West Hastings Street

SHOOT: Elizabeth Olsen Drenched by Rain Tower at GODZILLA in Downtown Vancouver

by Susan Gittins
June 22, 2013June 7, 2014
Godzilla

Godzilla's Gareth Edwards directs Elizabeth Olsen in downtown Vancouver. Copyright Godzilla. — Godzilla’s Gareth Edwards directs Elizabeth Olsen in downtown Vancouver. Copyright Godzilla.

Elizabeth Olsen got drenched by rain tower in take after take today on the set of Godzilla in Vancouver’s Business District dressed as San Francisco. She reportedly plays the wife of Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass)’s lead character Lieutenant Ford. And since she’s wearing hospital scrubs seems to be some kind of doctor or EMR. Crew filmed scenes of vehicles in gridlock near Oceanic Plaza dressed as a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station. Olsen got out of an ambulance in the rain and joined others looking up at something north of the street — [a fight between Godzilla and the two MUTO (massive unidentified terrestrial organisms)].

SET: GODZILLA Turns Oceanic Plaza Downtown into San Francisco BART Station

by Susan Gittins
June 22, 2013August 3, 2013
Godzilla

Godzilla crew has turned Oceanic Plaza in downtown Vancouver into a San Francisco BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station, adding a San Francisco kiosk with ads for the Golden Gate Zoo, San Francisco mental health, San Francisco Pique Ballet Company and Go Whales Tours at Fisherman’s Wharf (the whale watching company and boats used by soldier extras on the Steveston docks to shoot at the Japanese sea monster), decorating West Hastings Street with Presidio New Folk Festival banners (the same ones used on Sixth Street in New Westminster), changing the Guiness Tower signage to Portman Center, another sign to the Kerney-Grand Hotel and parking yellow-and-green San Francisco cabs, black-and-white San Francisco police cars and military vehicles along the street for filming later on today.

SHOOT: KING & MAXWELL’s Rebecca Romijn Apprehends a Suspect Near CIBC Tower

by Susan Gittins
June 13, 2013July 7, 2014
USA Network Series

King & Maxwell is about Washington, D.C. secret-service-agents-turned-private investigators Sean King (Jon Tenney) and Michelle Maxwell (Rebecca Romijn of The X-Men fame), based on the David Baldacci books. It debuted Monday night on TNT while King & Maxwell was shooting scenes in downtown Vancouver. This one took place in a laneway near the CIBC tower. After three to four hours of filming a foot chase sequence along both sides of the 800/900 blocks of West Hasting, former American Olympic athlete Maxwell (Romijn) finally nabbed her suspect (The Killing’s Goldie, aka Brendan Fletcher). King (Tenney) catches up after she’s grabbed him, pulled out his wallet and checked for ID. And then cracked up laughing after the shot. King & Maxwell is one of the most laidback cast and crews around town.

SHOOT: FRINGE Films in NYC Taxi in Downtown Vancouver for Ep. 5×09

by Susan Gittins
October 30, 2012August 12, 2013
Fringe

As streets began flooding in the real Manhattan yesterday morning and the east coast braced for Hurricane Sandy’s full impact, Fringe filmed scenes in a NYC taxicab in cloudy, wet Vancouver dressed as Manhattan under Observer Occupation in 2036. It sure put our rain in perspective.

I didn’t find the set until close to lunchtime and not long after Fringe wrapped and returned to studio for the rest of the day, so I don’t know if there were scenes other than John Noble’s Walter in the cab along with an unexpected guest star from seasons earlier. I won’t spoil the identity of that guest star until the producers choose to, because one of the joys of the final season is the way Fringe brings back or echoes former cases and characters. After the guest star wrapped, a Flex star car picked up her and Jasika Nicole’s Astrid, who must have been in that very crowded cab as well. I can’t imagine the risk they took talking in a cab with all those background Observers and Loyalist soldiers walking past. And on one of the background cabs driving by — a Reward Wire rooftop ad. Remember the creepy-good Captain Windmark-voiced Fringe teaser, Wanted: Peter Bishop, ahead of the season premiere?

SHOOT: FRINGE’s Joshua Jackson Dodges Manhattan Traffic Downtown for 5×07

by Susan Gittins
October 7, 2012August 12, 2013
Fringe

Fringe took over a block of West Hastings Street in downtown Vancouver last Monday dressed as New York City to film a scene of Joshua Jackson’s Peter Bishop dodging about two dozen cars while crossing the street for episode seven of the final season. Observers, Loyalist troops and citizens dressed in 1940s garb walking in the background told us this scene is set in 2036. It was a deceptively simple one of Peter crossing the street, coming to a dead stop in the middle of it until a New York cabbie yells at him to “get out of the way” and then continuing on to the curb on the other side. But all those moving vehicles required a stunt coordinator on set.