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10 iconic filming locations in Vancouver
While Vancouver, British Columbia, might be far off from the traditional locations people think of when considering the film industry, the truth is that it's played an important role in film history since the early 1900s. Often considered a part of "Hollywood North," Vancouver鈥攁nd often Toronto鈥攁re hubs for movie production. In fact, Vancouver was ranked as for film by MovieMaker Magazine partly due to the city's high quality of life for residents and its impressive number of productions per year (around 400).
The existence of is also a major benefit as it contains massive production facilities as well as a major special effects stage and visual effects cluster. Of course, the other benefit of filming in Vancouver is utilizing its truly impressive natural beauty and historical metropolitan areas鈥攏ever mind the numerous film productions receive from shooting in British Columbia.
With blockbuster films like "Deadpool," "Twilight," and critically acclaimed movies like "Okja" all shot in Vancouver, there's a significant amount of content to sort through. Thankfully, researched Vancouver shooting locations for you and highlighted 10 places across the city from famous films that you can visit鈥攃omplete with addresses鈥攐n a cinematic pilgrimage.
Juno鈥檚 house in 鈥楯uno鈥
- Location: 4550 Crown St
The world of 鈥淛uno鈥 is that of small-town rural Minnesota, conveyed through the vision of Canadian American director Jason Reitman and the writing of renowned Midwest screenwriter Diablo Cody (of 鈥淛ennifer鈥檚 Body鈥 fame). Despite its narrative setting, the movie was actually filmed in Vancouver鈥攁 choice that reflects the film鈥檚 smaller budget and to shoot there based on past work experiences.
Vancouver ended up being the ideal location for filming thanks to its intense weather; the crew had planned on importing fake snow for the winter scenes but instead woke up one morning to find very real snow blanketing the ground and changed their whole shooting schedule to utilize it. Vancouver also provided Juno鈥檚 (Elliot Page) home, a centerpiece of the film. With a saturated blue exterior and a warm cluttered interior, this house is where we see J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney as Juno鈥檚 father and stepmother. It also includes one of the most iconic teenage bedrooms seen on screen, with Juno鈥檚 eclectic blankets, walls plastered with band and movie posters, and of course, the burger phone.
Where Ethan Hunt receives his mission in 鈥楳ission: Impossible鈥揋host Protocol鈥
- Location: Burrard Bridge
The seventh installment of the 鈥淢ission: Impossible鈥 series titled 鈥淒ead Reckoning Part One鈥 is set to hit theaters in July 2023, but for this entry, we鈥檙e calling back to the fourth in the series, 鈥淢ission: Impossible鈥揋host Protocol.鈥 MI4 sees Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) escape from a Moscow prison and embark on a mission across the globe in director Brad Bird鈥檚 first live-action film following hits like 鈥淭he Incredibles鈥 and 鈥淩atatouille.鈥 After Hunt鈥檚 big prison break, he receives an urgent mission to find a man named 鈥淐obalt鈥 who intends to create nuclear armageddon. And where does he receive this mission? In a phone booth on none other than Vancouver鈥檚 Burrard Bridge.
The Burrard Bridge is described as a and, due to its inception in 1932, is Vancouver鈥檚 oldest surviving bridge. Burrard is completed in the art deco style and functions as a connection between the neighborhoods of Point Grey and South Vancouver, bordering the Burrard Green Streets Garden and the Vancouver Aquatic Center.
The 鈥楬appy Gilmore鈥 driving range
- Location: Riverway Golf Course & Driving Range, 9001 Bill Fox Way
Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2021, 鈥淗appy Gilmore鈥 is a cult classic underdog film starring Adam Sandler as an up-and-coming golfer. The film was actually the second screenplay written by Sandler and long-time friend Tim Herlihy, the first being 鈥淏illy Madison,鈥 and takes direct inspiration from the Bill Murray film 鈥淐addyshack.鈥 As it is a golf-centric film, were featured, including the Riverway Golf Course & Driving Range.
