Hundreds of movies and TV shows have been shot in Toronto. . . even if you can’t recognize it.
Hollywood producers have frequently chosen Toronto as a filming location over the last 40 years. Some say it’s because location costs are so much less, while others say it’s because the city is a perfect stand-in for just about any major metropolitan area.
Here’s a list of just a few of the films that have been shot there . . . and where they were “supposed” to take place.
• Hollywoodland (2006): Hollywood
• The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002): The moon
• The Gospel of John (2007): The Holy Land
• Ararat (2002): Armenia
• Where the Truth Lies (2005): New Jersey
• Vendetta (1999): New Orleans
• Chicago (2002): Chicago
• Three Men and a Baby (1987): New York
• RED (2010): Cleveland
• Detroit Rock City (1999): Detroit
• Land of the Dead (2005): Pittsburgh
• Hairspray (2007): Baltimore
• Fools Rush In (1997): Las Vegas
• Fever Pitch (2005): Boston
• The Virgin Suicides (1999): Grosse Pointe, Michigan
• Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000): British Isles
• Rumor Has It (2005): Pasadena
• Good Will Hunting (1997): Cambridge, Massachusetts
• The Prince and Me (2004): Madison, Wisconsin
• Pacific Rim (2013): San Francisco
• The Ref (1994): Connecticut
• Dawn of the Dead (2004): Milwaukee
• Wrong Turn (2003): West Virginia
About 11,000 species of mites and spiders live in Canada.
• Brokeback Mountain (2005): Wyoming
• Tommy Boy (1995): Ohio
• A Cool, Dry Place (1999): Kansas
• A History of Violence (2005): Millbrook, Indiana
• The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew (1983): Toronto
• Murder at 1600 (1997): Washington, D.C.
• Dracula 2000 (2000): London
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THREE GOOFY GAME SHOWS
The Lawbreaker (1970) Contestants watched short silent films of a character named “The Lawbreaker” who was shown breaking obscure Canadian laws. Competitors had to guess what law was being broken. (The Lawbreaker was played by Paul Soles, who was voice of Hermey the Elf in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.) Because the films were silent, you never heard Soles’s distinctive voice.
Strategy (1969) This was one of the first game shows ever hosted by Alex Trebek. In Strategy, teams of couples could move forward along a huge board, space by space, if they answered questions correctly. Their goal was to make it to the center of a huge maze. Players could block their opponent, and occasionally they would land on spaces that were booby-trapped.
Just Like Mom (1980) Mothers and their sons or daughters spun a wheel and answered questions. For the middle round, they competed in a bake-off. The kids made the food, and the mothers had to eat it.
An experimental program in Canada in the 1970s gave everyone a minimum income.