On the heels of a serious production slump, Toronto has rebounded into one of its busiest seasons in years, and many in the industry are confident business will stay strong. This summer, the city is home to service features with budgets of more than US$60 million, and is playing host to big-name talent including Ben Affleck, Bruce Willis, Michael Douglas, Kim Basinger and Antonio Banderas.

‘The current boom is absolutely a result of the tax-credit increases. All the producers we talk with tell us the new incentives are what is turning heads in L.A.,’ says Jim Mirkopoulos, VP of facility management for Cinespace Film Studios. ‘While we don’t expect the explosion of this spring to continue, we expect business to be steady right through to Christmas and beyond, given the calls we’ve been getting.’

Cinespace is hosting five major feature films this summer, including the US$60-million-plus Zoom, starring Tim Allen, Solace with Willis and Truth, Justice and the American Way with Affleck.

Toronto-based producer J. Miles Dale is also confident that the current production swell will translate into steady business later this year.

‘I think the second half of the year is going to be pretty busy,’ says Dale, executive producer of Truth, Justice and the American Way. ‘Ultimately people come here because we have a known commodity in terms of the city, the crews and the actors.’

Following are some of the service productions shooting in the city this summer.

Get Rich or Die Tryin’
(working title)
Distributors: Paramount Pictures and MTV Films
Director: Jim Sheridan
Cast: 50 Cent, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Shoot dates: April 11 to June 25
Main studio facility: Showline Harbourside Studios

Toronto becomes New York once again in this feature written by The Sopranos writer/producer Terence Winter. Montreal-born actor Benz Antoine (Blue Murder) joins rapper/actor 50 Cent in the story of an inner-city drug dealer who turns away from crime to pursue rap music. Produced under the working title Get Rich or Die Tryin’, rumor has it that Samuel L. Jackson was offered a role in the film, but turned it down, because he dislikes rap stars crossing over to feature films.

Jimmy Iovine and Chris Lighty produce with Dr. Dre, Heather Perry and Paul Rosenberg. Executive producers include Arthur Lappin, Daniel Lupi and Stuart Parr.

16 Blocks
Director: Richard Donner
Producers: Cheyenne Enterprises, Emmett/Furla Films, Millennium Films
Cast: Bruce Willis, Mos Def
Shoot dates: April 21 to June 10
Main studio facility: Toronto Film Studios

In the first of two features he will shoot in Toronto this season, Willis plays Jack Mosley, a downbeat NYPD officer assigned to escort a witness safely from a police station through 16 blocks of New York City. Hip-hop artist Def plays Eddie Bunker, the witness whose always-look-on-the-bright-side-of-life attitude stands in stark contrast to Mosley’s dark personality. Bunker is on his way to testify against corrupt cops in Mosley’s division.

The US$55-million feature is written by Richard Wenk and produced by Willis. Twelve additional shoot days take place in the Big Apple.

Take the Lead
Director: Liz Friedlander
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Alfre Woodard, Dante Basco
Shoot dates: April 25 to June 30
Main studio facility: Cinespace Film Studios

In this urban drama, Banderas squeezes into the shoes of international ballroom dancer Pierre Dulaine, on whose life writer Dianne Houston based the screenplay. Dulaine was also the subject of the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom.

Principal photography started in and around Toronto in late April, with much of the filming done on location at the University of Toronto campus.

Toronto actors Lauren Collins (Degrassi: The Next Generation) and Jonathan Malen (The River King) join Banderas in this musical drama about the French Dulaine, a former professional dancer who starts teaching in the New York public school system as a volunteer. Dulaine finds his ballroom style isn’t mixing well with the hip-hop roots of the big-city youth, but he manages to bond with his students by mixing their styles to create a new form of dance.

Diane Nabatoff, Christopher Godsick and Michelle Grace produce, while Mark Kaufman, Matt Moore and Luke Ryan executive produce.

Truth, Justice and the American Way
Director: Allen Coulter
Distributor: Focus Features
Cast: Ben Affleck, Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Bob Hoskins
Shoot dates: May 2 to June 11
Main studio facility: Cinespace Film Studios

Brody plays a detective investigating the mysterious death of George Reeves, the actor who played Superman in the 1950s TV show. Affleck takes on the role of Reeves and, rumor has it, took a hefty pay cut for the opportunity. Glenn Williamson produces from a script by Paul Bernbaum and Howard Korder.

Toronto-based executive producer J. Miles Dale says the city ended up being the perfect place to host the US$17-million shoot produced by Back Lot Pictures.

‘[L.A.-based executive producer] Joe Pichirallo called me and said he had a movie that’s set in L.A. in the ’50s, but couldn’t afford to do it in L.A.,’ said Dale during the last days of production. ‘So we put this plan together where it would be six weeks here and two weeks there.’

Principal photography in Toronto wrapped June 11, when the cast and crew headed to L.A. for the remainder. The production schedule was heavy on Ontario locations, including shoots in Oakville, Oshawa and various downtown Toronto areas.

