WATCH: Tourism Vancouver hopes Fifty Shades of Grey will whip up the local tourism business. John Hua takes us on a tour to see the sites.
Tourism Vancouver is betting Fifty Shades of Grey will bring plenty of green to the city’s economy this year.
“We definitely see a spike in interest when a major film shot in Vancouver is released in theatres” says Sonu Purhar, a spokesperson with Tourism Vancouver.
Although set in Vancouver, WA, and Seattle, the film was mostly filmed on location in and around Vancouver. Tourism Vancouver has included information on scenes from the movie in their most recent mailout to international media.
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“Fifty shades has definitely brought out the saucy side in Vancouver,” says Purhar.
“We live in a world that’s fascinated by fantasy and celebrity. We’re Hollywood north, so why not jump on it?”
Here are a few of the scenes from the movie with a distinctive Vancouver flavour:
The scene in the movie where Christian Grey picks up Anastasia Steele for a date in a helicopter, was shot on the helipad of the Global BC studios in Burnaby.
The cafe Rainier Provisions, which was the scene for Grey’s first seduction with Steele is located at 2 W Cordova in Gastown. According to Tourism Vancouver, post-filming, the restaurant shipped a table, some chairs and a place setting to L.A. so the cast could film additions to the scene.
Also in Gastown, Grey saves Anna from a cyclist near the famous Gassy Jack Statue.
Anna’s apartment is located on Powell and Columbia and throughout filming, the cast and crew unwound after long days on set at the Shebeen Whisky House behind the Irish Heather.
If you are interested in checking out where the steamy elevator kiss was filmed, head to the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, which doubled as Portland’s Heathman Hotel. The scene where Ana’s friend photographs Grey for an article was shot in the Lieutenant Governor’s Suite.
When Grey was jogging in the rain, that took place in Coal Harbour near The Westin Bayshore Hotel.
Other productions that have recently taken over the streets of Vancouver include creepy TV series Bates Motel (currently filming season four), fantasy fairytale Once Upon a Time (also filming season four) and feature film Tomorrowland (starring George Clooney).
This summer will be particularly “Enterprise”-ing as Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and the rest of the Star Trek cast arrive in Vancouver to being filming the third installment of the series. They’ll seek out old locations, boldly filming where many movies have gone before, but odds are people will be still be captivated by its Vancouver connection.
“Even if it’s not Vancouver that’s being portrayed in movies, people know it is Vancouver by the scenes that are shot here.”
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