Vancouver is a major global hub for film and television production, earning it the nickname “Hollywood North.”
The biggest productions in both the film and TV world have been filmed in this city. But, is this city comparable to Hollywood? Do people flock to Vancouver the way they do to New York and Los Angeles for the same opportunities? Is the industry thriving?
We had questions, and Chris Ferguson, a Vancouver-born film producer attached to films like First Light, the 2019 version of Child’s Play, and more recent box office hits like Longlegs, The Monkey, and Dangerous Animals, had some answers.
His production company, Oddfellows Pictures, is based in Vancouver.
“I think there are some areas we’re thriving in, absolutely. But there are areas that we are not.”
Ferguson applauds some of the work the province and government are doing in building a great service industry.
“For the most part, Vancouver is a production town where a producer in LA has a project and they want to get it done, and they hire a line producer in Vancouver, and those people go and make sure the project gets made.”
He added that we’ve done a great job of building a manufacturing sector.
However, when it comes to projects that are born and built right here from scratch, it’s less prolific and Ferguson calls it quite lean.
He suggested we’re lacking in productions “where you have a full producer credit, you’re involved in the creative, you’re involved in the financing, you’re involved in every step along the way. You have a backend, so you’re participating in the success of the show,” he said.
“For me to see Vancouver thriving, I would want to see more production companies up here that are genuinely producing projects,” Ferguson told Daily Hive, adding that we haven’t done a great job of building actual production companies here.
FROM PLAYING WITH TOYS TO THE BIG SCREEN
Ferguson’s path to becoming a notable name in the film industry started like that of many artistic creatives. He was making movies at home, playing with toys with his Vancouver elementary school friend Zach Lipovsky.
If Lipovsky’s name rings a bell, it’s because he’s also a notable director who was one of the directors of the latest and blood-tastic Final Destination: Bloodlines. (If gore bothers you, tread lightly. If it doesn’t, enjoy the blood feast.)
“We just got all our toys together and our parents’ handicam and hit record and stop as quickly as we could to try to do animation.”
That was the beginning for Ferguson.
At some point on the road to becoming a producer, he decided to pursue a degree, only to realize he preferred making movies with his friends. He abandoned the degree and, seemingly, hasn’t looked back.
We asked what a producer actually does, and Ferguson reflected that it was a fairly vague term that could encompass a wide range of roles and responsibilities, including financing, finding talent, and sourcing projects.
“If you take 100 producers and ask them what they do, they’re all going to do different things.”
Ferguson’s work in Vancouver extends beyond the film scene. He’s actively promoting community, and he volunteers at the Overdose Prevention Society in the Downtown Eastside. While it was just a one-day-a-week gig, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the industry slowed down, it became almost a full-time volunteer gig.
“I grew up in Vancouver my whole life. You know, you’re it’s hard not to be here and be aware that there’s a serious and tragic problem that needs to be dealt with,” he said.
“I had no direct contact point to even think about what you could do other than sort of sit on the sidelines and be sad about it. Then I moved to Gastown, and I was right in it, and more aware, but still equally disconnected. And then it was through a film project that didn’t happen that I was introduced to Sarah Blythe and Trey Helten.”
WHAT VANCOUVER’S FILM INDUSTRY NEEDS
There aren’t many movies or TV shows that are filmed in Vancouver that take place here. Ferguson says there’s an incorrect feeling out there that Americans don’t want to watch movies that aren’t set in America.
“I would love to see more movies set in Vancouver.”
One reason we don’t see it more often is that, due to the service-oriented nature of the Vancouver film industry, locations and other details are often already decided upon by the time American studios arrive in the city to start filming.
There was one deep cut film throwback to which Ferguson gave a shoutout that was indeed shot and set in Vancouver, called That Cold Day in the Park, directed by Robert Altman.
“That park is still there, and it is just very much Vancouver, and that was someone in Hollywood in the 60s, deciding ‘I want to make a movie set in Vancouver,’ even though there was no crew base or anything, it was just a creative desire because of what was going on here at the time.”
Ferguson adds that he doesn’t necessarily know how to fix it and make more movies filmed here, other than to make movies set here, proving that it works. That also connects to what Ferguson said earlier, about the need for more Vancouver-based production companies.
“If the head creatives are living in Vancouver and running shows out of [Vancouver], they’re going to be more likely to want to tell stories out of Vancouver.”
We also wanted to know, from someone knee-deep in Hollywood, if there are good opportunities in Vancouver for someone just starting out in the industry.
“I’m based in Vancouver, but when I was in my early 20s, I flew down to LA once a month make sure I was building that global network,” he said, while adding you don’t need to do that as much now, but you still need to put some legwork in.
On the horizon, Ferguson has several exciting projects in the works, including The Backrooms, an A24 project.
“It’s one of the most exciting things I’ve been a part of.”
He’s also stoked to have launched a new production company called Phobos alongside frequent collaborator Oz Perkins, who directed Longlegs.
Based on our conversation with Ferguson, one thing’s for sure: if more creatives like him and others from Vancouver put in that legwork, the sky’s the limit for Hollywood North and where it may be headed.
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