Why your favorite movies fake their locations

[@mma0911]

"Vancouver Never Plays Itself"

[@Steppenwolf.85]

Tony Zhou 🙏🏻

[@multitudeofidols]

In American media. Vancouver plays itself in Canadian shows like _Da Vinci's Inquest_ and _Intelligence._

[@kojisan1]

Came here for this comment.

[@DetroitGothic]

Then, and only then, does Detroit portray a location 😂

[@LashanR]

2:48 Vancouver, sunny? Destination Vancouver must have paid big to fit that line in 😂😂

[@BTCBlizzy]

😂😂😂😂

[@adanactnomew7085]

Vancouver's summers are almost entirely dry without rain.

[@nelloismello]

I heard they reimbursed 28% to Vox just for filming here

[@eostyrwinn5018]

@@adanactnomew7085 Sunny for 2 months, rainy for 10

[@stuntmonkey00]

It's actually sunnier here in in June than in LA, no "June Gloom". July August is full on beach weather in Vancouver.

[@DataCab1e]

The commonly heard utterance from Vancouver locals any time they see a film crew (or so I've heard): "So, what part of the 'States are we impersonating this week?" Oh, and Smallville is supposed to be in KANSAS.

[@BTCBlizzy]

Oof 😂😂 nobody caught that I guess

[@Vox]

Thanks for catching this! We're working on fixing it now.

[@katies9114]

@@Vox video works but fix the captions too!

[@janeangele]

Suddenly, I remember Every Frame a Painting's Vancouver never plays itself video. So true!

[@daytrip_films]

Was not expecting "sponsored by the city of Vancouver" lol

[@bigpurplepops]

TlDr: Money.

[@RealShaktimaan]

Didn't need tldr for that. It was already given

[@Daybareally]

To clarify: Langley has over 100k people, the very small 10 square km (under 4 sq miles) area of Langley City has 30k. Similarly, the city of Vancouver has about 700k people, yes, but the surrounding Lower Mainland (the mountains, temperate rainforest, rural areas and coastal locations where they also film) total about 3 million people. Yes a lot less than NYC but I don’t think it’s accurate to say filming here is easier because there are fewer people here; it’s cheaper than NYC to film in while offering lots of diverse locations, I think those points are the main reasons.

[@Mstr0K]

Yeah, saying Vancouver has only 700 000 people is pretty disingenuous. Most people that haven't been would count North and West Van as part of the city.

[@bigfootwalker5399]

0:54 Superman/Clark Kent didn't grow up in rural Kentucky, he grew up in rural Kansas.

[@johnper2302]

wrong, he grew up in miami beach

[@Alex-oy4qn]

wrong he grew up in mexico

[@j.zuberi]

he said Rural Kansas...LOL!. Did u miss that.

[@bigfootwalker5399]

@j.zuberi you came to this video later than my comment, in the time in-between they re-edited the video. The original video said Kentucky and even showed Kentucky on the map, not Kansas. That's why my comment got so many likes.

[@j.zuberi]

@@bigfootwalker5399 Ahhh ok, that makes more sense, not sure how they re-edited it with the original comments still here but go figure i guess. That is wild they got that initially wrong multiple times.

[@ratguy101]

As a Vancouverite by upbringing, I knew it was going to be the focus of this video as soon as I saw the title.

[@llcn829]

Every Vancouverite can easily guess a movie’s filming location even before the credits roll. It’s like a sixth sense.

[@ratguy101]

I watched 50/50 recently, and it was laughable how little they tried to conceal the fact that it was shot here. The first scene is just a montage of Joseph Gordon-Levitt jogging past all of Vancouver's most famous landmarks.

[@BTCBlizzy]

This was a long answer for “it’s cheaper.” 😂😂 it costs extra money just to breathe in NY these days.

