An upcoming Hollywood hit movie has some Port Alberni muscle in it.
Filmed on location in Ucluelet, Hidden Fortress is the latest installation in the Planet of the Apes franchise.
Gordon “Soup” Campbell’s crane had an integral part in the production.
“It gave us about two days of work which we normally wouldn’t have had for my crane and the rigger,” said Campbell.
The task was positioning a semi-trailer and truck in brush alongside the road out by the landfill, he said.
He got a sneak peak at one of the sets – an “abandoned processing plant” meticulously constructed at Wyndansea.
“It was very well done – it looked like it had been there a hundred years,” he said. “They did a really good job on it. It reminded me of some of the old fish camps that used to be dotted up and down the coast.”
Campbell, who also got some work when scenes for Insomnia were filmed in and around Port Alberni, expects to go to the new ape movie when it shows in local theatres.
“It’s not something we get very often around here, making movies – it’s pretty neat,” he said.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars can be infused into a town in a matter of days, an undeniable economic boon, Campbell noted.
“That’s money that’s well received in a small community,” he said.
A long-time contractor in business in the area since 1956, he’s somewhat familiar with the movie industry; a Toronto-based son works as an electrician in the film industry.
As a contractor for the movie, Campbell adhered to the strict non-disclosure policy, as he would for any customer.
“Once they’ve hired you and know who you are, maybe they’ll be back and you can do something else for them,” he said.
Like some 35 carpenters and 15 production assistants, Campbell didn’t confide that he was building sets for the movie; he was sworn to secrecy.
Island North film commissioner Joan Miller said the film production now heads to the lower mainland for studio filming, but the after-effect lingers in local economic impact.
“In order to support local communities when they do a film, they try to purchase locally,” Miller said.
On the West Coast, that means a trickle-over-Sutton Pass effect for heavy equipment and car rental businesses in Port Alberni, she said.
Miller said she can’t say enough about support from local municipal officials, the airport and the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District.
“They’re getting great feedback from production crews here – that kind of word-of-mouth goes a long way,” she said.
“This is a film-friendly community – they’re always cooperative,” Miller said.
A non-profit agency that doesn’t charge for its services, Island North Film Commission works with all the on-the-ground logistics to facilitate film production here – with one question in mind.
“How can we as a region make this a win-win for both the production company and the community?” she asked.
In order to attract films out of Hollywood – even out of the Lower Mainland – there are advantages to be represented: everything from Vancouver Island’s 22,000 square miles of spectacular scenery – much of it unimpeded by traces of civilization – to free parking.
“We’re competitive … we want them to come to our region, and spend all their per diem while they’re here,” Miller said.
Federal and provincial parks – once somewhat aloof to the film industry – have realized that Hollywood can bring them what they need: free publicity with location shoots that will lure a second wave to visit.
“People are more and more making decisions on where to travel based on what they’ve seen on the big screen,” said Miller.
There were, earlier this month, more than six documentary crews on the ground on Vancouver Island – including several BBC documentaries.