Despite being less than 10 miles away from the Vancouver airport, Riverway Golf is technically located in Burnaby, Canada, the third-largest city in British Columbia. Riverway boasts its status as one of the Greater Vancouver Area鈥檚 鈥減remier 18-hole championship golf courses,鈥 and each hole varies in length between 5,400 and 7,000 yards. Within the movie鈥檚 narrative, Riverway Golf is used as one of the locations for the Waterbury Open, which earns Gilmore a spot on the pro golfing tour he later uses to fight for his grandmother鈥檚 house.
Multiple movies at Shannon Mews Park
- Location: 1551 W 57th Ave
Shannon Mews Park was planned in the early 2010s and has since come to fruition as a beautiful sprawling park in Vancouver with a children鈥檚 playground, hedge maze, rose garden, and historic mansion. The itself was commissioned by B.T. Rogers, who founded Rogers Sugar, and was completed posthumously in 1925 in the beaux-arts style; it was later rezoned and townhouses and apartments were added to the property. While the mansion was closed to the public until 2020, both the home and the park still have found their way into several films.
Shannon Mews featured prominently in 2004鈥檚 鈥淚, Robot鈥 as the house of Dr. Lanning, a robotics creator whose death is being investigated by Will Smith, which eventually gets demolished by an explosion. Mike Nichols uses Shannon Mews鈥 beautiful architecture in his film 鈥淐arnal Knowledge鈥 as an Ivy League college where Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel attend, and Zach Snyder鈥檚 鈥淲atchmen鈥 briefly features the estate as well. It鈥檚 not just limited to the silver screen, however, as television shows 鈥淧sych鈥 and 鈥淭imeless鈥 also feature Shannon Mews in episodes.
Multiple movies at Pier 94
- Location: 3 St. Andrews Ave
Pier 94 is a largely unused pier and dry dock in Northern Vancouver and is quite different from many other locations featured on this list. The appeal of Pier 94 is not its setting nor is it anything to do with its maritime purpose but is instead its industrial emptiness, which has proven perfect for film studios to construct various sets and green screen structures within. The previously referenced 鈥淚, Robot鈥 is one of the most notable examples of this, as whatever they could not find existing locations for was instead built or projected in sets at Pier 94.
Another film to utilize this location was 2005鈥檚 鈥淔antastic Four,鈥 starring Chris Evans and Jessica Alba, which specifically used the Pier to construct its own Brooklyn Bridge set, which gets overtaken by flames and explosions. It鈥檚 unclear whether the Pier will continue to aid film sets in the future, as there was a 2021 proposal by the company Seaspan to .
The police ambush in 鈥楩irst Blood鈥
- Location: Near the Trans Canada Trail on Harris Road, Pitt Meadows
鈥淔irst Blood鈥 is a 1982 adaptation of a 1972 novel written by David Morrell, starring Sylvester Stallone (who also co-wrote the script) as John Rambo. The film found great success, but it was the character of Rambo, a Vietnam veteran who becomes subject to a massive manhunt, that really grabbed people鈥檚 imaginations. There are currently five films following Rambo as well as accompanying video games and an animated series.
In 鈥淔irst Blood,鈥 Rambo is repeatedly hunted by local Washington state police, who eventually set up an ambush for him at the real-life Harris Road, associated with the Trans Canada Trail, in Pitt Meadows. The Trans Canada Trail is considered 鈥渢he longest trail network in the world,鈥 extending 14,996 miles long and stretching all the way from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Several other trails were featured in 鈥淔irst Blood鈥 as the narrative mostly occurs outside, and for the eager Rambo fan, the blog Feed 鈥檔 Flow has put together a
The town of Bearpaw in 鈥楳cCabe & Mrs. Miller鈥
- Location: The town of Squamish
Robert Altman is an acclaimed film director, known for 鈥淢*A*S*H,鈥 鈥淣ashville,鈥 and 鈥淭he Long Goodbye,鈥 but his work on 鈥淢cCabe and Mrs. Miller鈥 is some of his all-time best. Adapted from the Edmund Naughton novel 鈥淢cCabe,鈥 Altman manages to illustrate the narrative鈥檚 status as both a standard Western and a subversive anti-Western classic. Because the film had all the necessary stereotypes of the genre, Altman was able to alter , like 鈥渕aybe they didn鈥檛 all wear big hats and speak with a drawl 鈥 Maybe the hero was just this normal, well-intentioned, blustering kind of guy who stumbles on the right thing to do.鈥
The backdrop of the film is the frontier town 鈥淧resbyterian Church,鈥 a massive set destroyed after filming. However, the town of Bearpaw where protagonist John McCabe enlists his first three prostitutes is actually a real town named Squamish, found between Vancouver and Whistler. Squamish describes as a 鈥渕ecca for windsurfing, rock climbing, hiking and mountain biking鈥 and The New York Times placed it on its Top 52 Places to Go list in 2015 due to its Sea-to-Sky Gondolas that carry guests up Vancouver summits.