[@christianfontaine2946]

Did he really get kentucky and Kansas mixed up 3 times? Superman was in Kansas not Kentucky

[@SARGEinc]

I've driven through Fort Langley so many times when they are filming a Christmas movie in July. Same thing with the Old Clayburn store in my hometown of Abbotsford BC. I'm a big Christmas guy, so it always makes me feel happy to see it, even if I have to wait in traffic for the scene to end.

[@tirvine9102]

They do this in Richmond's Steveston village, where I grew up too, for the historic small town main street vibes.

[@vegan939]

8 1/2 minute Vancouver ad

[@vegan939]

Also, you can clearly see the sponsor influence in your ad/video. You were obviously told not to mention Ontario (which gives even better tax incentives for filming), which is Canada's hub of filming. I can see how this video idea came about: Vancouver advertiser offers to throw money at you. Vox thinks about how they can make an ad for the city fit within their portfolio. Vancouver advertiser flies you in to some local spots. Presto! Video ad. The idea for the video is a good one, but its so obviously an afterthought as its not thorough.

[@doktorhypebeast]

you must be fun at parties. I mean, based on your username, kinda checks out😂

[@vegan939]

@ I’m the best at parties! You must live in Vancouver. Am I right?

[@AmaraARW]

You just know they weren't allowed to say or mention Toronto in this video lol

[@prancey227]

As a new yorker, it's painfully obvious wheneneve a location is supposed to be taking place here but shot somewhere else. A good example is the stark contrast between the Raimi Spider-Man movies and the MCU ones, the latter of which mostly used Atlanta for its NYC locations. In the Raimi movies NYC is its own character, but when you're replacing it you're only getting very generic locations with some comp work to fill in the illusion.

[@AliceFlynn]

Hey at least they try to make it seem realistic :p in one of those movies the Netherlands looked like a medieval fever dream lol

[@robertwatson4840]

Jesus….KANSAS not Kentucky. Clark Kent is from Kansas. How do you mess that up?? They’re not even in the same geographic region.

[@multitudeofidols]

Glad someone said something. You don't even need to have ever watched the show to know that. It's basic comic lore.

[@mbkltd1]

They probably had to rush the video out for the sponsorship deadline. Didn't have time for Vox's normal stringent fact check and review.

[@robertwatson4840]

@@multitudeofidols it’s like one of the three things we got from Kansas. KU basketball, Superman’s earth home, and Samuel Ramey operatic bass legend. That’s it. Let us just have that.

[@GranRey-0]

Yeah the coffee cup prop is weird.

[@k12moyo]

The fact that you were in Fort Langley blows my mind!!

[@qwertyuiop1st]

"Smallville" was set in Kansas, not Kentucky.

[@mlegrand]

Wow, Vox has really jumped the shark with the advertising.

[@arsalan825]

It rains 8/12 months in Vancouver. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@KSPRAYDAD]

But, Vancouver is metric so there are 28 metric months.

[@stickynorth]

Yeah as an Albertan I can confirm it's WAAAAAAAY sunnier in Southern Alberta and Calgary compared to Vancouver... And unless your movie or film shoot calls for ocean scenes it's also cheaper, except the film subsidies aren't nearly as good and that's what drives much of where things are filmed...

[@SnapshotOfASoul]

As someone from the area, our film industry is a local point of pride. I love pointing out local locations in movies and TV to others!

[@maxsterling9908]

I remember once I was leaving work in Toronto, I walked by two different sets of movie production. One was Driven starring Stallone and the second one was Exit Wounds starring DMX. This was downtown Toronto, the financial district too.

[@hammieli1875]

The coolest New York scene I’ve seen is Season 4 of Mr Robot, where Rami Malek runs across all of New York in one episode

[@speckdratz]

The REAL question is: why take an empty coffee cup to the forest? :)

[@jessetorres8738]

"Canadian tax breaks, y'all."

