Toronto is widely known around the world as a scenic destination, but now it seems the city has secured serious popularity with film companies around the world as a place to shoot scenes of their own.

Those findings come courtesy of a study by insurance company GoCompare, which broke down popular film shoot locations around the world.

The study used data from IMDb to create the list of top cities, countries, and attractions used in cinema today, and Toronto lands in the top 20.

Toronto ranks at the 15th spot, just behind Vancouver.

The past couple of years were big for film and television production in Toronto, as the city hit its second highest level ever at $1.8 billion in 2017.

That was the third consecutive year that domestic and foreign film, television, digital, and commercial production investments in Toronto contributed more than $1.5 billion to the city’s economy.

“We’re proud of Toronto’s film and television industry and we want it to continue to grow,” said Mayor John Tory at the time.

“We will keep working with our industry partners so they have what they need to create jobs, attract talent and contribute to the economy. Whether the final product will be on the big screen, the small screen, or streamed online, we want that production to be a made-in-Toronto production.”

Recent Toronto-based productions include the film, The Shape of Water, which was shot in Toronto, and cleaned house during award season last year, receiving the most nominations for the Oscars and Golden Globes.

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is another on-going Toronto-based production, with filming spotted in the region last fall.

Film and television production in Toronto showed no sign of slowing down last year, as the eighth season of Suits, Umbrella Academy, and It: Chapter 2 all shot across the city.

Currently, there are several movies and TV shows filming in the city, so the chance of spotting your favourite stars on location in our city is pretty high as well.

Source: Daily Hive

It seems Netflix is considering creating a production hub in Toronto.

Asked whether the video streaming giant is interested in setting up shop in the city, Mayor John Tory suggested to the Canadian Press it’s a strong possibility.

“I have a very high level of confidence, without betraying confidences that aren’t yet concrete, that they’re going to,” Tory said in an interview at the recent Toronto Film Critics Association Awards gala.

“They’ve been in active discussions with our industry, with me, about wanting to create one of their hubs here.”

The Los Gatos, Calif., company has production facilities in Los Angeles and recently announced new production hubs for Madrid and Albuquerque, N.M.

Tory said he met with Netflix representatives in Los Angeles last March as part of his annual trip to the city to speak with film and TV studios about their working relationship with Toronto.

He hopes to speak with Netflix again early this year and also meet with company representatives when he returns to L.A. in February or March.

“We’ve talked to them from here a number of times and they certainly know how much we would like to have them here,” Tory said.

“And they certainly have a strong interest in being here, so fingers crossed.”

Asked if he had any idea of when a production hub might be announced for the city, Tory said with a smile, “No. If I knew I wouldn’t tell you.”

Netflix had no comment on Jan. 9 on what Tory said.

In September 2017, the company pledged to spend $500 million over five years to fund Canadian productions, a number it recently said it will exceed.

Netflix has already shot film and TV productions in Toronto as well as other Canadian cities, including Vancouver.

Because it’s a foreign digital company, it isn’t required to collect or remit federal or provincial sales tax.

So far Netflix also hasn’t fallen under federal regulations that require the country’s broadcasting companies to pay into the Canada Media Fund for the creation of homegrown programming.

The impact of a Netflix production hub in Toronto “would be big,” Tory said, noting the city would need to ensure it has enough talent for the large amount of projects the streaming service would likely create.

He said the city is working with local industry unions to increase the number of qualified cast and crew that could staff future productions. It’s also working on the amount of studio space available.

Those are the priorities Netflix and other film and TV studios have expressed to Tory when it comes to bringing productions to Toronto, he said.

“Their message to us has been very consistent in the four years I’ve been there: Don’t mess with the money, meaning the tax credits; build more studio space; get us an even deeper pool of talent by working to have more people available behind and in front of the camera; and give us good customer service,” Tory said.

“So we just keep following their instructions and I go back each year and say, ‘How are we doing?’ ”

Source: Daily Commercial News

The 2019 Oscar nominations were (rather delightfully, it must be said) announced Tuesday morning by The Big Sick‘s Kumail Nanjiani and black-ish‘s Tracee Ellis Ross.

Without a clear frontrunner for the best picture award, or confirmed host(s), this year’s Academy Awards ceremony — which will air live on February 24 at 8 p.m. EST — is shaping up to be an unpredictable evening. Perhaps there is some insight to be gleaned, however, through the number of nominations handed out to Roma and The Favourite: 10 each, including Best Picture.

Other movies in the race for the highest honour at the Oscars include Bohemian Rhapsody (five nominations) and Green Book (five nominations), two movies that have received their fair share controversy in the lead up to Tuesday’s announcement. Box office hits A Star Is Born (nine nominations) and Black Panther (seven nominations) will also be in the hunt for the final award of the night. While rounding out the eight-movie Best Picture field is BlacKkKlansman (six nominations), Spike Lee’s hard-hitting treatise race relations in the U.S., and Vice (eight nominations), a biographical look at former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney that received a mixed critical reception.

Here is the complete list of nominees:

Best Picture

A Star Is Born
BlacKkKlansman
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Roma
Vice

Best Actress

Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
Glenn Close, The Wife
Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born
Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams, Vice
Marina De Tavira, Roma
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Emma Stone, The Favourite
Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

Best Actor

Christian Bale, Vice
Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
Willem DaFoe, At Eternity’s Gate
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Mahershala Ali, Green Book
Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born
Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
Sam Rockwell, Vice

Best Director

Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman
Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War
Adam McKay, Vice

Best Original Screenplay

The Favourite
First Reformed
Green Book
Roma
Vice

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star Is Born
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
BlacKkKlansman

Best Cinematography

Cold War
The Favourite
Never Look Away
Roma
A Star Is Born

Best Production Design

Black Panther
Roma
The Favourite
Mary Poppins Returns
First Man

Best Costume Design

Black Panther
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
The Favourite
Mary Poppins Returns
Mary Queen of Scots

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Border
Mary, Queen of Scots
Vice

Best Original Score

If Beale Street Could Talk
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
Isle of Dogs
Mary Poppins Returns

Best Original Song

“All the Stars,” Black Panther
“I’ll Fight,” RBG
“The Place Where Lost Things Go,” Mary Poppins Returns
“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings,” The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
“Shallow,” A Star Is Born

Best Film Editing

BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Vice

Best Sound Editing

Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
A Quiet Place
Roma

Best Sound Mixing

Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
Roma
A Star Is Born

Best Visual Effects

Avengers: Infinity War
Christopher Robin
First Man
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story

Best Animated Feature Film

Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Mirai
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Best Foreign-Language Film

Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
Capernaum (Lebanon)

Best Documentary Feature

Free Solo
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Minding the Gap
Of Fathers and Sons
RBG

Best Documentary Short Subject

Black Sheep
End Game
Lifeboat
A Night at the Garden
Period. End of Sentence.

Best Animated Short Film

Animal Behaviour
Bao
Late Afternoon
One Small Step
Weekends

Best Live-Action Short Film

Detainment
Fauve
Marguerite
Mother
Skin

Source: National Post