The new Sandra Bullock movie is a reminder of just how many feature films, commercials and TV shows are shot in and around Surrey City Hall.
The downtown site is a popular one for film companies.
鈥淏efore COVID, I鈥檇 say we were getting two or three (film shoots) per month (at city hall-area locations), but right now it鈥檚 a lot less there,鈥 said James Monk, the city鈥檚 filming manager.
鈥淲e just had a tremendous amount of filming in Surrey, generally,鈥 he added, 鈥渁nd we鈥檙e seeing some film crews return here, in the proximity of city hall 鈥 that includes city hall itself, the plaza outside and City Centre Library.鈥
Bullock stars in 鈥淭he Unforgivable,鈥 , at the 1:52 mark.
The drama, which has Bullock playing a released prisoner who 鈥渞e-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past,鈥 will have a limited theatrical release Nov. 24 and debut on Netflix two weeks later.
鈥淭hey filmed at the library, on the plaza and inside city hall, all three,鈥 Monk explained. 鈥淭hey used several locations, too, including the second floor of the library, in the atrium at city hall and also the staircase going up to city hall, in the city manager鈥檚 boardroom and one or two other offices. That was all done right before COVID, in early March of 2020.
鈥淭his area,鈥 Monk added, 鈥渋t鈥檚 very recognizable and it鈥檚 iconic, the architecture. People notice it a lot in shows and movies, but I鈥檇 say that city hall represents just one or two per cent of the permits I issue. The majority (of filming) happens in other places in Surrey 鈥 Cloverdale gets a lot, along 176th Street there, and quite a few of our parks get used, too.鈥
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The long list of movies and TV shows filmed at Surrey City Hall and surrounding sites includes 鈥淪upergirl,鈥 鈥淭he Good Doctor,鈥 鈥淎ltered Carbon鈥 (in May 2019), 鈥淭urner & Hooch鈥 (August 2020), 鈥淏atwoman鈥 (March 2021), 鈥淪kyscraper鈥 (October 2017), 鈥淧rison Break鈥 (June 2016), 鈥淭he 100,鈥 鈥淭he Flash,鈥 鈥淎 Million Little Things,鈥 鈥淭he Unforgivable (March 2020), 鈥淎rrow,鈥 鈥淭ravelers鈥 (April 2016) and 鈥淓very Breath You Take鈥 (January 2020).
The trailer for the drama starring Sandra Bullock was released today.
鈥 City of Surrey (@CityofSurrey)
The production was filmed in various locations around BC. Can you spot Surrey City Hall in the trailer?
This film is rated R and not suitable for children.
Movie location scouts can download and view 187 photos of city hall on the ), from all angles.
The website also features showing movies, TV shows and ads that have been filmed in Surrey.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still a work in progress 鈥 not all of the feature films are on there yet,鈥 Monk noted. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something we just launched, a soft launch, and we鈥檙e still developing the map. In some cases we haven鈥檛 yet cleared photos with the productions, and that can take some time, months. With 鈥楽kyscraper,鈥 we just got some photos approved so we can put that one up there.鈥
The Dwayne 鈥淭he Rock鈥 Johnson action thriller 鈥渨as a big one鈥 at city hall, Monk said, as was 鈥淎ltered Carbon.鈥
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City hall has also seen 鈥減retty much all of the superhero shows come through, at one time or another 鈥 in some cases, several times,鈥 he noted.
Ad shoots have include Lululemon and Infiniti car company.
鈥淭hey had these projections all over the library, so when the car was in motion, driving on the plaza, these massive projections went onto the City Centre Library,鈥 Monk explained. 鈥淭hat was a multi-million-dollar production, and it was really fascinating to be involved in that one.鈥
TV show 鈥淭he Good Doctor鈥 is 鈥渁 huge one that we鈥檝e had here over the past few years,鈥 Monk added, 鈥渁nd they鈥檝e established this as a location, of a hospital wing in the show, so they come back to shoot every so often. In the time they鈥檝e been filming here, they鈥檝e actually landed two helicopters. The city hall atrium is played as a hospital area as well, and they had a gala event filmed in there once 鈥 a really fancy one, for the show.鈥
Surrey is a favoured film location due its wide variety of 鈥渓ooks,鈥 Monk reasoned.
鈥淭he great thing about filming in Surrey is that we have so many parks, so many streets, so many different facilities like ice arenas 鈥 they鈥檝e been used a few times this year, and the rec centres, pools, the parks,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e had 鈥楤atwoman鈥 filming here, and I think they exclusively filmed in the parkade (at city hall), as I recall. We鈥檝e had productions come here and only film in the parkade there 鈥 it has that look they鈥檙e looking for.鈥
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tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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