Coquitlam residents can expect to see some familiar sights — and sites — when watching their favourite movies and television programs.
The falling Canadian dollar has led to a sharp increase in the number of film productions setting up shop in the city, a trend that does not appear to be slowing in 2016.
“To date, we are getting more inquiries than from this time last year,” said David Munro, the city’s manager of economic development. He added that this year “we will at least keep pace or do slightly better” in overall numbers.
According to a staff report, the number of inquiries from film companies was up 25% last year, going from 200 in 2014 to 250 in 2015, while the number of film permits issued jumped 8%.
While the film permit revenue is small in terms of the city’s overall operating budget — up from $75,000 in 2014 to $87,000 in 2015 — Munro said it has a direct impact on municipal services. For example, the television series Wayward Pines began production of season two earlier this month on a piece of city land on Burke Mountain at Princeton Avenue and Trafalgar Street. The property, which is currently occupied by a large film set, will be revert to a park when the filming is complete, with proceeds from the film permit paying for the work, according to Munro.
“We can leverage the use of it,” he said. “The revenue that we will be able to generate will go back into the park.”
There are also economic spinoffs that come with large film productions.
For example, when filming for the blockbuster superhero movie Deadpool took place in Vancouver in early 2015, the production spent $40 million in 58 days. It also oversaw the hiring of 2,000 local cast, crew and extras who earned $19 million in wages, according to Creative BC, the government-supported organization that oversees the industry in the province.
While not every production will create the kind of spinoffs as a large action blockbuster like Deadpool, Munro said there are ways for the city to calculate the benefits of local filming. For example, the Association of Film Commissioners International estimates the economic impact of production for each day of shooting at $130,000 for feature films and $110,000 for television series.
The organization also noted that long-term, multi-season productions often become entrenched in the communities where they operate. For example, during the first season of Wayward Pines, which is set in Idaho and stars Matt Dillon, extensive filming took place on the Riverview Hospital grounds. When the show began filming season two, Munro said producers wanted to continue at Riverview and added the second set at Princeton and Trafalgar to keep the production within close proximity.
Other major film productions have filmed scenes in Coquitlam. A city staff report said the list of movies and television programs filmed in the municipality in 2015 includes: Bates Motel, DC: Legends of Tomorrow, Hidden Fortress, iZombie, Once Upon A Time, The Flash and The X-Files.
@gmckennaTC
