Hollywood stars Michael Keaton (Batman) and Michelle Monaghan (Source Code) were spotted on Somerset Street earlier this month while filming a scene for Penthouse North.
The thriller follows the pursuit of a photojournalist (Monaghan) by a sadistic criminal (Keaton) for her hidden fortunes in New York.
Ottawa’s film office, along with its new commissioner, recently relocated to 80 Aberdeen St. in Little Italy. One of its priorities will be to attract more feature films like Penthouse North to Ottawa.
The new office, formerly the Ottawa-Gatineau Film and Television Development Corporation, will likely receive a new name in February when it is expected to join other sectors such as the Ottawa Centre for Regional Innovation under the banner of Invest Ottawa. Invest Ottawa is an initiative for economic development in the city.
City council has approved $2.265 million in funding by the end of 2012 towards Invest Ottawa, according to a news release. The focus will be on developing areas such as green energy, aerospace, photonics, life sciences, digital media, film and television.
Geneviève Ménard-Hayles, former executive director of the Canadian Tulip Festival, took over as film commissioner on Jan. 2. She feels Ottawa can play a larger role in Canada’s film industry and hopes a strong marketing campaign will attract attention from big producers.
Expanding the film, television, and digital media industries in Ottawa will benefit the local economy and create a city where people want to “live, work and play,” she says.
She adds that attracting private sector funding in addition to current government contributions is also a priority to get certain projects under way.
One of the planned projects is the construction of a digital media lab, where students, engineers and other avid technology users would have access to leading-edge equipment to develop their skills, says Ménard-Hayles.
Digital media include films, games, and interactive design.
A website will also be created and used as a marketing tool to let filmmakers know “Ottawa is open for business,” she says.
According to Kathy Turner, a self-employed film and television location manager, the city has potential for growth in the film industry.
In November 2011, Turner was hired by Shaftesbury Films to seek filming locations for two episodes of Citytv’s Murdoch Mysteries. She used Parliament Hill as one of her main filming locations and says areas like Centretown are “jewels” for filmmakers.
The diversity and close proximity of old and new municipal and federal buildings, embassies, parks and houses makes Centretown unique and cost-effective for filmmaking, says Turner.
She adds that Ottawa also has four distinctive seasons, while places such as Vancouver do not.
“The city has the potential to be just as successful as Toronto and Vancouver,” she says. “We just need to develop it a bit more and that’s where (Ménard-Hayles) steps in.”
Unfortunately, Ottawa only has a small number of highly skilled members who can work on large film productions, says Nina Bains, executive director of the Ottawa International Film Festival.
Big-budget films require approximately 100 local cast and crew members, while Ottawa only has about 150. This means the city can only undertake one large production at a time, she says.