Skip to content

Latest News

SHOOT: Wooden August Becomes Young Pinocchio at ONCE UPON A TIME 2×18 Shoot in Fort Langley

August (Eion Bailey) found redemption on Once Upon a Time last night, becoming a “real boy” again after years of wrongdoing by being as Brave, Truthful & UnSelfish as Pinocchio is supposed to be.  We have not seen wooden August in the second season, partly to accommodate Bailey, who was cast as the male lead in Jerry Bruckheimer’s drama pilot Trooper but the Covert Affairs/ER actor became available again in the new year when TNT chose to pick up to series the to-be-filmed-in-Vancouver Maxwell & King instead of Trooper. I hope last night doesn’t mark Bailey’s exit from the modern fairy tale series.

Related: Eion Bailey & Michael Raymond-James film Manhattan flashback scenes in Gastown

Once Upon a Time filmed the scenes of the Blue Fairy (Keegan Connor Tracy) waving her wand over the dead wooden August (Eion Bailey) on February 12th at the Fort Langley Community Centre dressed as Storybrooke Town Hall, previously messed-up in 2×03 to show the destructive path of the wraith. August tries to warn Emma (Jennifer Morrison) about Neal/Baelfire (Michael Raymond-James)’s fiancee Tamara  (Sonequa Martin Green) before dying. Charming (Josh Dallas) and Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) rush to August’s aid, with Snow  distraught to see him die because she needs to believe in redemption. But Henry (Jared Gilmore) is the one who realizes August can be saved because of his sacrifice. And so it happens. The Blue Fairy waves her wand and wooden grownup August regresses back to the real boy Pinocchio (Jakob Davies) he once was to the delight of his father Geppetto (Tony Amendola). Pinocchio will do better this time.

Read More »SHOOT: Wooden August Becomes Young Pinocchio at ONCE UPON A TIME 2×18 Shoot in Fort Langley

WEEK: March 18-24, 2013

SHOOT: Karl Urban & Minka Kelly Film TV Pilot ALMOST HUMAN in Vancouver’s Business District

J.J. Abrams and Fringe showrunner Joel Wyman’s TV pilot Almost Human (formerly Human) is filming in downtown Vancouver’s Business District on West Hastings Street, transformed into a futuristic Los Angeles, for the second day in a row this weekend. Stars Karl Urban (Star Trek’s Bones) and Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights) are on set as Los Angeles police officers at the crime scene of yesterday’s armoured vehicle heist.

Related: TV pilot Almost Human Films Armoured Car Heist in Vancouver’s Business District

Read More »SHOOT: Karl Urban & Minka Kelly Film TV Pilot ALMOST HUMAN in Vancouver’s Business District

SHOOT: TV Pilot ALMOST HUMAN Films Armoured Car Heist in Vancouver’s Business District

Fringe showrunner Joel Wyman’s new TV pilot Almost Human (formerly Human) for FOX pays homage to Fringe in so many ways. The production uses many of the former Vancouver Fringe crew as well as its production signs BELLY. Some of the set dressing looks familiar too, but with a twist. Almost Human is about a futuristic Los Angeles where police officers are paired with android partners and stars Karl Urban (Star Trek’s Bones) as one of the human cops and Michael Ealy (Underworld Awakening) as an android cop. Neither actor was spotted in the downtown business district for the armoured car heist although they were on set. Almost Human turned the Guiness Tower into Division Tower and Oceanic Plaza into West Plaza and hired thirty or so PAs (production assistants) to control the set and 80 costumed extras to work as background for the heist with loud prop gunfire. Almost Human is a big for a pilot. Huge, in fact. Almost Human’s second unit filmed up on Galardi Way on Burnaby Mountain at the same time as the downtown shoot. The heist drew a crowd, who lined the Hastings pedestrian bridge to watch the action, leaving only enough room for the camera crew on the bridge.

Read More »SHOOT: TV Pilot ALMOST HUMAN Films Armoured Car Heist in Vancouver’s Business District

SHOOT: Japanese Monster Reboot GODZILLA Rampages Through South Nanaimo – Part 2

The 3D Japanese monster reboot Godzilla let spectators get closer for the Friday afternoon shoot in south Nanaimo on Vancouver Island of prop wreckage on fire in Godzilla’s wake and U.S. military extras rushing to the scene on the railroad tracks. Crew set on fire a burnout vechicle and downed helicopter and filled the air with smoke from smoke machines. But no Godzilla was sighted on set. 