While Toronto is busier than it has been in years, Dale attributes the production’s trouble-free shoot to getting an early start.

‘The city is really busy. It’s interesting how in a span of four months it can go from a death knell and the end of our industry to the busiest summer we’ve had in a number of years,’ he says, adding that they’ve been elbow-to-elbow with other crews. ‘It has been a little tough in some places. It’s been sort of congested shooting downtown, but it’s been a great experience.’

Several Ontario actors join the cast, including Hamilton-born Steve Adams (The Blue Butterfly), Ottawa-born David J. MacNeil (Plague City: SARS in Toronto) and Oshawa’s Jeff Teravainen (Land of the Dead).

The Sentinel
Director: Clark Johnson
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Cast: Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Basinger
Shoot dates: May 15 to Aug. 3
Main studio facility: Toronto Film Studios

Canadian helmer Clark Johnson, perhaps best known for his role on cop show Homicide: Life on the Street, directs the dramatic thriller based on a novel by Gerald Petievich. George Nolfi penned the screenplay. Bill Carraro is executive producer and Marcy Drogin produces with Douglas, through his Furthur Films. Other production companies include New Regency Pictures and Regency Enterprise.

Douglas plays special agent Pete Garrison, who becomes convinced that a neo-Nazi has infiltrated the White House. Garrison, who is being framed and blackmailed over his affair with the first lady (Basinger), becomes the key suspect when a White House agent is murdered. Although relieved from duty, he continues working to clear his name and protect the president.

In addition to shooting at TFS, The Sentinel is also making use of the White House set at Cinespace’s Kleinburg Studios. The facility was built at considerable expense by Warner Bros. when it shot the 1997 feature Murder at 1600. The studio made an agreement with Cinespace to leave the set standing to accommodate future productions.

‘Kleinburg is a big beneficiary of the current production boom in Ontario, and the White House set is paying off in spades,’ says Cinespace’s Jim Mirkopoulos.

Cheaper by the Dozen 2
Director: Adam Shankman
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Cast: Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Eugene Levy, Carmen Electra, Hilary Duff
Shoot dates: June 13 to Sept 2
Main studio facility: Cinespace Film Studios

Shankman will have his hands full this summer helming a cast including more than 20 children. Luckily, the cast and crew will have a chance to escape the Toronto heat when they flee the city for a month of shooting in Ontario’s cottage country.

Following the 2003 original, this approximately US$50-million sequel catches up with the Baker clan on vacation, when they are forced to contend with another huge family consisting of Levy, Electra and their 10 children.

Several young Toronto actors join this star-studded cast, including Alexander Conti, who starred in Shankman’s The Pacifier, which shot in Toronto last year. Additional young local talent includes Melanie Tonello, Robbie Emell, Courtney Fitzpatrick, Madison Fitzpatrick and Shawn Roberts.

Shawn Levy, Ben Myron and Robert Simonds produce, with Jennifer Gibgot, Garrett Grant and Shankman executive producing. Sam Harper penned the screenplay.

Zoom
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Director: Peter Hewitt
Cast: Tim Allen, Chevy Chase, Courteney Cox
Shoot dates: July 6 to Sept. 8
Main studio facility: Cinespace Film Studios

Previously known as Zoom’s Academy, the US$60-million-plus feature is one of the largest to shoot in Toronto this summer. Based on the graphic novel by Jason Lethcoe, the family film centers on a private academy for training young superheroes. Allen plays a father who ends up emerging from superhero retirement to help train his daughter and her friends. Todd Garner, Jennifer Todd and Suzanne Todd produce.

The FX-heavy shoot requires the construction of several very large sets, and, according to Cinespace’s Jim Mirkopoulos, that was one of the chief considerations that attracted it to Toronto.

‘Maple Leaf Gardens was one of the main reasons why Cinderella Man shot here, and it was also one of the driving forces behind Zoom coming,’ he says, explaining that the former hockey arena’s large open space and 70- to 80-foot-high ceilings can accommodate major construction. One of the film’s two largest sets will be constructed at Cinespace’s Booth Avenue studios and the other at the Gardens.

Zoom is produced by Revolution Studios, Team Todd and Underground Films. It will be released in the U.S. in May 2006.

Solace
Director: Shekhar Kapur
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Cast: Bruce Willis
Shoot dates: July 23 to Oct. 22
Main studio facility: Cinespace Film Studios

Solace, Willis’ second Toronto-shot feature of the season, goes to camera towards the end of July. This time Willis plays a doctor hired to help police track down a serial killer because he possesses psychic powers. Sean Bailey and Ted Griffin write the screenplay.

The US$40-million thriller, produced by Contrafilm for New Line Cinema, marks a departure for the Indian-born Kapur, whose past credits include the period drama Elizabeth. Matthias Emcke, Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson produce, with Thomas Augsberger, Sean Bailey, Chris Moore and Arnold Rifkin exec producing.