The alley where Bastian gets cornered in 鈥楾he NeverEnding Story鈥
- Location: Blood Alley, Gastown
At the time of its production, this West German fantasy film had the highest budget of any film produced outside the U.S. or USSR, coming in at $27 million. This budget allowed for the majority of the film to be shot at Stage 1 of Bavaria Studios in Munich. However, practical locations were used for scenes following a boy named Bastian who stumbles upon a quirky bookstore after being chased by bullies into an alley. It鈥檚 in this alley/store that Bastian discovers the book 鈥淭he NeverEnding Story,鈥 which sparks the plot for the rest of the film, an experience fans can mimic by visiting the real alley in Vancouver.
Known as (the definitely not ominous) Blood Alley, this film setting is located in Gastown, Vancouver鈥檚 . Situated on the Vancouver peninsula that borders Vancouver Harbor, Gastown鈥檚 heritage architecture makes it a hotspot for film sets aiming for the classic big-city look. Ironically, Blood Alley is about five minutes away from the used to film most of the New York City scenes in 鈥淛ason Takes Manhattan.鈥
The ballroom scene from 1994鈥檚 鈥楲ittle Women鈥
- Location: Craigdarroch Castle, 1050 Joan Crescent
鈥淟ittle Women鈥 reentered the cultural zeitgeist and endeared itself to audiences in 2019 with Greta Gerwig鈥檚 adaptation of the classic Louisa May Alcott novel鈥攂ut for older generations, 1994鈥檚 鈥淟ittle Women鈥 fills that role. Directed by Gillian Armstrong, this film has an A-list cast with Winona Ryder, Christian Bale, and Susan Sarandon, and was mostly filmed in and around Vancouver.
One of its locations is Craigdarroch Castle, built between 1887 and 1890 for Robert Dunsmuir, which is an example of a 鈥溾攎assive houses built for entrepreneurs who became wealthy during the industrial age.鈥 This castle provides the background for several extravagant ballroom scenes in the film, including that in which Jo and Laurie meet for the first time, sparking a lifelong friendship. 鈥淟ittle Women鈥 is not the only film to use Craigdarroch, however, as both 鈥淭he Boy鈥 and 鈥淭he Boy 2鈥 use the castle as the ominous manor in which a doll named Brahms seemingly haunts its family.
Multiple movies at Swaneset Bay Resort and Country Club
- Location: 16651 Rannie Rd
Swaneset Bay Resort and Country Club is a staple of Pitt Meadows, a nature-filled municipality of Vancouver, which features two highly renowned golf courses designed by world-famous golfer Lee Trevino and a 65,000-square-foot clubhouse. It鈥檚 no surprise, then, that the club was another filming location for Adam Sandler鈥檚 aforementioned classic 鈥淗appy Gilmore,鈥 where Swaneset serves as the location for the AT&T Invitational where Happy faces off against nemesis Shooter McGavin for the final time.
For Greg Heffley, however, Swaneset is the Plainview Heights Country Club in 鈥淒iary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days.鈥 This film shifts the focus from the extensive greens to the clubhouse, where Greg uses his best friend Rowley鈥檚 membership to get closer to his crush and drinks a whopping $260 worth of smoothies. Like several other locations on this list, 鈥淚, Robot鈥 also filmed here, as well as Jackie Chan鈥檚 鈥淩umble in the Bronx,鈥 鈥淭he Pledge鈥 with Jack Nicholson, and 鈥淏londe and Blonder,鈥 a Pamela Anderson film wherein the titular blondes become involved with the Vancouver mafia.