Related: Japanese Monster Reboot Godzilla Rampages through South Nanaimo – Part 1

Read More »SHOOT: Japanese Monster Reboot GODZILLA Rampages Through South Nanaimo – Part 2

SHOOT: Japanese Monster Reboot GODZILLA Rampages Through South Nanaimo – Part 1

Look out Godzilla. USAF missiles are coming your way. The 3D Japanese monster reboot is rampaging through south Nanaimo on Vancouver Island today, filming scenes of a WRail train carrying missiles and dozens of military extras through prop wreckage in Godzilla’s wake, including a burntout vehicle and a downed helicopter.  Production started filming at the Cambie Pub in downtown Nanaimo on Wednesday with Aaron Taylor- Johnson spotted on set, then moved to Ladysmith yesterday for more prop wreckage on railroad tracks and prop traffic. I will write more about today’s shoot when it wraps. 

Related: Japanese monster reboot Godzilla turns Vancouver Convention Centre into airport terminal

Read More »SHOOT: Japanese Monster Reboot GODZILLA Rampages Through South Nanaimo – Part 1

SHOOT: Eion Bailey & Michael Raymond-James Film ONCE UPON A TIME 2×18 Manhattan Flashbacks in Gastown

In early February, a savvy friend predicted that August would return to Once Upon a Time at that day’s shoot in Gastown dressed as Soho. So it wasn’t a complete surprise to find August’s motorcycle amid a dozen prop yellow NYC taxicabs parked on Columbia Street. Or when his August stunt double appeared on the Powell Street set. Or when Eion Bailey showed up along with Michael Raymond-James as Neal/Baelfire. The two men had a long animated chat while their Manhattan flashback scene was set up near the building used as Neal/Baelfire’s apartment.

Production asked us not to share the secret of August’s return and we agreed. It might have worked if others hadn’t seen the public scene in the afternoon of the two men talking and  Sonequa Martin Green (The Walking Dead) as Neal’s future fiancee Tamara, bumping into Neal in take after take.

Selfless, Brave and True is the story of August — of a wooden Pinocchio made boy who grew up to be a man ashamed of his actions. 

Read More »SHOOT: Eion Bailey & Michael Raymond-James Film ONCE UPON A TIME 2×18 Manhattan Flashbacks in Gastown

SHOOT: John Stamos Films NBC Pilot VICTOR at St. Andrew Wesley United Church Downtown

Victor (formerly I Am Victor) had camera crews on two corners of the downtown Burrard and Nelson intersection  last night to film a scene of John Stamos (ER/Full House) as a high-powered divorce attorney waiting on the north steps of St. Andrew Wesley United Church for a young woman coming out of the church and then walking with her to the main entrance where they sit together on the steps. Later crew set up on the sidewalk in front of the main entrance to film closeups of Stamos talking with the young woman. It was a big shoot for the NBC pilot with lots of people stopping and staring throughout the evening until the film lights went out around 11 p.m. and Stamos left.

Read More »SHOOT: John Stamos Films NBC Pilot VICTOR at St. Andrew Wesley United Church Downtown

SHOOT: GODZILLA turns Vancouver Convention Centre into Honolulu Airport Terminal – Updated

Update: “Earthquake Rocks Eastern Japan” says news crawl on set screen.

Japanese monster 3D reboot Godzilla with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, David Straitharn and Ken Watanabe from a script by The Walking Dead’s Frank Darabont has begun filming here and on Vancouver Island. Godzilla crew transformed the Vancouver Convention Centre into what looks like the [Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii] last weekend. And on Vancouver Island, crew transported WRail train cars and a locomotive from New Westminster to tracks near Shawnigan Lake and started filming in Nanaimo. Aaron Taylor-Johnson could be on set inside the Convention Centre but Bryan Cranston is not expected here until he wraps filming of the Breaking Bad series finale.

6.3 Earthquake Rocks Eastern Japan, says newsreel.

Read More »SHOOT: GODZILLA turns Vancouver Convention Centre into Honolulu Airport Terminal – Updated