha — not that I would have done anything so academically dishonest.
So much movie and television production takes place in British Columbia that the province has its own film and TV awards, the Leo Awards. Follow over the jump for my remarks about them.
I became aware of the Leo Awards while my wife and I were binging Arrow and I was so impressed by the stunts that I searched the show's IMDB page to see if it had won any awards and nominations for them. The Emmys snubbed Arrow throughout its run — they notoriously ignore CW shows — but the series won six Leo Awards, three of them for stunt coordination in 2013, 2017, and 2019, and one each for cinematography, production design, and visual effects, all in 2013.* The Leo Awards loved the first season! In addition, the series earned 16 other nominations over its run, including Best Dramatic Series in 2014. The Emmys may have ignored it, but the Leo Awards gave it even more attention than the Saturn Awards, which nominated the series six times, but never awarded it a statuette.
Now for the 2024 Leo Award nominees and winners, which become more familiar as I scroll down the page. I only recognized one nominee among theatrical films, Cocaine Bear. I recognized more television movies, the main subject of Vox's video, particularly Monster High 2, which won four Leo Awards and was nominated for two more, and Murdaugh Murders: The Movie, which earned one Leo Award and two nominations. And, yes, there are a lot of holiday movies among the winners and nominees.
The television series winners and nominees included a lot more familiar and favorite shows, including Creepshow, Death and Other Details, From, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, One Piece, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Peter Pan & Wendy, Riverdale, Skymed, So Help Me Todd, Sweet Tooth, The Fall of the House of Usher, Tracker, Transplant, Virgin River, and Yellowjackets. Wow, I knew British Columbia was a major filming location for U.S. TV, but I had no idea how big!
That concludes this week's Sunday entertainment feature. Stay tuned for another holiday St. Patrick's Day. May the luck of the Irish be with you all!
*I discovered the Saturn Awards and Environmental Media Association Awards the same way. Yay, IMDB!
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