WARNING: This post (and trailer) contains potentially offensive language
A movie titled Filth City, closing out this year’s Canadian Film Fest, looks to be inspired by the late Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and his crack scandal.
The movie poster for the film shows a Rob Ford lookalike named Mayor Hogg, played by Kingston, Ont.-born actor Pat Thornton, smoking a pipe under a banner which reads “The crime rate is high. So is the mayor.”
Hogg is described in the film’s synopsis as “a drug-addicted mayor fighting for reelection.”
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The movie trailer for the Canadian-produced movie states that it was “inspired by true events” and features the line: “There’s a video of the mayor smoking crack.”
Filth City is directed by Andy King, and written by King and Danny Polishchuk. Stars include Melinda Shankar and Kenny vs. Spenny star Kenny Hotz.
The film description also says that “Hogg’s campaign staff and syndicate of dirty cops work to keep the video’s existence a secret while others want to see the mayor go down. Crime, corruption and the largest garbage strike in York history. The result is a rollicking neo-noir tale, inspired by true events.”
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“It’s pretty disgusting,” Rob’s brother, former city councillor Doug Ford, told Global News about the trailer for Filth City.
“These are people that want to make a profit off someone’s illness, off someone that gave back to the city unselfishly for 16, 17 years of his life. And as far as I’m concerned they’re a bunch of scumbags that want to make money off someone’s illness.”
“They’re the same type of people that would say ‘Oh, go get someone help and support him.’ But meanwhile all they want to do is bully him and degrade him coming up to the one-year anniversary.”
Doug says he has “no reason” to watch the movie when it comes out.
“That’s the furthest from the truth, it’s a misrepresentation of all the great work that Rob did. We all know he had an issue. I’m proud of him for going to get help. But again it’s a misrepresentation.”
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Ford’s widow doubts that he would have cared about the film.
“I don’t think so,” Renata Ford said Tuesday night after a trailer for the movie appeared online. “There were so many videos out there that were not good… that I doubt this one would make a difference.”
She said she isn’t surprised that Doug is outraged by the movie.
“He is always so protective of Rob. That’s Doug.”
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Founder of the Canadian Film Fest, Bern Euler, believes the film will be a “crowd-pleaser” and says it shouldn’t be taken too seriously, according to City News.
“While it is based on Rob Ford, it is a comedy,” he said. “At the end of the day this is a really entertaining movie.”
King and Polishchuk sat down with Matt Gurney and Supriya Dwivedi on AM640’s The Morning Show Wednesday.
Dwivedi asked the director-writer team how they would respond to Doug’s comments calling them “scumbags.”
“Waking up this morning to find out you’ve been called a scumbag all over the press is not the greatest thing for us. I think it was a little outrageous… I understand that it was an emotional reaction,” King said.
“How do you make a dark comedy about a man who left behind two children less than a year ago?” Gurney asked the pair.
Ford’s crack-smoking video made headlines and became material for many jokes from every late-night comedian.
Ford died on March 22, 2016 after a battle with cancer.
‘Filth City’ premieres March 25 at the Scotiabank Theatre.
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