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Once Upon a Time

SHOOT: Robert Carlyle & Lana Parrilla Film ONCE UPON A TIME 2×19 in Steveston – Updated

Update: “You’re Henry’s grandfather.” – Regina to Rumple

Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) and the Evil Queen/Regina (Lana Parrilla) seem to be on friendlier terms in 2×19 Lacey despite Cora and Regina’s efforts to kill him in The Miller’s Daughter. Of course the actors are real friends with no hard feelings about who tried to kill whom. Once Upon a Time filmed a scene in late February of the two evilish characters walking and talking in the background of Rumple’s son Baelfire/Neal (Michael Raymond-James)’s play swordfight with his son Henry (Jared Gilmore) in Fisherman’s Park.

Related: Father-and-Son (Michael Raymond-James & Jared Gilmore)’s Play Swordfight in Steveston

Read More »SHOOT: Robert Carlyle & Lana Parrilla Film ONCE UPON A TIME 2×19 in Steveston – Updated

WEEK: April 1-7, 2013

WEEK: March 25-31, 2013

SHOOT: ONCE UPON A TIME’s Neverland at Steveston’s Garry Point Park for Season Finale 2×22 – Updated

Once Upon a Time is filming in Steveston for [four] full days for its season two finale — And Straight on ‘Til Morning. Thursday, March 28th, was Day Three and began inside the Gulf of Georgia cannery with cast and stunt doubles on set for a big fight in present-day Storybrooke. Then in late afternoon, production moved to a beach in the 75-acre waterfront Garry Point Park, west of the historic fishing village. There they filmed a way-too-spoilery to-share scene on the beach with some Fairy Tale World characters and grownup Baelfire (Michael Raymond-James, who tweeted that Thursday was his final day of shooting season two). And then Once Upon a Time filmed a flashback of a night in Neverland, featuring the Lost Boys and young Baelfire (Dylan Schmid) in a row boat coming to shore. Filming was delayed until high tide receded and SPFX crew flooded the beach with smoke. So much smoke that it might have been Once Upon a Time’s smoke drifting northward that my ferry to Vancouver Island had to pass through on an otherwise sunny Good Friday.

Related: Day 2 – Charming Family & Grandpa Rumple in Steveston’s Kuno Garden

Related: Day 1 – Captain Hook on his Pirate Ship Set off the Steveston Docks

Read More »SHOOT: ONCE UPON A TIME’s Neverland at Steveston’s Garry Point Park for Season Finale 2×22 – Updated

SHOOT: ONCE UPON A TIME’s Captain Hook on his Pirate Ship Set off Steveston Docks for Season Finale 2×22 – Updated

Updated March 31st – Once Upon a Time is filming in Steveston for four full days for its season two finale, And Straight on ‘Til Morning. Tuesday, March 26th, was Day One.

Once Upon a Time filmed a scene of Captain Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) at the helm of his pirate ship off the Steveston docks south of Vancouver today. Is he in Neverland for the season two finale? A boat towed the floating pirate ship set west while a camera boat did a pass of the set with a technocrane panning up to Hook on the painted side of the ship. Once Upon a Time did several takes of this and then the pirate ship set was towed into the docks. Unfortunately I missed earlier scenes on the pirate ship set.

Read More »SHOOT: ONCE UPON A TIME’s Captain Hook on his Pirate Ship Set off Steveston Docks for Season Finale 2×22 – Updated

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

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

PROMOS: ONCE UPON A TIME 2×17 Welcome to Storybrooke Promo Images

Welcome to Storybrooke circa 1983. But not if you’re an outsider.

What happens after a New Jersey father (John Pyper Ferguson) and son (Benjamin Stockam) find themselves in Storybrooke in the early days of Regina’s curse?

Related: Welcome to Storybrooke circa 1983. High-speed car chase in Steveston

Lana Parrilla, John Pyper-Ferguson, Jamie Dornan. © 2013 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. 

Read More »PROMOS: ONCE UPON A TIME 2×17 Welcome to Storybrooke Promo Images

SHOOT: ONCE UPON A TIME’s Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) & Neal (Michael Raymond-James) on Third Beach in Stanley Park

Updated May 5, 2013 – Emma and Neal/Baelfire were checking whether devious Tamara (Sonequa Martin Green) was out running as she claimed instead of holding Regina captive, as Emma suspected. I didn’t notice that I’d photographed her in a lycra hoodie below.

This is Michael Raymond-James’s “big scene on a rainy beach” with Jennifer Morrison yesterday on Third Beach in Stanley Park. Sorry Swanfire fans. This doesn’t look particular romantic  It seems Emma Swan  and her baby daddy Baelfire have some issues to work out.

Once Upon a Time spent Friday shooting scenes on the forest trails above Third Beach with horses on set but took time out to film the beach scene around “magic hour”. At least what passes for the last hour of sunlight on a rainy day. The scene took less than half-an-hour to shoot with production assistants stopping joggers and walkers at both ends of the seawall during filming.

Update: Didn’t realize that I’d photographed Tamara (Sonequa Martin Green)  jogging in her hoodie below.

Read More »SHOOT: ONCE UPON A TIME’s Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) & Neal (Michael Raymond-James) on Third Beach in Stanley Park