Free B fest closer features elaborate Blue Bridge scene
It seems ironic that a decade before local taxpayers began having to throw money at the Johnson Street Bridge for its replacement, a million bucks was being tossed from the iconic structure into Victoria’s harbour.
“We threw buckets of money off that bridge and into the chuck,” said Will Fearn, recalling the summer of 1996 when an elaborate sequence requiring more than 30 production assistants was filmed here for Excess Baggage.
Gusts created by a descending helicopter scattered hundreds of bogus American $50 and $100 bills stuffed into a suitcase across the Inner Harbour, with some washing up on shore and keeping local police busy.
“The bills started showing up in all kinds of shops [and bars] downtown, even though it clearly said it was ‘movie money,’ ” recalled the location manager for the Columbia Pictures flick starring Alicia Silverstone and Benicio Del Toro.
To mark the 20th anniversary of the film’s eventful shoot, this summer’s Free B Film Festival will close with a drive-instyle screening of Excess Baggage Saturday at 9 p.m. at Broadmead Village.
A flashback to the excitement generated by a shoot that required the weeklong intermittent closure of the Blue Bridge, with thousands of vehicles diverted to the Bay Street bridge, reveals how times have changed.
“The remarkable thing is that the city gave us the bridge for days on end,” Fearn recalled. “Those things just don’t happen. At one point, we had 31 cops on duty with us for three days.”
Victoria film commissioner Kathleen Gilbert, who was assistant location manager for the local sequences, said the public wasn’t as educated about local moviemaking and its benefits as it is now.
Although 98 per cent of the film’s crew were from B.C., some vocal detractors assumed they were all from Hollywood.
“A lot of our A-list crew members [including Shamess Shute] got their start as production assistants on that movie,” she said.
Gilbert remembers being amazed by how the city agreed to replace its Canadian flag with an American one for a background shot.
“Some people got very upset and were very opposed to that,” said Gilbert, who recalled the framing of another shot had to be readjusted when a small group of protesters hung a huge Canadian flag over the bridge.
An abandoned warehouse where the Canoe Club now stands posed as Otto’s Marine Salvage for the sequence captured in part by multiple hidden cameras.
Crews built a parkade behind Chintz and Company off Swift Street for scenes where Silverstone’s character, a bratty teen heiress, fakes her own kidnapping to extort money from her neglectful father, played by Australian actor Jack Thompson (Breaker Morant) before she runs off with an exasperated car thief (Del Toro).
Fresh from her success in Clueless, the teen queen, who had gained a few pounds while shooting Batman and Robin, was shadowed by paparazzi and tabloid media.
One gossip magazine covertly captured shots of Silverstone snacking. She was labelled Fatgirl in headlines for tabloid stories that also poked fun at her new movie’s unfortunate title.
Silverstone’s local popularity was obvious, with the shoot consistently attracting stargazers, being documented in this paper’s daily Baggage Check updates, and prompting radio stations to report Alicia sightings.
“Alicia was nothing but a delight,” recalled Fearn, who got to know her well because his young daughter was a big fan.
Signs at the old Fogg’n’Sudds restaurant on Store Street offered Excess Baggage-view dining experiences, and Chintz and Company played Harry Connick Jr. music in honour of one of its co-stars.
The filming also yielded some offscreen comedy, such as when a passerby who didn’t like the colour of the bridge asked why the filmmakers couldn’t just paint it.
Festival programmer Donovan Aikman, who was in his 20s when Excess Baggage filmed here, said he remembers Victoria being in the spotlight, and how one friend became obsessed with seeing Del Toro in action.
“Because of all the big changes with the Blue Bridge, this seemed like a good match,” he said. “It’s a chance to see what the bridge once was before it’s gone.”
Admission to Free B Film Festival screenings, including The Naked Gun on Aug. 26, 9 p.m., at Cameron Bandshell, is free. Vehicle spots can be reserved in advance, or bring a blanket or chair, flashlight and snacks.