Clooney film Tomorrowland proudly trumpets B.C. roots
A Hollywood movie filmed in British Columbia has started an unusual marketing campaign to highlight the fact the movie was filmed in B.C.
The campaign promoting Tomorrowland starring George Clooney is designed to acknowledge the great work done by film crews in the province and thank the cities where the movie was filmed, said Greg Mason, vicepresident of marketing for Walt Disney Studios Canada.
Mason said outdoor ads say “Proudly Filmed in Beautiful B.C.” He said it is the first time something like this has ever been done.
“This is something brand new,” he said from Toronto.
“We’re so proud of the fact that this is one of our biggest films of the year and it was shot in Vancouver. We kind of looked at it and thought, ‘Has anyone ever done this and trumpeted the fact that we filmed in beautiful British Columbia?’ And lo and behold, nobody had. We thought, ‘Why not? Why not give it a try to put it out there and let people be proud of the fact that we were the home base for Tomorrowland?’”
The ads are appearing on buses and transit shelters throughout Metro Vancouver.
Principal photography for Tomorrowland took place in Vancouver in August 2013. Scenes in the film were also shot in Enderby, Armstrong, Richmond, Surrey, Burnaby, Delta, and Langley. Landmarks in the film are the University of B.C., Museum of Vancouver, H.R. MacMillan Space Centre and the Vancouver Academy of Music.
The film is set in the state and City of New York, Cape Canaveral, Fla., Houston and the fictional place called Tomorrowland. It uses B.C. locations, but is not set in B.C.
Tomorrowland is described as a mystery adventure about a jaded scientist and optimistic teen who set out on a dangerous journey to unlock the secrets of a place called Tomorrowland, which is somewhere in space and time. It opens in theatres May 22. Mason said the Disney office in Toronto came up with the idea for the media campaign.
“I’m incredibly proud of our studio in L.A. to get behind this and support us on it,” he said. “It’s never been done before and they said yes on the first ask. This was a real nice opportunity to say thank you to B.C. and the communities that welcomed us when we produced the film.”
Mason said Disney has a policy of not disclosing its budget on a media campaign.
He said Disney is in B.C. shooting another movie: Steven Spielberg’s The BFG, which is short for The Big Friendly Giant. It’s based on Roald Dahl’s children’s book.
“Certainly the B.C. film and television industry is absolutely booming,” he said.
“I think a lot has to do with the crews there that are welcoming everybody, very qualified individuals, great incentives from the province. I think the future for filming in B.C. looks incredibly bright.”
There are 24 feature films, TV series, digital features and movies of the week being shot in B.C., according to Creative B.C. Creative B.C. brings together in one organization all film production services in the province such as tax incentives and location packages.