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Aaron Eckhart
Those attempting to navigate Burrard Street between Pender and Georgia last Sunday afternoon might have found themselves growing a bit cross. The currently lensing Traveler feature caused something of a traffic snafu during the afternoon, with locals being rerouted to accommodate the production’s Seattle traffic jam sequence — a key scene in the film. The production also spent most of last week shooting late afternoon and evening scenes in the Hyatt Regency lobby. Traveler stars Aaron Eckhart as a best-selling self-help guru who falls for a woman (Jennifer Aniston) attending one of his seminars.
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Ellen Page
Dining around town: At Chambar, the “Crosstown” Vancouver restaurant that attracts an artistic and culinary savvy crowd, Ellen Page, star of the film Juno, dined with the film’s director, Jason Reitman. Meanwhile, over at CinCin, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode and Malin Akerman — all three of whom are in town shooting Watchmen — popped in for a meal last Friday evening, while Aniston stopped by for dinner on Saturday night.
Beleaguered Hollywood North allegedly to get some help: By now, just about everyone in Vancouver is aware of the woes facing our film industry. With a Canadian dollar hovering around par with its American counterpart, and the current Hollywood writers’ strike, the gloomy clouds of winter have seemed darker than usual (by mid-February, the only series shooting in Vancouver will be Stargate Atlantis). Though no one knows how and when the writers’ strike will be settled or if this year’s pilot season will be scuttled, my sources tell me that in the coming weeks British Columbia is expected to match Ontario and Quebec with respect to tax breaks — both provinces raised their foreign tax credits in mid-December to 25 per cent from 18 and 20 per cent of labor expenditures, respectively.
Robert Falconer
Robert Falconer is a writer specializing in media communications, entertainment journalism and creative arts. A knowledgeable disciple of film and television, he is the founder and executive editor of CinemaSpy.ca