[@escapefromtibet2530]

Because it's less expensive, has less paper work and is faster, probably

[@stickynorth]

Yup. The turnaround times on these productions is much quicker which means shooting quicker, cheaper with simpler set ups and less takes. You aren't going to see hyper-edited modern films in many a case, you see lots of static shots and simple editing. I think traditional big films shoot for 3-6 months. Hallmark/Netflix Xmas films? 30-45 days I believe. Hence why Vancouver and increasingly Ottawa have become B/cable TV movie hubs as of late...

[@marplani]

Always knew this movie magic trick had to be cost-saving, but I appreciated this breakdown of details. Thanks!

[@SpectrumPOV]

5:55 Tax incentives should be number one.

[@robinhahnsopran]

Vancouverite here! One of my favourite games to play while watching movies and TV filmed in town is that I try to guess where in the city or Lower Mainland (the surrounding area) they're filming before the scene ends. The way I watched Supernatural while randomly screaming words like "UBC!" or "LANGLEY!" at the TV screen like I was watching Jeopardy and not a drama... 🤣

[@drink15]

Always funny seeing movies take place in my city but none of the building or streets exist in reality

[@vegan939]

why are you holding that empty coffee cup? Looks weird

[@ALLSTARDECOURO2]

is the hallmark magic

[@multitudeofidols]

Genuinely curious how well known this is to most people. I've known for a long time a lot of American media is filmed in Vancouver and can tell once I see certain actors. If a movie or show is filmed in Canada, but not Vancouver, it's Toronto.

[@cmair77]

A 70 cent dollar doesnt hurt either

[@ramshacklealex7772]

The funniest example of this for me is in season 3 of the Boys, when they have downtown Toronto playing midtown Manhattan and there's a scene of Soldier Boy where it's so obvious that I recognized the intersection and I'm not even from Toronto. (It was Yonge and Richmond, btw)

[@stickynorth]

The biggest giveaway of any Toronto shoot playing NYC? The TTC streetcar tracks and powerlines. Only a few cities in the entire USA have streetcar infrastructure of any size much less a city like Toronto which kept its historic system intact for over a century!

[@pineoandloeb]

Walking around downtown cover in the past few months I see a few Christmas movies filming

[@filip1979]

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but ebook titled The Elite Society's Money Manifestation might be the answer you’re looking for

[@froodcariad6399]

Vancouverite here. I knew what this would be from the thumbnail alone! Muahahahahahaha EVERYTHING YOU LOVE IS MY CITY!!!

[@blue_tanium9685]

Vox, how did no one fact check the smallville thing when you made an entire kentucky graphic - cool video aside though!

[@willcookmakeup]

Ooo loved this episode. I've always wondered about this. I'm from CT and so so many movies are filmed there but don't take place there

[@ryancolpitts7248]

*obligatory Gas Town steam clock shot*

[@Malik-Ibi]

Answer: taxes. The end

[@tylerwhorff7143]

PNW is good for shooting film because diffused lighting from the cloud cover is easier to deal with than actual sunny weather. Cool for Vancouver BC though good for them

[@EVILBUNNY28]

In a world where more and more films are being filmed in soundstages and warehouses, it makes filming in the UK a lot more desirable as the weather doesn’t matter 😂

[@Odin31b]

I want my 8 minutes back.

[@UltraDoug]

I spent two years in BC and the primary difference from top to bottom (compared to NYC or Philly) is cleanliness. It was actually pleasantly shocking.

[@stickynorth]

Yup. Spotless, almost eerily so...

[@UltraDoug]

@ agreed. When I first arrived I couldn’t put my finger on it, but knew something was different. After a few days it dawned on me. “Oh….there’s no trash” 😳

[@punkdigerati]

Looking forward to your post-vox solo career.

[@Howard24]

I live just outside of Vancouver and they filmed The Flash at my high school… and blocked off like a quarter of our school to do so. Don’t even know why they chose our school as it’s just a random suburb.

