Toronto Star

Suicide Squad headliners embraced time in Toronto,

Toronto was at the centre of the action during filming of the supervilla­in movie Suicide Squad last summer

- RYAN PORTER ENTERTAINM­ENT REPORTER

The Batmobile on Yonge St. Rubble and green goo at chic Avenue Rd. and Bloor St. Will Smith at the Art Gallery of Ontario. The movie Suicide Squad and its A-list cast made themselves at home last summer while the movie was being filmed in Toronto. The movie opens Friday.

Here’s where Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie and the rest of the cast of the supervilla­in action pic

Suicide Squad, opening Friday, were spotted while filming in Toronto last summer. Rappers’ delight Molson Amphitheat­re On a break from filming, Smith was photograph­ed backstage at OVO Fest, one arm around Drake, the other around Kanye West. “I am dyin’ to get back on stage!” he wrote on Facebook. Art Crawl Art Gallery of Ontario Smith stopped into the AGO to catch the Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibit, where he snapped a shot with curator Magdalyn Asimakis. “Everyone was sneaking in last-minute visits,” the AGO wrote when they shared the photo on Facebook. Crashing in Toronto Yonge St. and College St. Talk about urban decay. Suicide Squad dropped a crashed plane in the centre of Yonge St. north of College last May, complete with chunks of supernatur­ally green goo. Traffic Stopper Bay St. and Lake Shore Blvd. Total Recall (2011), Crash (1996) and The Incredible Hulk (2008) all filmed in the gloomy underpass below the Gardiner Expressway. Suicide Squad stacked the street with “Midway City” police cars and armoured SWAT vehicles. Bring on the Bat Yonge St. and Gerrard St. A mob turned out when the Batmobile revved onto Yonge St., pursuing the Joker’s purple sports car. It wasn’t just the fans who felt the frenzy. “I’ve made a lot of movies, but when I saw the Batmobile come around the corner, I was like, ‘Ahhhh!’ ” Smith said (or shrieked) during a stop in Toronto on July 26. Dude, Where’s My Helipad? Bay St. and Wellington St. W. The film staged a hybrid helicopter/ bus crash, the helicopter heaped with green gunk, at the Brookfield Place office complex. Squad Central Lake Shore Blvd. E. and Carlaw Ave. When Suicide Squad wasn’t literally stopping traffic, the band of baddies was holed up at the 20-acre Pinewood Toronto Studios. The Secret Subway Bay St. and Bloor St. The Squad assembles in Lower Bay Station, the secret subway stop below Bay Station that has appeared in Total Recall (2011), Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s New York Minute and, most recently, Grimes’ music video for “Kill v. Maim.” Road Warriors Avenue Rd. and Bloor St. The chic shopping corner was rendered an urban eyesore as Suicide

Squad piled up the concrete rubble and hunks of glowing green matter, shadowed by a 6-metre-high towering green screen on Avenue Rd., where CGI surprises were added post-production.

 ?? PAUL HILLIER/TORONTO STAR ?? Torontonia­ns will have no difficulty spotting familiar Yonge St. landmarks in Suicide Squad, such as the Zanzibar, seen here with the northbound Batmobile speeding past.
PAUL HILLIER/TORONTO STAR Torontonia­ns will have no difficulty spotting familiar Yonge St. landmarks in Suicide Squad, such as the Zanzibar, seen here with the northbound Batmobile speeding past.
 ?? MARTA IWANEK/TORONTO STAR ?? Suicide Squad’s mock helicopter crash was filmed at Bay and Wellington Sts.
MARTA IWANEK/TORONTO STAR Suicide Squad’s mock helicopter crash was filmed at Bay and Wellington Sts.
 ?? BOEN JIANG ILLUSTRATI­ON/TORONTO STAR ?? A map of Toronto sites where Suicide Squad filmed and where its stars were seen on their days off. Will Smith was spotted at the AGO and at OVO Fest with Drake and Kanye West.
BOEN JIANG ILLUSTRATI­ON/TORONTO STAR A map of Toronto sites where Suicide Squad filmed and where its stars were seen on their days off. Will Smith was spotted at the AGO and at OVO Fest with Drake and Kanye West.
 ?? CHRIS YOUNG/THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO ?? An assistant director stands by as a stunt car drives down Yonge St. during the shooting of Suicide Squad, in May 2015. Will Smith said that even he was excited by seeing the Batmobile in action.
CHRIS YOUNG/THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO An assistant director stands by as a stunt car drives down Yonge St. during the shooting of Suicide Squad, in May 2015. Will Smith said that even he was excited by seeing the Batmobile in action.

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