With the departure and subsequent end to the filming of hit television show Once Upon a Time, the Richmond Film Office is banking on at least two new series to fill the void of film shoot days this year, particularly in Steveston Village.
Last year marked a downturn in film shoots in Richmond thanks in part to Once’s departure, as well as temporary closures to two popular heritage sites (Minoru Chapel and Britannia Shipyard). In 2016 there were a record 276 film shoots while in 2017 there were 205, according to city council’s 2017 Richmond Film Office Annual Report.
However, two new television series shot in Steveston, Siren and The Crossing, could be expected to make up for lost ground, should they be renewed. Siren’s first season launched March 29 on Freeform and is averaging about 750,000 viewers. The film office may be more optimistic about the ABC (CTV) show The Crossing, which is now four episodes into season one and reaching about four million viewers, according to website TV by the Numbers.
Last year there were fewer feature films shot in Richmond. Feature films included: Ollie (Predator), Hard Powder, Psych the Movie, Overboard and Skyscraper. Meanwhile, TV shows filmed here included: Arrow, Beyond, Colony, Frequency, Hit the Road, Ice, iZombie, Legends of Tomorrow, Life Sentence, Lost in Space, One of a Kind, Once Upon a Time, Siren, Supernatural, The Crossing, The Hunt, The Magicians, Travellers and Unreal.
According to the report, the film sector is a major employer in the city with over $27 million in wages earned by residents employed in 2016 (20 17 data is unavailable).
Because the Canadian dollar remains low compared to the Greenback filming is expected to remain strong in B.C.
“Film production in Metro Vancouver is at capacity in most areas and there is no indication of any slowdown occurring. There are several examples of productions previously working in other jurisdictions relocating to Metro Vancouver for both economic and practical reasons,” notes the report.
The city grossed about $391,725 from filming in 2017. About two thirds was for costs, such as RCMP, admin fees, staff time and parking fees. Meanwhile companies doled out $138,679 in location rental fees.
This also includes commercial shoots. Look for Richmond scenes in commercials such as: Air Canada, Toyota, Coast Capital Savings, Entyvio Pharmaceutical, Jaguar/Land Rover, Lucky Charms, Loblaws and Entyvio Pharmaceutical.