[@federicovargas4084]

You missed the fact that the lower CAD means a more favourable exchange rate which lowers costs across the board for US companies. This is also true for Toronto

[@RadiumX]

I work at a Cafe in Fort Langley and In the one year I've been there, we've had 3 separate movies record in our cafe. You'll see filming crews and sets there every other week. They leave grest tips cuz it's the boss' money lol

[@Power0fM]

5:08 If you're only considering the City of Vancouver, then you should compare with the Boroughts of New York: Manhattan: 1.6m Brooklyn: 2.6m Queens: 2.2m Vancouver 0.7m Or compare metropolitan areas: NYC: ~8m Metro Vancouver: ~3m

[@ON-YT]

Eh my home city finally getting the credit it deserves

[@stickynorth]

Finally the secret is out to a larger audience besides Canadians and industry insiders...

[@FlyWithVeiga]

Love videos like this! Cool fun facts 🔥

[@justinchung7753]

It only works if you’ve never travelled to the destination before.

[@julioperez1850]

My brother was watching the Netflix movie Don't Move which was set in California's Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.... except, it wasn't! The filming location was anywhere forest, Bulgaria!

[@xBigBean]

Calling those cities "towns" is pretty funny when places like Surrey have a pop of like 600k

[@keaganscott9808]

It should not have taken this long to say tax breaks and cheaper production costs. Dont get me wrong, i love my province, but it’s off putting how much of a promo this is for BC and Vancouver in particular.

[@bigpaul4450]

My city, Liverpool, England doubled as Gotham city!

[@aaronisarun]

As a film instructor who teaches in Vancouver, this video is great! As a sustainability representative, it's frustrating to see the host use a disposable coffee cup (that's clearly empty in a couple of shots) instead of a reusable mug. And yes, Smallville is set in Kansas, not Kentucky. Even Canadians know that.

[@Piemasteratron]

hey a decent relevant advert

[@janedoe2509]

a lot of things are filmed in either Vancouver or the Toronto area tbh

[@Sparkle_Wizard]

It's fun to watch a Hallmark film and point out which Cafe in New Westminster they filmed at

[@Zurich_for_Beginners]

In the first Borne movie Praha was a stand in for Zürich.

[@WiwatChang]

Just how many coffee did you have? ;-)

[@mastermavrick]

Ah yes... "Hollywood" North ie: the greater Vancouver area. Still remembering how a few parts of my city/province were used for the Last of Us, that was cool. Ah seeing everyone mention an old video from a old channel is great in the comments.

[@FairMiles]

I wonder if AI making all future films will know they were trained mostly with Vancouver images… 🤔

[@stickynorth]

Fair question and I bet the first crappier versions will create weird Vancouver-influenced results. Think Rumble in the Bronx 2 with the spectacular Yonkers Mountains in the backdrop!

[@albear972]

Even before I started seeing the video, because Vancouver Canadia looks like 90% of US cities.

[@stickynorth]

Canadian cities are generic clones for many a skyline. Heck even Edmonton doubled as Boston for The Last of Us Season 1... And don't forget the Canadian dollar is 30% weaker right now even though historically it was always at or above par with the USD. That's a huge incentive to shoot in Canada since it stretches your budget that much more... Same reason why southerners visit Mexico for many a need...

[@electrikoptik]

@ 0:51 "Vancouver has been India" Sadly most of Canada is now India

[@M.E.M.O.10-50]

What word is he saying at 1:55? "locations like Vancouver and _________"? The map is indicating somewhere in Ontario, but that isn't what he said. Definitely not Toronto. *Maybe* a badly mangled Ottawa? The subtitles say "Atlanta" but last time I looked that is NOT in Ontario.

[@AmaraARW]

Atlanta... I'm not sure what map you are looking at but that second location is certainly not in Canada lol

[@M.E.M.O.10-50]

@@AmaraARW oh, you're right. I lost my mind.

[@MrHaydnSir]

shoutout to one of my all-time favourite channels, Every Frame a Painting. 💛 ✌

[@thetruestwaffle47]

BRUH One or two crews? back in 2019, we had something like 40 shows running in Vancouver. Most technicians I know were working year round. Granted things are slow right now, but these are weird times.

