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Hollywood comes calling on Squamish

Movie, TV shoots abound; business owners ask for more notice of disruptions resulting from filming

It seems Squamish has been discovered by the film industry.

Out of the five feature films currently being shot in the Lower Mainland, Squamish has enticed three of them to town. Besides the features, in March the community played host to filming for two television pilots, for a total of 37 days of screen production.

'Tis the season for pilots, said Peter Leitch, president of North Shore Studios, who noted that nine are underway in the Greater Vancouver area. But that aside, Squamish is becoming a hot spot for stars.

In the mega-hit movie series Twilight, Squamish took on the role of Forks, Wash. The community played a huge part in the vampire saga by serving as the setting for one of the biggest anticipated movie scenes of 2011 the wedding ceremony between Bella and Edward. At the time, district officials estimated the production pumped $1.5 million into the local economy.

Big blockbuster movies help make the public more aware of the places where they're shot, but the overall experience of the cast and crew is paramount, Leitch said, noting the upgrades to Highway 99 have helped open Squamish's doors to such productions.

It is a relatively small community in terms of the film industry, he said. Word of mouth is important.

There's also a monetary incentive for visiting Squamish. Under the British Columbia Production Services Tax Credit, foreign flicks receive an additional 6 per cent tax credit on provincial labour expenditures when filming outside the Lower Mainland. For domestic productions that tax credit doubles.

The District of Squamish charges no filming permit fees. Instead, productions are encouraged to use local services, such as catering and hotels, district spokesperson Christie Smith wrote in an email.

While local officials are trumpeting the industry as a source of economic activity, some local businesses have reported the opposite effect. Coun. Ted Prior said last month he received phone calls from company owners upset with late notice warnings they received from the district with regard to filming. Their storefronts were affected by street closures.

District officials will provide residents with a production company's contact person should they encounter concerns, Smith said.

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