Montreal, Vancouver: Despite down-to-the-wire efforts by ACTRA and Montreal location authorities on the ground in L.A., 20th Century Fox/New Regency has moved the $92-million action film Daredevil to Vancouver from Montreal.

But before the decision to relocate was final, ACTRA had entered negotiations with Fox, and had decided to accept various terms laid down by Fox and producer Bernie Williams. The Americans had expressed fears shooting Daredevil in Montreal could expose the film to a potential work stoppage by performers in ACTRA as early as mid-January. The studio had sought an ACTRA guarantee filming would not be stopped in the event of an industry-wide strike, and that the production would be subject to the rates and conditions of the current collective agreement, which expires Dec. 31.

According to Stephen Waddell, ACTRA national executive director, Fox could not get out of its obligations to The Bridge Studios in Vancouver, obligations which may have been contracted as late as Aug. 10. ‘I’m disappointed that the production didn’t stay in Montreal,’ says Waddell. ‘It’s unfortunate that the Montreal performers will lose the opportunity and that soundstages will lose the business.’

The relocation of Daredevil, a Marvel Comics adaptation, underscores what appears to be the new studio edict to U.S. producers, namely the removal of production from east of the Rockies starting in January when the current ACTRA contract expires, says Tom Adair, executive director of the BC Council of Film Unions.

‘We stand to benefit from this,’ says Adair, referring to the ACTRA controversy. ‘We can expect with this that anything that can come here will. Features may be cancelled or postponed and others will be sent back to the U.S.’

Location people in Montreal were left wondering just how big a deposit Daredevil’s producers had made with the Vancouver soundstage.

Warnings from WB, Paramount

As early as June 28, and then again in early August, executives at WB and Paramount Pictures had told Montreal Film Commissioner Andre Lafond the studios’ labor departments would balk at sending any production to Canada if there wasn’t a 100% guarantee shooting under the terms of the current collective agreement would be completed by Dec. 31. Short of a deal between ACTRA and the producers, the studios told Lafond they do not want any shooting in progress after Jan. 1, 2002.

The issue came centre stage in early August when Lafond made a public declaration Montreal stood to lose $200 million and 4,000 jobs in U.S. service production this fall and winter.

Lafond says Montreal is facing a very specific problem which, he says, is not the case for any other jurisdiction in Canada, at least for the moment.

‘We have big shows that need months of preparation and months of shooting, too,’ says Lafond. ‘Because the SAG situation pushed back most of our [previously booked] projects of course there’s going to be an overlap into the new year, and that creates a problem.’

The Toronto service industry caters to a large volume of MOWs and TV series, as opposed to big-budget studio movies with long lead-in times.

Without a prompt agreement between ACTRA and the studios, Lafond says Montreal is at risk of losing other extended feature film shoots including The Dreamcatcher, a $122-million Castle Rock/WB adaptation of the Stephen King novel. It was slated to start three months of set construction this fall in Montreal, and begin principal photography in early 2002.

Another big show slated to shoot in Montreal and at risk is the WB feature The In-Laws. A fourth is the George Clooney feature Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which started preproduction in Montreal early this year and was suspended because of the threatened SAG strike. A decision on the location destination of Confessions is expected by Sept. 1.

As for the Vancouver option, the Union of BC Performers has a separate collective agreement with producers, which only expires on March 31, 2002.

The Canadian affiliates of the AMPTP, representing the U.S. studios, and the CFTPA are slated to start formal negotiations with ACTRA on Oct. 15.

Big-ticket features

A major distinction between the ACTRA and UBCP contracts, says Adair, is the inclusion in the B.C. contract of a continuation clause that permits work on films to continue after a collective agreement expires until a new contract can be ratified.

Productions in the rest of Canada can technically be struck mid-production if a collective agreement lapses during filming.

That’s not a risk producers with big-ticket features and huge above-the-line commitments are willing to take in planning their shoots, explains Adair.

Although features may require the Big City ‘look’ of Toronto or Montreal, B.C. offers an oasis for U.S. producers looking to exploit the other benefits of shooting north of the border, such as the currency exchange. In addition, Vancouver offers big-build productions like I Spy and Daredevil lots of large-scale soundstage space.

In some respects, moving Daredevil to Vancouver from Montreal is deja vu and reflects the different histories ACTRA and UBCP have had in negotiating with the U.S. studios. Three years ago, in the last round of negotiations, ACTRA threatened strike action in the rest of Canada and made B.C. a more attractive location to shoot.

CFTPA statement

In an Aug. 13 statement, the CFTPA denied allegations by ACTRA that the U.S. studios are seeking more favorable conditions than those available to Canadian producers.

The performers could take legal strike action by Jan. 16, 2002.

‘Until that time, production is expected to continue business-as-usual,’ says the CFTPA.

In the CFTPA statement, president Elizabeth McDonald says ACTRA is using, ‘tactics which in effect could cause labor unrest long before the existing agreement is set to expire.’

The CFTPA says it’s ready to start negotiations early. ‘We will sit down with ACTRA today, tomorrow, or next week – whenever they are ready, this whole thing can be put to bed quickly if ACTRA has the will to do so.’

For its part, UBCP dismisses the threats from U.S. studios as pre-negotiation rhetoric meant to disrupt collective bargaining with ACTRA. But any production that signs with UBCP, including productions that have fled other parts of Canada because of the coming ACTRA negotiations, will be honored because of the legal obligation.

‘It’s entirely premature to be discussing this,’ says UBCP president John Juliani. ‘Everyone is getting worked up. The truth is that the last couple of contracts were negotiated successfully.’

UBCP will sit down with members in September to set negotiation objectives for its new contract that could be active April 1, 2002.

Lots of flack

Montreal film commissioner Lafond has taken a lot of flack for his public stand.

‘My job is to ensure that this industry in Montreal won’t suffer as a result of an incident or mistake or misunderstanding,’ he says. ‘I know they [ACTRA] were very annoyed with me [because they] have [had] to negotiate a little bit before the Oct. 15 date that they had in mind, but we do not want to lose $200-million worth of projects.

‘I’m sorry, but in October all the projects will be gone – gone to B.C., gone to Colorado, gone to Australia. I was told Toronto doesn’t have this problem and, of course, they don’t because they don’t have the same kind of [service] projects.’