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Filming - Foreign producers are still interested in Montreal

[Resilience19]

An article picked up in Montreal's La Presse (which I've Google translated), highlighting the attractiveness of Montreal for the film industry (i.e. Disney etc) which, by extension, bodes well for DM's sale of C-19 tests:

Filming - Foreign producers are still interested in Montreal

Montreal's two major audiovisual studio complexes, MELS and MTL Grand, each host an American film crew these days. Disney chose MELS for a new version of Home Alone, while Centropolis Entertainment is shooting Moonfall (starring Halle Berry) at MTL Grand.

 

In both cases, it was out of the question to pack up when the pandemic forced filming to stop in March. We had already invested too much in setting up the sets.

 

"If the sets hadn't been set up already, I feel like it would have fallen," said MTL Grand founder Iohann Martin.

Since Quebec authorized the resumption of filming in June, many local producers have started. So far, they have been able to do so despite health restrictions and without significant problems.

 

"No one has an interest in a plateau stopping, it would be a financial disaster for everyone," said Martin, who assures us that the rules are therefore strictly observed. "Producers are not either, they know it can stop quickly, like gyms or restaurants. "

Strong demand
 

The good performance of local shoots also reassures foreign producers. And although there are no confirmations yet, the interest is great, we confirm both in the two Montreal studios and at the Bureau du cinema et de la television du Qubec (BCTQ).

 

"We receive more scripts, production is really on the rise despite everything," notes Chanelle Routhier, national commissioner at the BCTQ. “There are a number of promising projects, but there is nothing confirmed. "

It must be said that momentum was already strong for Montreal, which could have had its best year of 2020, had it not been for the pandemic. This success can be attributed above all to strong demand from industry in general, which has saturated more popular destinations, but also, somewhat, to the reputation of the metropolis, believes Ms. Routhier.

 

For two or three years, Montreal has been positioning itself for TV shoots. Some series have returned, which sent a good message.

 

Chanelle Routhier, National Commissioner at the Quebec Film and Television Bureau

 

Strong demand is also mainly driven by series broadcast by online broadcasting platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, notes Mr. Martin. The cinema is more popular. The closure of a large number of cinemas has already prompted the postponement of the arrival of several films, including the most recent James Bond, and created an ebb.

 

The health restrictions, more severe in Quebec than in most American states, do not seem to have any negative effect, observes Ms. Routhier. In fact, American producers are holding themselves to even higher standards than what the CNESST demands in Quebec, because of the demands of unions, especially those of American players.

 

"Since the situation is not obvious in the United States, Canada becomes even more interesting," said Ms. Routhier. We are a safe place for Americans. "

 

There is also a greater interest in shooting in the studio, where the environment is easier to control than outside.

https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/2020-11-02/tournages/les-producteurs-etrangers-s-interessent-toujours-a-montreal.php