Believe it or not but Skyscraper star Dwayne Johnson rocked Vancouver enough to get his own day proclaimed in the city.
Well after last week’s hustle and bustle of film and TV productions coming and going, this week’s roundup is a bit calmer. But no less intriguing.
After all, there’s a female Santa Claus feature film starting up just as a polyamorous romcom is calling it a wrap—plus Vancouver declared a special day in honour of a…Hollywood celebrity?
Yes, it’s all true. Read on, true believers and skeptics alike.
Anna Kendrick
First up, we’ve had an all-female Ghostbusters but are audiences ready for a female Santa Claus flick?
It better be because the traditional tale of Christmas is getting a fresh take—which includes a gender and generation update—with the feature film Nicole.
Marc Lawrence (Music and Lyrics) is directing this seasonal family treat, which shoots in Vancouver and Whistler from today (October 23) until January 19.
Bill Hader
Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect) stars as the daughter of the legendary Santa Claus.
She’s unexpectedly thrust into the position of calling the shots of the wintry holiday season when her father retires and her brother (played by Saturday Night Live alum Bill Hader) backs out from taking over the family business at the worst possible time: on Christmas Eve.
The cast includes Billy Eichner, Julie Hagerty, and Shirley MacLaine.
Shirley MacLaine
But there’ll be quite a lengthy wait before fans get a chance to see the film in theatres—it’s not scheduled to be released in theatres until November 8, 2019.
You Me Her
While we wait for that one to hit the big screen, the latest season of the poly rom-com You Me Her will soon be hitting home screens before that.
It’s wrapping up production on Season 3 on Sunday (October 29), having started on September 5.
This Canadian-American TV series, in which Vancouver plays Portland, Oregon, centres around a three-way relationship that a suburban married couple (played by Greg Poehler and Rachel Blanchard) develops after they bring in a college student (Priscilla Faia) into their arrangement to revive their dissipating sex life.
(And you thought your relationship was complicated?)
Dwayne Johnson
Going back to Canadian and American relations, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson paid thanks to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for giving Vancouver a major role in his blockbuster Skyscraper.
Mayor Robertson officially proclaimed October 19 as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Day by issuing a “Rock Proc”.
The proclamation noted how the production is contributing to Vancouver’s film industry generating over $2 billion in revenue. (Not too shabby, indeed.)
It also referred to how Johnson’s football career started and ended in Vancouver, which Johnson had talked about on social media when he first arrived for his Skyscraper shoot.
In an Instagram post, Johnson recalled how he played his first professional football game as a 22-year-old player for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League (two days later, he was cut).
The proclamation also thanked Johnson for his kind words about the city, and praised his work through the Rock Foundation, which works with at-risk and terminally ill children.
Most importantly, the proclamation also stated “Yes, we do smell what the Rock is cookin’.”
And big thanks @TheRock + team for making #Skyscraper movie in #Vancouver. 3000+ people working on set this week – phenomenal! pic.twitter.com/derbJTVu7o
— Gregor Robertson (@gregorrobertson) October 20, 2017
In turn, Johnson reciprocated and thanked the mayor for the honour on social media.
The action-thriller started shooting here back on August 14 and continues until November 17, and will also have filming locations in China.
In an Instagram post, Johnson provided a video of Vancouver playing Hong Kong (you can tell it’s Vancouver due to the Vancouver Canucks banners on street posts) during a shoot this past week in the streets around Rogers Arena.
The cast also includes Neve Campbell, Pablo Schreiber, Roland Møller, Chin Han, Paul McGillion, and Byron Mann.
The film will be released on July 13, 2018.
Neve Campbell
On that power-packed note, that’s it for this week’s roundup.
But check back in with us in the near future for more updates on what’s going on in Vancouver’s screen scene.