[@jasontritt3243]

Gee, I hope this is not another 15 min commercial disguised as content again!

[@Random9_]

It was sadly

[@stickynorth]

@@Random9_ But it's Canada so who cares? And I say that as a Canadian... Blandest ad ever!

[@Kittles932]

It is not achievable to be in New York when filming in other locations. It is so painfully obvious to New Yorkers when a “New York” setting isn’t actually New York 😭

[@urbanstrencan]

Interesting, never thought about it

[@liamdavis2387]

You left out London. Hollywood has been moving to London for years now and it sped up with Covid. A huge number of blockbusters are filmed in the UK. Probably because this video is an ad for Vancouver tourism.

[@stickynorth]

Correct on both accounts. Canada along with London combined almost have a majority of film shooting days now when it comes to American feature films. L.A. thrives on commercial and TV work and that's according to Film L.A. the city department in charge of film/tv shoots, etc. ATL, LAX and NYC make up the rest. Instead of just one or two big film hubs now its 5-6.... Vancouver, Toronto, London, LA, Atlanta and NYC...

[@X24.mp4]

Zero mention of Toronto, let alone Ontario

[@Tripn]

this video feels like it was made to normalize santa living in canada

[@C.SchitzPopinov]

HA! I can tell when it's Vancouver, Vancouver has a cheap feel to it, like it's trying to be something that it is not. Double HA, it RAINS ALL THE TIME in Vancouver, you know, because it's a Pacific rain forest ecoregion.

[@jacobitelivinghistory]

What about Glasgow? It’s been used for NYC a lot!

[@themoogle22]

Glasgow Scotland has been used as Philadelphia in the opening scene of World War Z, and somewhere else in the most recent Indiana Jones film.

[@Gwallacec2]

I can answer this in 3 seconds… movie studios are cheap and don’t want to pay to do anything so they goto the cheapest place. Also that producer you got made 3 5/10 star movies 😂😂

[@JeskidoYT]

Budget and then logistics after covid times

[@bigpurplepops]

This has been going on for decades, let alone since covid. If I remember correctly the X-Mansion is a castle in Toronto.

[@OpinionatedNomad]

😂😂😂😂 there's ZERO NEW IN THE WORLD - ANYWHERE

[@JustinnM]

not mentioning toronto and saying vancouver weather is great is funny, nice work sponsor

[@l_7376]

Van-kew-ver LOL

[@pssurvivor]

tax incentives is my guess. lots of places around the world offer incentives for film crews

[@pihorn]

Every Frame a Painting did that video a few years ago, didn’t he?

[@janeangele]

Yes!! I remember it!

[@DetroitGothic]

Except when they portray Michigan and/or Detroit, but there's a full-on mountain range in the background 🤦‍♀️

[@HippoOnABicycle]

Doesn't Vancouver have even worse weather than NYC, and expensive hotel rooms too?

[@Aragorn7884]

_handouts_ *cough, I mean "tax incentives" 🤑🙄

[@arsenal0095]

Hello from Malta 🇲🇹

[@thomasdevine867]

Clark Kent grew up in Kansas. He fought for the American Way, not the Klu Klux Klan.

[@martinhumble]

My favourite films are, Voyna Y mir, Abel Gances Napoleon and Jan Troells Utvandrarna

[@jonathanfgh1]

No mention of the X-Files then ?

[@Re1ampag0]

You mean KANSAS! Clark Kent grew up in KANSAS!

[@Bugneedfix]

Fargo being filmed in Canada ruined me

[@tirvine9102]

It's only 160 miles from the border 🤷‍♀

[@NewCreationInChrist896]

Isaiah 9:6 🎁 “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

[@adnankaisarkhan]

When is your KZbin channel coming, buddy?

[@RocketPowerFuel]

Bro really said Clark Kent was from KY instead of Kansas. Great Journalism. LOL

[@LanceBeckman]

Everything comes down to money. Any other answer is lies