Thanks to the magic of movies, it’s often that where a film’s narrative is set isn’t actually where it’s shot. This is generally because it’s cheaper or easier to shoot the scenes in a different place that can be used as a stand-in, or most of the time, both these reasons. If possible, a sound-stage will be utilized for as many of the shots as possible, but if that’s not feasible, then the filmmakers will opt for a location scout to find a place that looks exactly like the setting they need.
Step forward then Canada, the country that is famous for ice-hockey, maple syrup, and Mounties. Interestingly, there’s also a real passion for online gambling amongst its citizens, with websites like Vegas Slots Online catering to them. It’s where you can find all the best Vegas online slots in Canada, including ones where you can play over 10,000 slots for free, or if you’re more of a risk taker, there’s loads of real money slots available as well. All of the games load instantly in your browser, making them simple to use. Plus, they’re all trusted sites that have been fully reviewed, so you know you’re in safe hands.
On top of all that, it’s also a country that has some seriously stunning scenery, and has been used numerous times as a stand-in for locations in some massive movies. See if you knew then, that parts of these movies were actually shot in Canada. Some of them might really surprise you.
Catch Me if You Can
Steven Spielberg’s smash-hit, Catch Me if You Can, is a brilliant thrill ride of emotion, and the movie was fawned over by both audiences and critics when it was released in late 2002. It tells the now heavily disputed tale of renowned con-artist, Frank Abagnale, who apparently managed to fool all around him and successfully become an airplane pilot, a doctor and a parish prosecutor, all staggeringly before his nineteenth birthday.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays the lead role as the charismatic Abagnale. It’s a rendition that helps to answer the question of why Leonardo DiCaprio invests in champagne nowadays, because he’s put in many champagne performances that have earned him a boat-load of cash.
Part of the movie takes place in France, but instead of jetting production all the way to Europe, they chose to just look north, and ended up shooting the scenes in both Montreal and Quebec City. The results are brilliant, with the French-Canadian cities obviously dripping with European vibes, and the beautiful Notre-Dame-des-Victoires Church looking especially poignant as the background to an important scene in the movie.
Chicago
You’d think with the name of one of the most famous urban settings in America, that the musical flick, Chicago, would’ve been shot entirely in the Windy City. However, the 2002 production that’s directed by Rob Marshall, actually was shot entirely in the Canadian city of Toronto. Several famous landmarks from the capital of Ontario stood in for the bold architecture from the Midwestern US city, with scenes being filmed at Queen’s Park, the Canada Life Building, Union Station, the Danforth Music Hall and many others.
One of the Oscar winning movie’s most famous scenes involves Richard Gere’s character, Billy Flynn, tap-dancing through a courthouse whilst he cross-examines Catherine Zeta-Jones’s character, Velma Kelly. This bit of magical musical cinema was shot at the exquisite Osgoode Hall, which is a sight for sore eyes on both sides of its hallowed walls.
Brokeback Mountain
The late Heath Ledger turned in one of the most masterful performances of his tragically short career, opposite the equally as impressive Jake Gyllenhaal, in this 2005 movie about forbidden love. Directed by Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain is based on writer Annie Proulx’s amazing short story about two cowboys who develop romantic feelings for one another, and how the society around them won’t allow it to happen.
The movie is full of gorgeous cinematography that uses the traditional Western scenery of rugged cliffs, and rolling mountains, as a personification of masculinity and traditional gender roles, which are turned on their head by the tender love story that takes place amongst them. Instead of being shot in Wyoming though, which is where the story takes place, the movie takes advantage of the scenic Canadian Rockies in Southern Alberta, which look truly picturesque on film.
